The Lions of Lucerne

By: Brad Thor

Narrated by: Armand Schultz

Length: 15 hrs and 23 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 as one man is pushed to the edge.

On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has just become a nightmarish reality: 30 Secret Service agents have been viciously executed and the vacationing president of the United States kidnapped by one of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the Middle East - the Fatah Revolutionary Council.

But surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath doesn't believe the Fatah Revolutionary Council is responsible for the attack. Driven by his professional code of duty and honor, Harvath 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 Harvath poses to their hidden agenda...men who will do anything to stop him.

Framed for murder and on the run, Harvath takes his own brand of justice to the towering mountains of Switzerland where 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.

©2012 Brad Thor (P)2012 Simon & Schuster, Inc

Critic Reviews

"Bottom line: Lions roars." ( People)

Great Scott Harvath

I'm a huge fan of Brad Thor and the Scott Harvath series. I've listened to just about all of the series before going back to this first one. Having listened to the others, this one doesn't feel as polished as the others, but that makes sense for the first in the series.

The story is typical for the Harvath series, good details and building up of the characters. It doesn't have the strength of following books but it's still a Thor so it's a great listen!

The story line is a bit far fetched with the details of the President's kidnapping; what was done to him and where he was held. I won't share details to spoil the story! But the rest of the story makes up for it.

Had I followed this in order I would still have continued on to the future books in the series and been happily surprised as they only continued to get better and better.

71 of 77 people found this review helpful

Not a Great Book - Clearly First in Series

Armand Schultz does a nice job with a poorly written book. I have read every book in the Scott Harvath series, but they don't come close to Mitch Rapp series or Tom Clancy's work. I read these when I can't find anything else for this genre. The Harvath series is like a blunt instrument, while the others are precision instruments. That said, I still read them. Among the Harvath series, this is the weakest. In fairness to Thor, the character was still being developed, and I don't think he was totally clear where he was going to take it. If you love this genre like I do, read it after you have exhausted everything else (including the other Harvath books). While I prefer to read stories in order, this one is pretty lame.

48 of 52 people found this review helpful

Trite story about a "super" Seal

I found this book to be farfetched and trite. The characters were shallow and often dumb. Imagine a highly trained Navy Seal mouthing off to every authority figure that comes along and then going renegade to solve the problem of the president's kidnapping. Along the way he gets more breaks and second chances to fix mistakes than a reasonable reader should expect. I read one review that said that the Harvath series improved as the writer became more polished. I may try a library download to check this out but will not purchase another book until I've tried out other books. Hopefully I will find that the author has improved. In conclusion, I would recommend readers to thrillers such as early Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, or Martin Cruz Smith.

36 of 39 people found this review helpful

Torture

What disappointed you about The Lions of Lucerne?

Pure torture listening to this dialog. My condolences to the narrator. He must have been ill having to speak those lines. Oh My God it was bad! But somehow I made it to the end. And yes the plot is predictable!

Would you be willing to try another book from Brad Thor? Why or why not?

No way!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The author appears to have done his fact homework. Only a few minor agonies there.

24 of 26 people found this review helpful

Bad guys can't shoot straight

What would have made The Lions of Lucerne better?

Believable assassins

What was most disappointing about Brad Thor’s story?

In every scene involving gunfire, so-called highly trained mercenaries spray our hero and friends with withering automatic weapons fire. . .AND CAN'T HIT A THING! And these are guys who carry out a precision abduction of the President? Do they throw grenades or use any other weapons a trained soldier would have at his disposal? Nope.

Their ineptitude is unbelievable, literally so.

Have you listened to any of Armand Schultz’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Yes, it means I won't waste any of my credits on Brad Thor's books.

Any additional comments?

I'm sorry I bought Path of the Assassin before listening to this.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Unbelievably Unbelieveable!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book actually would have been for me if it weren't so ridiculous. I can not believe Brad Thor actually wrote it. The story line is stretched out, it seems just to make the book longer, by some of the most mind numbing, stupid dialog I have ever heard. The characters are not believable, and most of the situations are impossible. I have listened MANY Brad Thor books, and again, I can not believe he wrote this one. It is terrible!

Would you ever listen to anything by Brad Thor again?

I think Brad Thor is an excellent author. I think this book is a huge exception to that rule. I will listen to the next one in the series just because is MUST better than this one.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Armand Schultz?

Armand Schultz is not my favorite narrator, and I don't believe his style is particularly suited to this book, but given what he had to work with, I think he did a very good job. I would listen to more books narrated by him.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Total disappointment.

Any additional comments?

I would never recommend this book or author to anyone except that I know Brad Thor has written much better Harvath books, and to make the most of the series it is probably worth listening to for that reason alone... if you can stand to wade through all of the nonsense.

27 of 30 people found this review helpful

Did not like this book...

What would have made The Lions of Lucerne better?

Better writing...

Has The Lions of Lucerne turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

How could the performance have been better?

More expression in his voice... very dead pan.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Lions of Lucerne?

There so much unnecessary detail that could have been left out.

Any additional comments?

This is the only book I have listened to by this author so my comments are limited to this one book. Poor writing and performance as well.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Shallow. Disappointing.

What would have made The Lions of Lucerne better?

The plot was shallow. Slow

What do you think your next listen will be?

Unknown

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Armand Schultz?

Narrator was okay.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Lions of Lucerne?

Difficult to say. The story line was disappointing.

Any additional comments?

Not one of Thor's best.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

train wreck

Would you try another book from Brad Thor and/or Armand Schultz?

no

What was most disappointing about Brad Thor’s story?

Hackneyed writing. Too perfect "hero"

What aspect of Armand Schultz’s performance would you have changed?

I might be holding the horrible writing against this guy's performance....

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I've written better

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If I'd bought a different book, that would have been MUCH better

Would you ever listen to anything by Brad Thor again?

not likely. he's too predictable. anywhere the main character Could trip, he did. the bad guy stayed JUST out of reach the entire book, and was only saved at the last moment by Spec Ops that wasn't mention ANYWHERE else in the book.

What aspect of Armand Schultz’s performance would you have changed?

I would have given him a book worth reading

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Lions of Lucerne?

I wouldn't have published the book. OR I would have put it in the 'Young Readers' bin where it belongs, because no adult could seriously enjoy this novice attempt.

Any additional comments?

I know a little bit about guns... the author seems like he's Talked to people that know a little bit about guns. half the shots his main character misses just because "it's more dramatic that way..." but not realistic. then he turns around and makes near impossible shots just because. the guys as close as you can get to a super hero. Olympic Athlete, Navy Seal, Secret Service Agent, and more than a little paranoid, not to mention too macho to back down and NOT cause a fight with fellow agents.

real life doesn't work that way. and Brad Thor's main character is pushed beyond believability. Tom Clancy's characters are REAL, you get them. they could be your neighbors (and that would be Cool!) but Brad Thors main character? he's a Mary Sue. Near perfect at everything but trips and stumbles and JUST misses because it makes for a longer book of just missing and stumbling.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

rubbish don't waist your time

what an awfull book. Shallow characters, too much useless detail. An all American hero story. completely unbelievable ! narrator was fine until he had to do foreign accents. I will never read a book by this author again.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

not a bad book

first book I've listened to. I was ok on to book number two straight away

Interesting twist of a Potus kidnap

Scott is a strong character who you get to like quickly. The other "players" are written well. I enjoyed the fact that things went wrong as the book progressed and the handling of apparent mistakes. Gave it a realism that was good. Satisfying end.

Brad Thor brings us to our world as it really is

If you could sum up The Lions of Lucerne in three words, what would they be?

Best thriller yet

What did you like best about this story?

This is the world today. It can happen in a flash and we are at war with the Jihadists that want to kill all the infidels. That includes the whole of America.
They are bringing the war to us and we have to destroy these evil people.
I quote Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing! "
It is time to strike back we need more men like Scott Horvath to keep The USA safe.

Which character – as performed by Armand Schultz – was your favourite?

Scott Horvath

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once begun it's a captivating story that you can't put down. I finished it in less than a week.

Any additional comments?

We need people to know that what Brad Thor writes is the truth about the world we live in.
Just look around, Paris, Isis in the USA carrying out Lone Wolfe attacks. Unfortunately there are more to come and Brad Thor hits it right on the head of the nail.
We need to listen what the author writes about, it is more fact than fiction.

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where does The Lions of Lucerne rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

na

What other book might you compare The Lions of Lucerne to, and why?

na

Which scene did you most enjoy?

na

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

na

Any additional comments?

I must say that Brad Thor is an epic author and Armand Schultz is the best author so far

0 of 3 people found this review helpful