Vertical Run [Mass Market Paperback]

Joseph Garber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996

You think YOU had a killer workday. . .
Get ready for the FASTEST thriller of the summer!

Each morning in his 45th floor executive office, David Elliot savors the quiet
moments until the workday begins.

Until today, when his boss walks in and aims a gun at him.

For the rest of the day, he will be trapped in his midtown office building, and
everyone David Elliot meets will try to kill him.

He has 24 hours to find out why. . .

In Vertical Run, you can escape into a world on fast forward, a drama
that plays out with electrifying intensity.  No one who reads this book will
ever see the office the same way again.

Vertical Run is available now -- run for it!

A Book-of-the-Month Club featured selection

Soon to be a major motion picture from Warner Brothers and Peters
Entertainment Company

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Vietnam vet turned businessman must figure out why everyone he knows suddenly wants him dead.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This bound-for-success thriller is not only a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection, it's also destined for the big screen with Jon Peters set to produce. Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford could play all-American hero David Elliott, although stuntmen would doubtless perform the commando-style tricks Elliott uses to outwit his enemies. It's just another day at the office for Dave, until his boss tries to shoot him. Then his wife, coworkers, and kids turn on him, and a gang of FBI sharpshooters trap him in a New York skyscraper. What Dave can't figure out is why it all went bad. Good thing he's a Vietnam vet with Green Beret^-type training who handily remembers his hand-to-hand combat, kung-fu, marksmanship, and booby-trap-setting skills. He uses them all to keep his would-be killers at bay while he tries to figure out why he's suddenly become an endangered species. Garber knows how to spin a web of steadily increasing suspense, keeping his readers on tenterhooks trying to figure out what's going on while the action builds to a totally unpredictable ending. Book and movie are both likely to be big hits, so be ready with multiple copies. Emily Melton --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553573926
• ISBN-13: 978-0553573923
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,614 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Action All The Way, June 9, 2002

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vertical Run (Mass Market Paperback)

Business executive Dave Ellis shows up to work one morning to be greeted by his boss who is holding a gun and lamenting the fact that Dave must die. Dave can tell that today is not going to be a good day. He has to call on all the training he learnt many years ago in Vietnam as an army lieutenant. His specialty back then was covert operations and was armed with a vast knowledge of dirty tricks and ability to outthink the enemy. This knowledge proves to be of the utmost importance for his survival of this bewildering attack.

Why is he being hunted so determinedly? Why do his pursuers seem to be such professionals?

Throughout the chase he goes through a series of flashbacks as all of his training comes back to him. We find out where he learnt all his dirty tricks and booby traps, how he knows what his pursuers will do next and how to escape the traps that are set for him. The bulk of the action is confined within a 50-storey building as Dave tries to escape and his pursuers try to keep him penned in. With ingenious evasive manoeuvres and devious booby traps, Dave races from floor to floor as the net tightens and the number of chasers grows.

This is an action-all-the-way hell-raiser that is all the more enjoyable for it's unbelievable moments. There are sequences that remind me somewhat of the movie Die Hard, but was also refreshing in it's originality at the same time, funnily enough. A terrific ending capped off a very enjoyable book, containing everything required of a first-rate action adventure.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Paced and Fun, April 18, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vertical Run (Mass Market Paperback)

Hey, a new story. In this category of books, it is getting a tough to find something new but this was. I think I have had a few days like this - at least the part about the boss taking a shot at him. This is a fun book with a new interesting plot. Joe average all of a sudden has the world after him. He then has to run for his life. The book just keeps going and going. I think this will always be this author's best books, I do not know how he will top it. The story is very tight. It had it all, a great story, good characters, wonderful action and a quick pace. This is just a good old exciting book. The author peppers the book with plot twists that keep the reader on his toes. This author writes in a way that is tight and slick that keep you interested through out. Sit back and enjoy this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And you think you've had a bad day at work?, July 13, 2004

By 

Erik Samson (San Fransisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vertical Run (Mass Market Paperback)

One minute you're sitting in your big cushy office, getting some work done, and the next you're running for your life, because it seems that everyone from your boss to the janitor wants you dead. And just to drive the point home, there's a team of skilled mercenaries on your tail. And all you have to get you out in one piece is your military training and a voice in your head. Now that, my friends, is a bad day at the office.

With light-speed pacing and expert storytelling, Joseph Garber's action-packed thriller is definatley worth a read. The book's office building setting and relentless action scenes draw immediate comparisons to Die Hard, all the while infusing a great mystery story, as protagonist Dave Elliot tries to figure out why everyone seems to want him dead. The character developent and writing are surprisingly good for an action novel, as are the use of subplot and flashbacks. Elliot's recolections of Vietnam are fascinating, and the military background makes him a surprisingly rescourcful character. None of this slows down the plot, however, which barrels along at supersonic speed and never lets up. Things explode, people get shot, and the ending is maddeningly creative. Vertical Run is a great piece of escapist fiction, definatley a ride worth taking.