Customer Reviews

Circle William: A Novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I took the time to write this review because I thought the reviewer from Kirkus is way off base.

I READ A LOT. I bought this book at a dollar store for one dollar. That does not speak well for it. I bought it because it came well recommended from people who have been on the inside-- Navy Secretaries, Press Secretaries. They couldn't put it down.

I think it is the best piece of modern fiction I have read in a long time. It is funny. It is way beyond those Tom Clancy dreary soap operas where everyone has such cute, perfect and extremely well-documented lives. It is about PEOPLE who are well sketched (in a brief format of a 300-page novel). The story is just part of the lives of these people.

I think I know why this book has struggled. It is politically incorrect. He slams National Public Radio for being a bunch of windbags. Now, how are you supposed to get reviewed by effete pace setters if you slam them in your book? Also, Mr. Harlow makes the outrageous suggestion in 1999 that America could conceiveably come under attack by a bunch of crazed terrorists. Admittedly, this is far-fetched. At least it was far-fetched in 1999.

This is an outstanding work for a first novel, yea, a one hundredth novel. Note: it is not Henry James. Thank goodness, it is not Tom Clancy either.

It's amazing to me how a handful of major book reviewers with an attitude can affect the market's reception to an otherwise stunning work. It's hard for me to believe that the reviewer from "KIRKUS" and I read the same book called "Circle William." As a longtime fan of Tom Clancy, Michael Crighton and John Grisham, I'd like to think I have a nose for hugely commercial works. "CIRCLE WILLIAM" is the greatest undiscovered political-military-terrorist-White House-suspense thriller in the past ten years. Someone at Scribner Publishing has a great eye for talent with Bill Harlow. But someone in Scribner's publicity and marketing department should be reassigned to Libya for allowing this terrific read to end up on a "remainder's table" at [local store]. With the right marketing and publicity, this should have been one of the top ten bestsellers of 1999. If you ask me, I think some jealous and bitter wanna-be novelist at "Kirkus" unfairly excised their bile on this great novel, and this may have tempered the publisher's enthusiasm to support the book. What a shame for book consumers, and what a shame for Kirkus. Will somebody out there please get Bill Harlow to write another superb thriller?

Circle William was a very pleasant surprise. A quasi-techno-thriller, Circle William combines Tom Clancy/Clive Kussler with Dave Barry. The book is witty and compelling -- you will laugh at this novel while being glued to the plot. The characters, for a change, are believable as is the story line. Even the supporting characters in this novel are well developed. This is not a 'way out' story written with sprinklings of techno information. The plot is BELIEVABLE and the information is solid. You come away from this book with the feeling of knowing the characters.

A very promising author if he sticks to the information he knows first hand. Best new author I have seen in quite a while.

I came across this book while researching the "competition" for my upcoming novel. Circle Williams shines like a diamond amidst the coals in the category of the military thriller. Harlow's characters are believable and realistic--especially the details about Churchill's XO; if he were a woman and in the medical field, he could very well be my husband's division officer!

The dialog is slick, clever and at times uproariously funny. It has the authenticity of conversations you might overhear between well-educated and intelligent professionals.

Of the dozens of books I've been subjecting myself to in my research, Circle William is the one exception: enjoyable and well-worth the time it took.

My only question is for Mr. Harlow: when will we see more from you? Please do say 'soon!'

Bill Harlow knows his Navy, his bureaucrats and his bad guys! This was a delightful find. The Libyan government is up to no good, planning to gas Israel and the United States. The title refers to Navy slang for the procedure used by warships under chemical and/or biological attack.

Commander Bill Schmidt finds himself and his crew on the firing line (in more ways than one) in an effort to thwart the Libyan attack. Without giving too much away, Washington comes up with a hair-brained scheme and Bill's crew gets the assignment to carry out orders.

This book is engaging, well paced and well written. Like many first novels, it goes from beginning to end without many side trips. I've added Harlow's name to my list of authors to watch.

One day, in a bookstore not so far away, I was browsing for books, and came upon Circle William. I didn't recognize the author's name. I read the jacket and was intrigued. I read the first chapter and proceeded to the checkout; I was hooked. I hadn't read any good naval humor since Admiral Dan Gallery.

The author, Bill Harlow, combined fact with fiction and his very active sense of humor. Several times, I drew odd looks from my fellow railroad commuters when I laughed out loud when I was intently reading and would suddenly come upon one of Mr. Harlow's witicisms out of the blue. It was like hitting a humourous speed bump. And the great part is that the humor doesn't detract from the seriousness of the situation.

Many of the characters remind me of military and civilian characters I have known that take their responsibilities very seriously, but not themselves; they lighten up when the moment is appropriate.

I look forward to reading more of Mr. Harlow's books. (And more of the Schmidt brothers.)

When I bought this book I thought it would be (hopefully) an interesting and easy read for an airplane ride. I read loads of technical material and like to mix it up with an action thriller. Little did I know that this book would be like no other I had read. It had mystery (keeps me wanting to read), action (why I bought it in the first place) and a great believable group of characters that I actually began to care about. Mostly action books do no character development. Harlows book does lots. The last thing is the humor. I found myself laughing and telling my wife what a good author this ex-naval guy was.

I bought this book hoping for something along the lines of Tom Clancy. What I got was better. While Mr. Clancy has admittedly never been in the navy, and seems to get around that by sometimes excessive technical discussions, Capt Harlow needs no such artifice. We are introduced to the technology only on the level to which we require for the story. The characters, while they may seem outlandish, are very true to life. In fact, as a police officer in NYC, and having helped many sailors out of scrapes during Fleet Week, I can say that the liberty sequences, even though they seem outlandish, are dead on.

As far as the story, all I can say is, could be, very well could be. The premise is not out of the realm of possibilities, and Capt Harlow does NOT resort to "deus ex machina" solutions to plot problems. What happens could happen, and when it does you look at the book and think, "well, sure I can see that happening."

As far as the rest of the cast of characters, and the way that the Secret Service acts and would act in the face of a threat to the president, he hit that one on the head, dead on.

I recommend this book as a definate go out and buy.

Keep up the good work Captain, I await whatever you write next.

I was searching throught the book store one day looking for a new book when I came across Circle William. The back cover described a generic techno-thriller and seeing nothing else I picked it up to buy. Later that night in my hotel room I was transported to the Mediterain Sea on-board a modern DDG. Missiles were flying, planes were dropping, and the world seemed like it was taking a turn for the worse. Luckily the Schimdt's were there to cover for us and bring us back to the happy go lucky lifestyle we have today.

Harlow's style was gripping and very entertaining. The love interest very subtle and infact only implied. The action was believable and stated very simply without overloading the reader with jargon.

So here I am now checking out Amazon to see if he has any more titles out there.

To Mr. Harlow: I hope your next novel is just a gripping and exciting as your first.

"Circle William" delivered far more than I expected of it. Bill Harlow's use of scene-shifting, humor, and genuine Navy knowledge and experience left me as if I'd just come out of a really good film,which I hope it in fact becomes. So many books of this type are better classified under science fiction. They are not even plausible. I get so tired of "it's a one-man race against time to save the planet! " Mr. Harlow's scenarios are perfectly acceptable and even likely. As a destroyer veteran, I can vouch for its authenticity, and I heartily recommend it to all readers!