Customer Reviews

The Black Silent

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Scientist Ben Anderson is on to something - something apparently worth killing for, and now he's on the run from some nasty characters backed by a corporate syndicate with seemingly endless resources.

In a nutshell, there are some microbes living under intense pressure, deep underwater, where the water is black and silent, quietly going about their business making tons of methane, and living a lot longer than they should.

As the story goes, these vast methane deposits are simmering down there, waiting to be tapped for energy, or for the next cataclysmic disaster, whichever comes first. Under the right circumstances, there's the possibility of blowing the earth to kingdom come, but the main focus for Ben and his secret society is discovering the secret of longer life. As a side project, Ben is doing the "scientist-playing-God" thing, fiddling with DNA and microbe genes, and experimenting with a trusting giant octopus that hasn't been told that his reproductive days are over.

Ben's adopted daughter Haley Walthers has been framed by the same big corporation, and when she gets a strange call from Ben, she falls headlong into a fight for her life against the psychopathic Officer Frick and his minions, who are trying to uncover Ben's secrets under the umbrella of the corporation. What Frick doesn't count on is Haley's guardian angel Sam Wintripp, Ben's nephew, and full fledged ex-secret agent who majored in survival.

Heavy on the action and even heavier on the science, some parts of this book will make your head spin, and some parts will have you turning the pages without breathing as the man and microbe hunt spirals out of control. The heroics of the once wheelchair-bound long suffering hero are a tad overdone, and you can't help but think that the author had it in for this character big time. His strength and perseverance seem endless, despite insurmountable odds, deadly enemies and a haunted past, and the romance subplot never amounts to anything much more than a plot device.

Never-the-less, this book provides much food for thought, and should satisfy readers looking for an adrenaline fix.


Amanda Richards, September 10, 2005

In Washington State marine biologist Dr. Ben Anderson conducts research into organic molecules at the Sanker Foundation though this is his last weekend there. He did not like the brass accusing his adopted daughter Haley Walthers of stealing the ideas of other scientists and he does not trust the security chief Frick from stealing his work on organic molecular structure impacting on youth retention. Thugs accost Ben in his facility.

Haley, who was fired and currently owns a bike shop on one of the Puget Sound islands, is worried about her mentor since she has not heard from him recently and he has been very secretive. She and Ben's assistant Sarah visit his nephew retired private espionage guru Sam Wintripp on San Juan Island to see what he knows. Sam knows as much as the two ladies: nothing. However, Ben's anxious message on Haley's cell phone puts the retired operative back into the field to try to rescue his uncle. Neither he nor Haley is prepared for a nasty corporation that will do anything to own the fountain of youth.

THE BLACK SILENT is an exciting suspense thriller that grips the audience from the moment that Ben barely escapes an undersea attack and never blinks until the final confrontation with an avaricious corporation headed by immoral individuals. Though the enemy seems so depraved that they seem more suited for a fantasy tale than a chilling thriller, readers will enjoy the action that never decelerates. While Ben's caring efforts to prolong the quality of life is about to be abused, fans will root for Sam and Haley to rescue him and save the world.

Harriet Klausner

David Dun's The Black Silent starts well: a diver, his air hose slashed, struggles with an attacker in the murky waters off the San Juan Islands. The diver is a scientist, Ben Anderson, who's discovered something people will kill for. When he disappears his adopted daughter Haley and her would-be love interest Sam, a former covert operative, follow the cryptic clues Ben's left behind to discover what he was working on--a complex mix of anti-aging formula and an alternative energy source. Together they riffle through filing cabinets and break into houses and drive boats dangerously fast, all while being pursued and occasionally shot at by the book's chief bad guy, Garth Frick, and his band of hired thugs.

Dun's book could have been a nail-biter, but it falls short, principally because the characters are not sufficiently developed. Frick, for example, is painted as a malevolent entity who pursues his quarry single-mindedly, but we don't know precisely what motivates him--other than his banal interest in money, a kind of all-purpose motivator. Haley and Sam are given more personality, but they are not as fully developed as they might be. We are not always told what the characters' immediate goals are, so that the plot can be confusing. The too-long chase scenes wind up lacking suspense both because we don't know what the protagonists are attempting to achieve and because we don't quite like them enough to care whether they achieve it.

With better character development, further editing of some rough spots in the narrative, and the excision of perhaps a hundred pages, The Black Silent could have been a taut thriller. Dun is a bestselling author, and it's possible that these flaws are the result of the book being rushed to market. Readers may be interested in checking out his earlier books.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

This book straddles the line between an ordinary, based in this world thriller and the world of science fiction, with an investigation into both the hows and consequences of greatly extended life-spans.

Starting from the promise held out by recent research into deep-sea anaerobic bacteria, we follow the trials and tribulations of Ben Anderson, a scientist who has unlocked at least part of the secrets to extending life. Such knowledge is dangerous: everyone wants what he has, and many are not too scrupulous about how they get it. From page one we are dropped into the action, as Ben is attacked while diving, then chased from his laboratory, then `kidnapped' at his boat. His friends, Haley Walthers and Sam Wintripp (of his earlier books Overfall and Unacceptable Risk), are quickly drawn into the action.

The action continues non-stop, with Sgt Frick as the ultimate nemesis, a near psychopath who has managed to get into a powerful position as temporary head of the local police force, tries everything to capture the three and learn Ben's secrets. In fact, the action is so non-stop that it becomes a problem - there is no stopping for reflection, little time for full character development, a sense of highly risky decisions made by the various people without a good enough look at their natures to see why they are making such decisions, and some of the events take on an aura of improbability. This would certainly make a good action movie, but perhaps for the book a little more 'quiet time' would have helped. But the action sequences themselves are well thought-out, and can certainly provide both thrills and frights to the reader.

The science in this book is real (up to the final revelations, where it definitely enters the realm of science fiction), frightening and exhilarating, and points to exciting areas of research that just may end up benefiting everyone. But unfortunately a lot this material is dumped on the reader in snippets and blocks that are not very well integrated with the story. Also, there are places where some good editing could have been used - there are occasional instances of fractured syntax and inappropriate word use, restatements of an item mentioned just a few pages previously, and other such glitches that should have been caught.

Thematically, however, this book does well in showing a scientist who not only discovers something new, but thinks about what the consequences of his discoveries are, and actually does something (however wrong-headed or Pollyannaish) to manage those consequences.

Not a thinking man's book (unless you actually do a little more reading about the scientific aspects of it), but entertaining, and will definitely fulfill your quota of 'action' for the day.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Ben Anderson is a brilliant marine scientist working for the Sanker corporation headquartered in Washington State. He's discovered a secret at the bottom of the ocean floor that holds great promise for humankind, but also poses the most grave threats. Unfortunately, not everyone is as well-intentioned as Dr. Anderson, especially Security Officer Frick and his agents, who have been promised enormous profits to kill Ben and steal his secrets. Haley Walthers, who was raised by Dr. Anderson, knows he's in trouble, and calls upon retired private investigator Sam Wintripp for help. Together, they learn Dr. Anderson' secrets and embark on his rescue. These are the main characters and the central plot structure in a brilliantly crafted scientific thriller. I dare not say too much more because you deserve to read it yourself.

The thriller genre is swarming with luke warm efforts from formulaic writers who have been "mailing it in" for years. Dun is different. Each of his efforts are painstakingly researched and carefully plotted, and he never takes the intelligence of his readers for granted. His characters are unique, and he has a certain gift for creating villans that can invade your nightmares for years. The Black Silent is no exception, but it's even better than his other impressive works. Mr. Dun's
first book, Necessary Evil, had a simple straigt-line plot that strapped you in, took off, and dropped you off -- exhausted -- on the last page. The Black Silent is similar to his first effort in that grabs you at the start, whether you're ready or not, and forces frantic page turning until the very end. But it's better than Necessary Evil because the scientific premises are truly fascinating, better researched, and more believable. In fact, it is the science in this book, and its promise, that distinguishes this book from his others. Also, the San Juan Islands provide an interesting location for all of the action in The Black Silent, and Dun is clearly at home in his descriptions of the area.

If you're looking for a great summer read, you can't go wrong with The Black Silent, an original, enthralling scientific thriller. This is the best thriller I've read in a long time, and it's Dun's best book yet.

Dunn catches the reader off guard and pushes them into a pool filled with harrowing obstacles, near escapes, exciting chases, and witty characters. Dialogue is intelligent and believeable, each character serves a purpose, the mystery is thick enough to be plausible, suspense is present in each chapter. The pace is swift and deadly, and the mission/goal of the characters clear and easily sympathized with. The plight is believable and not dopey, while the ending wraps up the entire battle quite expertly. If this book does have flaws, it's that the character of Sam is a bit unbelievable in his abilities to overcome so much, and that the villain is a bit 'too bad'. Overall though, a great read, highly recommended, and a must for suspense fans.

Make sure you have time to finish this book, because you won't be able to put it down. Everything happens at an incredible pace, I felt like I had run a marathon when I was finished.

Dr. Ben Anderson is working for the Sanker Corporation as a scientist. His adopted daughter Haley Walthers worked with him, but was fired from Sanker after being accused of stealing other scientist's work. Sanker Corp is located in the beautiful Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Puget Sound. During a routine dive to check on Glaucus, a very special octopus, Ben is attacked and nearly killed. The pace is set.

Ben tries to send Haley a warning as he attempts to flee his attackers, and save his research data from the wrong hands. Sanker Corp, owned by Henry Gardner Sanker, has its own security force headed by the psychopathic Officer Frick. Ben has never trusted Frick and knows him to be behind his attack. All he needs to know now is why, and how to stay alive.

Ben's nephew Sam Wintripp is used to shady dealings, recuperating from almost fatal wounds in the San Juan's that he received in the line of duty. Sam bumps into Haley at the same time he notices strangers on the island. Haley receives Ben's garbled call and heads off to Sanker to check on him. What she finds at Sanker is an irate Officer Frick who locks her in a closet. Sam worries when Haley doesn't return his call, and sets out for Sanker himself, to check on her.

Hang onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen, you are barely into the second chapter, and all h*ll has broken loose. The action-filled story takes place in a twenty-four hour time span, and will leave you utterly breathless. Ben is running for his life and trying to save the information he has uncovered; secrets that not only unlock the possibility of harvesting the deep methane layer under the ocean for fuel, but of a project he calls ARCS that could lengthen man's lifespan by decades.

One of the people who desperately want Ben's secrets is Frick. Dun has painted the perfect antagonist with Frick, ruthless, deadly, cold and emotionless; Frick will let nothing stand between him and his prize. With Ben having slipped through his fingers, Frick relentlessly pursues Haley and Sam in a tension loaded chase from island to island, by land and sea and air. There isn't a word wasted or a moment to spare in this intense action thriller.

'Black Silent' is my first David Dun book, but you can rest assured that I'll be picking up more of his novels. I'm looking forward to seeing Sam Wintripp in Dun's other works. I like Dun's style and pace setting, and was able to relate to his fully fleshed-out characters. In 'Black Silent', I enjoyed his knowledge of boating and of scuba, and having lived near the San Juans, my reading enjoyment was tremendously increased by his familiarity with the area.

'Black Silent' is a book I definitely recommend; just make sure you have time for it as a meal and not a snack. Enjoy!

A year or so ago I received a copy of David Dun's new thriller The Black Silent to review. It was a mass market paperback, some sort of action / thriller / espionage type thing. It took me over a year for the book to make its way up my read / review pile and now it is time.

And I can't. A prologue and four chapters and I know from the start that this will be painful. Despite being blurbed by Gayle Lynds, The Black Silent stretched the bounds of my credulity and interest from the start.

The prologue is an attack on a man named Ben while he is diving. At first I thought it was a training exercise, but the aftermath runs into the first chapter where he is standing in his office calling the cops. Ben is a scientist with "hidden knowledge". He has "secrets" that men will "kill for". He has an adopted daughter and a friend who is a "former spy". Ben goes missing. Adopted Daughter and Former Spy go on the run trying to find Ben and stop whatever nefarious plot is in the plotting.

I don't care.

Really. In a prologue and four chapters The Black Silent feels overwrought, like Dun is trying too hard to make the novel exciting. It feels false. Because I don't know Ben at the start, I don't care that he is attacked. I don't know all of the cliches of this genre, but I swear Dun hits most of them.

So, that's my review. I couldn't read more of The Black Silent than four chapters and a prologue because it was just too absurd and I had a sneaking suspicion (sort of like the suspicion I expect the characters will get) that The Black Silent was not going to get any better. If I read 11% of a novel (based on page count), I expect to either be hooked, be intrigued, or care even a little bit about what is going to happen next.

I don't.

Sorry.

-Joe Sherry

In the deepest depths of the ocean, in the black silent, Ben Anderson has discovered something. The Fountain of Youth or the Seeds of the Destruction, depending on your point of view. Needless to say there are those who would want to control such a discovery. Something of this magnitude is too important to rest in the hands of the simple scientest who discovered it, too important for the common man, as well. This is the kind of discovery that can make a mere mortal a king. Just imagine the lengths some would go to to get their hands on such a discovery.

The book opens with just about the most harrowing scene I have ever read in a thriller. Anderson is underwater when someone comes up behind, binds hima and cuts off his air. Anderson has only two minutes to get himself free and to overpower his attacker. He does, and let me tell you Mr. Dun grips his readers her with just plain astonishing writing. However, though he gets free, he is attacked and taken prisoner once he is back in his lab.

Halay Walters, raised by Ben and his wife, since she'd been adopted at age nine, goes to Sam Walthers, who is on the island getting over the death of his wife, and tells him Anderson is missing. She wants his help. Sam had been sort of an undercover, black opps kind of person, so even though he is going through a bad patch, he is the man for the job. However, events get out of control, Haley goes on the run and she and Sam wind up in a desperate chase with the fate of the world in the balance.

Now there, if that doesn't sound like the kind of thriller that will get your blood pumping, you ain't a got blood in your veins. There is pure stand out thriller writing here, characters you care for and a plot that begs to be made into a big budget blockbuster. I just can't rave about this book enough.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

I read a very good novel, an excellent story that had me in its grip for a couple of days when vacationing in Greece. The author painted a vivid image of a setting, his characters were really credible, even though the character of Sam was slightly overdone. The plot was really well constructed and it was breath taking. In addition the novel was well researched, indeed the author did a very thorough research and he was able to avoid being a teacher. Great novel, great story telling. I am sure I want to read more novels by him. I would give the book 7 stars, but there are only five available.