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tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
3.0
When your plot line involves a major terrorist attack, there are some plot elements which are unavoidable : the pace that builds up until the D-day, terrorists and law enforcement trying to outwit each other every step of the way, a couple of romantic flings on either side of the law and then the whole world goes to hell ! Black Sunday is no different and within the premise of the story, Thomas Harris brings the Israel-Palestine conflict to the heart of America.
When you set out to read this book, don't think of this as a work by the author of Silence of the Lambs ! This would seriously dampen your enjoyment levels but if you think of it as another thriller by an author who is as yet unknown to you. While the Israeli Mossad and the Palestinian Al Fatah battle it out on the streets of New Orleans, the American intelligence agencies are reduced mostly to bystanders. The climax is not one that is not anticipated but still a cliff hanger. You will get a whiff of Thomas Harris's later work only in one character and his name is Michael Lander and that perhaps is the only place where the story moves away from the realm of cliche.
A decent enough thriller.
When you set out to read this book, don't think of this as a work by the author of Silence of the Lambs ! This would seriously dampen your enjoyment levels but if you think of it as another thriller by an author who is as yet unknown to you. While the Israeli Mossad and the Palestinian Al Fatah battle it out on the streets of New Orleans, the American intelligence agencies are reduced mostly to bystanders. The climax is not one that is not anticipated but still a cliff hanger. You will get a whiff of Thomas Harris's later work only in one character and his name is Michael Lander and that perhaps is the only place where the story moves away from the realm of cliche.
A decent enough thriller.
monkey_with_symbols's review against another edition
If this book were to be pitched today, I wonder who would shut it down faster: Goodell or the government?
A more critical take on America than I expected, but I can see the makings of the Hannibal series here a little.
A more critical take on America than I expected, but I can see the makings of the Hannibal series here a little.
charity_froggenhall's review
3.0
I liked this more than the Hannibal books. The prose isn't as purple, but the plotting is just as tight. If you've seen the terrific film starring Robert Shaw as Kabakov and Bruce Dern as Lander, it's different enough from the book that you can enjoy them each separately.
m0nst3r_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
emkingma's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Black Sunday is still something that will get you on the edge of your seat, even after all these years later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexism, and War
Moderate: Drug use and Sexual content
pagesforages's review
2.0
I should have DNFed this at about 50 pages in but I really felt it had the potential to become a really engaging read. It didn't. It was very detailed and the logic of the whole story cannot be faulted but I was bored. I enjoyed other books by this author so I didn't hate it, I was just disappointed.
msand3's review against another edition
2.0
I tried reading this novel three times previously without making it past page 35. Having read all other Harris novels, I finally pushed myself to get through this one, which was his first published book. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any better after page 35. The plot is a typical mid-70s spy/terrorist thriller with stereotypical characters who walk and talk like poorly-drawn characters in a bad spy movie. There’s the crazed ex-Vietnam vet with a chip on his shoulder (complete with sexual frustration), the dark and mysterious female agent who urges him on, the sinister terrorist who is out for glory, and the Mossad agent who has to use rough tactics to track them down. The high-concept plot is revealed on the book cover’s front image: a plot to blow up the Super Bowl using the Goodyear -- *ahem* -- I mean the “Aldrich” blimp. Considering this was written by the author of the Hannibal Lecter novels and takes place partly in New Orleans (my hometown), I was expecting to love this book. I’m pretty disappointed it was such a dud. I’m still holding out hope that Harris has one more novel left in him -- or perhaps an unpublished manuscript sitting inside his desk to be found posthumously, as with Crichton. If not, then his career would have been bookended by two less-than-stellar novels, this one to begin his career and the recently published [b:Cari Mora|42118856|Cari Mora|Thomas Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547216289l/42118856._SY75_.jpg|65710928] to end it.
2000ace's review against another edition
4.0
Another good chiller thriller from Thomas Harris. This is the book the significant others should be reading while their mates are watching the Super Bowl. Nothing that happens in the football stadium will begin to approach edge-of-your-seat drama in this book.
pinknantucket's review against another edition
2.0
Thomas Harris seems to have only written five books, and I'd already read all the Hannibal ones and was having withdrawal symptoms. This is his first, and quite an acceptable thriller - and strangely prescient of the Twin Towers attack, in many regards, given this was written in 1975.
I suspect I might have given it three stars immediately after reading it but I couldn't remember what happened at all until I re-read the blurb just now. So it mustn't really have made much of a permanent impression.
My copy: $2.99 from Savers
I suspect I might have given it three stars immediately after reading it but I couldn't remember what happened at all until I re-read the blurb just now. So it mustn't really have made much of a permanent impression.
My copy: $2.99 from Savers