Customer Reviews

The Standoff

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An absolute gem! This story of a white supremacist's confrontation with the U.S. government could be taken from the headlines but is described on several levels. Chuck Hogan, in his initial published novel, humanizes the difficult concept of armed conflict. The mesmerizing quality is found in the realism of dialogue and the differing perspectives of all the main characters representing different branches of government and law enforcement. The different points of view and agendas come into conflict with each other and are driven by their personalities, past experiences, and personal demons, especially of the chief hostage negotiator, Special Agent Banish of the FBI. He fights his own personal Hell as he attempts to secure a safe surrender while manipulating the situation so the US Marshall or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will be blamed if anyone is killed or if anything goes wrong.

This is fast-paced, thrilling and suspenseful with enough depth and surprises that you'll think about it well after you've put it down. As added enjoyment, I suggest you also listen to the audio tape. Stacy Keach does a yeoman's job; his voice along with the accompanying music makes this a listenning experience of the first order. Both book and audio are highly recommended.

"Standoff" takes the reader through a wild ride of hostage negotiation with all the bureaucracy that involves. From the local police, sheriff, US Marshalls, FBI agents, and every law enforcement agency in between, you really get an understanding of what must happen in these tense, unpredictable situations.

The story is told from the law's point of view throughout, and gives a good characterization of the politics of the agencies tugging and pulling for authority, attempting to work together in an explosive environment.

Hogan writes his main character, John Banish, well, although most of the supporting cast are underdeveloped. I would have liked to see him give more insight into the other side of the situation - the motivation of the hostage-taker is alluded to, but never dealt with in depth.

Overall, a suspenseful tale that kept me interested; and quite an achievement for a first time writer!

The Standoff has some great tense, suspenseful scenes. Although I found some parts a tad dragged out, I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy learning deeply about main characters. I really understood and felt for the hero in this one. And one last thing, something I can never get enough of, a good ending

If Hammond Innes (e.g. "Campbell's kingdom") and Donald Harstad (e.g. "Eleven Days") had written a book together; this book could have been the result of their effort. Chuck Hogan's novel mixes police procedural with a high-tension drama up in the remote mountains of Montana. The main character FBI Special Agent John Banish is not only trying to save the innocent people taken as hostage, he must also handle the local police and population as well as trying to come to terms with himself and the tragic events of his past. This is a book that you remember afterwards and it is good enough to read a second time.

. . . John T. Banish, the novel's protagonist, pulled me into this story by the lapels with his unassuming realness. He's not the usual FBI master with a saucy attitude, catching criminals all day, stoking the family barbecue by night. Hogan spiced Banish's misfortunes with apt prose and metaphor, stocking only a patina of fluff in his skin-thin plot.
. . . Too bad Hogan's own comments here at AMAZON leave one with the feeling that he wrote his remark while under the influence of Banish's former demons. In the end, _The Standoff_ is a thrill.

A brilliant book, for a rookie author or even a veteran one. Hogan does a marvelous job of vividly taking us through the emotional instability of the main character, while also fleshing out the humanity of the "fluff" characters to present a very entertaining novel. The strength of this story, however, is that Hogan refuses to take sides in this conflict, rather taking the "reporter" approach-presenting both sides of the arguement, and letting the characters act out the rest. Kudos Chuck Hogan!

I've just discovered Chuck Hogan, and it's a great discovery.

The Standoff, his first novel, is a compelling read. A close comparison is Lee Child's second Reacher novel, Die Trying, about right-wing militia in the West. This story is much less far-fetched, for the most part, than the early Reacher story. It is set in Montana, has a realistic tone throughout, and is hard to put down.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT: The reader can fairly easily surmise the general turn of the later part of the story; the suspense lies in the details. After finishing the book, out of idle curiosity, I googled the Ruby Ridge story. To my surprise it turned out The Standoff is basically a fictionalized documentary; the main ideas are mostly contained in news reports of that tragic event.

But still a great read.

I have read all of Mr. Hogan's novels and I have loved them all!! What a great writer and I hope he writes a lot more books.

This book was amazing for a first novel. Well written, characters believable, storyline tight, lots of action and hard to put down. You couldn't ask for more in a novel!!

It was optioned, but None of the three movies made since the novel's publication with similar titles are based on this novel and the only movie listed under the author's name on IMDb is THE TOWN (PRINCE OF THIEVES).Anyway, this first Chuck Hogan novel is terrific. I felt the characters were very well constructed. I quite liked the allusions indicating prejudice against native-Americans on the part of some of the law authorities. The picturing of small town Montana was especially effective. And the plot itself was excruciatingly developed. Here's hoping a movie version will happen someday.

I am glad that I read Mr. Hogan's second book, Prince of Thieves, before I read his initial effort. Had I not done so, I probably would have not bought the second book, based upon my view of the first. That would have been my loss.

This book is loosely based on the events at Ruby Ridge and the Weaver family. Hogan clearly shows what pitfalls and difficulties await those in charge of managing such confrontations and weaves throughout it the various personalities and prejudices that are present at such confrontations.

John Banish is the FBI hostage negotiator in the middle of things with some skeletons in his past and something left to prove. He has to manage the various law enforcement agencies, angry residents who are sympathetic to the holed up family and others on both sides with itchy trigger fingers and short tempers.

This is probably much like what a hostage negotiaion is all about, but I'm not sure having read about it I find that it was really worth the effort. Go for his second book. That is a winner.