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95 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(4.5 Stars) Good vs. Evil Personified, April 20, 2010
This review is from: Deliver Us from Evil (Hardcover)
Review of DELIVER US FROM EVIL - David Baldacci
WARNING - This story contains several extremely detailed scenes of torture and violence. It is not for the squeamish or individuals with a weak stomach or vivid imagination. They are not so frequent that I was unable to finish the book, and they are essential to the story so that it is difficult to skip them and fully comprehend the horror that is the basis of the narrative. However, if I had not been a fan of Baldacci and had not thoroughly enjoyed THE WHOLE TRUTH, the earlier novel in which the mysterious Shaw and his controller Frank were introduced, I might have chosen not to finish the story since I am not a fan of the type of gruesome scenes scattered throughout this book.
The focus of this story is the battle between good and evil. If the prospective reader has not read THE WHOLE TRUTH, I recommend that be read first to get the detailed backstory of Shaw; in addition, one of the key incidents in that book which changed Shaw's life irrevocably is an integral part of this story and thus reading this book would destroy much of the emotional impact of that story if read later. Shaw and Frank develop a plan to capture Evan Waller, a totally immoral Canadian businessman who is both a trafficker in human beings and has a new sideline of selling nuclear material to terrorists. They plan to neutralize his omnipresent bodyguards and kidnap him while he is on a rare holiday in Provence. Meanwhile, a parallel operation is planned by a secret unofficial rogue vigilante group operating out of England who hunt down and execute unapprehended war criminals, and which knows that Waller is actually a deep cover identity for a Ukranian war criminal who faked his own death and disappeared decades ago. This group includes several members with various talents; however, the point person for this op will be Regina "Reggie" Campion, a young woman of steely determination the reason for which is only gradually revealed. Of course, the plans and motives of each operative are unknown to the other. Thus, there are three intertwined stories within the one novel. First, the backstory of Reggie and her team and their attempt to capture and execute Waller in a certain prescribed manner which will make him aware of the reason for his death while maintaining the invisibility of their organization. Second, the parallel efforts of Shaw and his group to capture Waller and achieve their goal of diverting the nuclear material and neutralizing the terrorists' plan. Third, and equally intriguing, the gradual realization on the part of both Shaw and Reggie that the carefully constructed covers of each are just that and that they both have some relationship to Waller's activities and how they attempt to carefully work around each other despite a mutual attraction.
I thought that the storyline was very well constructed, and while there were a few unbelievable coincidences even given the latitude I allow an author, they were minor and did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Waller was truly evil personified, and his actions throughout were consistent with that portrait. The term sociopath hardly does him justice. The toll that Shaw's career has exacted on his life was notched up even further, Baldacci's implicitly sympathetic portrait of Shaw's plight is a window into the lives of many undercover operatives. The events in Reggie's life are both the definition of "tragedy" and a tribute to the ability of the human spirit to not only survive but also cope. And there is a thought provoking implicit and at some points explicit undercurrent to the story involving the examination of the morality of the tactics employed by such organizations and individuals in the pursuit of such objectives as justice or the elimination of terrorist attacks.
After much debate with myself I decided to rate this book five stars because I enjoyed the story despite the violence and thought that the plot was very clever. The author created enough tension that I was anxious to finish it for several reasons. First, I wanted to discover who lived and died, since the ending of THE WHOLE TRUTH was definitely bittersweet, with not all the `good guys" surviving and even those who did psychologically damaged. I assumed that the bad guy would eventually get his "just desserts", but assumed that not all would end well for Shaw's and Reggie's teams. Second, I was anxious to discover if Katie James reappeared and if so if a relationship developed between she and Shaw in light of the introduction of Reggie Campion. Third, I was interested in whether Baldacci could create and sustain the supposed tension implicit in the incomplete knowledge of both Shaw and Reggie regarding the motives and plans of the other team, while the reader was omniscient in that regard although not with regard to author's handling of the eventual outcome of the story. My satisfaction with regard to all three points is the reason for my high rating and why I anxiously await an inevitable sequel, while wondering what direction it will take and who the central characters will be. If you want a well written traditional thriller with action filled suspenseful twists and turns and you don't mind gruesome violence, I recommend reading THE WHOLE TRUTH and then DELIVER US FROM EVIL. But beware - in order to bring the evil Waller to justice, the "good guys" will experience significant physical and psychological collateral damage.
Tucker Andersen 4/20/2010
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55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just a review of the story & a surprising discovery, April 25, 2010
This review is from: Deliver Us from Evil (Hardcover)
I'm not a Kindle owner, so I'm not involved in the price issue that makes up so many of the reviews currently. So, this is mostly just my thoughts on the story.
I did, however. read parts of this on a Sony eReader, and was surprised to find that the ebook has extras - like an alternative ending not found in the printed book. After the review of the story, I've added my thoughts separately on these.
Short Summary: Woman who's a part of a group of international vigilantes goes after people like ex-Nazi's and KGB agents who have slaughtered masses. Her path crosses super-secret spy agent Shaw's as he goes after the same guy for a different reason. Will they get him? Or will he get them? And, will Shaw get the girl in the end?
Here's the ups and downs of it to me:
1. Fast-paced international plot and action:
As always, Baldacci keeps the plot and action just zinging along - and this time on a globe-trotting trip through Europe the U.S., and a trip down world history memory lane. That along with his ability to keep the twists and turns coming,kept me turning the pages.
2. Interesting, occassionally over-the-top cast of characters:
Reggie is a highlight, as the dedicated hard-core vigilante with a heart. She's a nice match-up for Shaw. The evil guys are really evil, and enjoy wallowing in their evilness. For me, this went over the top sometimes, creating bad guy caricatures. It seems torture scenes and violence were thrown in, just to be sure we get that head evil guy is REALLY, REALLY evil.
3. I really had to force myself to suspend disbelief on this one:
Half-way through the book, I realized the complicated plot the vigilantes use to trap the bad guy vs. other options is just ridiculous. On top of that, the characters just keep making such unbelievable and dramatically stupid choices (like all of them riding into a known set-up by the REALLY EVIL guy with no back up plan). It became a bit frustrating. Add on a big over-the-top EVIL, EVIL GUY with GOOD GUYS against incredible odds ending, and it really brought the whole thing down a bit for me. This has been a problem for me lately w/ his books. If you've thought his last couple were great, you'll enjoy this one more than I did.
4. Not really a stand alone book:
Do you remember the story from The Whole Truth? Who Anna is and what happened? Who Katie is and what happened betweeen her and Shaw? I read it and could only vaguely remember - and you probably need more than that to get full enjoyment of this one.
The Enriched ebook: The ebook version is for people who want a behind-the-scenes look at how a book is written. It has pictures of the actual places Baldacci used for characters homes and settings, an alternative ending, hand written outline, first draft manuscript pages, etc. It even has web links to some of the art showings and other things discussed in the book (that my ereader can't access). Still, I loved this! It's like the Directors cut of a DVD.
Bottom Line: An entertaining, fast-paced action thriller with some over-the-top characters, implausible action and references to a book I couldn't remember well - that brought it down to just an above average thriller, and less than I want from Baldacci. Still, for a light read on the beach or an airplane ride - it'll keep the pages turning and make the time fly. And, if you loved his last one -you'll love this one.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps his worst - for Patterson fans, May 29, 2010
This review is from: Deliver Us from Evil (Hardcover)
Baldacci is usually an interesting read so this was a complete and total disappointment. There are plot holes, completely cartoonish characters, lousy dialogue, and the book takes entirely too long to set up the action. The most glaring plot hole might be the fact that there is a mole inside Reggie's "Shadow Organization". This is brought up numerous times before being dropped without identifying said mole. Probably setting up a sequel that I will most certainly not read.
Baldacci has been gradually going downhill since his outstanding early novels. Unfortunately the speed of his descent seems to be picking up as he has started to churn out a couple of books a year. Memo to David - take your time go back to releasing one book a year rather than a couple of lousy reads.
The spy game does not seem to be Baldacci's area of expertise, one wonders if there was any research done here at all. If you want to read a spy novel try Daniel Silva or Vince Flynn. If you want action try Lee Child.
A final complaint with Baldacci is his Pattersonesque two and three page chapters. Absolute Power his first book has twenty nine chapters. Deliver Us From Evil has over one hundred chapters. Three pages is not a chapter - it makes the book incredibly choppy. My guess is that the publishers wanted four hundred pages so the easy way to get there is to have a ton of blank space every third page when each "chapter" ends. Maybe Baldacci wants to be the next James Patterson and release as much junk a year as he can but if he wants to write books that you remember more than five minutes after you finish them, then he needs to take a hard look at what direction his writing and editing have taken.
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