Customer Reviews

Eclipse

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Richard North Patterson is an expert in providing courtroom drama that teaches the reader about the justice system, the corporate world, and the human heart.

In his new novel, "Eclipse," Patterson places his protagonist Damon Pierce in the midst of a power struggle between environmentalists, tribal groups in Luandia, and the conglomerate of petro-dollars and corruption symbolized by Luandia's corrupt, sadistic leadership.

Into this toxic political mix, Patterson throws Damon Pierce's abiding friendship and love for Marissa, a beautiful American he met at the University where Marissa's activist husband was speaking.

Years pass; Marissa continues to correspond with Pierce. Husband Bobby is in mortal danger from his activism. Only Pierce can rescue them.

The environmental disaster in Luandia matches up with the melt-down of Pierce's control over both his emotions and his own safety as he travels to Africa to defend Bobby Okari.

A compelling, if sometimes preachy, look at the Luandian people in the hands of greedy leaders and corporations where nothing matters more than money in the pockets of those who have the power to bring about change.

Advice to reader: do not let the first 50 pages impel you to toss this book. It gets better and better to the final explosive chapters.

Richard North Patterson's "Eclipse" takes place in the fictional West African nation of Luandia. One of the protagonists, Bobby Okari, is a Mandela-like figure who decides to organize his followers in protest against Luandia's dictatorial ruler, General Karama, and his henchmen, particularly the sadistic Colonel Okimbo. Although Okari espouses civil disobedience and non-violence, his adversaries do not hesitate to rape defenseless women, inflict torture, commit murder, burn villages, and despoil the land of its natural resources. Luandia is polluted, lawless, as well as economically, physically, and spiritually blighted. Karama has suspended the constitution, those who dare to speak out are incarcerated without trial by jury, and newspapers are shut down to prevent them from publicizing the outrages being perpetrated by Karama's corrupt government. Okari's goal is to foster regime change by rallying world opinion against the power brokers that are destroying the country for personal gain. Bobby demands that ordinary Luandians receive their fair share of "oil monies for schools, roads, clinics, [and] clean water to drink." His naiveté may cost him dearly.

Bobby's wife, Marissa, is a biracial woman who was born in America and followed her husband to Africa to support his crusade. She is terrified that Bobby's activism will cost him his life. Her close friend, Damon Pierce, is a California attorney who has carried a torch for Marissa since their college days. When Bobby is thrown in prison on trumped up charges, Damon offers his expertise to try to free him. However, what can one individual do to defeat an autocracy with strong ties to the oil-hungry United States?

Patterson is to be commended for his social conscience and for the considerable research that he conducted in order to produce this timely novel. Unfortunately, he falls into a common trap that tends to trip up writers who try to deliver a message in a work of fiction. The author lectures us repeatedly through his characters' stilted dialogue. He rails against the greed of nations that refuse to conserve energy and leaders who exploit their people in order to enrich themselves. Because the novel is so talky, any suspense that the courtroom scenes, Bobby's ordeal, and the budding romance between Damon and Marissa generate gradually drains away. What should have been an exciting and fast-paced thriller instead becomes a well-meaning but rather dull diatribe against the ways in which "oil blackens everything it touches."

Truly, this is a novel of our time. Set in the fictional, oil-rich African nation of Luandia, we find Bobby Okari, a well-spoken leader of an ethnic group called the Asari, who is trying, in true Mandela-like fashion, to achieve change through dialogue and peaceful protest. Opposing him is Karama Savior, the sadistic, power-hungry dictator who runs the country. Greed has ravaged the country, corrupting every level of government, and pollution is rampant thanks to those wishing to siphon off oil to make their own profit. The main company drilling for oil is PetroGlobal (or PGL), an American company.

When 3 PGL workers are found lynched, Bobby finds himself arrested on charges of murder and sedition, after having watched the annihilation of his village, and the slaughter of every inhabitant, at the hands of the military, led by Karama's top general Okimbo.

Drawn into the trial is Damon Pierce, an American lawyer, who years ago fell in love with Bobby's wife. He now finds himself risking his very life for the Okaris in a country where no one can be trusted, bribes are a way of life, and those who disagree with the regime routinely disappear.

The novel highlights our greed for oil, and the effect that this resource has on the countries who have it. At what point do we draw the line and ignore human rights abuses, or even genocide, when to pursue them could threaten our oil supply, potentially posing a risk to national security? Do we have absolute morals or are they subject to negotiation?

These, then, are the principle questions the reader must ask himself as he finds himself inexorably drawn to the conclusion, desperately hoping for some way out for Bobby.

Using Nigeria as a model for his fictional country, and a similar situation that actually happened, I cannot think of a more timely novel, or a more disturbing concept than our morals being held ransom for the cost of cheap gas.

I highly recommend this book.

After reading about 20 pages I began to wonder about this book. After reading another 50 (I was on a long airplane trip) I decided that life is too short to read bad books and put it down.

This is not a novel, it's an diatribe blaming all of Africa's problems on the US and on international oil companies. It's held together with a very thin plot and shallow characters. Sorry, I almost never throw a book out, but this one ended in the trash bin.

I remember discovering Richard North Patterson, back in the "Degree of Guilt" and "Final Judgment" days. He started to slip with "Conviction," which was more about the death penalty and the system than about telling a story. "Exile" was more about telling the sides of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict than about telling a story (plus it suffered from a frighteningly simplistic predictability in the alleged plot-twist; if you hadn't figured it out 150 pages earlier, you weren't paying attention!).

"Exile" seems to be more of the same (plus his editors have started to join the decline into incompetence that currently afflicts the rest of the publishing industry; just too many typos, inconsistencies, factual errors and badly-worded phrases). And who the hell let Mr. Patterson give not one, not two, but THREE major characters similar last names starting with "O?" I realize he wants to be "authentic," and that many African names start with "O," but there are many that do not. No one would publish a novel with major characters named Murphy, Murphree and Mumford (unless the similarity was germane to the plot), so why do the same with African names?

I used to say that current American novelists could be divided into two groups: Richard North Patterson and everybody else. I will give him one more try after this, but if he puts out another novel that fails to tell a good story while preaching about the evils of something Mr. Patterson hates, I'm done.

Overly long, preachy and repetitive. I lost count of the times the protagonist found himself "at the mercy of soandso" in some unnecessary plot development; it seemed as though he just recycled the same theme chapter after chapter. Although the issue he addresses (Nigeria's decline due to oil, corruption and multinationals) is an important one, his use of sterotypical characters and soap opera like dialogue took much away from the issue. Why did he have to sleep with "her"...it was absolutely predicatble and added nothing to the story. A complete disappointment - the only saving grace was skimming about 25% of the book and losing nothing of the storyline.

Having just finished The Exile, I could not wait to read another Patterson novel -- so I chose "Eclipse". What a big mistake. The book just goes on and on about how bad our oil compnaies are and how corrupt some African countries can be. The whole plot from start to finish was so contrived that it became more and more boring. I love courtroom drama and this could -- dare I say should -- have had it all. Maybe next time, Mr Patterson

I've read just about all of Richard North Patterson's novels over the last 15 years or so.

This one was very difficult to get through, it really dragged in several places and I had to pick it up three times in order to finish it. I guess he's starting to go the way of Patricia Cornwell, of whom I once was a great fan, but whose work I can no longer stomach.

I guess some novelists reach a certain level of success and just sell out. It certainly seems to be the case here. What a shame

Recently divorced, California lawyer Damon Pierce receives an urgent message from Marissa Brand, a woman he once loved (and perhaps still does), asking him to come to the West African country of Luandia. Marissa's husband, an activist named Bobby Okari has been accused of murder by the corrupt, brutal regime that runs the country.

Luandia sits on an oil of ocean and lots of outsiders, Americans included, are anxious to get their hands on it. None of them are much concerned about the way in which Luandia's government exploits and abuses its own people. Nor do they care about the catastrophic environmental consequences of the oil production.

Pierce is determined to save Bobby and so becomes his lawyer at great personal risk. Patterson weaves a complicated web of intrigue that is at once scary and terribly disheartening, and by the time you finish the book, you want to swear off ever using a drop of oil again.

I have always been a huge fan of Patterson's work, especially his political thrillers, and I really wanted to like this book as well. There is a terrible earnestness about it; in addition to telling a captivating story, Patterson is obviously determined to open our eyes to the consequences of our addiction to foreign oil.

And therein lies the problem, such as there is one. A lot of the book is spent in an effort to educate the reader to the situation in Luandia, which is a stand-in for Nigeria, and to the larger implications of our dependency on the resources of countries like it. In consequence, the book seems almost preachy at times, and it takes a fair amount for time for the book to really gather steam. Once it does, though, you can't put it down.

I'm giving this book three stars, which to me means that it's really very good, but not excellent. I respect the book's good intentions and it's an appropriate reminder of the fact that our continued addiction to oil--and to low oil prices--has a cost that goes well beyond that which we pay at the pump. And, once it does get rolling, it's very compelling. But I don't think it's as riveting as a lot of Patterson's other work.

Attorney Damon Pierce is reflecting on his life after his divorce has become final. He's officially single and his high powered job isn't as stimulating and interesting as it once was. Then he gets an e-mail from a girl he loved years ago named Marissa Okari, wife of writer Bobby Okari. She tells him she's seen three corpses hanging from a tree and she wants his help.

Bobby Okari and Marissa live in the Luandian province of Asariland. Bobby has been leading a fight for independence for his people from the cruel dictator Savior Karama. On the night of a total eclipse he leads a peaceful demonstration, but Karama's soldiers with the help of PetroGlobal Oil massacre the demonstrators and the people in Bobby's village, including Bobby's family and they take Bobby prisoner and torture him. Marissa has had her passport taken and cannot leave the country.

When Damon gets to Luandia he's confronted with horrors he never could have imagined. He has no standing in Luandia and his life is in danger, yet he stays to do what he can.

This is a good book. A thriller that is very hard to put down. It is my first Richard North Patterson book, but it will not be my last. The story is character driven and that just adds to the suspense. I can't recommend this story highly enough.