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lfro2013's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Not my favorite. Scot is a bit more annoying than usual, and the flag waving gets a littttle old. Ok, a lot old. It's honestly a bit exhausting, like why does he feel the need to hammer home the bad Muslims/good Americans point in evvvvery single paragraph? Just gets old.
thecurseofchris's review against another edition
3.0
This book started out very strong, but the last quarter of it felt like it was being dragged out. The writing is very simple and it reads like an action movie, which is fine by me because I interpret the Harvath series as a means of escapism. You can tell that it was written in the mid-2000s as well, so it feels a bit dated at times. I will continue to read the Harvath series as I assume Brad Thor's writing has improved, but I hope they feel more tidy than this one did.
Also, I listened to the audiobook for portions of it, and much like State of the Union, I can't stand the narrator. But I believe he only does one more (the next one) and then it switches to a different person.
Also, I listened to the audiobook for portions of it, and much like State of the Union, I can't stand the narrator. But I believe he only does one more (the next one) and then it switches to a different person.
nklosty's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this novel. Most of these novels sound like every spy movie I've seen. I like the Harvath character and his attitude.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
1.0
Archaeologists make a stunning discovery in a pass high in the French – Italian Alps, but do not live to tell the tale. A year later, Islamic scientists begin dying in seeming accidents or outright assassinations and kidnappings all around the world. And then a US army unit moves into the peaceful, multi-religion village of Asalaam near Mosul in Iraq. They are checking up on some Christian missionaries who haven't been heard of but are startled to find half the village dead from a horrible, flu like disease with some very nasty symptoms. Scott Harvath is a Navy SEAL turned covert counter-terrorism agent who authorities turn to when the connections between these events start to become clear. Harvath, and through him The President of the US, have other problems as well as Democrat Senator Helen Cunningham is on the trail of both of them, trying to prove that there is something else going on with covert operations.
Harvath must go out alone and try to stop a deadly biological weapon from being distributed in America. He must also stop his arch enemy Khalid Sheik Alomari, a high-ranking al-Qaeda operative and ruthless assassin. Alomari is killing Muslim scientists who may have unlocked the key to a devastating super weapon.
There are two broad classifications into which thrillers that I read seem to fit. The totally over the top, almost cartoon like, take your disbelief and hang it in the wardrobe, wild ride type – along the lines of Austin Powers, Colin Forbes', even James Bond to a certain degree. Then there are the psychological, the creepy, the leave the lights on, fasten your seatbelts, things could get hairy here types – in this category Tom Clancy, Len Deighton, John LeCarre, Robert Ludlum, Scott Turow and Frederick Forsyth and many many others. If you get lucky occasionally some of these books can switch between the two categories seamlessly without affecting your overall enjoyment of any of the book. No matter how much I think about BLOWBACK I simply can't decide which category it was aiming for.
It's a great premise – a biological weapon that once threatened the Roman Empire is back with the potential to wipe out huge parts of the world. Perhaps a bit far-fetched in some people's minds, but the premise of the book really appealed to me. I didn't even mind the movie-script like style and could have forgiven some of the frankly utterly outlandish scenes - a supposedly disgraced and in hiding operative not all that hard to spot and certainly in communication with a lot of people; sensationalist paragliding across borders; suddenly producing large numbers of gliders out of nowhere; European countries that didn't seem to mind a heavily armed one man revenge band charging around over their borders; a seemingly never ending stream of money to bribe everyone and a scientist who just suddenly manages to climb a huge ice-covered mountain, having never even attempted anything remotely like this (not even the climbing of a small rock in the backyard) with just the hero to “carry her through”.
Where the book was greatly underwhelming, and I think, the premise poorly served, was that the whole thing was presented in way too black and white a manner with too much predictability and bland characterisation. No doubt about it, many of the the action scenes were exciting and well written, but the existence of the weapon and how it survived was brush stroke and questionable at best, the connection between the weapon and the intra-Muslim faith tensions too self-serving; and the various political conspiracies way too convenient. The whole thing reeked of a one sided partisan cheer squad.
Perhaps your political perspective can affect summation of this book, but I felt that it was a great idea, muddied by a whole lot of convenient nefarious goings on, which contributed little to the thrill and nothing to the action.
Harvath must go out alone and try to stop a deadly biological weapon from being distributed in America. He must also stop his arch enemy Khalid Sheik Alomari, a high-ranking al-Qaeda operative and ruthless assassin. Alomari is killing Muslim scientists who may have unlocked the key to a devastating super weapon.
There are two broad classifications into which thrillers that I read seem to fit. The totally over the top, almost cartoon like, take your disbelief and hang it in the wardrobe, wild ride type – along the lines of Austin Powers, Colin Forbes', even James Bond to a certain degree. Then there are the psychological, the creepy, the leave the lights on, fasten your seatbelts, things could get hairy here types – in this category Tom Clancy, Len Deighton, John LeCarre, Robert Ludlum, Scott Turow and Frederick Forsyth and many many others. If you get lucky occasionally some of these books can switch between the two categories seamlessly without affecting your overall enjoyment of any of the book. No matter how much I think about BLOWBACK I simply can't decide which category it was aiming for.
It's a great premise – a biological weapon that once threatened the Roman Empire is back with the potential to wipe out huge parts of the world. Perhaps a bit far-fetched in some people's minds, but the premise of the book really appealed to me. I didn't even mind the movie-script like style and could have forgiven some of the frankly utterly outlandish scenes - a supposedly disgraced and in hiding operative not all that hard to spot and certainly in communication with a lot of people; sensationalist paragliding across borders; suddenly producing large numbers of gliders out of nowhere; European countries that didn't seem to mind a heavily armed one man revenge band charging around over their borders; a seemingly never ending stream of money to bribe everyone and a scientist who just suddenly manages to climb a huge ice-covered mountain, having never even attempted anything remotely like this (not even the climbing of a small rock in the backyard) with just the hero to “carry her through”.
Where the book was greatly underwhelming, and I think, the premise poorly served, was that the whole thing was presented in way too black and white a manner with too much predictability and bland characterisation. No doubt about it, many of the the action scenes were exciting and well written, but the existence of the weapon and how it survived was brush stroke and questionable at best, the connection between the weapon and the intra-Muslim faith tensions too self-serving; and the various political conspiracies way too convenient. The whole thing reeked of a one sided partisan cheer squad.
Perhaps your political perspective can affect summation of this book, but I felt that it was a great idea, muddied by a whole lot of convenient nefarious goings on, which contributed little to the thrill and nothing to the action.
alicianiblock's review against another edition
3.0
Not my fav Brad Thor novel.. the number of times the main character just “had a gut feeling” or “something in the back of his mind bugged him” about a problem… pls! Also some murky waters with the way he describes the Muslim population at times - i think this being from 2006 gives context but still
varunvicky93's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kecb12's review against another edition
3.0
Brad Thor's books are always fun, exciting, and interesting. What I especially appreciated about this one was that Scott Harvath didn't end up with the central female character. There was some great characterization stuff for Harvath in this book, and I'm looking forward to reading #5.
skiracechick's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, maybe three Scott Harvath books in a row are too much.
lwalker77's review against another edition
3.0
I always enjoy Brad Thor's books and I enjoyed this one. The plot wasn't as compelling as they normally are and it got a little slow in places.