Customer Reviews

Gauntlet: A Novel of International Intrigue

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Length:: 1:27 Mins

Gauntlet is not an easy or mindless read. It required me to pay attention to what was going on and think about what was happening. When I started this book, I was a little overwhelmed. Not only with the size of the book but the complexity with which the author discusses the various government agencies involved in the plot. Once I finally got into the book a few chapters I started to connect with a few of the characters. Once that happens for me, I tend to have an easier time sticking to the book.

There were places in this book that became too in-depth and more detailed than I needed which seemed to drag things out a bit. I also think that this is much more a man's book than a woman's. However, even with the length of the book, I found that I got more interested in it toward the end. The further that I got, the more that I really wanted to finish it. But I wanted to finish it because I was invested in the characters and I wanted to see how things ended for them. Not because I wanted to know what happened.

The last 100 pages of the book were definitely better than the first 100, but I didn't like the end. I really feel like it left me hanging. I believe that Aaron intentionally left the ending hanging since there is a follow-up in the works, but I don't know that I'm invested in the story enough to pick up the sequel. That being said, I still liked the book. It took me a while to read (I wasn't giving up sleep because I couldn't put it down) but it was good enough to keep me interested. I didn't ever think about putting it down or quitting altogether. I just felt that I was more interested in what happened to the people than the missing Semtex. I guess that says a lot for character development, huh?

In Richard Aaron's Gauntlet, about 4.5 tons of a highly explosive plastic material known as semtex has gone missing and is in the hands of Afghanistan terrorists plotting against America. Authorities don't know where the attack will take place and have only a month to find out and stop it from killing a lot of innocent people. The terrorists, skilled at what they do, evade detection and catch at every turn. A major hub of the action is a group known as the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, or TTIC. One of their most vital employees turns out to be an autistic math genius named Hamilton Turbee who is good at cracking codes and doing quick calculations in his head.

The plot will take you everywhere from the caves of Afghanistan where terrorists hide and plot, the deserts of the Middle East, the Canadian border where a cop is investigating drugs, and to Washington and back. While reading, you will jump around the world, and this constant movement gives a sense of scope to the plot such that you realize how widespread and serious an issue like the one in the book really is, and of all the work that goes into cracking the plots of and stopping terrorists.

Everything is fast paced, jumping from one character to the next, and there are A LOT of characters. Each character is distinct, though, even the terrorists that you come to understand the motives of. Gauntlet is a book to read when you don't have anything else to do because you will not want to put it down. With each page, the suspense builds until you feel like it is going to crack. What makes the book even more immediate and hard to put down is that everything within it feels real, as if it is happening or has happened. After all, we are living in a world aware and fearful of terrorist attacks. The thought that something like this could happen, or could be happening behind the scenes, is quite frankly very terrifying.

This is really the first time that I have read a book like this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love a complex plot that twists and connects all over the place, and this book certainly delivered a well thought out and wonderfully written series of events. I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say that you will be on the edge of your seat.

One of the publicists I interact with offered me a copy of Gauntlet: A Novel of International Intrigue by Richard Aaron for reading and review. The genre is definitely one that I like, and I was starting to run a bit low on recreational reading. Given that Gauntlet is Aaron's first novel, I'm impressed. With a bit more time, Aaron could become quite the writer, and the TTIC agency could turn into a "franchise" brand, much like Clancy has done with his novels.

Gauntlet's main story line involves the theft of over four tons of Semtex explosive, part of a larger stash that is being blown up by the US military in the Middle East. This stolen Semtex ends up in the hands of an Afghani terrorist, intent on using it to make a strike against the US. The "Emir", as he is known, uses a very rich drug smuggler to finance the purchase, deliver it to its intended target, and prepare for the blow. A newly formed intelligence agency, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), has an incredible wealth of computing and satellite resources available to them to track and stop threats such as this. One of the members of the agency, an autistic whiz kid by the name of Hamilton Turbee, can use the equipment to figure out things that others wouldn't even be able to recognize. He's got the best chance to track and find the Semtex before it's used, but the head of TTIC doesn't think much of Turbee due to his strange behavior and lack of formality. The tension mounts between his boss (who no one else in the agency cares for either) and himself as Turbee struggles to explain his mental gyrations well enough to get people to act on them before the Emir can strike the killing blow.

Secondary to this story are plotlines that have two Canadian RCMPs tracking down a drug smuggling and money laundering ring between Canada and the US. As they dig deeper (literally), they find a connection between this multi-million dollar operation and the terrorist threats against America. There's also a thread involving the capture of some US spies in Pakistan, their imprisonment in a hidden prison high in the mountains, and their attempts to escape and relay what they've found out about the targeted location of the strike.

At 488 pages, this is quite a bit longer than normal "first novels" I've run into. Generally speaking, that's not a good sign, as it's hard to keep the plot and pacing going at a consistent level over that long a period. Aaron did it better than I expected, however. Some of the plots seemed to be dropped for long periods of time, and one plot in particular still has me wondering why it was there (unless a sequel puts him in play). The Turbee character is unique in that he's autistic, and that's not a normal lead character trait. But the behavior is a bit inconsistent, in that he's barely able to function at first, and then after a devastating event, he seems to be more normal than most. I would have expected him to completely lose touch with reality. Even with that, I still seemed to be driven to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. All in all, I enjoyed my time spent here.

Had this been Aaron's fourth or fifth book, I'd probably tend more towards the "3" range of the ratings. But there's a lot of promise there, and I could see myself becoming addicted to the whole TTIC concept should a series start to emerge.

I really enjoyed this book and waffled between 3.5 and 4 stars just because there were two story lines going on that eventually come together at the end and I found one of them rather slow and had a hard time getting through it. Following the story line about Youssef, TTIC and the CIA agents was exciting and I could not wait to find out what happened next. I had to stay up late to finish the book and was slightly disappointed that you were left hanging. I can't wait for the next book.

Most of the characters were great. You can't help but root for Turbee, the autistic but brilliant computer geek working for TTIC, and I was practically biting my nails waiting to find out what happens Richard's brother, Zak. It was also an interesting twist to see what happened in Youssef's past that brought him to the point in life where he is ready to help the Emir enact this terrorist attack. He's not your typical one track mind fanatic portrayed in most terrorist attack novels, his character shows the internal moral debate and in fact you can almost come to like his character.

Like I mention above there is a second story line following two cops in Canada, Indy and Catherine, trying to find the hole used by drug traffickers between the US and Canada. While I liked Indy the story line was a little too slow for me and took to long to show how it connected with the terrorist attack plans.

Overall this was a great page turning suspense and I for one can't wait for the sequel.

This one plods along - too much background, not enough foreground. By the time things got moving I was bored to death. Unfortunately, the story doesn't "end" it's like he plans to keep going in GAUNTLET TWO - THE DAM FAILS. Sorry, I won't be going there!

The plot was interesting and kept your interest. My main two critisms are first the book is often very, very detailed on technical aspects such as transportation rails from ship to ship, just to much detail and often gets repetitive. The main critism is the book is just short of 500 pages and it does not END, the last couple pages are a intro for the next book really.

I would have much preferred the 500 pages here to be 300-400 (which without the technial aspects mentioned above which often go one for pages)and have the forthcoming second book added to this one instead of having this book end basically in the middle of a plot point.

Oh well, I guess that's how publishers/authors made money.

With realistic, three-dimensional characters and a dynamic, completely plausible blockbuster plot worthy of today's headlines, Richard Aaron has brought himself screaming into the writing world with this debut thriller - the first of a planned series.

Gauntlet features a main character who is diagnosed with autism and shows us the inner world of a person trying to make a living and a life for himself and the struggles associated with societal misunderstanding of the condition.

But they need Hamilton Turbee's uncanny intellect and computer-like mind to stop a terrorist attack. Security forces from Canada and the US combine for an international espionage/terrorist plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rarely does a debut author create such a stir. Rarely does a debut author get me so excited over a book. Rarely does an author (debut or not) get five stars out of me. To my recollection I have only ever given 5 stars to one other fiction writer - and it wasn't his debut.

Looking forward to the next release!

Gauntlet is all about international intrigue. The reader follows the lives of several different characters throughout the book. We follow Richard, a CIA field agent; Zak, Richard's friend who is working undercover with the enemy; Indy, a Canadian who is oblivious to the SEMTEX issue while trying to keep drugs out of his country; Leon, the drug smuggler alluding Indy; Turbee, an autistic genius who works for TTIC (TTIC is the intelligence group that tries to thwart terrorist activities); and Yousseff, the villain of Gauntlet.

All of Aaron's characters are in-depth, which is pretty awesome because there are so many of them to follow. The character I was most intrigued with was Yousseff. He's so much more than the bad guy. Yes, he may be ruthless, but he makes sure his employees and their families are well taken care of. With so many characters and details to write about, this book still amazingly has a good flow, without everything becoming too confusing or hard to follow.

Can't wait for any upcoming works by Aaron!

All in all, a great read of 2009.

The theft of Semtex and the threat of a terrorist bombing of a major US landmark is just some of what GAUNTLET is about. How the authorities try to track down the terrorists and how a drug smuggling ring is connected are pieces to this suspenseful puzzle. Richard Aaron has written an espionage thriller that keeps you reading until the end. His character development is detailed and complicated just as humans are. You get to root for the protagonists and want to destroy the antagonists. This is not just a story about terrorism and heroes; it is also about greed and corruption. This book isn't without its slow points, but then again it is over 500 pages. Mr. Aaron's first novel is truly a stunning success and he leaves off with a promise of a sequel.