Reign in Hell [Paperback]

William Diehl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

After an ultra-right-wing militia seizes truckloads of highly volatile weapons, the president turns to Illinois attorney general Martin Vail. His job: nail the terrorists in their tracks. Vail plunges into his new, near-impossible mission, one that soon explodes into a personal nightmare as his most chilling adversary, Aaron Stampler, returns--seemingly from the dead--to exact a vengeance that could bring Vail to his knees. . . .

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: William Heinemann; 1st Printing edition (1998)
• ISBN-10: 0749322845
• ISBN-13: 978-0749322847
• ASIN: B000EON3CO
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,393,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A major let down., May 15, 2000

By 

Cody Menzies - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reign in Hell (Mass Market Paperback)

William Diehl is a fine writer and has been for many years. I am a huge fan of Primal Fear, and its superior follow up Show of Evil. And because of that track record, I grabbed Reign in Hell as soon as it hit the selves.

Unfortunately, with a major change in tone and plot, Reign is a giant disappointment. Gone is the intense cat-and-mouse game that made Show so brilliant, nor the strong, unforgettable characters of Primal. Instead, we get a movie-of-the-week plot involving redneck militias with fantasies of armogeddon, with Martin Vail and Aaron Stampler thrown in for what seems to be the hell of it. These two characters do not fit into such a none-personal story, and their involvement is so convoluted that it makes almost every other event in the books seem unbelievable too.

But alas, too much legal speak and dumb-plot syndrome predominate the book, boring the first time reader and angering those who had read his works before. And that is a pity. Veil and Stampler were too of the most memorable characters to ever face each other. The way their story is resolved here makes the climax an anti-climax.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diehl's differnet but great continuation of the Vail series., July 21, 2000

By 

P. Legerski (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reign in Hell (Mass Market Paperback)

Martin Veil returns for his third book from Diehl. In this one, Martin wins a RICO case in small town America, then is offered a chance to be Asst. Attorney General of the U.S. to set up a RICO case against a hate group called The Sanctuary. The majority of the story is about the members of The Sactuary and how they got to be where they are. A lot of action filled robberies and military expeditions flavor this novel. And Aaron Stampler does return. This piece is written more in the style and research of Tom Clancy. A lot of politics and military aspects are covered. Diehl's back stories and flashbacks to flesh out the characters and their motivations is a strong point. The conclusion is sad , true and too frequently real.

A different Diehl but a great book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save our forrests. Don't buy this book., November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reign in Hell (Hardcover)

What a disappointment. This book starts out giving us a very bright hero using his brains to take on a violent sociopath. It ends up as another shoot-em-up that reads like a blue print for a movie script rather than a novel. What a waste of time it was reading the final third of this book.