The Quick [Hardcover]

Burt Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1989

The ultimate military science fiction novel about the ultimate warrior--a mercenary who fights to win and succeeds.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hearing of a civil war that has divided the United States into two warring camps, the quasi-mystical mercenary Shaman throws himself into the biggest conflict of his seemingly immortal life as he plays both sides against himself for stakes only he can fathom. Stream-of-consciousness passages alternate with rapid-fire battle scenes in a graphic, violent sf military novel of the near-future. For libraries where male adventure is popular.-- JC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (January 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688084788
• ISBN-13: 978-0688084783
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,725,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTELLIGENT AND BRUTAL!!!, August 4, 2002

By 

Matthew Vierling (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quick (Hardcover)

Read this book!!! THE QUICK is a remarkable book of war about a true philospher-warrior named Shaman and his one-man fight against, perhaps, war itself. Throughout the novel, you never know whether Shaman is playing both sides to further his own ends, or whether is true purpose is to simply fight the good fight, or if he in fact believes there is a "good fight" to be fought in this or any war. Owing much to L. Ron Hubbard's FINAL BLACKOUT, this novel of war and its themes has been much updated to reflect our modern world. Burt Cole is a phenomenal writer with a gift for dialogue, for wordplay, for swift pacing, and elegant prose. He also has a gift for the absurd, for political ironies, and for military stupidity. The climax (again, owing a lot to FINAL BLACKOUT) leaves the reader with not only a sense of satisfaction, but with a question that transcends the novel's main themes.