Customer Reviews

Collateral Damage (Alias)

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

 

 

It was supposed to be a routine retrieval mission. In fact, it was almost beneath Sydney and Dixon's talents. That is until armed men corner Sydney on the roof of a building. In her attempt to escape, an innocent office worker is shot.

The failed mission means big trouble to APO. Someone was piggy backing on their surveillance, and they need to know who. The trail leads to Peru, where a member of the team is taken hostage. Can Sydney overcome her guilt over innocents hurt to save the day?

After the last couple tie-in novels, I was about ready to quit, but I'm glad I gave it one more shot. This is the strongest for a while. The plot was entertaining and moved along quickly. The characters were strong and leap off the page into their TV personas without any extra work on my part. There were times when the book seemed slightly overwritten, but for the most part, this author avoided that pitfall, even when giving background needed for newer viewers. And long time viewers will be rewarded with some resolve to emotional issues from years back.

If you can't get enough of this show, this is a great place to get a summer fix.

I understand when I pick up an Alias novel that it will be a light read. I don't anticipate overly in depth writing or storytelling. I don't expect it to be anything harder than what a 5th grader might read.

Nonetheless, I was still highly disappointed by this book. The prequel books that I've read have had some problems, but I found this one from the APO series to be the most offensive. I found myself wondering if the author had ever seen an episode of the show to which he was penning a story.

The plot itself was intriguing, if disjointed. Too many aspects did not fit with the actual missions. Another reviewer mentioned the misspellings and other technical mistakes that any casual viewer of Alias would have known, had they bothered to do the research. Misspelling Rambaldi is just unacceptable, both in the writing and editing of this novel. However, the thing that bothered me even more was the characterizations. For one thing, I don't think Weiss and Vaughn even know what handball is. Picky? Yes. I don't expect good writing, but I expect writing that comports with the series.

Sydney and Jack's voices especially were out of character. There was a point in the novel where Jack actually called her 'Syd'. You tell me the last time you heard that on the show.

One good thing I will say-- the author did have his technical research down. The plot was enjoyable, as long as one didn't pretend they were the Alias characters we know and love. The author did have the voice of Marshall down pretty well, and he gave good performances during his briefings and throughout the book.

All in all, I'm not overly anxious to read anything else this author has written, and if I hadn't already bought another APO book (bought 2 at the same time), I'd probably be far more hesitant to go and purchase another Alias book, period.

I'm in school right now and love books that don't require thought but do let me get lost in them! This book is just like that and that's a good thing! It really sucks you in and transports you to the world of Alias!!!

As a die hard fan of Alias I was impressed by the book as a whole, but I also noticed parts of the story that did not correspond with the show. First of all in the book it is mentioned that Sydney killed Alison Doren but she was actually unsuccessful in her attempts and Alison Doren actually met her demise at the hands of Will Tippin. Secondly, the book refers to Milo Rambaldi as Carlos Rimbaldi. Rambaldi is such a big part of the show that it is ridiculous that his name is mentioned incorrectly. There were also typos (not the author's fault) which kind of broke my concentration. others than these few little nit picks, the story was as exciting as an episode of Alias, in fact if this story was an episode Jennifer Garner would be a shoo in for the Lead Actress Emmy.

I really enjoy the Alias books, they are just as exciting as the show and hard to put down. I look forward to each one and it is hard to wait for the next one.

It's fun to have new stories to read about Alias. After watching the show for so long it's hard to just go without!

It was a good book just like the others but there were a lot of mistakes for example he wrote Milo Rambaldi as Carlos Rambaldi there were other name mistakes and errors in word choice but aside from that this was a good book.