Category: Thriller

Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp

Posted April 22, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Nothing Lasts Forever (Goodreads)
Author: Roderick Thorp
Series: Die Hard #1
Published: Graymalkin Media, 1979
Pages: 246
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

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Retired NYPD Detective Joe Leland visits his daughter in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to spend the holiday period with her. He meets her at her place of work, the 40-story office that houses the headquarters of the Klaxon Oil Corporation. Only to find the building been taken by a group of Cold War-era German terrorists. Lead by Anton “Little Tony” Gruber, their plans are to steal documents that will publicly expose the Klaxon Corporation. With the help of LAPD Sergeant Al Powell, Leland must fight the terrorist one by one to save the hostages, and more importantly his daughter and grandchildren.

Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp was re-released in December 2012 after being out of print for 20 years and if you haven’t guessed it by now, this is the novel Die Hard is based on. My biggest issue with the book was it was very similar to the classic movie (which I’ve seen so many times), yet it was missing all the one liners and humour. Most of the most iconic scenes do come from the book, including crawling around the elevator shafts, C4 down the elevator shaft, jumping off the roof with a fire hose and the gun tapped to his back. I’m surprised just how faithful to the book the movie does seem but then when you expect him to say “Now I have a machine gun, Ho Ho Ho” or something similar Leland says something similar but different and it just doesn’t feel right.

The similarities seem to be so numerous that it is almost pointless to read the book, especially if you know the movie back to front. The major differences between the book and the movie (not including names and slight character changes) include that Terrorist were really out to expose the company rather than robbing them and the ending was less Hollywood in the end. I feel this is one of the rare cases where the movie outshines the book, even if it is similar overall the movie was amazing and the book was fading away into obscurity (up till the rerelease). McClane is a far better character than Leland but interesting enough the book seems to focus a lot more on the complexity of the protagonist’s mind in regards to family, guilt and his alcoholism but I felt it didn’t work too well.

The book does feel like it’s aged too much, the political views on terrorism seem so dated, but if you read this book as just an action novel you probably can overlook this and even forgive it. I never was able to do this, I just felt like their responses to the hostile takeover felt wrong and somewhat amateurish. This is obviously to make sure Leland had to remain the single man that can save the 72 hostages but part of me was a little annoyed by that. One man taking on the world makes for a great story but I’m always bothered by that and while it’s entertaining in a book I feel like I question it more than I would with a movie.

Nothing Lasts Forever is a little darker than Die Hard but there is no real competition when comparing the two. Die Hard is a classic action film and spawned some great (and terrible) sequels. The book was interesting to explore but really there are more books out there that deserve the time; stick to the film. Interestingly enough, Nothing Lasts Forever was intended as a sequel to the 1966 film The Detective starring Frank Sinatra, then as a follow up to Commando (1985) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both actors declined the role; after being rewritten, the script turned into a standalone film which has become one of the greatest Action movies of all time.

Ghostman by Roger Hobbs

Posted April 20, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Ghostman (Goodreads)
Series: Ghostman #1
, 2012
Pages: 336
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When a casino heist goes bad, there are a lot of loose ends to tidy up. Loose ends like a million dollars and only 48 hours to find it. The Ghostman is sent into find the money and make sure the crime isn’t connected back to his employer. Only problem is he is in the Wolf’s territory now and he wants the Ghostman’s head in a bag; if they can find him.

First of all, this is a pretty stereotypical heist novel, with all the normal thriller elements that you expect, the double crosses, the cops, the clearly laid out plan, it is all there in this book. So why did I enjoy this book more than I should have? The Ghostman, let’s just call him Jack Delton as that is the name he uses the most in the novel, is nothing really special. There isn’t much character development; he continues to remain an enigma the entire time. Yet there is something about him that I liked; he has the ability to hide in plain sight, to blend in and he is pretty much a grifter sent in to clean up the mess. He is also a pretentious book worm; he admits to reading a lot in the book and has a soft spot for Homer and epic Greek poetry. These elements of his character, and the fact he knows how to handle himself when things get rough, really come together to make a character I enjoyed reading about.

All other characters in the book were completely underdeveloped and just felt like backdrops that got in the way of Jack Delton’s tasks. But then again, you do need conflict and twists and turns to drive a story like this; there was nothing too shocking about the plot, I would have loved a good twist or maybe a darker narrative but all in all, Ghostman was a lot of fun to read.

This is Roger Hobbs’s debut novel and he is only 24 years old which makes you wonder; where did he learn all the skills to pull off a casino heist and cover it up? The detail put into the different ways of doing things was incredibly detailed, so much so that you can’t help but think this is the voice of experience. My main problem was that I felt like sometimes the author was dumbing down the information too much; I think he wanted to make sure every reader knew what was happening but the information felt over done.

Delton spends all this time tying up all the loose ends from the heist, that at times I thought things were going to end up incredibly neat and, to an extent, it did, but I was glad to see not everything goes to plan. I thought maybe Delton had a complex plan to get himself out of mess but instead he decided to live by the motto “Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo” If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell. Simple but effective, but then again that’s the book in a nutshell.

I still don’t have no idea what really made this book so enjoyable; there really isn’t much in the novel that was special, it all felt like it was done before. In the end I was just sucked into the story and enjoyed the ride; it is a good heist novel and I think it will give most thriller writers a run for their money. Sure it was predictable and nonsensical but sometimes you just need some light entertaining junk to read. It is still worth checking out, even if it is just to see what Roger Hobb can do and then spend some time trying to work out how he researched this book.

Without Warning by John Birmingham

Posted April 3, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Without Warning (Goodreads)
Author: John Birmingham
Series: The Disappearance #1
Published: Del Rey, 2008
Pages: 560
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: Personal Copy

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On the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 14 March 2003 and in a time of uncertainty and financial crisis, a wave of energy has fallen over America. The United States as we know it is gone. The soldiers are left to fight a war without command, the line of succession go so far back that it falls to the governments in Pearl Harbor, Guantánamo Bay, and a very isolated corner of the north east. What will the world be like now the last superpower has disappeared?

Without Warning is the first book in the disappearance series by John Birmingham and is an alternate history/political thriller/action novel that tries to look at what the world would be like if America just disappears. But does it work? For me, I think the book just follows all the clichés found in a thriller and while it tries to do something completely different. The blending of Alternative history just never seemed to work.

Don’t get me wrong; I think John Birmingham is a great writer with some interesting ideas, but I guess mainstream novels don’t work for me. While I do try, and have, enjoyed novels like this. I tend to think there is something missing. The book felt very Americanised, even trying to imitate people like Tom Clancy and if you are into that type of book, I’m sure you would enjoy Without Warning.

I tried really hard to get into this novel, but with so main false starts and the forcing myself to finish this novel, I just never enjoyed it. I was tempted not to review this novel because I’m not sure if I have anything constructive to say, but in the interest of showing my full reading journey I forced myself.

Without Warning did have a lot of pop culture references which I do enjoy and the idea of losing the last super power was well thought out, but in the end this just wasn’t a book for me. I remember reading Tom Clancy when I was a young and enjoying it but I don’t think I would now. Maybe this is a book for a younger me and for people that just want pure escapism into a world of action.

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez

Posted March 26, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Kill Decision (Goodreads)
Author: Daniel Suarez
Published: Dutton Books, 2012
Pages: 400
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: Personal Copy

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Unmanned weaponised drones already exist—they are widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. But what would happen if these drones became so advanced that they are programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention? Daniel Suarez is back to take a look at the real science and then take it one step further to show the frightening results.

Daniel Suarez is really becoming the go-to-guy for techno-thrillers that look at current technology and then show the possibility of what they can do. In his first series Deamon, Suarez looks at the possibility of a computer program running without human control and what it could do to make a new world order. In Kill Decision he takes a look at the unmanned drones and then builds on the existing technology to make a thrilling and frightening tale of the future of war.

This is a fast paced techno-thriller so don’t expect huge character development but Suarez did do a decent enough job at adding some depth to his characters. Sure I would have loved more to them but they never felt unreal or one dimensional. As far as the technology advances that he explore in this novel, that feels very real, like the natural progression of war and that is what is frightening.

This book is nothing special, it takes the standard thriller architecture and Daniel Suarez just builds from there. I wanted to read this book because I loved Deamon but even though the sequel Freedom TM did get a little far-fetched the series was really enjoyable and geeky. With Kill Decision I kind of felt like it was too similar but rewritten to make it feel like a war techno thriller instead. While it was fun to read, I never felt satisfied by the end result. I’m a nerd and I was hoping for more of the computer side of things not the war elements that I got.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Posted March 23, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Casino Royale (Goodreads)
Author: Ian Fleming
Series: James Bond #1
Published: Vintage, 1953
Pages: 228
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: Library Book

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Ian Fleming introduced the world to James Bond; British Secret Service agent and womaniser out to keep the world safe, time after time. Casino Royale is the first in the huge 007 franchise where Bond’s adventures lead to a card game to bring down SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. But there is more at stake than just money.

This isn’t my first Bond book, I read Jeffery Deaver’s 007 novel Carte Blanche but this is my first Fleming book. So Fleming’s Bond is very different to the movies or Deaver’s secret agent. All the main elements are the same, the womanising and the witty comments but in Casino Royale it’s a lot different to the movie of the same name. There is less action adventure and more attempts at the espionage genre.

The first half of the book is set in the casino playing high-stakes baccarat; a game I know nothing about but was interested to learn. In the end the game is supposedly easy but I still have no idea how to play it. James Bond is trying to bankrupt Le Chiffre; the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Russian secret service. The idea is pretty simple; bankrupt Le Chiffre and prevent him funding any Russian missions. Which is well and good but once this part of the book ended, that’s when this book started going downhill.

The second half of the book was pretty weak, especially when it came to Vesper. The suspense and tension end abruptly and falls flat on its face. There are a few incidences of adventure but it almost tries to turn into this romance but Fleming and the character are such huge misogynists that it doesn’t work at all. Bond is supposed to be very much in love with this woman but he knows there is something she is hiding; but it doesn’t get explored very well in the book.

Now let’s talk about that one phrase in the book that really sets people off; “sweet tang of rape”. I get what Ian Fleming is trying to say and do there, but really that phrase is not the best way to put it. All it does is just prove that Fleming is a sexist and that never really helps the book. I want to say that the idea of wanting to have sex with this woman even though it’s not the right move for Bond is a great idea but it could have been explore and worded differently.

After reading this book, I’m not sure whether I should read more of the series or just stick to the movies. I wanted to read this book to get a sense of what the book was about and also it’s on the ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die’ list, but I really struggle to see how this book turned into a successful series let alone movie franchise. This is a simple case of ‘the movie is better than the book’ and it’s rare but it happens. Casino Royale may be very different, but it managed to keep the tension and explored the basic concept a whole lot better than this book ever did.

The Age Atomic by Adam Christopher

Posted March 11, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Science Fiction, Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: The Age Atomic (Goodreads)
Author: Adam Christopher
Series: Empire State #2
Published: Angry Robot, 2013
Pages: 416
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

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The Empire State is dying due to the fissure connecting this reality to New York disappearing. The populace is in a panic, demanding the return of prohibition and rationing of energy. Meanwhile in 1954 New York there has been a dynamic political change. A new group called Atoms for Peace are preparing a robot army for a trans-dimensional invasion. Their goal: total conquest – or destruction – of the Empire State.

Private Investigator Rad Bradley is back in the sequel to Empire State. This time the twisted parallel prohibition-era New York City is falling apart and a robot army are planning to invade. Adam Christopher spent a lot of time building this amazing inter-dimensional city with some wacky atomic age technology and doppelgangers; in Empire State he has this brilliant tech noir story happening which I really enjoyed. But then we get to The Age Atomic and all noir elements have gone and the plot just feels like a generic atomic age thriller.

The world building he has done to give up this trans-dimensional New York is great and Rad Bradley is a wonderful character, so I can understand why he would want to stay in this world. I just think I was expecting another neo-noir type novel but was left we a pretty average science fiction thriller. The term ‘killing your darlings’ is often used and I’m wondering if Christopher should have just used the same world and created new characters. The return of Rad Bradley (an obvious homage to Ray Bradbury) just meant I expected more hard-boiled adventures from him.

I love this world but I’m very disappointed with the way this book turned out, I think Adam Christopher has the skills and tools to write great alternative reality or neo-noir novels but for me I think the genre switch left me dissatisfied. I recommend you read Empire State and if you are planning to continue to series, be warned, it’s not the same. I’m pleased to see that Adam Christopher added his writing and editing soundtrack again. This book could have been better, I will have to check out WorldBuilder again and see what other people have done with this world, since that is the most interesting part of the whole book.

Young Philby by Robert Littell

Posted February 12, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Young Philby (Goodreads)
Author: Robert Littell
Published: Bloomsbury, 2013
Pages: 261
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

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Kim Philby could possibly be the most notorious double agent in espionage history. Recruited by the Secret Intelligent Service during World War II, he began spying for the Russians on the British intelligence service. Robert Littell’s Young Philby follows what little we know about his early years up till what made him a great double (or should we say triple?) agent.

Kim Philby was a real high-ranking British intelligence officer who worked as a double agent serving as both an NKVD and KGB operative. Robert Littell takes what little we know about this famous spy and tries to recount a fictionalised version of his life, but does it really cover the truth? It’s hard to recount a story when you don’t know the real thoughts that went through the person’s head and I think this was the one major thing that was lacking. I can understand, being a fictionalised version of his life, the author didn’t want to speculate on his motivations, but I really wanted more on his psychological profile.

As an espionage novel goes, this is no John le Carré; there is a sense of complexity with the double agent idea but I found it really easy to follow. I love le Carré’s ability to write these massively complex espionage novels that really take you on a journey of the unexpected and I would have liked a bit more of that from Robert Littell but he was probably confined to the facts. This was a compelling read and I love a good spy story but I think the narrative did need a little more work to put it among the great espionage novels.

Fast pacedand shifting perspectives really helped driving this novel and the cover alone makes this book worth purchasing. If you don’t know much about the life of Kim Philby, this would be a good place to start; learn about the Cambridge Five, the defection to Russia or just explore a good cold war spy story. I’m glad I got a chance to read Young Philby; I didn’t know much about the man but he did have an interesting life. These fictionalised accounts of history may not be 100% accurate but they do make it easier to get a sense of what happened.

Shadow of the Rock by Thomas Mogford

Posted December 14, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Crime, Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Shadow of the Rock (Goodreads)
Author: Thomas Mogford
Series: Spike Sanguinetti #1
Published: Bloomsbury, 2012
Pages: 272
Genres: Crime, Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

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Spike Sanguinetti arrives home to Gibraltar only to find Solomon Hassan waiting from him. Solomon is on the run, a Spanish girl was found with her throat cut on the beach in Tangiers and he is being accused of the murder. Spike travels to Morocco to try and delay the extradition, where he meets a woman investigating the disappearance of her father, which is also is leading back to Solomon being involved.

Shadow of the Rock seems to be book one of a newly planned series by Thomas Mogfold. Not only is there a real sense of mystery, but also the protagonist finds himself questioning just how much he knows his friend. Two different situations has put Solomon in a world of suspicion. Spike Sanguinetti is a tax lawyer, a job that for me seem very boring, and now he is thrown into this huge adventure, really putting him out of his comfort zone. With all the excitement, I did feel like the book lacked any real character development; sure I learned about the protagonist and support cast, but it felt like very broad strokes of development. This might be the plan, as a series the writer needs to save some development for the other books. But for me the character development was underdone and too sloppy.

For me the highlight of this book was Gibraltar and Morocco as the backdrops for the danger Spike surely finds himself in. I’ve not been to either places but I have very fond memories of Spain and imagine the atmosphere and the culture would be similar. It was so great to read a book set in an unusual location. As far as the mystery of this book, it was very generic; it ticks all the right boxes for a formulaic best seller thriller series and I truly hope Thomas Mogfold has a huge success with Spike Sanguinetti.

I just feel this series has a lot of great potential and I’m curious to see if book two turns out to be something more developed. I can see myself either loving this series or really hating it depending on which path the author takes; the formulaic thriller route in the hope to become a best selling crime writer or the well-developed character route. I will be checking out book two but if it fails to show any improvement I plan to abandon this series. Spike has so much to offer so we will wait to see what happens next.

The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington

Posted September 18, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: The Geneva Trap (Goodreads)
Author: Stella Rimington
Series: Liz Carlyle #7
Published: Bloomsbury, 2012
Pages: 328
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

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The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington is my first real look into the Liz Carlyle series but this is book seven. So be warned that I’ve not read the other six books so my opinions of this book are only based as a standalone book. Liz Carlyle is a counter terrorism agent for MI5 who is approached by a Russian intelligence officer with some vital information of a cyber-sabotage plot on an American defence program. Liz now has to determine if this is the Russians sabotaging the West’s defences or if this is something much worse.

Stella Rimmington brings all her knowledge to this book as a former MI5 agent and she tries to tangle a story of intrigue and suspense in this novel. But does it work as well as it should? For me I haven’t had much experience with espionage novels so I don’t know what most people would expect from one. For me I often think of James Bond or George Smiley when looking for an espionage novel. The Geneva Trap isn’t as far fetched as an Ian Fleming book and is not as complex as a John le Carré novel, it sits somewhere in the middle which is where I’m lacking in experience with these types of books. I often look for a light high-energy read or something that will make my head hurt when I read spy thrillers. So I’m not too sure I like having a book that falls in the middle.

The Geneva Trap has its fair share of moles and shady intelligence practices but in the end I found the book to feel a little too clichéd and predictable. I also felt like most of the characters in the book were too flat and I never really got to see any dimension in them; this could be a simple fact that this is book seven in the series but I still expect a book to be able to be read as a standalone as well so I would of liked more character development within this one.

Rimmington has put together a good mix of intrigue and action in this spy thriller, I would like to see less predictability and more character development in the future but The Geneva Trap was still an enjoyable book to read. I will definitely be looking to read another one of her books, maybe even in the same series because I did enjoy reading this book even if this review sounds like my issues with the novel outweighed my enjoyment of it. It might have been just my lack of experience or that I should have read the other six first.

Thirst by L.A. Larkin

Posted September 16, 2012 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Thriller / 0 Comments

Title: Thirst (Goodreads)
Author: L.A. Larkin
Published: Pier 9, 2012
Pages: 332
Genres: Thriller
My Copy: ARC from Publisher

Buy: Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

In the harsh environment of the Antarctic, the people of Hope Station are been hunted down. Glaciologist, Luke Searle has to fight for survival against a mercenary that will win at any cost, while trying to prevent an environmental disaster. He only has 5 days to fix this, can he stay alive long enough? Does he really know what he is going up against? L.A. Larkin’s Thirst is an Eco-Thriller set in one of the harshest environments known to man.

Thirst is a fast paced novel that will suck you right in with its constant suspense and the unpredictable elements within this book. The harsh setting of Antarctica and the sense of solitude and danger really helped drive this book and became my favourite element of this book. But there was something in the book that really didn’t sit well with me. This book has one of my Literary Bête Noires in it; the villains. I’ve blogged recently about how I never seem to enjoy cliché villains and unfortunately the fact that the protagonist was up against the Chinese in the book really detracted from my overall enjoyment of this book.

Apart from that one element, this book is a typical thriller, highly enjoyable read with some explosive situations. I’m happy that the book never seemed to go into the realm of formulaic but it did sit on the border and I did feel myself cringe at that thought it might head in that direction. Thankfully Larkin’s was able to recover with her writing style and her research of the environmental aspects of this book. I must admit that towards the end of the book, when I pictured the protagonist Luke Searle, I kept comparing him to Steven Seagal and expected him to act that way.

Thirst was an enjoyable Eco-Thriller which was a lot of fun to read, while I did struggle with the villains being cliché, I did enjoy reading this novel. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good light read. I know many people are going to compare this book to Matthew Riley’s Ice Station but that shouldn’t be deterrent, it’s nice to see a female (why is there a lack of thrillers written by women within Australia?) can write a thriller just as exciting as something written by Riley.