Customer Reviews

No Survivors: An Accident Man Novel (Accident Man Novels)

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

 

 

The Accident Man is even more Bourne-esque in this sequel that even finds him suffering from memory loss. There are better action set-pieces this time around, and even if the plot concerns the end of the world, things are more palatable and entertaining without the creepy premise of the first book. In fact, this series can't seem to decide if it's real-world gritty or more light-hearted. If it's the former, than let's let up on some of the romantic relationship subplot going forward.

If you have read THE ACCIDENT MAN by Tom Cain, feel free to skip the next sentence if you like. If you haven't had that pleasure, however, you might want to buy a copy along with NO SURVIVORS, the riveting and most worthy sequel, block off a weekend and read both of them in one long pleasurable gulp.

After a quick but important prologue, NO SURVIVORS picks up precisely where THE ACCIDENT MAN left off --- in September 1997, with Samuel Carver's mind and body shattered as the result of the significant injuries he incurred near the book's conclusion. For the unfamiliar, Carver is the "accident man" of the title, an assassin for hire who is skilled in ushering a specific target down along the road of death. He is best known for making the demise of his targets appear to be accidents; it is on his most notorious assignment that he met Alix Petrova, his devoted lover, who herself is a former Russian spy. Carver, though, may never return to his former trade, or to any trade for that matter. At the beginning of NO SURVIVORS he is but a husk of the man he was, a physical and psychological wreck trapped in his own body, minimally recuperating over a three-month period in a Swiss sanitarium.

But when Petrova is forced back to work with her former employers, it, along with an assassination attempt, jolts Carver back to life and toward a crossroads that will eventually bring him to an unforeseen reunion with Petrova. It seems the Russians have seeded the world with over 100 nuclear "suitcase bombs," and a list of the locations and codes for the bombs has fallen into the wrong hands. Waylon McCabe, a Texas billionaire, wants the list to locate and procure one of the bombs in order to ignite a cataclysm that in turn will hasten the Final Days. He enlists Kurt Vermulen for this quest.

Vermulen, a former general, heads up a strategic consulting firm and is convinced that the world, particularly the United States, is the target of an Islamist jihad and a willing accomplice to McCabe's mission, for secular rather than religious reasons. When Russian intelligence gets wind of McCabe's plans, a brilliant scheme is implemented to insert Petrova into Vermulen's life. The presence of Petrova brings Carver into the mix as well, resulting in a destructive battle and an ironic --- and enigmatic --- conclusion that resonates with and haunts the reader long after the last words are read.

Tom Cain is brilliant. Within a short period, he has established himself as an intelligent writer whose addictive characterizations populate a plot with equal parts action and drama, shaken and stirred into a cinematic narrative that literally explodes off of the printed page. One gets the feeling from reading this book and its predecessor that Cain is just getting started on his literary journey and that the best of what he has plotted out is yet to come. Anyone reading NO SURVIVORS will be waiting for the next Accident Man novel with baited breath.

Although Tom Cain's 'No Survivor's' is a freestanding work of it's own, I suggest that you start with The Accident Man first, to really get the full effect from the writer of this jam-packed action series. Not only will reading TAM allow the characters to evolve before your very eyes, but the entire concept of the first novel will make you sit up and think about things.

Then on to No Survivor's...this book takes up where TAM leaves off and is a real page turner, from start to finish. I can't WAIT for the third book!

What lengths Samuel Carver will go to to save his girl and take out the bad guys!

[...]

To better appreciate this book one should read Accident Man first. Looking forward to future books in this series.

When Ian Fleming left this world in 1964, he not only left behind a great list of heroes and villains, but he also left his pen in hopes that his legendary writing would continue. Tom Cain found that pen and has continued on in the tradition of James Bond with his own uniquely flawed character: Samuel Carver.

There are a lot of comparisons made to James Bond when discussing Tom Cain's writing, and that's not a bad thing. In fact it's quite easy to picture a physically fit, handsome Daniel Craig playing the role of Samuel Carver and I'd have to believe that on some level he's been key in the shaping Samuel's character.

Samuel Carver is an "accident" man, or to put it another way, a man who fixes things in the disguise of an accident. NO SURVIVORS continues Tom Cain's accident man series with Samuel waking in a hospital, brutally beaten and suffering from amnesia. It seems a list marking the location of nuclear weapons has become available on the black-market and in spite of warnings of its existence, the federal government refuses to recognize it as a threat. As a result, Samuel Carver is once again burdened with having to pick up the slack of others--and given the government's track record, I'm all for it.

The emotion that Tom is able to capture with Samuel is in short--outstanding. In one scene Samuel wakes alone and discovers his love Alix is missing. The rage and emotion of this scene is written and timed so well, that I found myself gritting my teeth and bending the book's binding in response to it.

In the end, I couldn't help but be reminded of our own government's failure in ignoring the numerous warnings about the impending threat of Osama Bin Laden and the events that eventually lead to the devastation that is 9/11.

NO SURVIVORS is a powerful, emotional tale of heroism that will leave you thrilled, angry and absolutely begging for more.

In 1998 in a Swiss hospital, assassin Samuel Carver slowly recuperates from a horrific torture that has left him with amnesia. He does not know his name or his occupation. Former Russian spy, Alix Petrova is taking care of her severely injured boyfriend.

While Carver lies in the hospital, dying oilman Waylon McCabe believes he will go to heaven as part of the Rapture. To insure he does before the cancer kills him, he arranges for nuclear Armageddon. At the same a frustrated Lieutenant General Kurt Vermulen warns the Pentagon and other agencies that a Middle East terrorist group no one recognizes called al Qaeda poses a viable direct threat to America. Only McCabe believes Vermulen even as he tries to buy a Russian suitcase containing nuclear weapons from the international black market where allegedly 100 such containers are up for sale even as the Feds deny it. Alix has been sent to seduce information from the General while a still healing Carver who at least knows his name, his profession, and most significant his girlfriend follows.

The sequel to the exhilarating THE ACCIDENT MAN is a fast-paced cautionary thriller that will fully engross readers with the hindsight of 9/11. Sam is at his best not because he is physically or mentally ready to return to field operations as he is not, but because he must return to the field. Using public information, Tom Cain provides a powerful condemnation of the Feds who ignore lessons learned as damage control of their image is everything whether it is the Marine base in Lebanon (Reagan), the USS Cole and the embassies in Africa (under Clinton) or 9/11 (under Bush).

Harriet Klausner

After reading the review and publisher synopsis, I have a strong feeling that the book " No survivors" is the same as "Survivor" only name is different. Please prove me wrong as I find it highly unethical, the only reason would beNo Survivors: A Novel (Accident Man Novels) to fool the reader to buy the same book twice.

The hard cover is $3.35 and the paperback is $5.85. Why is the kindle version $12.99??? All these Kindle books are beginning to be priced out in favor of standard books. This is crazy. Amazon needs to stop this price gouging. Whether it's the author, publisher, or themselves.
I really want to read this book, but not at almost 4 times the price of a hard cover.