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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I was disappointed in this one although there is a situation early in the book that was so intense I felt like a tranquilizer was necessary! However, the novel was too long and the main character so repulsive and obnoxious it was hard to finish. Three stars because the story was pretty solid and it is a somewhat controversial book because it was written before 9/11. If you read it you'll know what I mean. I wanted to really like it but it only made me want to read Joe Pike or Elvis Cole. Real heroes!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Did DeMille have inside info on 9/11 or what? I remember it from Plum Island too, it felt really odd that he kept making references to terrorist attacks to the Twin Towers when it hadn't happened yet as these books were published prior to 2001.
This had the same smart-ass remarks from Corey as in the last book, which did sort of start to grate on me in this one. Sometimes it's well-timed comedic relief, but the rest of the time it gets old. Perhaps I'm more aware than I had been in previous years (and Plum Island didn't revolve around Islamic 'terrorists') but the Islamophobia and straight racism in this book was so bothersome. Idk how many times I had to read someone calling Khalil a 'camel-fucker', like okay it gets old after the first 10 times.
There was some acknowledgment here of 'where does the killing stop' and how someone is always retaliating against the previous attack, but I still felt the air of "the US is never the bad guy" in between the lines. Khalil is out avenging his family (which Corey acknowledges he would do the same), and while he has killed innocent civilians in his pursuit of that, he is deemed a terrorist, but no mention of when the pilots killed innocent civilians (some on purpose it seemed), they're never labeled that way, in that case it's always just a 'consequence' of war. Maybe it's just from seeing this perpetual victimhood from isteali for the past 20 months that the violence they inflict is always warranted while any retaliation never is. Its infuriating.
It had been a while since I read Plum Island so I don't really remember how Corey left it off with Beth; but he sure falls 'in love' quickly. DeMille also is terrible at writing romance. There's no exchange between Corey and Mayfield that makes me feel like she's even remotely interested in him; yet they're in love and are going to get married??? Talk about eye-rolling. And that it's assumed he's still in a relationship with Beth when he starts his thing with Kate, gross. Break up with Beth before you cheat on her with Kate. So strange.
I see the next few books also have to do with mideast terrorism, and I'm not sure I can stomach them.
This had the same smart-ass remarks from Corey as in the last book, which did sort of start to grate on me in this one. Sometimes it's well-timed comedic relief, but the rest of the time it gets old. Perhaps I'm more aware than I had been in previous years (and Plum Island didn't revolve around Islamic 'terrorists') but the Islamophobia and straight racism in this book was so bothersome. Idk how many times I had to read someone calling Khalil a 'camel-fucker', like okay it gets old after the first 10 times.
There was some acknowledgment here of 'where does the killing stop' and how someone is always retaliating against the previous attack, but I still felt the air of "the US is never the bad guy" in between the lines. Khalil is out avenging his family (which Corey acknowledges he would do the same), and while he has killed innocent civilians in his pursuit of that, he is deemed a terrorist, but no mention of when the pilots killed innocent civilians (some on purpose it seemed), they're never labeled that way, in that case it's always just a 'consequence' of war. Maybe it's just from seeing this perpetual victimhood from isteali for the past 20 months that the violence they inflict is always warranted while any retaliation never is. Its infuriating.
It had been a while since I read Plum Island so I don't really remember how Corey left it off with Beth; but he sure falls 'in love' quickly. DeMille also is terrible at writing romance. There's no exchange between Corey and Mayfield that makes me feel like she's even remotely interested in him; yet they're in love and are going to get married??? Talk about eye-rolling. And that it's assumed he's still in a relationship with Beth when he starts his thing with Kate, gross. Break up with Beth before you cheat on her with Kate. So strange.
I see the next few books also have to do with mideast terrorism, and I'm not sure I can stomach them.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Seeing as I recently finished the Harry Bosch series, I am glad this series was recommended to me. John Corey is a great segue from Bosch if anyone is looking for fast-paced, thrilling detective novels.
John Corey is a typical, arrogant detective/anti-terrorist special agent. With Corey as the narrator, the reader is easily absorbed into the story.
It was a bit eerie that this book starts with a commercial plane being targeted. The plot does center around a terrorist attack, focused as it was. The original publish date for this novel was the year 2000, and the Twin Towers are featured as well as a description of the ‘93 bombing of the North Tower. That was a bit unsettling.
The only thing I really didn’t like was the whole John-Kate relationship. I didn’t like how they got together and the suddenness of their relationship/engagement.
For this being a 700+ page read, I flew through it pretty quickly.
John Corey is a typical, arrogant detective/anti-terrorist special agent. With Corey as the narrator, the reader is easily absorbed into the story.
It was a bit eerie that this book starts with a commercial plane being targeted. The plot does center around a terrorist attack, focused as it was. The original publish date for this novel was the year 2000, and the Twin Towers are featured as well as a description of the ‘93 bombing of the North Tower. That was a bit unsettling.
The only thing I really didn’t like was the whole John-Kate relationship. I didn’t like how they got together and the suddenness of their relationship/engagement.
For this being a 700+ page read, I flew through it pretty quickly.
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
pardon all my typos, did this on my phone, thumb typing: I've been seeing DeMille's books on the bookshelves for so long, last year I finally decided to read the first of the Corey series Plum Island, and very much enjoyed it, the writing was crisp and fast paced and the main character's dialogue constantly funny without being too much. The Lion's Game, though written with the same skill and wit, is a much darker, story, and really in a completely different genre. Plum was a detective/whodunnit more than anything, but Lion is and all-out spy thriller. then characters were many but unique enough I didn't have a problem keeping track of who was who. my one problem, or perhaps an ethical dilemna, half the book was written from the perspective of terrorist himself. he's a fanatical genius and unquestionable sociopath, who kills anyone in his path of they pose any kind of threat. it's tough to spend so much time in that kind of a mind (one reason I'm not a big fan of the Uber popular serial killer, thriller subgenre). but it was one of those books that pulled me back again and again, and if you've read my other reviews, that makes for a great book in my opinion. will definitely be movong on to corey #3 soon enough.
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This is one of Nelson Demille’s best stories, and it rivals plum Island. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was exciting and less predictable and a real page turner. Sadly, the author uses racist undertones throughout (understanding that the main character is a bigot and racist), but that aside the story and narrative were very exciting.