The Lions of Lucerne

By: Brad Thor

Narrated by: Armand Schultz

Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In a daring and chilling debut, Brad Thor draws us into a sinister labyrinth of political intrigue and international terrorism, serving up an explosive cocktail of unrelenting action and a shattering climax, as one man is pushed to the edge.

On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has just become a nightmarish reality. Thirty Secret Service agents have been viciously executed, and the vacationing president of the United States has kidnapped by one of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the Middle East, the dreaded Fatah.

But one man, surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath, doesn't believe the Fatah is responsible for the attack. Driven by his professional code of duty and honor, and a solemn vow to avenge his fallen comrades, Scot creates his own rules to get some answers. But his search for the truth raises the blood pressure of his superiors... and casts his own life in mortal jeopardy. The deadly machinations have been set in motion by a shadowy coalition, comprising some of the highest-ranking officials in government and business, men who operate above the law, men who realize the threat Scot poses to their hidden agenda...men who will do anything to stop him.

Now framed for murder and on the run, Scot goes for broke and takes his own brand of justice to the unlikeliest place of all, the towering mountains of Switzerland. It is there that he finds an improbable ally in the beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. Together they must brave the subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatus, and enter the den of the most notorious team of professional killers the world has ever known.

Don't miss more from Brad Thor.

©2002 Brad Thor. All rights reserved (P)2002 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A hot read for a winter night." (People)
"High-voltage entertainment reminiscent of Robert Ludlum and David Morrell." (Library Journal)
"Schultz's tense, energetic reading builds the suspense and drama of Thor's strong plot of political intrigue and international terrorism. Fans of Ludlum-style action will be satisfied." (AudioFile)

Non stop action

Exciting book with a lot of action and well developed characters. I also enjoyed the narrator Armand Schultz very well done.

would have been excellent if it wasn't abridged

I wasted a credit on the abridged version. watch out, if you don't want to miss most of the action, look for the real one!

Great listen

This was my first book by Brad Thor and I was pleasantly suprised. Very much a thriller to the very end. I'm looking for the rest of Thor's series with Harvath to see what new trouble he can get into.

I really enjoyed it

This is worth the listen to. I was glad I found a new adventure book. Thor does a good job, the book moves along at a good pace. I recommend

Lions of lucerne disappointing

Story moves along nicely, But Finish was aanti-climactic
Too much . Much emphasis on LGBT theme Beginning.

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Great start to the series!

This was fun, but the abridgment made it a lighter read than expected. Still a great intro into the series, which I hope turns out like the Vince Flynn novels.

Early Thor is good Thor

I really enjoyed this. Brad Thor does a good job of keeping the reader/listener engaged. I like the areas this book is set in.

Rough Beginnings

Any additional comments?

First, the technical production here is lacking, with large gaps of dead air at the end of each chapter (some lasting 45 seconds). Maybe this is due to the "Abridged" nature of the book. While we're on that subject, who does an abridged novel like this? I didn't notice it was abridged when I bought it, unfortunately, and that may be why I had such a problem with the story as discussed below.Second, the performance is underwhelming. Having listened to many audio books, including Thor's Blowback, there are much better narrators out there. His accents aren't bad, it's the general reading voice that isn't that pleasing or interesting.Spoiler alert. Third, this story (the first in the Horvath series) has more holes than Swiss Cheese. It's unbelievable from the beginning, starting with a mention of, but no further discussion or resolution of, the President's tracking device. Not one person looking for the kidnapped president ever even asks about it? Unbelievable. Also not believable is the depth to which the conspiracy supposedly goes. Head of the secret service, a key FBI agent, etc. Then there are the non-stop stream of bad guys with guns, like some bad 80's video game.Next, this book is cut from the same "bad guys can't shoot" mold as Rambo and the A-Team. I can't even count the number of times our hero and his companions are shot at and missed. This is all the more implausible given the bad guys' almost perfect kidnapping at the beginning. So they're perfect enough to pull off that unrealistic crime but can't shoot to save their lives (literally)? And yes, I know Scott takes one round through the arm, which gives the bad guys a 0.1% accuracy rating. A blind monkey would have done better.Additionally, our hero does some really dumb things, such as leaving all his high-powered weapons laying on the ground and running away from a dying guy his companion just stabbed in the neck. No one else there, no imminent danger, no reason not to collect the weapons at their feet that they just lugged up the side of a mountain (apparently not to be used at all), but we are apparently scared of blood so we're just going to run. Then our hero has left only two rounds in his Beretta despite the fact he hadn't shot it since taking a box of 9mm ammo before beginning his assault. Is Brad telling us he forgot to load his "clips" (they're called magazines Brad) before climbing up the mountain to assault the fortress? And this guy's a SEAL?This last plot hole is apparently necessary to make sure Scott is unarmed when facing his final opponent in the cell, but it's clearly unfinished, lazy writing [or bad abridging]. And why is Scott never checking his six? Why can't he hear anyone sneaking up behind him, ever? These holes will make you shake your head, laugh out loud and yell at the book (in that order). Oh, and the old, tired "no one listens to the one guy who knows what's really going on" plot device is front and center here. Everyone in the chain of command who's not dirty won't even let Scott finish his sentences, much less explain his theories and/or evidence. And why didn't Scott copy or email his report the night he was betrayed? So careful on some occasions, so blindly stupid in others. You will ask these questions over and over. I'm willing to give Thor another chance because this is his first effort, but it's amateurish at best, and the editor was clearly sleeping on the job here.

What is Missing?

I thought the narration was very good and I liked the story - I just found myself thinking something was missing. MY mistake. I try never to order abridged versions of anything. In haste I got an abridged story. Otherwise I enjoyed the book. These books are difficult to reduce down and it was probably done as well as it could be done. Sooooo - recognizing it as an abridged edition, I would rate it quite good.

You cant go wrong with Brad Thor

My first book was Full Black, i loved it.

The Lions of Lucerne was just as good. I am a Thor fan for life now.

I dont have a long drawn out review for this book other than to say it was great. It moved quickly and had some great twists.