Customer Reviews

Deep Black: Jihad (NSA Series)

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

 

 

It's that time of year where I'm spending a few more hours than normal on airplanes, so I ended up in an airport bookstore looking for some recreational reading material. I ended up with Stephen Coonts' Deep Black: Jihad by Stephen Coonts (of course) and Jim DeFelice. Generally, I like Coonts' books, but this one seems more like a "I'll lend you my name if I get a cut of the profits" effort. Didn't quite end up being a memorable read...

There's a high-tech spy group in the United States called Deep Black, and they end up pulling off jobs that are out of the ordinary. In this novel, they set up an "assassination attempt" of an Al Qaeda leader so that they can take him to a hospital for his injuries. While there, they implant a tracking and audio bug in his scalp so they can see where he goes and hear about the next terrorist attacks before they happen. The story revolves around trying to correlate his movements with other intel that they have, all in order to prevent a large attack to be carried out somewhere in the United States. What they don't count on is an internal rivalry within Al Qaeda that closes their best source of information before they know who all the plot players are. The story moves to an ending where it's a race to see if they can find the main operative before the attack is carried out.

There are apparently a few other Deep Black episodes prior to this book, and I think that's where my problem lies. I don't have the benefit of the prior character development, and there's literally none to be found here. All the players are thrust into the story right away, and I had no clue as to why they reacted and interacted as they did. Furthermore, they talked about a lot of the gadgetry as if it was common stuff. Perhaps if you've evolved with the series, but it's a little disconcerting if this is your first exposure to Deep Black. And at 438 pages for a paperback, I kept feeling as if we could have tightened up the story and gotten there a bit sooner.

This book probably falls somewhere between my "it's OK" and "I like it" range. If an earlier Deep Black novel ended up in my possession, I'd read it without hesitation. But I wouldn't go out of my way to look for them, nor would I buy a new one unless the older installments improved my outlook somewhat.

As usual, Stephen Coonts has another winner on his hands. Really enjoyed this read and looking forward to the next one.

Stephen Coonts' DEEP BLACK: JIHAD is written by Stephen Coonts and Jim DeFelice and narrated by J. Charles, who brings to life a gripping thriller of international terrorism and agents who try to stop them. Al Qaeda is launching a series of new attacks against the West and a new war is emerging from it in this gripping narrative.

This was my first venture into the "Deep Black" series, and I enjoyed it. It's a necessary updating of Coonts' intrigue thrillers. The Grafton series in its later versions is interesting primarily for Tommy Carmellini's persona and low-tech, burglar-hip ways of getting things done, but Coonts had pushed the limits of that and meanwhile they'd lost the graver charm Jake Grafton had in the earlier, more military books.

"Deep Black" has similarities to TV's "24". The several lead operatives - the Jack Bauer characters - are NSA agents connected 24/7 to the agency's unbelievable satellite and video capabilities. There, a host of Chloe-types can hack into any video system or computer database at will, provide them with instant information through their headphones about what they'll find around the next corner. Or translators tell them what to say in a foreign country. Or surgeons tell them how to perform surgery. Whatever they need.

In "24", the heavies are often the jerks from Division, administrative tyrants who muck up the works. Here, that role is played by the National Security Advisor, an administrative rival of the NSA executive running these operations.

The team, operating in Istanbul, ingeniously bugs an Al-Qaeda leader with a tiny microphone, letting them listen in on his conversations. They find he's plotting a major terrorist strike in the U.S. but don't know what it is. Following him into the country, they find him linking up with a mysterious agent who has left few electronic traces in society.

The characters aren't terribly interesting, except for the team's Muslim-American doctor, Saed Ramil, who finds his own loyalties torn by the operation. The action and technology are pretty good and keep the book moving.

Jihad was a long book, and when you get to page 415, Coonts suddenly cuts the story off and you never know how it turns out. It's as if he finally just got tired of writing it, or he came up against a deadline, and just created a quick 2 page ending which leaves you hanging. It pissed me off that I spent all that time reading, and then there was no real satisfactory ending.

Also, the story has too much "telling" as opposed to "discovery." I felt like I was getting the story second hand, as opposed to being there watching the story unfold in person. Good writers know not to do that, and it should have been a red flag when I noticed it at the beginning of the book, but I kept reading anyway.

This was my first (and last) Stephen Coonts book.

The shipping time was great but the book itself was not what I expected. It is slow with very little action. Would not have purchased this book if I had known this in advance. But I will say the story line is interesting.

Having read other books by Mr. Koonts, I find it hard to believe he had much to do with the writing of this one. The style seems quite unlike him. The chapters are each just a few pages long. It did not hold my interest.

This book is over rated based on the cover reviews. I have read better books by this author, but I still like his writing style. The book does not get interesting until neat the end.

A good story, with the typical blend of no sex and lots of violence. Tech issues and politics with just a hint of the American superiority complex.