Customer Reviews

Path of the Assassin: A Thriller

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

It still amazes me at times to find the literary critiques of "fictionalized fiction" from some reviewers. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, when a reader picks up a novel, plastered with fiction on the jacket and within the description on the inside jacket, why one would attempt to apply heavy doses of reality is beyond me. Fiction, short of posh fiction (read: Oprah Book Club) and literary fiction (e.g. Catcher in the Rye {a classic read to be sure}), is nothing more than an escape to an unreal world, one filled with over-the-top heroes and dastardly villians. So, when I read the reviews of Brad Thor's PATH OF THE ASSASSIN, I must chuckle at some of the reviews indicating that "Scot Harvath is not real." You think? If you want real, read McCullough, Philbrick, Goodwin, Beschloss, or any quality biographer/non-fiction author. If non-fiction is too heady or boring, then you're left with...yep, fiction.

OK, now that I'm through my cyncial snickering, yes, PATH OF THE ASSASSIN is definitely over-the-top relative to the skills, bravery, and simple aura of our hero Scot Harvath. But hey, so is James Bond. That said, Thor has written an entertaining and exciting novel in ASSASSIN, one definitely worth reading if fiction is your bag.

Scot Harvath, our near-perfect secret agent, teams with a beautiful ad exec to track down a new terrorist group (or anti-terrorist group) called the Hand of God. This group seeks maximum destruction on the Arab/Muslim population, which sends the Middle East into a frenzy of retribution, speculation, and concern over the start of WWIII (timing is fairly ironic). Harvath is brash, ubersuave, and easily "the guy you want on your team," while Meg Cassidy, our ad exec, is beautiful, brave, and vulnerable. Quite a duo, eh?

As Harvath and Cassidy travel the globe in search of this new cell, they run across the traditional terrorist groups, and the assassins they employ. The theme to this novel is pure adrenalin and action. While, without any doubt, this novel lacks the meat to be considered with Ludlum, Clancy, et al, it is a fun, easy, and action-packed read, well worth a weekend afternoon.

This was an amazing book. I picked it up and read it almost non-stop for a couple of days. If you like spy thrillers, this is it. I hope they make it into a movie. I believe this was the first in the series.

As the Lions of Lucerne, Thor's first novel, concludes the reader is clear that there is much unfinished business ahead. That is what this book is all about. Bringing those that need to be brought to justice to that end, one way or another.

As the story continues, there are attacks in the Middle East on Moslem places of worship for which an extremist group called The Hand of God takes the credit. While these attacks move the Arab countries closer to war with Isreal, it is clear to some that a shadowy figure by the name of Hashim Nidal is the one behind the attacks. Hashim is the son of Abu Nidal and is also one of the masterminds of the kidnapping of the President of the United States and the slaughter of almost all of his Secret Service protection. One problem for those trying to track him down is that no one knows what he looks like other than he has "silver" eyes. Scott Harvath, the lone SS Agent to survive the attack has looked into those eyes and nearly failed to live to tell the story. Others are not so fortunate. Fans of the CIA will not be happy with the pattern of ineptitude that is painted concerning their part of the undertaking, but every hero must have his hurdles to overcome and the CIA is clearly one of them for Harvath. The story moves around various parts of the world as the cycle of violence grows and the danger of all out war in the Middle East builds. This has all of the bells and whistles of the first book with some new and interesting characters and the liklihood that the whole story has still not been told. That is very good news for Thor fans.

The main character Scott was so sophomoric I had a hard time believing a grown man created the character. Maybe that's the problem, man/man or that's the way the author himself would like to be perceived. It didn't work for me. The character Meg, the author wants you to believe, is a cross between Mother Teresa, Wonder Woman and Miss Madison Avenue. She was beyond stupid and silly but a perfect match for assinine, sophmoric Scott. She didn't work either. Two weeks training in the CIA and she compromises a deadly mission by not obeying orders and then jumps out of a plane WITHOUT a parachute,plus she has a fear of heights (Scott had a parachute and held onto her) Helloooo! On top of that, she single handedly takes down, with perfect shots between the eyes, mind you, a group of assasins bent on highjacking a plane. Her backgrond is she owns a PR firm with loyal employees which makes her a perfect candidate for the CIA (all two weeks of it) She whines a lot in this silly book. Add the bad girl who has SILVER eyes that turn black and you have this piece of trash wrapped up with a big red ribbon. My advice, save your money for a GOOD book.

The hunt that began in the debut novel "The Lions of Lucerne" for the terrorists that attacked the President and his family continues in this sequel. With the President and his family safe once again, Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath's mission is to find all those responsible for the plot. The final suspect of the Swiss mercenary team known as the Lions of Lucerne is expected to appear at the Macua Place Casino, a very old and still floating double-decker ferry casino, currently anchored at sea 60 kilometers west of Hong Kong.

The suspect appears across the gaming floor and before they can grab him he leaves. The chase is on as they follow the suspect back across to Macua and before long as a typhoon bears down on the area, they are engaged in a fierce running gun battle with the suspect. But the suspect isn't just shooting at them. He is also shooting at someone else, a figure that has silver eyes. When the suspect is killed by the figure with silver eyes, Scott begins chasing that suspect and despite the resulting harrowing car chase, the suspect gets away.

At the same time, a group billing itself as The Hand Of God begins to unleash a series of coordinated attacks across the Arab world. Thanks to evidence left at the scenes and public press releases, it appears that the Israeli Government is sponsoring and supporting the group that aims to bring terror to the Arab world. Scot, temporarily back home, believes that instead, it might be the work of Hashim Nidal, the son of the famous terrorist, Abu Nidal. Scot further suspects that Hashim might very well be the suspect with the silver eyes that got away. Despite political infighting and conflicting orders, he begins a worldwide manhunt for both suspects while remaining convinced that they are the same person.

Unlike the debut novel "The Lions of Lucerne" which was full of complex characters and numerous plot twists, this thriller is a straightforward action adventure read that is simplistic in style and tone. The novel seems written entirely for depiction as a movie in an attempt to replace the cinematic James Bond series. No additional depth is given to his character, every decision he makes is right despite working for always idiotic bosses, and no matter the circumstances, he pulls all the other cardboard characters out of danger almost single handily each and every single time. Other than his love interest and one or two associates, almost everyone else is this novel is a fool.

Taken for what it actually is, a fast simplistic adventure read, this is not a bad book. But as compared to The Lions of Lucerne, the contrast is striking and disappointing. It suffers mightily in comparison.

Path of the Assassin features Scott Horvath, a former Navy Seal turned Secret Service operative, who represents much of the best of the American Special Forces we have seen working in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

Horvath faces real threats to America's survival, and he must be prepared to do what it takes to protect his country. The chase in this powerful drama also involves Meg Cassidy, a public relations expert, who is the only one alive to have seen the face of the illusive terrorist leader. The question becomes who is the one being chased? Horvath and Cassidy persist on a fast and deliberate pace as they cross continents playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Thor's work is particularly credible because he uses real enemies of America, religious fanatics who want to destroy our way of life, which offers a refreshing change from focusing on the deranged American or Nazi businessman as cast by Hollywood and the cultural elite. This type of novel will remind you that our enemies can be more clever, more patient, and more vicious than any think tank's rational projection of the future.

Brad Thor provides the imagination and the writing ability to give the reader an explosive novel as well as the insight to think through America's future safety.

First let me say that I did not pay for this book. I had an advance readers copy so I cannot be angry about spending money for this book. This book was horrible. I found the characters, the situations and the dialogue to be unbelievable. If these people were in charge of the war on terrorism then we all better reserve a copy of the Koran and get ready to praise Allah. There were times when I actually laughed out loud and then had to reread passages to be certain about what I had read. Unfortunately my reread was no better. I actually took to highlighting passages so that I could laugh at them sometime in the future. This was a "James Bond" character with no style. Austin Powers and Dr. Evil would have been welcome additions to the plot.

I just finished Takedown and I can tell you Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor is not the place to start - but it is definitely a stop along the way that you will not want to miss. The Lions of Lucerne is where it all begins. And thank Glen Beck for the introduction as he had Brad Thor on his show as a guest a few weeks back. A search for Brad's name on Amazon revealed a number of Thor books and I decided to order them all sight unseen. Some risks pay off in dividends. To say Thor weaves a tale that will claim many an evening from your life is an understatement. I know, I bought all six at the same time and began to read them in order, and often finishing one book early in the evening was a blatant invitation to begin the next immediately, and so it went and has gone. Thor takes you quickly and rarely gives you a place to stop for the evening. Like his larger than life hero, Scot Harvath who has few dull moments to rest while hunting down those who would subvert our way of life, you do not want to stop to rest or catch your breath.. Torn from the pages of today's news you find yourself travelling about the globe with Scot in Europe, the Middle East, major US cities, all the while barely on the edge of your seat.

But if at all possible, try to read them in order - and Amazon can make that easy. In addition to The Lions of Lucerne and Path of the Assassin, there is State of the Union, Blowback, Takedown and The First Commandment (which I will begin this evening as soon as I finish this review).

If you like, the Bruce Willis type movie with preposterous and over the top events then you will like the book. If you prefer the more serious type thriller then you will be disappointed. I was disappointed.

It should not be too much to ask for an author to do a little research to get some basic facts right. Like how the Secret Service really works. If he purposely writes incorrect facts then he must be writing for teenagers. Either way the book was not for me.

This is the third or fourth book in the series that I have read. This may have been the best one. The entire book is exciting. It is well-written and keeps you enganged the entire time. You know Scott Horvath is going to make it somehow (It is part of a series, after all) but you never know how.

The twists in this book are startling. You won't see the big one coming.