Clayton

Cool details about heists
Unfortunately the plot is muddled and the character does not hold together

the character should be more consistent and the plot less complex

the narration was painfully slow but the narrator has a terrific voice

not a chance

it is a mystery to me Why this book has received so much press

great premise, agonizingly slow. The earlier version of this book was much, much better than this new one, with all of the extras. It slows a terrific story down to a crawl.... Also, if you know anything about firearms, this book will make you roll your eyes. To wit: in 1990, the US Army was not using the .45 automatic or the Thompson sub-machine gun. The M-16 is a rifle, not a carbine. There was never a rifle call the M-3 in 1990. Etc...etc... The Devil is in the details.

This author seems to understand just about nothing when it comes to the military, tactics, training, weapons, etc...And given that that represents half the book I can't believe the editors let him get away with it. Well, maybe not SO surprising. The protagonist is variously described as 6'4" and 6'5" so somebody was not paying attention. What really galls me is that very big men do NOT become Marine Corps scout/snipers. Stealth and concealment are 3/4's of the game. And they sure don't get the training to kick down doors and fight tactical battles inside structures, with suppressed hand guns no less. Those would be SEALS and Delta, who get real handgun training. Snipers don't. Period. Not that anybody with any military experience would choose handguns over a rifle or submachine gun or shotgun. It's ludicrous. And big men don't use 9mms. You use the biggest round that you can control. Always. And back to suppressors(silencers). Nobody uses a suppressed 9mm outside the movies. It's terrible for the balance of the gun, reduces accuracy, AND requires a weaker, sub-sonic round. Nobody would ever choose a weaker round, especially for a 9mm which had medium stopping power. Silencers also don't work very well unless you are using specialized weapons that integrate them into barrel. OK, enough of that horse. How is this one? Marines are not the same as Special Forces as the protagonist asserts, despite the fact that in the opening sequence you have a Marine carrying out the type of mission that only CIA -Special Activities Division, Special Forces, Seals Team Six, or Delta would carry out, and never by just one man.

Now as to the plot. Sort of interesting, if kind of obvious. And the writing is not bad. If only the author had done a little homework and maybe gone to the range once or twice and talked to an old soldier...Sigh...

this book is an ode to style. Not to say that substance is lacking although the characters are not particularly credible. But oh the style. In the same vein perhaps as James Ellroy and almost in the same league. That's high praise...

A lot of imagination went into this book and Fosyth is a fine writer. He also gives you an extraordinary window into the world of cocaine production and distribution. Still, the characters don't really hold up and there are plot holes that are too big to be reasonably set aside. Read it if you love his work, otherwise, there's better stuff out there on Audible.

i'm a difficult reader to please but Mark Greaney has done it again. Like his previous, first work, Greaney packs this thriller with speed, suspense, and incredible imagination. This time he also adds an element of global politics. The gray man will constantly surprise you again. Also, if you are a fan of the more technical aspects of a good thriller, Greaney knows his weapons and machines and the types of backgrounds and training that go into becoming a CIA SAD operatives. Worth the money and time.

It's hard when your favorite author puts out a book which is just simply so tedious you can't finish. I believe Cornwell is nothing short of a genius so I cannot imagine why he chose to use as a story line a particularly unimportant piece of history and then have no character driven drama aound it.

I'm mystified,

It is a truly dismal when as fine a writer as crichton drops down to barely readable. Granted this is an enormous change from most of his previous science fiction based work. But it is nonetheless shocking that he can produce a novel so distinctly inferior to previous work. There is a little originality here and there, but much of this book falls into the category of naval fiction, in which many other writers have distinguished themselves to a far greater degree. This book wasn't so bad that I stopped listening to it, but if someone had told me ten years ago that this is where michael crichton would have ended up, I wouldn't have believed them.

This novel is not in the same league as earlier work. The plots are thrown together and although all is made well in the end, you feel that the author just wanted to finish it all in a hurry. The characters are also astonishingly poorly drawn, with no depth at all. Spend your money elsewhere,,,

After over one hundred happy downloads from Audible, this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review. For all you other John Rain fans, AVOID this train wreck. It has none of the fascination of Eisler's earlier novels. The family drama between the two brothers occupies a mind-numbing one third of this book. I cannot describe how boring this novel was. I only finished it out of some hope that it could finally come to some kind of reasonable outcome. The plot, characters and dialogue are so wretched I cannot figure out how any editor or agent let Eisler publish this. The only tiny bright spot is a little of the type of action sequences of the Rain series. Anyway, I am horrified and disappointed that such a great series of previous novels now culminates in such drivel. Barry, if you ever read this, as they say in Japanese, hontoni warukatta!ti t