Customer Reviews

Tremor (Thorndike Core)

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

 

 

I have to start off by saying that the action series is not my normal genre. I usually stick to fantasy/sci-fi, with an occasional foray into action with murphy and sapir's "Destroyer" series. With that said, I really enjoyed this book. From start-to-finish I was able to envision the whole thing in my mind, as if it were a movie being played out in my imagination. Unlike a previous reviewer, who obviously seemed not to have noticed the book is a work of fiction, I found the story to be really interesting. I've always been interested in Tesla-related stories. I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series...

After being cheated out of money he should have gotten from his patents involving alternating current, Nikola Tesla vowed to keep his next project secret until the patents were secure and the robber barons of the 1890's had to pay him for using his new invention. He was trying to find a way to use wireless electricity sent through the earth to a specific point. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in his test project but he caused the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, although nobody connected the two events.

In the present in Serbia Galadin Ratzovik who was instrumental in the ethnic cleansing is wanted by the UN War Crimes Commission. He has Tesla's notes and a scientist to work on two experiments to trigger earthquakes in Spain and Italy. NIA Agent John Taft is sent into Serbia to figure out what is going on and if the quakes can be related to Tesla's experiments. A note is given to the UN demanding the release of former President of Ilic who is being held at The Hague awaiting trial for war crimes. John Taft is sent home but learns that the demands are a cover for an action that would totally decimate the United States.

The latest work of Craig Dirgo, co-author of The Oregon Files, will appeal to the fans of Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy. TREMOR is action oriented but there is enough background information on Tesla, a real nineteenth century genius, and enough fill-ins on the key characters to make this a well-rounded and balanced novel. The protagonist is a man of honor, willing to lay down his life to save otherss; his dedication will appeal to mainstream readers of both genders.

Harriet Klausner

If you like Cussler, you will like Dirgo just as well. It's great reading and I couldn't put it down. It will fill in the gaps between Cussler's new books

The Kindle price for this book is $7.99. The large print hardbound is $4.99. The paperback is $0.73 from the publisher through Amazon. The paperback is also available from other sellers for $3.41. I'd pay $2.99 for a Kindle edition, but not $7.99. For that I could get the hardbound and paperback.... I like Dirgo's work and might look for a copy at the local library.

Ouch! This novel was far too simplistic. The place descriptions, character dialog, and plot were not believable, making me think I had purchased a junior high novel.

This lousy book started off with a decent premise, based quite accurately on research performed by electricity genius Nikola Tesla. But then, it got silly real fast. I abhor thrillers that are detached from reality. In this one, the protagonist, an agent for an American intelligence agency, pursues the mysterious drainage of electric power from the European grid. But then the book deteriorates. It reads like a comic book or a bad B movie. Things get preposterous. This is one of those books where the superspy is superman and everything just happens to be in place for him to save the world. In other words, a bunch of nonsense. The book has little depth and falls into the category of junk.

I won't take much of your time here with a lengthy review that the book does not need. Two things. First, the story is amateurish and ill conceived/presented. Second, the editing is completely abysmal. Either English isn't the editors first language or they understood how bad the book was and said why bother. Either way, the spelling and grammar errors are outrageous.

This is no Clive Cussler. The writing seemed amateurish and the plot implausible. Yes it was fast paced and exciting at times. But I have to say that teen readers, whom this should be targeted at, would probably love it. Needed work on the editing also.

Since I am a HUGE Clive Cussler fan, I was thrilled to hear about 'The Einstein Papers' some years back. It turned out to be pretty good Brain Candy--nothing intellectual, but then again, neither is most of the Bond movies--but it was fun and a nice way to fill the gap waiting for the next Dirk Pitt tale. When Dirgo teamed with Clive to begin the Oregon Files novels, I was equally excited. Unfortunately the first two books were just horrible. They had a TON of promise, but nearly zero payoff. Cussler wisely picked up on this, and hired Jack DuBrul to write the last two Oregon Files books, and they have been excellent (thankfully)...

...so after two abysmal books with Cussler, I was more than a bit skeptical about buying another book written by Dirgo. I went ahead and took the gamble and I gotta tell you it paid off. This sequel to 'The Eienstein Papers' was just as fun and a great escape while I waited for the next Dirk Pitt or Kurt Austin adventure. Again, nothing earth shattering, but just plain FUN. Sometimes readers fault an author because of bad editing or publishing errors, and by and large the author has little (if any) control over these things. I would prefer it we just judged the book based on the STORY alone. Based upon that, I'd say that while nobody will be comparing Tremor to Clancy anytime soon, if you know what you are in for before you start it, I think it is well worth the effort to buy and read.

I have ONE minor, almost insignificant problem...I felt that the overall plot of Tremor was slightly too close to Cussler's most recent Pitt novel with his son, 'Treasure of Khan'. The idea of using an electrical device to induce damage is also the focal point of that story as well. I have to admit however, that Dirgo goes into MUCH more detail, especially regarding the origin with Tesla, but it kinda spoiled the storyline a little. Seeing as I read Khan first, every now and then I kept having this feeling I had read this before. Again, a minor complaint, but one that was (for me at least) impossible to ignore--especially since Dirgo and Cussler have worked so closely together in the past.

If you HAVEN'T read Khan, I say this book will be exactly what will fill your void of action/adventure and will certainly fill the gap you may be experiencing during any dry-spell...but if you HAVE read Khan, just be aware that you MAY have a feeling of Deja Vu. I personally look forward to the next book in this series.

Even though Dirgo's first book, "The Einstein Papers," wasn't that great, I knew Clive Cussler couldn't be wrong about him, and in "Tremor" it showed. The writing is more practiced, the editing tighter (though the copyediting was nonexistent), and the characters more alive. Dirgo is still going with a conglomerate cast rather than focusing on a single protagonist, but his characters are distinct enough to tell them apart, so it works.

Special Agent John Taft of the secret National Intelligence Agency is sent to Serbia to investigate some surges on the European power grid. Upon his arrival in Belgrade, as he checks out the security at the Nikola Tesla museum, he also checks out its curator, Nadia Slavja, and gets invited to her apartment for a night of passion. While she sleeps, he copies her keys, but he makes a mistake that turns his advantageous one-night stand into something more. When Nadia became suspicious of his motives, she spoke to her brother, a Serbian agent, and Taft winds up coming clean to the brother and sister and involving them in his scheme to save the world.

When the NIA ties the European power surges to earthquake activity, and it looks as if it's all made possible by a device invented by Nikola Tesla, a plan is devised to root out the perpetrator. The Americans make off with Tesla's papers, leaving a set of decoys planted with locator chips so when they are stolen they can be followed to the bad guys' lair.

Meanwhile, Taft's partner, Larry Martinez, teams up with a thriller author who fills in a lot of blanks on the capabilities of the Tesla device, while the evil perpetrator, Galadin Ratzovik, plays the stock market and prods his captive scientist into finishing his work on the device to effect his grand finale. Mid-mission, Taft gets called back to the States to work more closely with his partner and the author while the military takes over the search for the perp in Serbia. With the clock ticking and the Netherlands releasing a Serbian war criminal to protect themselves from a demonstration of the Tesla device, Taft and his cronies finally figure out what Ratzovik's plan really is, but will they get there in time to stop it?

This book began as a spy tale, following John Taft on his mission in Serbia, then deftly branched out into a full-blown, multiple-agency, across-the-globe mission with several teams following a multitude of leads, tightening their net as they go, until the conclusion explodes onto the pages. Going back to the multi-angle, intricate format of his "Oregon" Files novels, Dirgo delivers a page-turning adventure.