The Negotiator [Mass Market Paperback]

Frederick Forsyth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1990

Frederick Forsyth,  master of the international thriller, retums with  an electrifying story of a man of immense power and  a conspiracy to crush the President of the United  States. Only one man--Forsyth's most  unforgettable hero yet--can prevent the plan from succeeding.  His name is Quinn. He is the  Negotiator.President Cormack is  bent on a signing a sweeping U.S.-Soviet  disarmament treaty, and the master conspirator is  determined to stop him. The kidnapping of a young man on a  country road in Oxfordshire is but the first  brutal step in the explosive plot engineer the  president's destruction. Enter  Quinn.  Quinn plays the  kidnappers like a master musician. . . until, in a shocking  tumabout, he discovers that ransom was not their  objection after all--and that he has been lured  into a cunningly woven web. Now he must draw upon  his deepest strengths--to save not only the victim  but the entire free  world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The reader almost despairs of a story getting under way in Forsyth's latest: the situation takes so long to set up, and is mired in such wearisome detail. Finally, after it has been made clear that both a renegade Soviet military group and a fanatical Texan oil baron plan to take over an oil-rich Middle Eastern state for their different twisted reasons, the action begins. The son of the American president (who is about to sign a major arms agreement with Gorbachev himself) is kidnapped, and, despite the best efforts of Quinn, the negotiator, is killed at the very moment of his ransoming. The president is stricken, a takeover of the U.S. government looms, and it looks as if the treaty is doomed. Now it is up to Quinn to find out who was behind the crime, and why. With a plucky and pretty female FBI agent, he scours obscure corners of northern Europe for the perpetrators--always to find them dead just as he arrives. In a cliffhanger of a conclusion, he brings the guilt home to Washington, the president perks up and the world is saved. As always, Forsyth is good at the details (you learn more about Dutch and Belgian road maps than you probably ever wanted to know), keeps a few surprises up his sleeve and writes action scenes more crisply, and with less gore, than Ludlum. But his characterization is flat, and much of The Negotiator is terribly familiar. By far the best parts are the negotiations for the ransoming of the president's son, which generate real tension. BOMC main selection.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Forsyth gives us all we ask  for."--Chicago Tribune.

"Forsyth at the top of his game!"--Tom  Clancy, author of The Hunt For Red  October.

"A Blockbuster."--New York Daily  News.

"A completely satisfying thriller. . .  The Negotiator delivers. . . A  string of unsettling  climaxes."--Newsweek.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Corgi (March 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552134759
• ISBN-13: 978-0552134750
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frederick Forsyth is the author of fifteen novels and short-story collections. He lives in England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't get warned off by the editorial reviews. 5 star book!, July 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Negotiator (Paperback)

The Day of the Jackal, despite being a superb book for it's time is starting to get just a little outdated. I mean, it remains one of the greatest intellectual thriller types but fans today like a bit more action, a bit more suprises, a bit more twists. On this aspect, I have to say than in my opinion, The Negotiator is Forsyth's best book to date. It's not as tightly plotted as Jackal or Odessa (a particular sub plot gets wrapped up too quickly in the end) but it certainly is a hell of a sizzling read with plenty of suspense and twists and action. Yes, the details may annoy some but the suspense that forsyth manages to sheath every page with is more than enough to cover any minor flaws and Quinn is simply, the best hero Forsyth has ever come up with (The Jackal was not exactly the hero).

Dont get scared by the Publisher's Weekly review, while the book does take some time to delve into the main plot, the beginning too is VERY gripping with the plotting of a coup etc etc and once the story gets started this is one tremendously enjoyable thriller.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mediocre for Forsyth, which means it's worth a look, May 19, 2004

By 

mackattack9988 "mackattack9988" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Negotiator (Audio Cassette)

This is not one of Forsyth's better books in my opinion, but it's still an enjoyable read overall. While Quinn, "the negotiator," is an interesting and entertaining character to follow, I don't think he lives up to the claim of "Forsyth's best yet." The plots and subplots here are really nothing very unique, but the book is good because of the way Forsyth tells it and puts it together. There are some nice surprises, especially in the last third of the book, and the conclusion, while perhaps quick, is quite satisfactory. The inclusion of Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev in their respective real-life political roles is handled well but is by no means a primary focus of the book. The Negotiator is good, but if you're pressed for time and can only choose one Forsyth novel, you'd be better served to choose one of the others.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but not Forsyth's best., January 14, 2001

By 

Geoffrey Brent (Wentworth Falls, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Negotiator (Paperback)

Forsyth is an excellent writer, and this book's by no means a waste of time, but it could be a lot better. The storyline is a little uneven, to put it mildly, and at times it feels like Forsyth was in a hurry to finish the book and move on to something else.

The book begins by unveiling a Russian scheme to invade Iran and gain control of its oil reserves. The first couple of chapters are devoted to the development of this scheme. Then, once the conspirators have worked out what they're going to do and set things in motion...

...well, nothing. This subplot - which looked like it was going to be the central story of the book - simply _vanishes_, never to be mentioned again, and it's not at all clear why Forsyth bothered to include it at all. His books are usually very tightly plotted, with just about every subplot coming together near the end of the story, so this is a disappointing departure from form.

Then, towards the end of the book, it looks like Forsyth got bored and wanted to take a few short-cuts to the finish line. The strength of Forsyth's novels is their realism - one usually feels that yes, this _is_ how things happen in the real world. But the end of 'Negotiator' has the ring of a James Bond movie: "Before I kill you, Mr. Bond, I will tell you all about my diabolical plan." In a Forsyth novel, this is a disappointing cop-out.

All in all this is a good way to kill a few hours, but it's nowhere near the level of, say, "Day of the Jackal".