Power Down

Dewey Andreas, Book 1

By: Ben Coes

Narrated by: Peter Hermann

Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Introducing a major new thriller writer—in the vein of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor—and an electrifying character, Dewey Andreas.

A major North American hydroelectric dam is blown up and the largest off-shore oil field in this hemisphere is destroyed in a brutal, coordinated terrorist attack. But there was one factor that the terrorists didn't take into account when they struck the Capitana platform off the coast of Colombia—slaughtering much of the crew and blowing up the platform—and that was the Capitana crew chief Dewey Andreas. Dewey, former Army Ranger and Delta, survives the attack, rescuing as many of his men as possible. But the battle has just begun.

While the intelligence and law enforcement agencies scramble to untangle these events and find the people responsible, the mysterious figure of Alexander Fortuna—an agent embedded into the highest levels of American society and business—sets into play the second stage of these long-planned attacks. The only fly in the ointment is Dewey Andreas—who is using all his long-dormant skills to fight his way off the platform, then out of Colombia and back to the U.S., following the trail of terrorists and operatives sent to stop him. Power Down is a gripping, compelling debut thriller from Ben Coes, a powerful new author, an amazing talent certain to join the ranks of the genre's finest writers.

©2010 Ben Coes (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Power Down is terrific! With a gripping story, compelling characters, a relentless pace and nerve-wracking suspense, Power Down is one of the must-read thrillers of the year. Don't miss this debut of novelist Ben Coes and the introduction of Dewey Andreas--you'll devour this one and wait anxiously for their return.” —Vince Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Pursuit of Honor

“A ripping thriller from an exciting new novelist. Power Down kept me glued, turning the pages. Lots of action, a terrific hero, and a slimy villain--thrillers don't get any better.” —Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Disciple

What a story

Great audio book! The author had a few mistakes but other than that, I really enjoyed it.

Bought Next In Series Before Even Finishing

For a while I was getting burnt out on mystery/suspense thrillers. They seem to be repetitive, predictable, or lacked clever plots, not until I took a chance on “Power Down”. Luckily the high ratings truly reflected quality of book. Excellent writing, no dragging out with useless information, characters well-developed, and so much more. Couldn’t stop listening.

Great book

Well written with good characters. Moves through plot angles well. Scary part is this could happen with government more worried about gender than security.

WOW.COULD NOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN. MUST READ!

I must admit to being a bit jaded when it comes to action/mystery/thrillers. I have listened to literally hundreds of books on audible and this is my favorite of this genre. All I can say is,"Flynn, Clancy, Baldacci, and all you other favorite authors of mine, watch out! Ben Coes had outdone you all.
I have a habit of looking for errors, gross exaggerations, etc-especially if the book spends anytime on areas of my particular expertise-law, energy, wall street finance, etc. I did not find one mistake(of course, that does not mean there aren't any. As fantastic as some of the plot lines may seem, they all get tied up nicely with an end result of a heavy dose of realism and a very scary view of what could happen in America. However, as interesting as the Terrorism story line is-far more exciting to me is the way Coes makes these characters seem so very human. It is as thou I am in the story myself. The lead characters are shown as normal people with the same foibles anyone might possess-and I am talking people in the top echelon of our government. I thought I was ease dropping on conversations taking place among leaders of FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. I guess our government isn't very different from our corporate environments-same old, same old with the backstabbing, upstaging, etc. I enjoyed these meetings between top leaders of our gov/t almost as much as the non-stop action going on the same time. This was something else I truly loved about this first effort by Coes(it certainly wont be his last, if this one is any indication!)-it is multifaceted. One moment something is about to blow up, has blown up, may blow up, with believeable actions and consequences. The next moment, I am trying to figure out if the investment scenarios make sense. This is one tightly written book. No fillers. No boredom. And excellent research. And we are left with serious issues to contemplate afterwards. So-in a nutshell-Fun, exciting ride with a compelling message.

Kept my Ipod Powered Up non-stop!

I couldn't put this one down. What a great listen! From the very start to the very end I didn't want to stop listening even to go to sleep at night. Felt like my earbuds were going to become glued to my ears. Highly recommend this for anyone who likes action thrillers. The only disappointment is that this author doesn't seem to have any other audiobooks for me to buy. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book. Better than Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Tom Clancy, other authors I've listened to.

Torn from the headlines! Gripping, fast moving!

When terrorists attack Americas newest oil rig, destroy the worlds largest hydro-electric dam, aiming to destroy the core of Americas energy supply system, the FBI and CIA are clueless where to find the terrorists. In walks Dewey Andreas, the newest super espionage kid on the block. Blowing up the oil rig that he is charged with protecting and running, is the last thing the terrorists want to do...they just don't know it yet. While America struggles to grasp what is happening, few people realize that this is just the start of the attacks. With many more calculated attacks planned on the core of America, is there anyone who can stop the terrorists before they start the ball rolling inevitably toward the financial demise of America. With many more sophisticated attacks from imbeded terrorist cells across the country, it looks grim for America.

Wake up the sleeping dragon...Dewey is out to stop it and get to the bottom of this huge terrorist plot. Watch out Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp, Dewey Andreas is in town. If you are a Vince Flynn fan, make room on your Ipod for Ben Coes. Power Down is a fast-paced, action packed page turner from this new author. Peter Hermann does an excellent job narrating this fast paced story, with excellent accents, pace and power in a voice that rings out for retribution for these heinous attacks on the core of America!! Burned through this fast paced listen in 2 days, and left me wanting more from Ben Coes!

Very good but starts slowly

My only complaint about this book is that the narrator speaks very slowly at the start. He warms up as the story warms up, and at that point, this novel becomes fast-paced and exciting. The story is tight and interesting and deals with very topical issues.

Some small warnings: 1) the torture scenes are pretty graphic and also frequent in the second half of the book. 2) injuries of all kinds are also handled graphically.

At the end of the novel, the primary hero and primary villain take on superhero/super-villain qualities, and that might be irritating, but I thought that was in line with the genre.

Expect more in this series. The very end of this book sets up a next one.

ARRGGHH Why can't we give 1/2 stars? Or 9 outof 10

BLUF - Not quite a Vince Flynn/Mitch Rapp Novel but an awesome start and I'm anxiously awaiting the next book.

Plot: I was a little concerned at first because the book didn't grab me until about two hours in but after that it was one heck of a ride. Since the summary referenced Vince Flynn I was expecting that type of storyline where the book follows one main character and you pretty much see everything from their eyes. While Dewey Andreas is the Mitch Rapp equivalent this book was written from many different points of view and I didn't get the feeling (until maybe the very end) that this might/could be a series. Yes, as one "critic" wrote this is an American vs Arabic style book, however it has a different spin and I can't fault the author for his choice. Without getting into the politics it would be like writing a book about the Nazi's after WWII. No one is implying that all Arabs are terrorists just like everyone knows not all Germans were Nazis. It's just a book tailored to times we live in.

Narrator: This is the first book I've listened to with Peter Herman and I felt he did a good job. Good voice inflection/changes for the different characters though some of his foreign accents could use a little work. Something that will hopefully come with more Ben Coes novels!!!

Very timely story

I really enjoyed this Audible book. It brings home just how vulnerable our power sources are.
The characters are very well developed, actually delving into the mindset of those who hate our American way of life, as well as how patient they may be to destroy that way of life.
There is quite a bit of graphic violence and cursing.
But if you enjoy a story that could be today’s headlines I believe this story will keep you enthralled.

Hocked!

Where does Power Down rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am a big fan of audible and audio books, but Power Down is one of the better I have heard in a long time. I was hooked with 10 minutes.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Power Down?

Dewey's trip to the pumping station and his will to live.

What about Peter Hermann’s performance did you like?

His voice drew me in to the story! My son loves listening to books with me on the drive to and from school/work and he asked me every morning if we could put the book back on.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several moments in the story

Any additional comments?

Great story! If you are looking for a new series to follow, this is it!