Customer Reviews

Inside Out: A Novel

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

In 2007, operatives working out of the Vice-president of the United States' office were informed that there were ninety-two missing videotapes. Those tapes documented the extreme torture of ghost detainees, individuals captured and whisked away to secret prisons, people who simply disappeared. Waterboarding, while documented on the tapes, was not the worst thing that happened to the ghost detainees. Ulrich, the lead operative, crafts a plausible story to spin to the media, which allows everyone else to sigh in relief.

Two years later, someone surfaces, contacts one of the operatives, and tells him that he is in possession of the ninety-two videotapes. He will release them to the world's media in five days if he is not paid $100 million in small, uncut diamonds.

In a Manila jail, Ben Treven is awaiting his fate for the killing of an Australian sailor. Ben was a member of an elite squad of men who "fixed" problems. He was hand picked for the squad because of his skills in stealth, observation and tactics, and use of deadly force. Waiting out his days, he is visited by his old commander, Colonel "Hort" Horton, who has a proposition; find and detain the person that is blackmailing the United States government. There are not many clues, however Hort believes that a dead man has the tapes, a person who died in an explosion in Pakistan in 2007.

Treven wants out of the jail, but he also wants a measure of revenge from Hort, who tried to kill him, his brother, and a female lawyer when an advanced encryption software program was being readied for market. Treven accepts the offer.

It isn't long until Ben discovers that he isn't the only person looking for the tapes or the blackmailer; the FBI and CIA are on the case as well. The CIA is willing to kill in order to recover the tapes. Ben's unique skills as a military assassin will be tested if he is to be the first to the finish line.

Barry Eisler has published another excellent novel that focuses on a character, Ben Treven, whom he introduced in his 2009 novel, Fault Line. Inside Out propels Ben to the forefront; you learn more about him, his training, his background, and the skills that make him so effective and deadly. Should you be unfamiliar with Fault Line, do not worry, Eisler provides a few references, but they are not necessary to the story line of Inside Out. What you will become familiar with in this novel are some of the darkest secrets of government. While Eisler has crafted an excellent thriller, it isn't until you reach the Sources and Bibliography that you realize that he has scripted a fictional account of real events.

That is not all, however. Eisler works some other ideas into the novel, ones that will make you reconsider what you think you hear, what you think you know. For a work of fiction, it is startling in its depth of research, as presented by the bibliography. Further, Eisler worked another of his characters, John Rain, into Inside Out, which bodes well for regular readers of his novels. The future is bright for Eisler's fans and those that like thrilling action, well defined characterization, believable dialog, and thought provoking story lines.

Disclosure:
Obtained from: Amazon Vine Review Program
Payment: Free

Mr. Eisler, you have now joined my exasperation club of authors that don't finish a story within a novel.

I don't have a problem with characters continuing from book to book . . . but, please, I beg of you, find a way to end your plot within each novel, or you're going to be deleted from my buy list.

I've really enjoyed Eisler's John Rain books, but this one is a pretty far departure from those (unfortunately). The biggest problem I have with this book is that it comes off as mainly a political rant against torture of war criminals/terrorists. It seems like there are a zillion references in the book to Abu Gharib(sp?), and the book spends much of its time with stupid politicians discussing political coverup strategies (yawn).
Then at the end of the book, we are "treated" to the mother-of-all rants, where he discussed (through one of his borderline crazy characters) the role of government, corporations, etc.

The other thing about this book is that it has no third act at all! None! It establishes the characters, presents the conflict, and them boom, the book ends with nothing really resolved from the first two acts. You can't help feeling kind of cheated at the end. It seems like Eisler mainly just wanted to rant a bit about an issue he felt important, rather than trying to entertain us with a coherent story.

I've read all Barry Eisler's books, and Inside Out was another great Eisler read - zero to ninety in three seconds, and hang on for the ride, right up until the last part of the book, when Eisler stopped writing and started ranting. I understand that Eisler feels strongly about certain political issues; that came through in the dialogue of the book. I didn't need to be force-fed the information as a way of concluding Inside Out, though. It felt like Eisler couldn't contain himself any longer and gave up trying to get his beliefs across within a novel; he just needed to state them outright. I get it, Mr. Eisler, and I appreciate the references and bibliography at the book's end so I can research these topics myself. But please, don't confuse writing novels with writing blogs. Rain, Dox, and Treven together? Bring it on! Just please leave out the rants and give me the non-stop action I crave in Barry Eisler novels.

Eisler's John Rain books were taut, action-filled stories with exotic locales and interesting characters. The previous Ben Treven book was better, while this book's characters are so busy preaching about the war on terror (bad) that the book forgets to tell a real story. Sure, pedantic politics is a failing of right-wing superheroes of Flynn and Thor, but Eisler has proven he can do better than this. You know you're in for trouble when his book jacket author bio highlights his blogging exploits more than his intelligence/martial arts background. I will still look forward to his next book, but if this trend continues, I will seek other authors.

This is a thriller that Michael Crichton would be proud of. Yes, it's a little preachy - Mr. Eisler obviously has some strong feelings and those shine through in the dialogue. But it's preachy about relevant topics, and it certainly makes you consider what we think we know about our government's covert actions.

When you combine a thought-provoking plot, great characters, lots of realistic settings, action that does not disappoint, and a sex scene that has to be read to be believed...you get one of the best thrillers of the year.

I will agree that the ending is unexpected, but to me that just adds to the appeal. I don't want all my thrillers tied up in a nice neat bow at the end. Sometimes life gets a little out of hand, and a great thriller should reflect that. (Plus, there's a hint that we may be seeing John Rain and Dox in the next Ben Treven book...and if you aren't excited about that, you have never read Barry Eisler before).

All in all, a great book, one of my favorites of the year.

This is the first Eisler book I have read. It's a good thriller with political intrigue tightly integrated into the action. Unfortunately, it was clearly written to be read after the previous books in the series, so now their endings are spoiled for me.

This book's ending? There really was none. While the major plot points were resolved by the last page, the story will clearly continue in the next book in the series. I didn't find that particularly dissatisfying.

Inside Out was my first exposure to this author. Although I have missed out on predecessor works (at least so far), I felt that Inside Out was able to stand on its own. The story line was realistic and fit well into current times. Clearly, it gives the reader something concrete to think about. The character development was solid. The action was fast and furious. All in all, I found this work to be a positive first impression. I will be going back for more from this Eisler.

If you are thinking about buying this, read the Author's Note at the top. He warns you that he has decided to put his oligarchy conspiracy and anti-detainee views in a suspense novel. It doesn't work. As other reviewers have noted, he abandons all but his preaching in the last third. If you are part of that choir, you might enjoy it. But if you are looking for the suspense of his John Rain books, you will be completely disappointed.

I've been an Eisler fan for years but this book was a disappointment. A big one. The action finally got going, suspense began to build, and then it ended with nothing resolved. Just a lot of preaching about politics, which is fine as long as it's combined with some action, but then... nothing. As in, MAYBE something will happen in the NEXT book as Ben, the main character in this one is sent to find John Rain and Dox from Eisler's previous books. Too bad-- this book had potential but then, poof.