Gideon's War

A Novel

By: Howard Gordon

Narrated by: Carlos Bernard

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Howard Gordon—the longtime executive producer of the hit TV series 24—makes his fiction debut with a tale of political intrigue and international terrorism. Gideon Davis has just 48 hours to bring his rogue agent brother in—before a twisted global conspiracy turns deadly.

GIDEON DAVIS, whose behind-the-scenes negotiating skills have earned him the role of peacemaker in conflicts around the globe, knows more about hush-hush discussions in Capitol corridors than he does about hand-to-hand combat. But his more practical, tactical skills come into play when he’s called on by family friend and government bigwig Earl Parker to chaperone a rogue agent from Southeast Asia to D.C. The agent, Tillman Davis, has promised to turn himself in— but only to his brother, Gideon.

Although the two brothers have been estranged for years, Gideon cannot fathom how his brother could have turned into so ruthless a man. But when the plan for Tillman’s surrender goes awry and Earl Parker is taken hostage, Gideon is forced to embrace his dark side in order to evade hostile locals in war-torn Mohan to make his way to the Obelisk—the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art oil rig that has been seized by terrorists led by Tillman himself. It is with the help of oil rig manager Kate Murphy that Gideon launches an unlikely one-man rescue.

©2011 Teakwood Lane Productions, Inc (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

“True to form of my eight-year experience with Howard Gordon on '24,' Gideon’s War is a rip-roaring thriller.” (Kiefer Sutherland)

"A thrill every clock-ticking minute! From racing through the jungles of Southeast Asia to outsmarting terrorists on a high tech oil rig in a typhoon, Howard Gordon's new international peacemaker Gideon Davis takes saving the world to a new level. Move over Jack Bauer—there’s a new sheriff in town.” (Vince Flynn, New York Times best-selling author of American Assassin)

“Howard Gordon, the man behind 24, makes the transition from screenwriter to novelist look easy with this ahead-of-the-curve thriller.” (Alex Berenson, New York Times best-selling author of The Midnight House)

A Completely Gripping Thrill Ride...

This is exactly what I always hope for in a work of fiction. Grabs me nearly immediately, holds me throughout the story...keeps me guessing, and has me looking for excuses to be able to listen. If there were more novels like this my yard would be pristine, my garage organized and my waist line wafer thin.

This modern day thriller is an excellent first effort (in novel form) by Mr. Gordon. Of course if you are a fan of 24 you would expect nothing less. Classic good versus evil with non-stop drama and hardly a moment to breathe. Just when you think you know what is next there is another twist. The characters are compelling and well developed.

I was a tad worried about Carlos Bernard as our narrator. His portrayal of Tony Almeida is a character with such flat affect most of the time that I was worried that he might sound bored reading the book (ala Brad Pitt's reading of All the Pretty Horses). I listened to the sample and was not convinced that I was incorrect, but the story seemed good enough that I figured it would still be good even if Mr. Bernard was flat. Thankfully, that is not the case at all. He has appropriate enthusiasm, good inflection and a surprisingly (to me) dynamic vocal range and gift for accents. For my money (or listener credit) he actually made the story even more enjoyable than it otherwise might have been.

Love It!

Thank You

I was hooked from chapter one and listened to it from beginning to end without stop. Hope they make a movie with it. Make Carlos Bernard the main character. He did an amazing job with the narration!!

Ok story, horrible narration

The story seemed ok. A bit formulaic if you've seen 24. The shadowy secret forces behind an apparent terrorist attack, etc., etc.. The narration was awful. It did get better near the end. I think Mr. Bernard needs to get more practice before doing another audiobook.

It's hard to evaluate the merits of the story when the narration is not very good.

Excellent. Not since Vince Flynn...

I don't understand the bad reviews. (Many thrillers and mysteries start with promise, but I often get about 1/2 way to 3/4's through, and begin to realize that I'm no longer wondering what's going to happen next, or even curious how it will resolve. And then I stop listening. Admittedly, I have a short attention span. But I never don't finish a book by Vince Flynn or Barry Eisler. I've liked most of the John Connelly, and Joseph Finder books.) So if these authors ring a bell for you, you'll probably like this book as much as I did.
....It kept me involved from the beginning to the very last minute. It was interesting, suspenseful, and kept my attention (which isn't easy). Really enjoyed it. I look forward to the next work by Howard Gorden. He's on my short list. .....(Regarding the narrator, I was a little concerned, as was another reviewer, with Carlos Bernard's rather low key style, but he did do very well with some of the character voices, and I think overall, he did an excellent job bringing the book to life.)

oilfield operator.

loved it,. narrator could be a little more exciting but loved both the story and the narrator. very well done.

Carlos Bernard is pretty flat.

I was actually interested in hearing carlos bernhards reading.. In my experience with audiobooks I'm beginning to realize that the narrator is actually very important to my enjoyment of the book. At first glance the job of narrator might seem easy -- but I suspect its quite difficult. I assumed that an actor was a good indicator of a good narrator.

I was wrong... he is pretty flat and for a thriller this is bad -- he seldom changes the pace of narration and seldom changes his inflection... its nice if the narrator sounds excited at exciting bits etc... Carlos just couldn't seem to muster the excitement... just as an FYI I enjoy Dick Hill -- who reads a lot of the Jack Reacher books... hopefully that will help you assess my review :-)

The story is reasonable .. not amazing but no harm -- I suspect I would have enjoyed this book in paperback..

More Gideon

If you like excellent descriptions of terrific action, you will enjoy this book. Many times I found myself immersed in the book to the point I found myself holding my breath, especially during the diving parts. Very fun read. Gideon is a strong player I want to see more of. I will listen to the next one when it comes out, hopefully soon!!! Well Done Mr. Gordon

Want more!!!!

I loved this book. I can't wait for the next book by this author whether it be a serial or a whole new story line. Great read or listen.

Vince Flynn recommended so I read it!

I really enjoyed the book and it kept me guessing the whole way. There was character development wound into the story which was great. I loved it and was very happy for the direction to download from my absolute favorite author.

thriller junkie

Decent listen. somewhat predictable. I would expect more twists and turns coming from Howard Gordon.