Customer Reviews

The Fifth Horseman: A Novel of Biological Disaster

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

By 2003, some interesting events have occurred in the Mid East, leading to a potential environmental Armageddon. The independent International Environmental Response Team(INERT) led by Dr. Michael Zammit visits ecological hot spots in efforts to avert disasters or cleaning up after a mess.

The Mid East remains a hot spot but a new crisis requires the INERT squad to prevent a pandemic catastrophe as a terrorist has opened a genie bottle by placing an genetically altered organism into a Turkish reservoir, leaving thousands poisoned. Turkey cut off water supplies to Iraq and Syria, who with the help of a rogue Russian military officer plans to invade the democratic Muslim nation. INERT must neutralize the new weapon of mass destruction before the Mid East explodes.

THE FIFTH HORSEMAN is an action thriller that starts at a supersonic speed and never slows down for a moment even if the heroic group's name is a misnomer. The story line is very exciting even if some of the actions of the characters appear far-fetched. Richard Sherbanluk creates a combination Indian Jones-James Bond thriller that will please the action-adventure crowd, who will demand more INERT tales.

Harriet Klausner

Clive Cussler seems to enjoy mentoring aspiring writers. With Richard Sherbaniuk, who thanks Cussler in his acknowledgements, was obviously an apt student - and out of the box rivals Cussler. "The Fifth Horseman" acheives something few authors are capable of doing: giving life to an unbelievable hero who exists in a plot that demands a reader to suspend objective thought. In short, Sherbaniuk on his first try has created a magnificient thriller. Dr. Michael Zammit is a genius, an intrepid explorer, a master of survival, a committed environmentalist (without the looniness associated with so many who claim that title) and all-around superman. Sherbaniuk's brilliance is breathing life into Zasmmit and several other larger than life good and bad guys and gals. And he does it almost flawlessly. The action unrolls at a furious pace. Zammit bounces from one major adventure to another. He survives lack of sleep, kidnapping, unarmed combat among other things. A real man would probably have been twice dead in the first third of the novel. But through Sherbaniuk's skilled pen, Zammit saves the world from a brilliant, evil mastermind. "The Fifth Horseman is a great read. My eyes were glued to it for three evenings. Had I not had to earn a living, it would have been finished in a day - it's that good. Make sure to put it on your reading list - and then urge Sherbaniuk to write another and another and another . . .

Jerry

The water in the reservoir behind the Ataturk dam has been poisoned with a virulent toxic green scum that is growing and spreading at a frightening pace. Turkey has no options but to shut down the flow from the reservoir which is the sole source of water for Turkey's arid neighbours, Iran and Syria, until they can solve the problem with the help of Dr Mike Zammit and his team of environmental detectives and experts from INERT, the International Emergency Response Team. But, that's just the beginning! Sherbaniuk tosses a hugely disparate set of plots and sub-plots, shenanigans and skulduggery into the blender - a power-hungry, sadistic, Islamic "fundamentalist" wannabe dictator who dreams of a country of his own; GMOs (genetically modified organisms) prepared in Russia's biological warfare research program hidden away in secret cities; a modern day Rasputin leading a brainwashed Russian cult who crucifies his victims and then proves his closeness to God by bringing the victims back to life; a hard fighting, hard drinking renegade Red Army General who dreams of completing Russian dreams for domination of Istanbul; and, terrorists hiding out in ancient underground temples. The plots are peopled by a cast numerous enough to populate the Orc army in The Return of the King.

Surprisingly, Sherbaniuk appears to have pulled it off - realistic geo-political scenarios of unrest, dissidence, revolution and war pulled from today's headlines; a frighteningly plausible biological terrorist threat; people, governments and military forces acting and reacting in credible ways to perceived threats, crises and opportunities; and, of course, the near super human hero needed to save civilization and pull the world back from the brink of disaster! The climax arrives and you realize with pleasure that you've just been fed a gripping, enormously satisfying dose of thriller! Sherbaniuk was able to effortlessly switch back and forth from thriller to intricately detailed explanations of the science, geography or history behind his development of the fiction without disrupting the flow of events in a story that unfolds at extreme high speeds!

(Note to the Editor: First, 90C is not 165F nor is 55C equal to 100F. The correct figures are 194F and 131F, respectively. Secondly, there is no such a race as a 400x400 metre relay. (Picture an 8 team race, if you will, where the infield is packed with 3200 competitors and the race takes about 5 hours to complete!!) Silly oversights and errors on simple things like this are prone to undermine the credibility of the much more detailed scientific expositions that were necessary in this novel. Look a little more sharp on the next entry, please!)

Sadly, the fast pace of the book left little room for such things as descriptive passages and character development but, at least, Zammit and his core team members appear to have been granted the first inklings of personalities. Despite Sherbaniuk's having received mentoring from Clive Cussler, I'm pleased to say that I find Michael Zammit a much more likeable, human character than Cussler's brainchild, Dirk Pitt. Zammit is more down to earth, quite a bit more humble and is actually aware that he's mortal. The exciting promise of more to come is certainly in the air. Cairo Jackson, I'm sure, will return as Zammit's sidekick. Francis Richards, one of INERT's crackerjack environmental detectives, has been given enormous potential for future development as her feelings for Mike begin to surface despite the fact that she is uncertain whether her husband is alive or dead. Dikka Spargo, the geeky young inventor, is a definite charmer and seems destined to fit into a more comic role reminiscent of James Bond's Q.

Move over, Pitt! Say hello to Michael Zammit! I'm definitely on the waiting list for Sherbaniuk's next effort.

Paul Weiss

The day after I finished reading The Fifth Horseman I came across a newspaper headline that quoted an FBI spokesperson as saying that a biological or nuclear attack by a terrorist group wasn't a possbility, it was a certainty. The only question remaining was when it would happen. When it does I hope Mike Zammit, the hero of this novel, gets the case. This is a fun novel. Lots of action. The heroes are larger than life and the villains are some of the nastiest I've seen in a long time - just the way they should be. And lots of great technical and scientific jargon. A great read. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is some of the improbable plot twists and heroic derring-do in the story. If those areas had been a little more realistic this book would be an easy five star effort. But that's just my personal preference in how I like my thrillers. Fifth Horseman is a highly entertaining read and I recommend it to anyone. I'm looking forward to Richard's next book.

I'd bet that a lot of use read thrillers to pass the time on commutes and plane trips. I took "The Fifth Horseman" on a plane to Chicago and the return to DC. I managed, in about 4 hours in the aluminum cocoons to get through about 100 pages of prose ranging from turgid ("Zammit threw himself on the couch") to silly (Saddam Hussein has only one son and his name is Anwar(?) ). The characters are cartoonish at best - like something from a Saturday morning cartoon that you don't want your kids to watch. The characters from INERT, the acronym for International Environmental Response Team, are apparently supposed to be lovable and cute but are more annoying than anything. The insectoids vs. the company cat, etc., was apparently an effort to show how creative the group was but undisciplined and thoughtless seem better adjectives. I read the first 224 pages trying to get into this thing. At the rate the INERT group was making progress in solving this disease riddle it would take forever for resolution. It isn't very often that airport television seems more interesting than a thriller, but "The Fifth Horseman" fits that category.

Weak character development and sometimes irritatingly unbelievable situations haunt this story, which could be compared to Richard Preston's "The Cobra Event." The main character, Mike Zammit, is indeed a combination of Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Richard Hawking, making him quite unrealistic in his own right. There are some glaring holes in the plot, and the writing, while not atrocious, is forced and predictable. It is quite obvious "The Fifth Horseman" is this writer's first novel. That said, it's still a wicked page-turner, and the suspense is what saves the story. It was enjoyable to read, and will make an amazing and quite entertaining movie. I give it four stars while taking into account that Sherbaniuk is a rookie. If this had come from Michael Crichton it would be a three.

The Fifth Horseman kept me up until 3am! Sherbaniuk's first novel is exciting and intelligent. In the midst of an action-packed thriller, he touches on some of the deepest spiritual questions humans wrestle with. His richly painted characters are emotional without being sappy.

I am amazed at how Sherbaniuk has included such detailed scientific, historical, political, and geographical explanations and still managed to keep the story moving quickly. As you read it, you only THINK the story is predictable. Watch out! Even if some of the situations seem impossible... hey, isn't that the whole fun of fiction? Everyone loves a McGyver!

This story will make an excellent movie. But read the book first!

See summary above.

An overall enjoyable read. Fast and furiously paced with a touch of some unbelievable action. Reminded me of an environmental Indiana Jones novel. I could have rated this a 5 star if only it was written in a more character believable way. I loved the settings in the novel and the information it put forward. From biological hazards to potential water wars. From secret cities in Russia to biological dangers in the Middle East. You'll also learn a bit about Turkey and its surrounding neighbors. A thrilling ride. I look forward to the next book in the hopes that it gets polished up a bit more.

Recommended for the adventure reader.

Sherbaniuk weaves together historic and scientific fact to create a fun and riveting work of fiction. The author knows that he is writing pulp and has fun with the genre, creating memorable heroes, despicable villains, and some over the top action sequences. At the same time, his novel explores real life conflicts that plague the today's middle east and former soviet union. the events he described are entirely plausible, and making them that much more frightening.

Can't wait for the movie version. This thriller moves at a furiously fast pace, jumping from the Middle East to the former Soviet Union to Seattle and Malta. A terrorist fanatic has arranged to have the Ataturk Dam contaminated with a Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), which threatens the uneasy peace of the Middle East. Enter Dr. Michael Zammit, an environmental cop with a high-tech laboratory of equipment and trained technicians assigned to help find out--against the clock--what the terrifying GMOs are and how to get rid of them before millions of people die. Dr. Zammit and crew are a cool and flexible team.

Sherbaniuk, who advises governments and corporations on environmental issues, writes with an insider's knowledge, keeping you on the edge of your seat as heart-stopping roadblocks to success are thrown in Zammit and his team's path. Sub-titled A Novel of Biological Disaster, this is a story to keep you up late at night. The novel is full of fascinating facts about how easy it is to pollute the planet, and it's an easy way to learn something about the environment. More please, and soon.