Customer Reviews

The Camel Club

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(56)
1 star:		(57)

 

 

Nobody writes a conspiracy thriller like David Baldacci, and The Camel Club will keep you turning pages at breakneck speed. Unfortunately, his latest is not without some flaws and while many of his books defy belief, this one is even more of a stretch.

The Camel Club consists of four misfits (nearing senior citizen status) who form a secret conspiracy watchdog organization. The ringleader is "Oliver Stone," a man with a very secret and mysterious past. While meeting in a park during off-hours, the four witness the murder of a Secret Service agent, Patrick Johnson. Unfortunately, the two killers realize they have witnesses. Because of their checkered backgrounds, the Camel Club decides not to report this to the police. Instead, they go on the offensive, trying to discover not only the identity of the killers but also their motivation. At the same time, Secret Service agent Alex Ford is assigned to investigate the death of Johnson, but runs into trouble with the various agencies also looking into the murder (FBI, Metro Police, NIC, etc.).

As if this isn't enough going on, a group of Islamic extremists is plotting a terrorist act involving the US president. But not all of the plotters are Islamic or Middle Eastern. In fact, some are working from the inside.

Much of The Camel Club is very relevant to post 9/11 America. The FBI, CIA, NSA and other intelligence agencies are being forced to combine information, but infighting, jealousy and guarded secrets are still common. Government agencies are involved in illegal activities. The war is still raging in Iraq with Americans split on the issue. The issues are very similar to today.

But The Camel Club has just too many flaws. When three different sets of characters were introduced in the first three chapters, it took some time keeping them all straight. Between the FBI, CIA, NSA, NIC, etc, the spy organizations caused some confusion. It was made even murkier because Baldacci would often use the same initials for different things (NSA was either National Security Agency or National Security advisor). There was way too much going on in the plot. And as mentioned previously, much of it was totally unbelievable. The romance angle with Alex Ford and a young justice lawyer was especially unconvincing. Even the small details were far-fetched. For instance, the terrorists plan a major assault, but use tranquilizer darts so as not to kill anyone. Also, not to give away the plot, but what happens to Oliver Stone's daughter is just too incredulous.

So while I enjoyed The Camel Club and couldn't turn the pages quick enough, it's not the best Baldacci work. But even a mediocre Baldacci is better than the efforts of many other authors.

It's late. I should be in bed by now, but I couldn't wait to get a review started for this book. It's my first Baldacci, but it won't be my last. I was hooked on page one.

The Camel Club is a political thriller that opens in Washington, D.C. (well, not quite. The opening chapter is not in D.C.), where we meet four eccentric, once-upon-a-time effective fellows who make up a group they call The Camel Club. Each has some kind of experience and/or brilliance that makes him essential to the small assembly; and each has been successful at one time or another in his life. Now, they are only reflections of what they once were. There's Oliver Stone (his assumed name), Caleb Shaw, Reuben Rhodes, and Milton Farb, conspiracy theorists all. They meet once a month in the middle of the night to discuss recent conspiracy theories and reflect/update those they've held for years. There are other interesting characters introduced in the early pages, including Secret Service agent Alex Ford who's on the downside of his career, and Kate Adams, a Department of Justice lawyer who works as a bartender at night. Go figure that one out! We are also briefly introduced to U.S. President, James H. Brennan, and to National Intelligence Center Director, Carter Gray, among others.

Stone has a tent near the White House where he watches what goes on there. His goal is to find out the "truth" of things. He believes the American people have been denied that most desirous of tenets. On the evening of the beginning of this story, the Camel Club meets as arranged, but in the course of their meeting they unwittingly see a terrible crime committed on Theodore Roosevelt Island. Now, they must decide what to do about it...and I'm only on page 70! More later.

October 29, 2005: It's later. Life sometimes gets in the way of finishing a good book, but it's been worth three nights up too late to do it in this case.

The Camel Club members find themselves in the middle of a mess, having witnessed the murder of a Secret Service agent. Another Secret Service agent, Alex Ford, angers his superiors by deciding to investigate the death further than they had planned for this intended puppet. Stone and Ford end up working together to find out what's going on as a myriad of characters come and go, some with nefarious plans up their sleeves (there may even be a traitor in the club). It seems there are traitors everywhere and it's one of those times when one doesn't know who to trust. If you are into political intrigue, conspiracy theories, espionage, terrorism and/or assassination plots and all-around political paranoia, you will love this book. It is also very clearly and very well written. I can only say I hope there are many more Stones and Fords around than Captain Jacks and, well, others.

Give yourself plenty of time to read The Camel Club. There are several subplots and lots of interesting facts about many things included in the story. The primary plot is very intense and you won't want to find yourself forgetting pertinent details leading up to the "game." It's enough to make the reader want to bolt the door and never leave home. I'm just glad it's fiction!

Carolyn Rowe Hill

I have enjoyed all of Baldacci's previous books, but I simply could not get through this one. It is marred by the rapid introduction of many similar characters and frequent pauses to blame Americans for vitually everything that is a problem on this planet. All of the American characters are, at best, vacuous and self-absorbed, or are members of U.S. intelligence agencies who routinely commit assassination and other mayhem to further American interests. All of the Muslim characters are pure and devout but forced into extremism by American misdeeds. A sophomoric and annoying book.

First, the positives: once the setting shifts to Murder Mountain, it's classic Baldacci. The detailed narrative and its pacing really turned what had otherwise been an extraordinarily mediocre book into a page-turner. If you can stick with it to the climax, the book finally becomes a fun ride (even with the essentially comic book treatment of the character at the center of the plot).

Getting to the good stuff was not quite as enjoyable. Other reviewers have covered the ground well enough that I'll try not to beat it to death, but the author's unrelenting sermonizing was really difficult to take. My politics and Mr. Baldacci's appear to diverge quite significantly. Normally I would say, "Who cares?" In this case, though, the author uses every well-worn opposition talking point and cliche as a blunt instrument to beat home his worldview and serve as a central thesis for his story. Again, in an opinion piece, in a policy paper, even in a conversation at the bar, it's fine with me. But I bought the book for fiction, for Mr. Baldacci's considerable skill in weaving together a great thriller with an interesting backstory. This just struck me as lazy and annoying.

Finally, and some may consider this to be somewhat of a cheap shot, the author really blew it in one area in which I would have thought he would have been extrememly careful. This slip is actually sort of funny considering how sincerely the readers were admonished of the importance of understanding those who we currently misunderstand. Mr. Baldacci repeatedly used the term "Arab" to describe any non-American involved in the plot. Afghanis and the vast majority of Iranians might take exception to that characterization.

Having said all that, I'll still be back for more when Baldacci releases his (much better, I hope) next book.

Camel Club isn't one of Baldacci's best BY FAR. The story is more of a comic book creation of hi-level government spooks and how they can do anything, merely by saying it's available via the computer databases.
Also, Baldacci devotes an inordinate amount of space to muslim criticism of the many faults of the USA, thus justifying their crimes. Maybe Baldacci is grooming himself for employment by the New york Times?
But if you like fiction with heroes who are never seriously harmed, though taking on insurmountable odds, this is for you.

This was my first Baldacci but it wont be my last. Besides being a very sexy man he is also a wonderful thriller writer! For some his plots and characters might be a bit complicated, but I loved the political intrigue and complex plotting. The plot revolves around a group of four Washington DC men who are experts in some way but don't fit in with the DC culture. They call themselfs the Camel Club. The leader goes by the nickname "Oliver Stone". The group has weekly meetings concerning different political conspiracies they believe are taking place and what they should do about them. Then one night th Camel Club witness the execution of a CIA agent in the middle of the Potomac River. This crew of misfits is suddenly in for more than they bargained for! a real live conspiracy. The plot takes awhile to develop, but it is well worth paying attention to for the great payoff.

The Camel Club consists of 4 aging misfits, of diverse and intriguing backgrounds, who gather to discuss possible conspiracies. By accident, they witness a bizarre murder, which leads them into a world of Arab terrorists, "bent" US federal agents, and true conspiracy. One of the Club has a friendly relationship with Secret Service Agent Alex Ford, who is gradually drawn into the Club's efforts solve the murder without being eliminated themselves. The story requires you to suspend credability at points but the characters and the observations on US-Arab relations make it well worthwhile. It's a pageturner that's hard to put down.

While The Camel Club is certainly not the best David Baldacci book I've read, it does offer well-crafted, entertaining escapist fiction. (For those who are interested, I think his best novel is The Winner, a story about a conspiracy to cheat a state lottery, which everyone who enjoys suspense yarns should make it a point to read.)

But back to The Camel Club: There are a couple of incidents toward the end of the novel that seem implausible, which is too bad because the plot is quite strong up until that point. Overall, however, the story engages the reader and reflects the current public awareness of terrorism and domestic security.

The characters are well drawn, and I especially liked the fact that the female characters are all strong women who don't rely on the men to do their thinking. The members of the Camel Club -- Caleb, Milton, Reuben and the leader Oliver -- are terrific characters who are likable and who the reader can root for unconditionally. Milton, who suffers from OCD, is particularly endearing, and Baldacci gets a lot of humor from his situation, but does so in a way that is affectionate rather than offensive or cruel.

Overall, this is a very entertaining read that holds the attention of an intelligent reader and makes you want to keep turning the pages late into the evening.

I had to stop reading this book at page 118, as there are just too many ridiculous, unrealistic, and unecessary conversations between far too many ill-conceived and unlikely characters. I bought this at random at an airport out of sheer boredom, but I would rather do just about anything else rather than read this book.

For the most part I found the book to be enjoyable and a good read, however I can't remember his prior books being so overly left-wing and preachy. Those parts of the story stand out like the worm in an apple. Unfortnately, these propaganda rantings went on for pages and when Balduacci returned to the plot, I couldn't remember what was going on.

I used to enjoy John Grisham books as well but I know longer read them due to his "preachy" stories. My advice to David is get back to the good stories and leave the politics to the talking heads.