Takedown [Kindle Edition]

Brad Thor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

More terrorist-whupping kicks off Thor's latest addition to his series (Blowback, etc.) featuring Scot Harvath, covert counter terrorism operative for the Department of Homeland Security. Harvath abducts an Algerian bomb-maker out of Montreal while another U.S. team snatches Mohammed bin Mohammed (a.k.a M&M), head of al-Qaeda's weapons of mass destruction committee, from Somalia and stashes him in a secret facility in New York City. But Harvath's premonition that the next terrorist attack would make "9/11 look like choir practice" comes true when Al-Qaeda operative Abdul Ali, backed by a three-foot-tall freelance intelligence agent known as "the Troll," goes to New York to rescue M&M. As part of the al-Qaeda rescue attempt, the Big Apple comes under furious attack. The U.S. president's daughter is seriously injured and thousands are slain as Harvath and his team chase a ruthless enemy through the devastated streets and subways. Bullets fly, bombs explode and people die. Back in Washington, to the disgust of the president, cowardly bureaucrats mewl and whine. Despite stock characters and just-get-the-job-done writing, hawkish readers may relish the non-stop action, lethal weapons, flag waving platitudes and outrageous American-on-terrorist torture. Others may have no stomach for Thor's vision of a U.S. that has dispensed with rule of law to deal with "bad guys...always probing for another soft spot they could exploit."
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Product Description

Harvath must endure the burning streets of Manhattan, where he can administer his own form of justice and finally exact his bitter revenge.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 530 KB
• Publisher: Atria Books (May 30, 2006)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000GCFXZY
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,122 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #33 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Political
  • #53 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Political
  • #68 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue

More About the Author

I always get asked if Brad Thor is my real name or if I made it up because it sounded perfect for an international thriller writer. My standard reply is that if I was going to chose a nom de plume, it would fall in the C's somewhere between Clancy and Cussler so that all of my books could be displayed at eye level.

As the son of a United States Marine and a former TWA flight attendant, travel has always been in my blood. In fact, the title for my first novel, The Lions of Lucerne came to me while I was in Switzerland shooting an episode of my Public Television travel series, Traveling Lite (still seen in many countries outside the U.S.).

It happened when I went to visit what Mark Twain called the most moving piece of rock in the world. The Lion of Lucerne is a sculpture of a dying lion with a spear broken off in its side. It had been commissioned to honor the 700+ Swiss Guard who died defending King Louis and Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. Fast-forward a couple of years to my wife and me sitting in a cafe in Amsterdam. I was reading a story in the International Herald Tribune about a Swiss Intelligence officer who had embezzled money from the Swiss Army and was caught training his own shadow militia high in the Alps with high-tech weapons from his own private arsenal. Just like that, the idea for my first novel was born.

Since then, I have written many more with the same protagonist - Navy SEAL turned covert counterterrorism operative, Scot Harvath. Thanks to my readers, all of the novels have been national bestsellers and book club favorites. They are also being made into major motion pictures. By the way, many people ask me what order they should read the books in. You can read them in any order. They are all written to stand on their own. But for those who are interested, the order is: The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, and Blowback.

I am currently hard at work on my next Scot Harvath thriller.

Thank you for visiting my Amazon.com page. Please scroll down to learn a little bit more about me and my novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The war on terror is not working.", June 3, 2006

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Takedown: A Thriller (Hardcover)

Brad Thor's "Takedown" focuses on the conflict between Islamic extremists and their enemies in the west. Mohammed bin Mohammed is al-Qaeda's master bombmaker as well as the head of its committee on weapons of mass destruction. An American covert action team kidnaps Mohammed from his hiding place in Somalia and brings him to a secret location in New York City. Abdul Ali, a man implicated in a number of terrorist attacks and high-profile assassinations, is determined to get Mohammed back. He enlists the aid of a villainous dwarf known as the Troll to put together an extraction team to rescue Mohammed.

Meanwhile, thirty-six year old Scot Harvath, a former Navy Seal and counterterrorism operative for the Department of Homeland Security, crosses the border into Montreal to nab Sayed Jamal, an Algerian-born terrorist. Although Scot is a patriot, he has grown tired of the red tape and secrecy that hamper his ability to carry out his job. In addition, Scot would like to have a personal life and start a family someday, but as long as he continues to travel all over the world on highly secret missions, his time will never be his own.

Soon, terrorists stage a series of attacks on the infrastructure of New York City. Besides claiming many innocent lives, these attacks insure that all of the major emergency services are tied up with search and rescue missions. Meanwhile, Abdul Ali and his hired band of fierce Chechens are busy with a mission of their own--to find the place where Mohammed bin Mohammed is being held and bring him to safety.

This novel features enough explosions, weaponry, and chase scenes to please any action-adventure junkie. The villains are merciless fiends who commit unspeakable acts in an effort to bring the United States government to its knees. The author implies that America is currently losing the war on terror. As long as there is bureaucratic infighting and too much emphasis on the rights of suspected terrorists, Thor seems to be saying, America will be unable to defeat al-Qaeda. The book's epigraph is "exitus acta probat": "the ends justify the means."

"Takedown" has an enormous cast of characters, including former soldiers who accompany Harvath on his quest to stop Abdul Ali. One of them, Tracy Hastings, was maimed when a bomb that she was trying to defuse in Iraq accidentally detonated. Tracy and Scott form a bond that soon blossoms into romance. At almost four hundred pages, the book goes on a bit too long and is so frantically busy that there is little room for character development. However, its courageous heroes and "ripped from the headlines" plot will undoubtedly earn "Takedown" a receptive audience among fans of contemporary thrillers.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book, May 25, 2006

By 

A. Redondo "TioDice1970" (Ft. Riley, KS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Takedown: A Thriller (Hardcover)

Well, I bought this book last Saturday, promptly laid down the current book I was reading, and started to read "Takedown". It took me about 2-1/2 days to finish it and I have to say it was great. Definitely one of the best action/thrillers out there. I have read all five of Brad's books and would place this one as number 2 (Lions being #1).

I have read other authors to include Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, John Grisham, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, Alex Kava, Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum, Ken Follett but my top two favorites have to be Brad and Vince. Both are awesome military style/good guy writers and I highly encourage everyone to read both authors books. I anxiously await Scot Harvath's next adventure and hope he avenges the death of someone (I won't ruin the story for those who haven't read it) at the end of Takedown.

To a previous reviewer, I don't think it was the Troll who is the murderer but someone else who Scot knows.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down, June 20, 2006

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Takedown: A Thriller (Hardcover)

In regard to the poison pen reviewers, who seem to infest Amazon like fleas on a dog (and write reviews using psuedonyms), I would note that you should read an entire novel before attempting to review it. Some novels start out slow, but the action builds up. This one kept me up late.

The author has written a great action filled novel. United States agents capture an international terrorist in Somalia, using a covert operation, and take him to a location in New York City. In the meantime, Scot Harvath has been on a secret operation in Canada to capture another terrorist, also taken to New York in a covert operation.

Terrorists mount a massive suicide mission against New York City to try to free the terrorist mastermind, needed to complete evil plans. Harvath finds himself on the scene, mounting a counter operation using a team put together on the spot including an old friend. Events are complicated by a lack of cooperation between agencies, and the fact that there is a mole somewhere aiding the enemy.

Then there is the information source known as the Troll, playing all sides for his own profit. Everyone has their own agenda, some of which are not obvious to the players in the game.

The white hats eventually win this round, but at a high price. The Troll is still out there, and an unknown enemy is stalking Harvath. Final events set things up for a sequel.