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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart-stopping espionage thriller full of action and intrigue!, January 17, 2008
This review is from: The Powers That Be (Room 59) (Mass Market Paperback)
THE POWERS THAT BE by Cliff Ryder is an awesome beginning to a new suspense series, ROOM 59, in which a multi-national and clandestine agency meets the challenges of today's world of intelligence and action. Room 59 is a high-tech, action-based agency of the best operatives in espionage and counterterrorism. With multi-national agents, Room 59 accepts the dangerous missions that individual governments cannot touch for reasons of politics or danger. Kate Cochran, the head of Room 59, consults with anonymous representatives from different countries but in the end, it is her job to call the missions that will put her agents at risk of their lives in an attempt to keep the world safe from the new threats in today's global world.
In THE POWERS THAT BE, the disappearance of a double agent in Cuba turns ominous as political events in Cuba heat up. Rumors of rebel forces, action in Cuba and Miami, and the secret past of an operative all combine in this fast-paced thriller to heighten the intrigue. As the mission unfolds and lives are at stake, Cliff Ryder allows the reader a glimpse into the conflicting loyalties of governments and within individuals. International politics are not quite so black and white, and undercurrents of practicality, personal history and emotion enter into each mission. Cliff Ryder is excellent in creating a truly thrilling espionage suspense read with multi-dimensional characters in the agents and also the underlying politics. In THE POWERS THAT BE, danger is truly danger and lives are on the line with no guarantee. Cliff Ryder keeps the readers guessing with exciting twists until the very end when tough choices must be made in the heat of action. Forced with an excruciating heart-stopping choice, will the agents choose mission over their own personal loyalties?
Although the publisher labels this book as men's adventure, this book and this series will appeal to anyone, men and women, who like heart-stopping action, intriguing characters from director head to individual agents and political intrigue. In THE POWERS THAT BE both the women and men are multi-dimensional characters, highly trained and capable, dedicated to the mission and sometimes torn by the tough choices to be made when mission strategies come face to face with the enemy.
THE POWERS THAT BE has all the very best of the genre from the early classics to modern films and creates something entirely unique. THE POWERS THAT BE has all the intriguing high tech tools of the loved classics of Mission Impossible and James Bond but in Room 59, the danger is real and ever-present and the enemy not simplistic. Lovers of MI-5, Jean Le Carre and the Sandbaggers will relish the reflections on the nature of espionage and the concept of who watches the watchers. While Room 59 recalls all the great traditions of espionage thrillers, this novel also adds a new dimension --- in-the-trenches action and a look into some of the political hot spots from both a ground-level and long-term view. THE POWERS THAT BE is a must read for espionage enthusiasts craving variety in the genre!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cuba Libre or "Mentirita"?, December 29, 2007
This review is from: The Powers That Be (Room 59) (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Powers That Be" is an ambitious and intoxicating first in the new Room 59 series.
Room 59 is an independent, ultra secret, black operations agency that goes places and does things that governments can't or won't. Once a mission has been approved by the International Intelligence Agency, the Room 59 operatives, lead and chosen by Kate Cochran, act to eliminate global threats arising from the gritty reality of counterterrorism, international crime, and intrigue. Since Room 59 was designed to operate independently of all known governing bodies, if something - anything - goes wrong, there is no one to call for help.
To accomplish a mandate this big and make a story worth reading, the plot must be well researched, believably set in real places, pay attention to detail, be technically accurate, be built of images that are powerful and yet familiar, and delivered with a directness that pulls no punches. With that accounting, "The Powers That Be" succeeds admirably. This story is complex and necessarily so. The cast of characters is large. The level of technical detail and accuracy adds a clarifying granularity. The imagery sucks you into the story, spins on the bottle cap shut behind you, and locks you in right up to the very last page. It starts the prologue with the search and interrogation of a political prisoner in a Cuban prison, and ends on a deserted beach in Florida with the incoming waves removing any evidence that anyone had been there at all.
The action in this story is positively breathtaking. With simultaneous operations in both Cuba and Florida, there is plenty to keep the pages turning. When a historical complication from the early Sixties is twisted into the mix, events really get rolling.
This is not a tidy "Mission Impossible" sort of story with a neatly compact team of characters. The plot is richer than that. It is dark, gritty and executed with the number of characters (both good guys and bad guys) to realistically pull it off. That number of characters can be challenging to follow at times. The richness of the plot redeems it and would make an excellent foundation for a solid summer blockbuster movie.
A simple twist of lime is the difference between an ordinary rum and Coke and a "Cuba Libre". "The Powers That Be" also has a defining twist. Further, it has the imagery and detail that make it really compelling. One example of that is wrapped in this question: What is the difference between Cuba Libre and a Mentirita, and why is that important to me a world away from the sandy beaches and crowded cities of Cuba? The answer is on page 94 of the book. All the other pages of the book are pretty good too.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powers Be A Solid Debut, January 8, 2008
This review is from: The Powers That Be (Room 59) (Mass Market Paperback)
Gold Eagle's latest and newest series is Room 59 written by Cliff Ryder, (aka Jonathan Morgan), whom we've never heard of in the literary field but seems to have loads of talent.
The Powers That Be instantly propels the readers into a world of intrigue, political assasination, secret organizations, double agents, and the like. Yeah, this premise has been used by numerous writers, TV shows and movies, but Ryder manages to infuse a feel of freshness about it with not only an interesting premise, but also pulls off filling the novel with loads of interesting characters.
Don't be put off by the Mission Impossible cover, this espionage-filled action-adventure novel is filled with exotic locales, mystery and suspence, all balancing out the adventure driven genre it is placed in to give the readers a more full balanced reading meal.
We were pleasantly surprised to find something different here that Gold Eagle usually sends out. The storyline for Room 59 and the different characters, (along with the writer so obviously not afraid to kill off main characters), haven't been seen nor read since the earliest books in the Deathlands series.
We like novels with twists at the end. And this one has that. Don't worry, we are not the type of reviewers that give pertinent details away.
If you like your espionage books well written and full of creative characters, then Room 59's - The Powers That Be - should fill your need and desire for such a fix.
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