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cnorbury 's review for:
The Lions of Lucerne
by Brad Thor
An excellent debut novel from this now well-known, bestselling thriller writer. Worth reading if you're a Brad Thor fan or appreciate reading debut novels by now-famous authors.
But it wasn't without a few flaws, in my view. For starters, the MC, Scot Harvath, isn't the most likable guy. He's abrasive, argumentative, and seems a bit like a loose cannon at times, which doesn't sync with what I imagine a typical Secret Service field agent to be. My guess is, Thor wanted to distinguish him from other "super agents" by giving him a "rogue, rock star" persona with the background in high-level competitive snowboarding and a previous career as a Navy Seal.
To be fair, Harvath is definitely a guy who'd "have your back" an is resourceful, determined, intelligent, etc.--has all the other traits a good thriller protagonist should have. I guess my beef is he's the sort of guy I wouldn't want to hang around with and have a beer or dinner.
The plot, however, is intricate, cleverly constructed, is unique, and has the highest stakes--rescuing the POTUS from kidnappers. But as in many other thrillers involving government agencies, the cast of characters gets long, the acronyms sometimes confuse more than help the reader understand who's who, and it's easy for certain characters to be stereotyped and cookie cutter (like an FBI director or a White House Chief of Staff).
Overall, if you like political thrillers, this is certainly better than average and does NOT lack pace.
But it wasn't without a few flaws, in my view. For starters, the MC, Scot Harvath, isn't the most likable guy. He's abrasive, argumentative, and seems a bit like a loose cannon at times, which doesn't sync with what I imagine a typical Secret Service field agent to be. My guess is, Thor wanted to distinguish him from other "super agents" by giving him a "rogue, rock star" persona with the background in high-level competitive snowboarding and a previous career as a Navy Seal.
To be fair, Harvath is definitely a guy who'd "have your back" an is resourceful, determined, intelligent, etc.--has all the other traits a good thriller protagonist should have. I guess my beef is he's the sort of guy I wouldn't want to hang around with and have a beer or dinner.
The plot, however, is intricate, cleverly constructed, is unique, and has the highest stakes--rescuing the POTUS from kidnappers. But as in many other thrillers involving government agencies, the cast of characters gets long, the acronyms sometimes confuse more than help the reader understand who's who, and it's easy for certain characters to be stereotyped and cookie cutter (like an FBI director or a White House Chief of Staff).
Overall, if you like political thrillers, this is certainly better than average and does NOT lack pace.