Customer Reviews

Devil's Footprint

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

 

 

O'Reilly convincingly uses his 20th century knight, Hugh Fitzduane, to deliver an exciting story about the contemporary threat of terrorism, as well as a cautionary tale intended to provoke Western policymakers in dealing with terrorism head on.

The settings of the action are in North America, not Fitzduane's rugged island off the coast of Ireland. And the targets are Americans, as well as America. O'Reilly rightly reminds us that the battelfields terrorists choose are often in our neighborhoods, and our urban workplaces, not only fortified reboubts in remote backcountry.

The plot is plausible, and the firepower and modern means of combat that are brought to bear are out of today's military surplus magazines. Terrorists strike targets in urban America, and in the process kidnap Fitzduane's wife, and develop a weapon that could strike deep in America. The plot spins out from there to a conclusion that is bittersweet as O'Reilly reminds us that victory against terrorism is fleeting. Read the book...and then practice your martial arts. Someday you may use them.

This 3rd installment of Hugo Fitzduane is the best to date. All 3 books are too good to be true. Clancy better watch his butt because this writer writes so damn well that the characters are personal friends of mine when the last page is read. You will love Hugo's friend the Bear, he is huge,tough, and funny as hell! The bad guys I even loved, colorful and memberable. I read this book when it first came out and still remember in vivid detail the greatly written sequences all over this book. My God, hollywood what are you waiting for, this and all of Mr. O'Reilly's books have blockbuster written on each and every page! A must read for both sexes, not just men. My wife doesn't even read this stuff and she loved it, what does that tell you?!

Victor O'Reilly writes another great thriller. The Devil's Footprint gives his fans the action that has been supplied in Games of the Hangman and Rules of the Hunt. I enjoyed this book because it has a lot of suspense from the main characters such as Hugh FitzDuane and the action from the frontline makes it comparable to either Tom Clancy's Op-Center series or Jack Higgins. I believe that people that enjoy great mysteriers will enjoy The Devil's Footprint because it gives the reader the action and intrigue that they suspect but it has a little humor as well.

"The Devil's Footprint" is good thriller, please don't get me wrong. It's what Victor O'Reilly has us expected to read. However I gave him 3 stars because it's carelessly written. It's not poorly written. Careless means he was either in a hurry, or presed by his agent or publisher, or who knows. Didn't he had time to correct properly? How can you explain sentences that are plainly terrible, such as: "Fitzduane slept for several hours and then he woke." (p. 160). Duh? What's he going to do? Sleep for the next 300 pages? Or maybe move around instead? Or sentences where he repeats words unnecessarily, which is poor craftsmanship. The worst of all is the ending. I am not giving away the plot, because it is an excellent idea, but the book has TWO endings. The first ending finishes the novel in a satisfactory way. The second ending is supposed to strenghten the first one, which doesn't make sense. What for? Couldn't he write all of it at once? Both endings are good, though, which is a shame because one would habe been enough. Let's hope the next book, "Stan's Smile," is written with a more relaxed O'Reilly giving us a thrill as good as the ones in "Games of the Hangman" or "Rules of the Hunt," his best novel so far, in my opinion.

This was a very good attempt at doing a sequel. The Hangman's girlfriend attacking Hugo because Hugo killed her lover. Hugo's pregnant wife is kidnapped by the Japanese woman and her gang of terrorists while Hugo is a Fort Bragg. She is then taken to Mexico where she is held hostage at an installation called the Devil's Footprint. Of course it becomes the duty of Hugo to rescue his wife and defeat the forces of evil.Of course Hugo will come through.This book has good action sequences but all in all fails to come through.You can buy it but take your time reading it.

As the third in the Hugo Fitzduane saga, this is O'Reilly's best book yet. He writes so vividly that I feel like I know the characters personally especially Hugo and his best friend Bear who is a huge man, tough as nails and extremely funny. I don't understand why Hollywood movie producers haven't taken notice of these marvelous books - I can just see Antonio Banderas, Adrian Paul or Brad Pitt as Hugo Fitzduane. A real page turner - be ready to stay up all night because you won't want to put it down.

APPARENTLY THE LAST OF A SERIES OF GREAT FICTION
BY A GREAT AUTHOR. THE STORY LINE RUNNING THROUGH
THE SERIES WAS FASCINATING AND I WISH THE AUTHOR
WOULD HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART AND GO BACK TO
USING HIS GREAT TALENT.

Just finished this and I enjoyed it as much as the previous two. Would recommend it to anyone who would listen to me. I would definitely read ALL 3 AGAIN!

Unless you enjoy a military novel with some mediocre melodrama thrown in for good luck. I was mightily impressed with 'Hangman' and thought 'Rules' to be adequate, but the 'Devil' seemed to leave all of the intrigue and suspense back in Fitzduane's castle in Ireland. The next one will probably feature Hugo chasing The Hangman's former accountant into outer space to recover his lost tax statements. I'm likely being too harsh, but I really wish O'Reilly would spend some time give his great character the kind of plot he deserves. Enough with The Hangman already. S P O I L E R The Hangman died in the first book. Please let him and his schemes (and former associates/lovers/housekeepers) stay dead with him and try writing another story for Hugo.

If I was 14 years old I MAY have enjoyed this book. In fact I think it WAS written by a 14 year old. Really stupid and in my opinion poorly written.