Customer Reviews

Counterstrike

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This is a great Cold War assassination thriller. Hard liners from the Soviet Union hire a psycho-assassin to terminate Gorbachev due to his openness towards the West and freedom. As the assassin carefully plans his hit, the hard liners are forced to reverse their decision, but it is too late because the assassin wants to kill Gorbachev anyway. A Russian investigator, Nikolai Ganin, is sent out to stop him or have his own life be ruined if he doesn't. A great game of cat and mouse begins. A superb thriller with great characters and a great plot from a great writer.

Donald Moran had been a hero in Vietnam escaping from a Viet Cong prison camp and leading some of his fellow prisoners thru the jungle to safety. He became a professional political assassin. And subsequently was hired by a group of top ranking Soviet officers to take out Gorbachev. The mission was discovered and cancelled. However, Moran decided to continue on in pursuit of Gorbachev. He was followed by the intuitive Militia Detective Ganin. Who reminded me of the French detective Lebel in The Day Of The Jackal. In fact this book very much reminds of Day Of The Jackal. A real page turner shifting from Geneva to New York and the U.S. and Russia and Finland. This was really a delightful suspenseful read.

DAVID HAGBERG, WHO ALSO WROTE UNDER THE NAME OF SEAN FLANNERY BEATS THE HECK OUT OF TOM CLANCY FOR ACTION, SUSPENSE, AND AN INSIDER'S KNOWLEDGE OF ESPIONAGE, AND THIS IS PROBABLY HIS BEST ACTION NOVEL.

A SOCIOPATH HAS TAKEN ON THE JOB TO KILL GORBACHEV, AND WHEN HE IS ORDERED OFF THE HIT, HE STARTS KILLING THE PEOPLE WHO HIRED HIM, AND CONTINUES TO HUNT HIS QUARRY.

THE ACTION IS SLAMBANG, THE SUSPENSE BUILDS IMMEASURABLY, KEEPING YOU HOOKED TO THE END OF ONE OF, IF NOT, HIS BEST BOOK EVER!

OTHER GREAT FLANNERY BOOKS INCLUDE

A. KILO OPTION(HIJACKING OF AN AMERICAN NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, TO BE USED FOR TERRORISM AGAINST THE U.S.A.)

B. THE ZEBRA NETWORK(ABOUT CATCHING A TRAITOR AGAINST THE U.S., OR IS HE A TRAITOR?)

C. BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT(WRITTEN UNDER HAGBERG'S OWN NAME) AB0UT PAKISTAN USING A NUC AGAINST INDIA, AND AMERICA'S INVOLVEMENT TO AVOID ALL OUT NUCLEAR WAR.

EACH OF THESE BOOKS HAVE A RING OF TRUTH TO THEM, AND ARE VERY TIMELY, AND PROPHETIC.

Written at a time when the "Gorbachev is a target" plot was still a possibility, Counterstrike isn't Flannery's best work. It is, however, a nice thrill ride with some disturbing parts. The assassin Daniel Moran is somewhat demented, as he wants to carry out his plan just because he spent so much time on it. True he gets a little cartoonishly insane but overall Counterstrike is a good book. If you find a copy, get it and see.