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60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1st Class Thriller! First in a Series?, August 6, 2010
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I don't expect too much from new thiller authors. It just seems like these novels are so often churned out by formula and tend to concentrate on page-turning action at the expense of proper plotting, characterization, setting, etc. Even some of the old "pros" succomb to this. But Ben Coes has written an absolutely terrific action-thriller novel.
Does it have action? Definitely! Is it a page-turner? You bet. But it also has near flawless plotting that builds the suspense and lets the reader know the characters, truly caring what happens to them. There are edge-of-your seat chase scenes, but they are balanced with a realistic plot that is extremely plausible in our current age. It combines the horror of terrorism (and the body count is quite high) with the financial markets, and with the US infrastructure power systems as targets. The idea of a terrorist group of a different stripe and with different motivations is a welcome change to the landscape of thriller fiction. The author has certainly done his homework, whether it comes to off shore oil platforms, electricity grids, or the ins and outs of hedge funds. And the character of Dewey Andreas, former Army Ranger and Delta, has all the makings of a new Jack Reacher, Mitch Rapp, or Dirk Pitt.
This novel will be available in the US in October 2010. It's complete in this one volume but the epilogue clearly leaves room for sequels. If so, I will be among the first in line to get the next book!
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very fine debut for mr Coes...I look forward to his follow-up, August 30, 2010
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
It seems that since Tom Clancy took a major vacation from writing (although in fairness he is releasing his first full novel co-written with another author later this year), there has been a large chunk of new authors who have stepped up hoping to assume the crown as the new Techno-Thriller King. Since Clive Cussler has resorted to co-writing these days as well, it isn't him...many can make a good argument that Brad Thor or Vince Flynn are in the running (and in all honesty, my money is on Brad) along with the likes of Jack DuBrul, and AJ Tata certainly ought to be considered, too (although IMO Mr. Tata has earned the title free & clear)...now comes Ben Coes out of virtually nowhere with a new twist on an otherwise quite tired and oft-used premise of America being attacked (again) by terrorists. So how is this one different?
First off we get an attack on an off-shore oil rig, right there we see a pretty different change of scenery (however in all fairness, Jack DuBrul had a similar attack on a rig in Charon's Landing), and not just a change, but a very relevant and realistic one, too. From the detailed description of weapons, technology and character development, I see a very bright future indeed for Mr Coes. 9/11 taught us that coordinated attacks on America or our interests not only CAN happen, but will continue--if not for the tireless work of those in intelligence gathering and of course, our brave men & women serving to protect our freedoms all over the world. But what if, against all odds, an attack actually happened as described here in Power Down? I was blown away at how utterly plausible this story was--and more than a little frightening, too. It all boils down to a new voice in the techno-thriller genre that deserves attention.
So...after all that, why only 4 stars, huh? Because as fun as Power Down was, I know we can expect bigger & better things to come from Mr. Coes. Some of the writing seemed 'forced' and a little Hollywood at times, and while it certainly made for an exciting read, parts read much less realistic than others (read and you'll see what I mean). Now I don't wish to distract from how much I overall enjoyed Power Down, but I don't want those who read this review to think I thought it was on par with Clancy just yet. If you enjoy a fun, action FILLED techno-thriller which combines part Clancy, Thor, Flynn and a little Cussler, I think you just may enjoy this entry quite a bit. I look forward to Dewey's next adventure which, from the ending certainly seemed as though we should expect...
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20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
In the tradition of Flynn not Clancy, October 13, 2010
This novel wasn't bad. It flows like a Flynn novel, at least for the first 200 pages before it slows down. That's when I started to have problems with it. There are a lot of meetings with a lot of characters that brainstormed and hashed out ideas that could have been summarized rather than taking pages upon pages to inform us. If you read thrillers you know meetings like this take place but you don't need to know every single thing that is said in them. I thnk Coes was trying to introduce a character (Tanzer) that is going to be major player in future novels but way too many meetings. This slowed the novel down considerably and took a long time before it picked up again.
Dewey Andreas is your typical hero in the sense he's handsome (never an ugly hero), ex special forces, can do just about everything. He's a reluctant hero, doesn't want to be a part of the solution but his pride and patriotism gets the best of him. I think of the Godfather part 3 when Al Pacino says everytime I think I'm out, they pull me back in. It looks like Dewey is going to be dragged into the war whether he wants to or not. I like heroes like this (who doesn't) but I like someone I can more relate to like the family guy Jack Ryan was.
Overall, if you like thrillers and the United States you will probably enjoy this. This is his first novel and it was good enough I'll check out his next one after he writes it.
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