Customer Reviews

Targets of Opportunity

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a sequel to the author's earlier (and excellent) "Scope of Justice." The team of Kyle Monroe and Wade Curtis are being sent out again, this time to chastise a ring of terrorists who seem to delight in blowing up children.

The book is slower-paced than "Scope", but but the pacing is perfect for the theme, which is more about the stalk than the kill, and about the obligations of warriors toward the innocents who may be caught in the crossfire. The heroes come across as craftsmen, who care about their work in the world, their obligations both to themselves and to those they protect, and ultimately, to why their jobs are important.

This is a book about winners, and while the ending doesn't have the slam-bang finish of "Scope", the tension level is, if anything much higher. I read the climax with little beads of sweat on my forehead, and it certainly put the normal troubles of daily life (dodging traffic and unreasonable demands) into a new perspective.

A fun book, solid storytelling, and it was muchly worth the time spent reading it.

Halfway between spy and military fiction, Williamson's Target: Terror trilogy is a well-executed and very well-researched set of stories about the 'War on Terror' that avoids making a lot of the mistakes that other writers in the genre have done.

Islamic terrorists weren't rare bad guys in spy/military fiction before 9/11 and, of course, after the attacks they became a lot more common; topicality and all that. Covert missions, espionage, etc. Seeing stories about fighting them isn't rare; seeing those stories done *well*, however, is. Too many authors draw their 'good and evil' lines WAY too clearly: if you're not an All-American Hero you're an Evil Skulking Terrorist. Good-guy Muslims appear as tokens. And the stories are all about technology, not people - more words are spent describing, in loving detail, the weapons and sensors that the main characters are using, than what's going through the main characters' heads as they use them.

Williamson makes none of these mistakes.

Which isn't to say that we're talking about a tremendous amount of moral ambiguity here: Targets of Opportunity is about Good versus Bad, but the good guys are realistic and all the more likeable before it; they're people, not idealized caricactures. The bad guys are scum, but they're plausible scum, not cardboard stereotypes.

The research is as good as anything Clancy's ever done - the difference being that Williamson does it to support the story, and you have the impression that he knows ten times as much as he sees fit to put down. The technology plays a support role to the people using it, which is as it should be.

Plot-wise, Targets of Opportunity is set in modern-day Romania, twelve or fourteen years after the Ceausescu government fell. The setting is well-drawn and the story moves along fast - unlike the first book, The Scope Of Justice, which takes a while to get going. The action is very nicely-done; one car chase scene should be excerpted in textbooks as an example of *exactly* how such things should be done.

Thoroughly recommended; enough military detail to keep technothriller fans happy, but the covert stuff is as nicely-done as anything by LeCarre. I had some doubts with Scope of Justice, but Targets of Opportunity proves that Williamson he can do present-day just as well as his sci-fi, if not better.

Like all of Mr. Williamson's books, this one has fast-paced military action and is one of those books that is hard to put down. I think that this novel is a bit weaker in the character development area than his other books, but compares favorably to any military fiction that I've ever read. The plot is believable, the characters realistic, and the research complete enough that there is no need for the suspension of disbelief that would accompany a typical 'cutting edge secret technology' book. If you like your books to be believable, fast paced, and filled with action, definitely add this one to your collection.

Well I purchased this volume at the same time at the first book of the series. While I liked the initial book this is actually much better and more within the genre - I admit I gave it 5 stars as 4.75 isn't available but I'll give the man credit.

This book is much more light hearted and altogether more "fun" then the previous volume. For those that have a dark humour vein you'll find yourself laughing , even out loud, at times in this book.

The setting is much different then the first - rather then the wilds of some dusty lawless part of the world our heroes head to Romania. Of course this presents its own problems, punch ups with street criminals, shootouts in castle dungeons, shootouts between moving vehicles, getting arrest and so forth.

The descriptions of Romania ring true, and some could almost be used as a travel guide (if only as a warning to would be tourists of some of the dangers to be aware of).

It appears that the authour had much more fun writing this book, and even indulges himself with puns between the main characters.

I will admit this book falls well within the genre and towards the more light hearted end - but no where as light as the Remo Williams series of years ago.

If you want deep from this authour try his science fiction works Freehold or The Weapon (I can't comment on The Hero with John Ringo as I haven't read it yet).

Mind you I do have to question the authour being photograph with an Armalite decendant on the end page - everyone knows the FAL is better ;).

Michael Z. Williamson extends his modern military action/adventure series with Targets of Opportunity. As the second book in the series, this book is more complex, a bit slower-paced, and full of the same layered complexity Williamson brings to his characters regardless of genre. This is not a mindless shoot-'em-up. These characters are real, and they live and breathe on the pages of Targets of Opportunity as their non-fiction counterparts live and breathe in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever else their country needs them to be.

If you want bang-bang, go read something else. This is bang-bang PLUS!

Walt Boyes
The Bananaslug. at Baen's Bar

The second book in this series was everything one could expect from a good author. The main characters remained the same personalities intact. The author also presents them in an entirely different environment and faces them with different challenges. He avoids the most common trap of this style of work, i.e. having the same situation occur over and over again. I consider this work a worthy incarnation of the original Mack Bolan works.....

If there's one thing Michael Z. Williamson does well, it's take you INTO the environment about which he writes. In Freehold, he plopped the reader square into a libertarian society on another planet - a picture so vivid, that you feel like closing your eyes and taking a deep breath and half expect to open your eyes and find yourself on Grainne. In Scope of Justice, he dropped us off in Pakistan, in the middle of tribal warfare, a Muslim society, dust, danger and despair.

In his latest, Targets of Opportunity, Williamson gently places his reader in Romania - a meld of old world charm and modern-day crime. Once again, we join Army snipers Kyle Monroe and Wade Curtis as they take their next assignment - the elimination of terrorists who are planning the mass destruction of innocents.

Just as in Freehold, when you felt that you were with Kendra Pacelli, fighting the tyranny of the UN on Grainne...

Just as in Scope, when you could almost feel the dust of Pakistan on your face and the smell of tribal warfare and native food on your clothes...

So it is in Targets. You feel like you are descending along with Kyle and Wade into the darkness of Castle Bran. You feel their tension and revulsion as they discover human remains in what was once apparently the castle of Dracula. You feel fear, stress and adrenaline, as the snipers are discovered. And you are fascinated with the melange of old and new as Williamson transports you inside an ancient castle at one point in the book and into an Internet chat room during another.

Once again, the action in the novel keeps you turning pages, unable to stop until you've devoured the entire work. Once again Williamson effectively and realistically describes weapons, missions, breaches of security and ultimately, success.

Targets of Opportunity is a fun read. It's a page turner, but, once again, a realistic one. Mike knows his guns. He knows his security. He knows his military. And you can tell he loves it.

In this book you see the return of the two heroes of "The Scope of Justice",Kyle Monroe and Wade Curtis.After their very
sucessful mission to Pakistan where they assassinated an al-Quaida terrorits leader they are given another mission.The two
are sent to Romania where there is going to be a gathering of
several terrorist leaders.This also the home of the legendary
Count Dracula.The sniper team begins stalking their terrorist
targets.The terrorists are awaiting a delivery of explosives
which they will use for bombings on civilian targets.After a
high speed chase they discover that the explosives have been hidden in Castle Bran,Count Dracula's castle.Of course a gunfight erupts.The sniper team next has to track the remaining
targets.They are joined by the Romanian DGIPI.The book concludes with a gun battle between the snipers and the DGIPI
against the terrorists.This was a very entertaining book that
used the Draculs castle very effectively.Our two sniper heroes are very good in this book as well.This is definitely a good book that you will enjoy reading.

Targets of Opportunity is a real thriller about U.S. Army Rangers who are snipers. The two main characters are Wade Curtis and Kyle Monroe, who secretly infiltrate Romania to knock-off a budding terror network. The author does a good job of painting-in the setting, with information about Romanian culture, the language, history, and the landscape.

The book's plot is consistently taut, with a constant air of tension and uncertainty. By the same token the plot does not go overboard with unrealistic shoot-em-up scenarios. The snipers are shown spending a lot of time selecting the right weapons, choosing their locations, and waiting for just the right moment to strike.

I can barely think of any cons against the book, except perhaps I wondered if the frequent cell phone calls the character made were realistic while conducting a secret mission. Everything else seemed to ring true, including the characters showing strain, tension, hunger, and uncertainty about the mission's outcome. If you like action-thrillers that are heavy on military themes, Targets of Opportunity will be very satisfying to read.

I enjoyed this series, but it wasn't nearly as good as the science fiction he writes. These characters are more cliche and the plotting more predictable compared to the Weapon. It just didn't seem as inspired when we are talking new worlds and alternative philosphies.