Fade [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Kyle Mills (Author) "The few people visible in the street seemed to have no purpose other than to kick up dust that then hung in the air like..." (more)
Key Phrases: Karen Manning, Hillel Strand, Homeland Security (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The government turned its back on Salem Al Fayad after the first Gulf War, but now that Homeland Security needs "Fade's" particular skills, they attempt to recruit him again. He's not only not interested, but he's nursing a very big grudge, and the ham-fisted tactics they use to reel him back in don't help defuse his anger. There's a bullet lodged in Fade's spine that could have been removed years ago, but the feds wouldn't pay for it then and it's too late now, so Fade's got nothing to lose but his life, and that's not worth very much to him now. His old friend and teammate Matt Egan tried to help him then, but now he's charged with bringing Fade in, dead or alive. Both Fade and Egan are appealing characters--if there's a villain here, it's Egan's new boss, and Matt is torn between his loyalty to Fade, his duty to a superior officer he despises, and his fears for his own family's safety. Mills expertly ratchets up the tension page by page and chapter by chapter in a better than average thriller marked by fine charicaterizations, superior pacing, and a strong narrative in which the bonds of friendship are brilliantly delineated and the two men at the center of the action linger in the reader's mind after the expectable but still compelling denouement. Mills gets better and better, and Fade is timely enough to break him out of the midlist and win him a new legion of fans. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Since 9/11, even the best thriller writers have been constricted by stock heroes (mostly ex-military white Americans) and villains (mostly Arab terrorists) who make it hard to tell one book from another. Leave it to Mills (Smoke Screen) to solve that problem in an exciting, original way. His Salam al Fayed (aka Fade), an American agent of Arab ancestry and a former navy SEAL, is as tough and loyal as they come. But when his latest mission ends in failure and his government employers treat him badly, Fade becomes increasingly bitter. So when his former friend and colleague, Matt Egan, is ordered by the head of a secret agency of the Department of Homeland Security to persuade Fade to put aside his anger and join an undercover team in the Middle East, Fade has a one-word answer—in English as well as Arabic. Egan, who's almost as interesting a character as Fade, is full of guilt for what happened to his old friend, but he also knows that his boss is right: Fade is perfect for the new assignment. In fact, all the government people are fully credible within the boundaries of their responsibilities. Mills's prose is crisp and his action skills are top-notch. In Fade, he has created a true thriller hero for the present and the immediate future.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (May 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312335776
• ASIN: B000VYQFF4
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #826,606 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More thrills from Kyle Mills!, May 14, 2005

By	Michael D. Trimble (Connecticut) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fade (Hardcover)

I have read or listened to all of Kyle Mill's books and his newest book--Fade--is among the best! In Salam al Fayed (Fade) Mills has created an exciting, somewhat zany, and resourceful character. This is a book about revenge and the settling of old scores between men who were once partners and friends. Fade is the ex-seal and elite special ops agent whose been pushed too far, one too many times.

In the beginning of the book Fade's career comes to an abrupt halt when he is nearly killed while attempting the rescue of a young Arab girl. In a typical bureaucratic snafu (situation normal all "messed" up), the government denies him the complicated medical procedure that would have returned him to work and full health and as a result he is on his own with nothing to show for a life devoted to the most dangerous missions imaginable. Now, years later, the government has once again come calling for his unique services. Only this time it's Fade who has no desire to help. Threatened and pursued by the government and in turn the police (on trumped up government charges/lies), Fade does the only thing he was ever trained to do when attacked. He attacks back, and with all the skill and imagination that had at one time made him the very best in the business!

Thrilling and absorbing weekend end read!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kyle Mills is on a Roll !, August 4, 2005

By	Mr D. "Artist/Designer/Kibitzer" (Cave Creek, Az United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fade (Hardcover)

After a brilliant debut novel, Kyle Mlls wrote three or four good but not great books. Not so for his last two. These are page turners deluxe. Three weeks ago I read and reviewed his tongue and cheek novel about big tobacco, called Smoke Screen and was extremely impressed. Now I've just finished his latest book, "Fade" and I am again impressed.

The title "Fade" is the name of the protagonist - Salem al Fayad, Fade for short - an ex CIA killing machine. Fade is a born and raised in the US, Christian Arab, who after being operational in the Middle East in the late nineties, found himself seriously wounded - a bullet near the spine - which threatened to paralyze him. There was an experimental operation which could remove the bullet and the danger but his friend and handler Matt Egan was unable to get anyone to pay for it.

Fast forward to present day; Matt is now working for Homeland Security and he and his boss, Hillel Strand have been tasked with setting up an overseas ongoing Middle Eastern operation and while reviewing the files of possible candidates, Matt's boss, to Matt's chagrin zeros in on Salem al Fayad, deciding he would be the perfect recruit. Matt tries to dissuade Strand but he is unyielding and insists on a visit to meet his new would be recruit.

Fade (Salem al Fayad) is bitter about his previous shoddy treatment by his country. When the government wouldn't pay for his operation, he went to work for a Columbian drug lord, in Columbia, helping him eliminate some of his competition, in order to raise enough money for the operation but alas, when he finally amassed the needed amount, it was too late as scar tissue, congregating around the bullet made the operation impossible. So when his old friend Matt and the imperious Hillel Strand showed up trying to enlist his services, they were sent packing in no uncertain terms.

Hillel Strand was not used to not getting his way, so he arranged for Fade to be arrested on some phony murder charge, wherein he would clear Fade, thereby making him indebted but as if in response to Murphy's Law, the worst case scenario ensues, putting Fade on the run and Strand hiding out from Fade, who now has promised to kill him. (This is the one weakness I found in the story - The sheriff sending out a SWAT team in the middle of the night to arrest a man on an anonymous phone tip)

Even though "Fade" is only 311 pages long, Kyle Mills manages to give the reader a good feel for his characters. Both Egan and Fade are likable as is Karen Manning, who enters the story as the head of a SWAT team sent to arrest Fade. The villain, of course, is the self important Hillel Strand, with runner-up honors to Manning's boss, Sheriff Pickering. Egan is put in the middle of the battle between Fade and Strand and you don't know which way he will jump.

As with Mill's previous six books the narrative is strong, smooth and fluid, without being wordy. As mentioned the book is only 311 pages and that is because he doesn't drag the reader into loquacious dialogue or go off in unnecessary directions. Instead he seems to reel the reader in by increasing the suspense on a chapter by chapter basis, in which the reader finds it difficult to take a break.

I'm further impressed that Mills seems to have an unending array of divergent plots. This is his seventh book and while some best selling writers seem to rehash different versions of the same plot, like Harlan Coben, Mills has not repeated any characters, nor has any of his wildly diverse plots have any similarities. So far, when you pick up a book by Mills, you are reading a fresh, new and well written story. Expect Kyle Mills to make the NY Times bestseller list in the future and eventually become a mainstay.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Read, June 25, 2005

By	EdHopper "Painter" (Cary, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fade (Hardcover)

While the title character seems a little too humorous at times to jive with his big, bad history I still enjoyed this quite a bit. It was the perfect blend of suspense and humor. Well done and I can't wait to read the next one!