54085

Moderately enjoyable thriller. I got my copy autographed by Ollie at our local Costco. My favorite part of the book was the way the author wrote himself into the book as a heroic character - not, as other authors do, under an assumed name, but under his own name! ( )

very very disappointing. the basic under story was good. that must be musser's part. i only say that because it was good and i usually like him. the rest however was just trying to convert you to be a born again christian. if this wasn't north's part of the book i apologize but i'll never really know for sure because i'll never read another one he worked on.i only finished it at all to see what happened. which the ending is disappointing and predictable. they do a good job at making it look like a real story not a novel in the back epilogue but it is a fictional novel that is mainly explaining how much happier you'll be if you realize you need to be a born again christian. don't waste your time. ( )

If you enjoy action/adventure/military/intrigue sort of books, then you'll like this one. I was a little confused by the tags I saw here for this book at LT, namely the ones referring to "Christian" books. The character of Lt. Col. Peter Newman is helped out of his impossible predicament by Christian Arabs. Also, the Colonel's wife contemplates divorce vs. a Christian conversion and recommitment to her marriage. Religion isn't a huge aspect of this book, but if you're put off by Christian references, then you probably won't like the book; or if you roll that way then you probably will. No mystery.

I've read a lot of Tom Clancy books, and I'm struggling with whether or not to call this one "Clancy-lite." I think that's pretty accurate, although I don't mean it so much of a slam as a description. Frankly, a lot of what Clancy does is a bit too much for me, so Clancy-lite isn't necessarily a bad thing.

North and his co-author, Joe Musser, give a very helpful Glossary of Abbreviations at the beginning of the book. Not having worked in gov't or been in the military, I really needed this list to follow what was happening in the book.

The story is what-you-see-is-what-you-get: Mission Compromised. Lt. Col. Newman is chosen to head up a clandestine operation as head of the White House Special Projects Office. The mission goes badly wrong, and it becomes evident to those involved that the betrayal is coming from someone in or near the top brass in the White House.

This is a good story with a very likeable protagonist. There are three in the series with Lt. Col. Newman, and based on this one, I would give the next one a try. 3.5 stars, an entertaining, solid read. ( )