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A review by iswendle
The Lazarus Vendetta by Patrick Larkin
2.0
Super secret agent do-all Jon Smith is part of a black book task force called "Covert One", an intellegence agency no onr except the president and its members know of. Not even the CIA and FBI know of its existence. After a zealous eco group called Lazarus is involved in phishy protests and murders, our agent Jon Smith investigates them. He uncovers a plot by the loved Lazarus movement to rid the world of humans as a plague, by using the hated developments in nano technology.
I truly enjoyed reading the Lazarus Vendetta. It was just as I was expecting: A James Bond-like hero chases bad guy with inherently good intentions around the globe, shooting their way through famous capitals and countries. The book surely is all that, an enjoyable albeit extremely predictable story captured my attention for most of the time. Action scenes and fighting are described in great detail but maintain their speed, which is what the writer excells in.
If it had been just this (cookie cutter story with some nice shooting) I had been inclined to give it 3 stars. Well-written, good fun. But our American hero has a huge emphasis on America. The book pampers the USA, throws shade at Europe and Europeans in devious little ways, and is even slightly racist in some jabs here and there. No, it is in no way obvious and blatent, so no need to cancel the entire series. It is however enough to be very annoying, especially when the aforementioned great action scenes are spread too thinly in an action novel that really shouldn't have such long, pandering intermissions about weapons, world politcs, and the secret services of the world. Lazarus Vendetta is obviously written by Americans, and some praise is more than expected, but the book panders in the same way some American blockbusters do which just rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, not too often to take away the fun, but too often to not mention.
In short: looking for a fun, predictable shooting adventure with your superman secret American soldier, pick it up! It's great fun if you want a page turner, and the writing style is surprisingly good. With a little bit more creativity in the story, and a little less blatant nationalism, it could have been a 3 star.
I truly enjoyed reading the Lazarus Vendetta. It was just as I was expecting: A James Bond-like hero chases bad guy with inherently good intentions around the globe, shooting their way through famous capitals and countries. The book surely is all that, an enjoyable albeit extremely predictable story captured my attention for most of the time. Action scenes and fighting are described in great detail but maintain their speed, which is what the writer excells in.
If it had been just this (cookie cutter story with some nice shooting) I had been inclined to give it 3 stars. Well-written, good fun. But our American hero has a huge emphasis on America. The book pampers the USA, throws shade at Europe and Europeans in devious little ways, and is even slightly racist in some jabs here and there. No, it is in no way obvious and blatent, so no need to cancel the entire series. It is however enough to be very annoying, especially when the aforementioned great action scenes are spread too thinly in an action novel that really shouldn't have such long, pandering intermissions about weapons, world politcs, and the secret services of the world. Lazarus Vendetta is obviously written by Americans, and some praise is more than expected, but the book panders in the same way some American blockbusters do which just rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, not too often to take away the fun, but too often to not mention.
In short: looking for a fun, predictable shooting adventure with your superman secret American soldier, pick it up! It's great fun if you want a page turner, and the writing style is surprisingly good. With a little bit more creativity in the story, and a little less blatant nationalism, it could have been a 3 star.