The Hunted [Audio CD]

Brian Haig (Author), Scott Brick (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Books On Tape; Unabridged edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1415965277
• ISBN-13: 978-1415965276
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 6.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,178,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Haig is the son of former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig and has been born and bred in the American military and worked all over the globe. Since retiring from duty he has been a special advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now runs a large helicopter company. He lives with his wife and four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "The Hunted" Falls Short, September 13, 2009

By 

Dr. Bill Creasy (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hunted (Hardcover)

Brian Haig is the best all-around writer in today's thriller community. His novels are well thought out, with a degree of plot complexity and engaging characters that we all embrace and look forward to enjoying. And his character, Sean Drummond, is a breath of fresh air in the company of Mitch Rapp, Scot Harvath and Jack Reacher, all great series characters, but without the wit and wisecracking charm of our favorite JAG lawyer.

After a half dozen Sean Drummond novels I looked forward to watching Haig step away from his proven character and try his hand at something new. He certainly has the story-telling ability, rhetorical skills and stylistic virtuosity to expand his repertoire successfully.

So, I'm puzzled over "The Hunted."

Based on real-life events in the collapsed Soviet Union of the early 1990s, "The Hunted" is a sparse tale of political corruption, aging spies and a not altogether likable man-on-the-run. Since the story is necessarily predictable, Haig's challenge is to create interesting characters, explore their motives, and perhaps throw in unexpected plot twists to propel his characters toward their already-known conclusion.

Unfortunately, Haig fails on all counts.

In "The Hunted" his characters are utterly predictable, two-dimensional caricatures: Alex Konevitch, the brilliant young entrepreneur who becomes a multimillionaire at age 22 through his smarts and timing; Elena Konevitch, Alex's "stunningly beautiful" wife who loves Alex for himself, not his money; Golitsin, the corrupt former KGB deputy director and his cabal of sadistic out-of-work KGB operatives; and the list goes on. As "The Hunted" unfolds, not a single character develops in any way whatsoever: each does little more than embody a stereotype sprung full-grown from the time he is introduced.

Motive? Simple: greed. Not millions, not hundreds of millions, but "billions," as Nicki, the dark double of Alex's wife, Elena, says: "Nicky adored that word 'billions.' It rolled out of her lips so beautifully. She could repeat it as often as she liked." And she does: again and again and again.

Brian Haig creates Sean Drummond with wit and humor, sprinkling the page with aphorisms that make the reader laugh out loud and bring his character to life. It's odd, then, that in "The Hunted" everyone from Konevitch's arch nemesis Golitsin through the most minor KGB knuckle dragger manages little more than to be called a "moron" ("Listen closely, moron. Wherever you run, I'll find you.") or an "idiot" ("So long, Boris, you idiot."). "Idiot" is actually used 37 times (so my Kindle tells me) to describe a character or his actions, enough that it stands out in memory and becomes an annoying verbal twitch. Likewise, in "The Hunted" Haig slips carelessly into verbal gaffs, such as "His President could care less about anything that didn't register in national polls and outside Hollywood." It should read "couldn't care less," not "could care less: if he could, he would.

Perhaps I'm holding my expectations too high, but I think not. Brian Haig is the best writer currently working the thriller genre. His skills certainly allow him to explore beyond his Sean Drummond character to create other memorable characters and stories.

The problems with "The Hunted" are more basic:

1) It relies on narrative summary, rather than character interaction to tell the story. I haven't counted, but I'd guess that 80-85% of the book is spoken by the narrator, rather than the characters themselves.

2) The characters are thus two-dimensional and not very interesting. At the end of the day, we don't really care about any of them.

3) If the characters are not interesting to us, I suspect they were not very interesting to Brian Haig, either; hence, he allowed himself to take the easy way out: calling a character an "idiot," rather than showing why he's an idiot.

I'm certainly not going to write off Brian Haig because of "The Hunted." After a half dozen books or so, too many authors fall into formula, cut corners and and count on their following to sell their books (e.g., Vince Flynn's "Extreme Measures" and Brad Thor's "The Apostle"). I don't think Brain Haig has done that with "The Hunted." He took a chance, stepped beyond his proven character, Sean Drummond, and took a stab at something new. That indicates growth as a writer, and it should be encouraged.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Thriller!, August 26, 2009

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hunted (Hardcover)

Rendered one of Russia's wealthiest men for his entrepreneurial talents, financial genius Alex Konevitch ill-advisedly hires the KGB's former deputy director to handle his corporate security and subsequently loses his company before fleeing with his wife to America, where he struggles for survival amid false accusations and a contract on his head.
I didn't actually realize this was based on a true story till I came to the end of the book. Fascinating. That being said I found this to be one of those rare thrillers that truly kept me engrossed the whole time. A captivating and emotional thriller with authentic and convincing characters. One of my favorite novels of the past few months.
Highly Recommended to all thriller fans!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NO ONE IS SAFE, September 1, 2009

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hunted (Hardcover)

If international intrigue keeps you turning pages you'll find yourself completely absorbed in The Hunted, a tension propelled thriller that takes place at the time of communism's fall in Russia. Peopled with some of the most savage characters to imaginable the gritty dialogue sparks as the fast paced narrative shuttles between countries.

He may be only 22 but Alex Konevitch is brilliant, blessed with an unflagging entrepreneurial spirit and a beautiful wife, Elena. Furthermore he's worth over 300 million, the richest man in Moscow. Of course, at that point in time wealth meant you were an enemy of the state, even worse he was detested hated by former KGB chief Golitsin, a man filled with hatred and greed, one who relished the sound of another's physical suffering.

Konevitch secretly poured his money into backing Boris Yeltsin in hopes of establishing free enterprise in his native country. Golitsin wants to know where this bounty is coming from, and is enraged when he finds that it is Konevitch. Nonetheless, life seems perfect for Alex and Elena, a golden couple.

But contentment turns to disquiet when several of Alex's top men are murdered. Fearing for the safety of Elena and himself, Alex hires a coterie of bodyguards, and employs Golitsin as his chief of security. That was a bit like inviting a crazed killer into your home.

Despite being surrounded by protection the couple are kidnaped, and Alex is tortured mercilessly until he signs over his companies to an unknown person. He feels somewhat secure as his account and security numbers are needed before a dollar can be accessed. But even more important than the money - how can Alex save Elena and himself? His captors would take pleasure in killing them as slowly and painfully as possible.

Thus begins a cross world odyssey that pits Alex not only against his Russian enemies but also against officials of the United States when Golitsin is clever enough to have Alex declared a criminal for stealing from his own company, the very crime of which Golitsin is guilty.

Haig based his incredible story on the life of Alex Konanykhin, a once wealthy man victimized by the Russian government. The Hunted is a thrill packed tale, and a frightening one.

- Gail Cooke