Customer Reviews

The Disciple (Tommy Carmellini Series)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Stephen Coonts seems to have a crystal ball on his desk that provides him with the material for whatever subject he chooses to visit in his most recent novel. Of course, Coonts is not a fortune teller; he is simply possessed of the ability to believe that which he sees in front of him, analyze it and extrapolate. Indeed, it is in much the same manner that his long-running Jake Grafton character functions. Call it an informed guess, but the result is edge-of-the-seat, page-turning reality presented as fiction.

THE DISCIPLE, Coonts's latest novel, brings together Grafton and his protégé, Tommy Carmellini, once again for an excursion into the heart of the darkness of the Middle East. Carmellini, a retired jewel thief turned reluctant CIA operative, has a skill set that serves him well in whatever situation Grafton throws him into, which has never been truer than in THE DISCIPLE. Beginning just after the bombing of a Syrian nuclear reactor (which was never acknowledged as having existed to begin with), Grafton, a former Navy admiral now with the CIA, finds himself facing the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. Despite the denials of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it is obvious that the Iranian nuclear weapons program exists; the question is what will be done with it.

Grafton inserts Carmellini into Tehran for some clandestine boots-on-ground intelligence, and watching the two men work from opposite ends of a very long, sharp and dangerous stick is worth the price of admission to THE DISCIPLE all by itself. Carmellini, masquerading as a passport approval clerk at a foreign embassy, slowly but surely insinuates himself into the Iranian political resistance movement, a nerve-wracking proposition in and of itself given the violently repressive attitude of the government. It is through his association with the resistance movement that Carmellini is able to gain information about Iran's ultimate plan for its nuclear weapons and to transfer the intelligence to Grafton.

What they ultimately discover is that Ahmadinejad plans to martyr Iran and then lead the fundamentalist Muslim world into the ultimate holy war against Israel and the United States. The President, notwithstanding the evidence in front of him, refuses proactive action against Iran, leaving it to Grafton and Carmellini to work within the parameters that are outlined for them. The result is heart-stopping: Iran begins a countdown to Armageddon, while the United States is forced to play catch-up from a reactive position as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

THE DISCIPLE is stuffed to bursting with Coonts's trademark technology updates, consisting of a cornucopia of items that provide Exhibits A through Z to the proposition that peace is ultimately won through superior firepower. Coonts does not get bogged down in a technical description of the nuts and bolts of which does what and to whom, instead focusing very closely and graphically on cause and effect. He also takes pains, through character development, to examine the social and religious complexities that exist within Iran, which is slowly tearing itself apart from within. An exciting work on a number of levels, THE DISCIPLE will be a winner for fans of military and espionage novels alike.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

CIA Middle Eastern Operations chief Jake Grafton assigns his top operative Tommy Carmellini to work inside Iran as there is fear that maniacal fundamentalist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is close to having his finger on a nuclear trigger. The Iranian leader wants a holy war to the death with the west and he believes his side will win.

As Tommy watches and gathers information, he has Iranians supporting him; many fear Ahmadinejad's legacy will be a stone age Iran. While Israel considers bombing Iran's nuclear sites as it did Syria, Tommy's efforts and that of his associates and his boss fail to prevent the madman from firing missiles throughout the Middle East under the guise of martyrdom. Tommy and Jake to try to deflect his assault of missiles, including some nuclear, that Iran has fired in order to stop WW III from occurring.

This is a tense thriller that places the stars of in what feels like a potentially realistic extrapolation of headline news with recent revelations re Iranian hidden nuclear developments. The story line is fast-paced starting with the opening sequence of the Israeli destruction of the Syrian nuclear plant as told to readers by a Russian adviser killed at the site and never slows down. Though obviously biased as the American heroes are hawk patriots (not the chicken hawk couch potato variety of send someone else); the action enables the reader to know who are allies and enemies as Stephen Coonts provides a super tale of vaporization while exposing Ahmadinejad's fanatical background that goes back to even before the fall of the Shah.

Harriet Klausner

I always relish the chance to devour one of Stephen Coonts books, and this is one of his best yet. Coonts had me from the first page. I was up until 3:00 AM finishing it.

The premise is so frighteningly real that I understand the publisher moved the publication date up by six months. The situation with Iran's nuclear program is so volatile that real events could overtake fiction any day now.

Coonts' masterfully written novel provides the most intelligent and thoughtful analysis of just how this nuclear nightmare could actually play out. It also provides insight into the often under-reported youthful dissident movement in Iran, and the brutality the Mullah's are prepared to employ to keep them in check.

I have no doubt they are reading THE DISCIPLE in Israel, as well as at the State Department and the Pentagon. I just hope we have a real Tommy Carmellini out there somewhere.

What I appreciated about this book is that the author has taken the world as it is, with Iran thumbing it's nose at the United States and the non-Muslim world and written a book that is shockingly plausable and frighteningly real.

If you want a look at how things could play out in the next year or so, this book would be a very good primer and wake up call. I would be interested to know if it was included in President Obama's holiday reading in Hawaii. I will bet a chocolate chip cookie that it was not.

The most prevalent feeling one comes away with is that the types of people we need and should have in our government are probably now only found in the pages of current popular fiction.

However, there is one character in this book that is frighteningly real both in it and in our real lives. Achmadinijahd, the rogue President of Iran is every bit as evil as portrayed in these pages and I fear we will find out the hard way that it is so.

This is a very unsettling book and masterfully done.

This is a very scary book. It calls into question the Iranian President's intentions for the use of his developing nuclear weapons. The United States government is beginning to wonder what President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
is going to do with his emerging nuclear program. Tommy Carmellini is inserted into Iran to gather information.
Through the use of a brother and sister who are dissidents in Iran Carmellini makes a stunning discovery. The
Iran is planning on shooting nuclear missiles at several targets. The Iranian leadership will be hidden in an
underground bunker safe from all harm. When the nuclear activity is over they will emerge to lead a holy war against all non muslims. The targets that have been selected are Israel, Qatar,, Kuwait, Oman, Baghdad and Tehran.
When the President learns of the targets he decides not to do a first strike. Through Carmellini's intelligence network they are able to gain knowledge of the launch sites. Jake Grafton is placed in charge of handling this battle. This book will leave you thinking "What If". This is definitely a good book. Be sure to read it.

When it's discovered that Iran is just a short time away from having there own nuclear weapons and King Ahmadinejad, the Jihadist leader, intends to unleash them on the world, both Tommy Carmellini and Jake Grafton begin there race against time to save what could be millions of lives.
Coonts seems to always come out with very topical thrillers. As I was reading, a headline came out on the news about Iran and there nuclear potential. Well this thriller will give you a good scare too. Fast and very satisfying. Carmellini and Grafton are two of my favorite fictional characters. They get the job done no matter what they have to do. A suspenseful and fast-paced thriller all Coonts fans should enjoy.

Contrary to the predictable few low ratings, I'd give this book 6 stars if a sixth was available. I won't go into the story, or the characters and therby ruin it for someone contemplating buying the book, I'll just say it is a very contemporary "What If" scenario about Iran and it's march toward Nuclear Weapons. I have read nearly everything that Coonts has written, and I think this is his best. If you like books by Flynn, Silva, Haig, and DeMille, you'll most likely love this book. My recommendation: Buy It!

Coonts has done it again. As usual he has paired Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini together again.

Good action. Great Story line. Waiting for the next one.

STEPHEN COONTS IS GOOD--BUT--HE IS AT HIS BEST IN THE DISCIPLE! GRAFTON IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER AND CARMELLINI IS STILL IN TROUBLE EVERYTIME HE TURNS AROUND-WITH A LITTLE LOVE INTEREST. COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN AND DIDN'T WANT TO. GREAT TWISTS FAKE YOU OUT AND STILL VERY PLAUSIBLE. THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'.

My personal history of interest in Iran goes back to the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-1980. Jimmy Carter's ignorant naïveté, waffling inaction, and the resultant humiliation of America still rankles me, as does the Iranians crossing over legal diplomatic borders and taking Americans hostage. Reagan's entry into office makes the Iranians realize things have changed, and the Iranians release the hostages. Details of this can be found in the excellent book "Guests of the Ayatollah" by Mark Bowden.

Fast-forward now 30 years, and the Iranians realize they replaced one dictatorship with one that's much, much worse. They're demonstrating in the streets, they're on the right side of "FREEDOM!" now, and we have another naïve president who thinks saying nothing (therefore implicitly supporting the fascist regime, rather than supporting freedom) is the way to {not} respond.

My anger for the Iranians illegally entering "USA Territory" 30 years ago has been replaced with admiration for the brave Iranians fighting and dying for freedom.

It's in this context that Stephen Coonts inserts Grafton and Carmellini into his latest military thriller: the vast majority of Iranians that simply want to live freely while their Islamic Fascist dictatorship mystically believes they can bring Allah's kingdom to earth by initiating a nuclear holocaust.

There's plenty of technical military action along with a duped press corps falling to and even supporting Iranian propaganda in a race against time.

But rather than the typical Coonts military thriller inserted into real history with real characters, the Iranian people's desire for freedom creates a backdrop that in many ways is closer to William F. Buckley's very excellent "Stained Glass" tone of poignancy and sacrifice. This is the book that you would love to see read by the freedom-desiring people of Iran so that they know that Americans support and understand their desire for freedom.

This is an excellent book; I've read all of Coont's books and this is my favorite. He has one graphic sex scene that's really not necessary, but other than that this is truly a fantastic book.