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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable read but didn't like the ending much.... Birthday present from M&D.
It was a good story and David Baldacci is a fine writer. The main character, John Puller, isn't overly complex at this point which gives him room to grow - I hope he does. I'll read more in the series.
The 1950's concrete building that plays such an important role in this tragic novel is plausible to me as I worked in several as an IBM Systems Field Engineer in the SAGE (http://www.computermuseum.li/Testpage/IBM-SAGE-computer.htm) program that was in a huge concrete building!
It is a shame that Baldacci found it necessary to eliminate so many of the characters, one could only hope that they could have lived happily ever after.
It is a shame that Baldacci found it necessary to eliminate so many of the characters, one could only hope that they could have lived happily ever after.
Would not normally be on my radar, but was sent from book club when I didn't decline...
Although it's the usual page turner stuff, the story is basically unbelievable. One man is apparently left to save West Virginia. From total destruction.
Good characters, well written, good dialogue from the protagonist. Difficult to escape Reacher similarities though, but interesting start to series.
When I came to write this review I realised I'd done so before. This is my previous comment:
'Started off Jack Reacher-ish, Puller the hero is literally that, he is perfect, has been everywhere and done everything, his only failings are his family. Overall I was disappointed with this book, the story had merits but was obvious and contrived in the end and Puller was just too perfect. A pity.'
Frankly, this novel isn't much better on the second reading. Even the front cover pitch line (A brutal murder. Nothing is what it seems) is questionable. In what seems to be typical Baldacci fashion the location is a small forgotten town with a big, hidden problem - both to be solved by the protagonist and something gross filling the background for the locals (coal mining).
The story started well enough and ran nicely for maybe the first 25% with several problems presented for Puller to solve. Then the rot kicked in. During the middle section the plot flags. Puller does stuff like going for dinner or reviewing coal mining techniques. These add virtually nothing to the plot and really drag the pace.
The revelation at the end is kind of dull. A ticking clock kicks in but there's no real sense of urgency or pressure. When the antagonist is revealed it's a yawn and feels contrived. Puller has family issues that don't add much, except his brother happens to be an incarcerated scientific expert who can miraculously help at the right moment. Puller has demons but sleepy ones. And Puller berates himself for not being as sharp as he had when in the field (so he's not perfect, despite what I'd said before).
The dialogue in general is poor to terrible. Many characters are constantly stroppy for no apparent reason. The editing, although better than the last Baldacci I read, is still awful in parts. Baldacci uses 'here' and 'there' way too much. There's regular repeat words, like 'know' multiple times in the same section.
And characters will repeat stuff that they already said a page previously yet the other character who was spoken to acts like they never heard it before. An example is in the small town (Drake) everyone knows everyone and anything happens it gets talked about - so the murders and Puller's arrival are hot news. Yet Puller is surprised several times that locals he speaks to for the first time during the investigation are aware of him.
'Sucker' is another example of irritating over use. Weirdly, 'the woman' is also utlised several times. They all feel clunky and out of place but the strangest was when Puller was thinking back that he should perhaps have gone to bed with 'the woman' who was by now dead and he's perhaps regretting the fact. I mean, talk about bizarre.
I strongly suspect that this story was only published and sold because it has Baldacci's name on the cover. I found myself skipping paragraphs and pages and making zero difference (which should perhaps be the title) to the plot.
I'm going to give one of his earlier books, Absolute Power, a go. If that's the same low-level narrative, then I give up.
'Started off Jack Reacher-ish, Puller the hero is literally that, he is perfect, has been everywhere and done everything, his only failings are his family. Overall I was disappointed with this book, the story had merits but was obvious and contrived in the end and Puller was just too perfect. A pity.'
Frankly, this novel isn't much better on the second reading. Even the front cover pitch line (A brutal murder. Nothing is what it seems) is questionable. In what seems to be typical Baldacci fashion the location is a small forgotten town with a big, hidden problem - both to be solved by the protagonist and something gross filling the background for the locals (coal mining).
The story started well enough and ran nicely for maybe the first 25% with several problems presented for Puller to solve. Then the rot kicked in. During the middle section the plot flags. Puller does stuff like going for dinner or reviewing coal mining techniques. These add virtually nothing to the plot and really drag the pace.
The revelation at the end is kind of dull. A ticking clock kicks in but there's no real sense of urgency or pressure. When the antagonist is revealed it's a yawn and feels contrived. Puller has family issues that don't add much, except his brother happens to be an incarcerated scientific expert who can miraculously help at the right moment. Puller has demons but sleepy ones. And Puller berates himself for not being as sharp as he had when in the field (so he's not perfect, despite what I'd said before).
The dialogue in general is poor to terrible. Many characters are constantly stroppy for no apparent reason. The editing, although better than the last Baldacci I read, is still awful in parts. Baldacci uses 'here' and 'there' way too much. There's regular repeat words, like 'know' multiple times in the same section.
And characters will repeat stuff that they already said a page previously yet the other character who was spoken to acts like they never heard it before. An example is in the small town (Drake) everyone knows everyone and anything happens it gets talked about - so the murders and Puller's arrival are hot news. Yet Puller is surprised several times that locals he speaks to for the first time during the investigation are aware of him.
'Sucker' is another example of irritating over use. Weirdly, 'the woman' is also utlised several times. They all feel clunky and out of place but the strangest was when Puller was thinking back that he should perhaps have gone to bed with 'the woman' who was by now dead and he's perhaps regretting the fact. I mean, talk about bizarre.
I strongly suspect that this story was only published and sold because it has Baldacci's name on the cover. I found myself skipping paragraphs and pages and making zero difference (which should perhaps be the title) to the plot.
I'm going to give one of his earlier books, Absolute Power, a go. If that's the same low-level narrative, then I give up.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This started a bit slow for me, but ramped up quickly. I read the last quarter (or so) in one sitting. If you like military mystery-style books I'd highly recommend this one.