Closest thing I have read to the Larry Bond world war thrillers, with a Chinese plot to become world dominant by using pawns like Iran and North Korea. Recovering superagent John Wells gets in the middle and helps save the one man with proof of China's complicity in staging conflicts to undermine America. Guess I need to read first JOhn Wells book... ( )

It's been a while since I read a book with this many pages in one day. This book wouldn't let me go, for longer than it took to make & eat lunch and dinner.
It was a nice book. A combination (for me) of Ludlum & Clancy, my favourite writers. An interesting plot. A thrilling story. A plausible plot, that is incorporating/pointing at recent history.
I just loved it. I'm very happy to have part 3 waiting for me :-) ( )

השני בסדרה ולא המשובח בה אך עדיין ספר מצוין לחופשת קיץ ( )

I am always worried when I pick up the second novels of authors - especially when I really liked the first one as was the case with Berenson. John Wells, the man that spent years under cover with the Taliban in Afghanistan, did not sound like the kind of CIA agent that will be very useful outside of that storyline. And writing the same novel multiple times (the way Dan Brown does) is not so easy to pull off.

Berenson made me forget all of those concerns pretty quickly. He weaved a story that connected an arms dealer, a Chinese Mao-wannabe, Iran, the Taliban and North Korea. If it all sounds too familiar, remember that it was written in 2008 - when things were not so different but they were a lot calmer. It is a classical spy novel, full of misdirection and surprises that never stop - the world peace in in jeopardy and CIA's rag team is doing their best as always - not always using the legal means (but managing to pull off a very expensive rescue mission).

It is a violent book - even more violent than the first one. And in addition to all the beating Wells took, he managed to add one more enemy to the list of people that really want to kill him. Considering the the one from the first one was Osama bin Laden, this one sounds like the smaller problem - but based on geography and abilities, I have a suspicion that this will be the main feature somewhere later in the series.

This series may not be high literature but they are great at what they are - spy novels with enough thriller thrown into them to almost move them away from the genre. ( )

Very gritty but a gripping storyline. ( )