Customer Reviews

White: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I give this book 2 stars only because it started out in an intriguing manner. It very soon devolved into an inpenetrably ponderous plot populated with a confounding array of inextricably interlinked characters.

I had little idea what the heck was going on very early in the story, and had no clue where I was by the end. Maddeningly unsatisfying.

White is not my genre of book, but a friend lent me it and I didn't want to be rude. Surprisingly, I was entertained. Up to a point. White is an over-confusing thriller/mystery/techno something or other, ala Tom Clancy. Whitcomb kept the pacing up and was informative to a fault. People don't just pick up guns and shoot, they pick up burl-wood embossed fill-in the blank name and add some more adjectives piece of out of this world weaponry, and you get the idea. Whitcomb does his research, but does all that make for great story telling? Did I care about any of these characters? The ending is anti-clamactic. I felt, at the end, all this for that? It's like listening to an elaborate set up for a joke and then there's a weak punchline. But Whitcomb does have a main character in Jeremy Waller that can fight crime with the like Robo-Cop, go to church with his family of five and best of all, wind up in his next novel.

Thoroughly enjoyable story by an author whose credibility with his subject matter is unquestionable. His cast of supporting characters has already started to lose luster. Byzantine plots inside the Beltway are getting increasingly hard to believe as we watch the ineptness of both parties as they really "perform the nation's business." By creating a shadow government that is really running things, Whitcomb tends to equate D.C. with Hogworts. All that having been said, the book is well worth reading just for the clear grasp of HRT procedures and some of the seamier side of the world we live in.

Read WHite first so you have the background, but this is fast paced, technical, and very interesting and time appropriate with Bush's little "pre-emptive war" going on. This is a good read, not too deep, but you get sucked in and can't put it down. Politically interesting, great plot (although he leaves you hanging throughout the book-need to keep reading to find out) This is a great newer author, can't wait till number 3.

This book is basically a follow up to Whitcomb's "Black". In "White" we are treated to the further adventures of the characters introduced in "Black". This is a good story but there are layers and layers of conspiracy that are sometimes so obscure they are distracting. This is pretty much a stand alone novel, but it does help if you have read the previous book. I enjoy a good suspense novel that keeps you guessing but this one went a little too far. Even at the end, I wasn't sure who the good guys and the bad guys were. There were also a couple of significant plot events that were not fully explained. I suspect there will be a third novel in this series that will provide more answers than questions. A good read, but wait for the paperback. Also, if at all possible, read "Black" first.

Christopher Whitcomb's books pose enjoyable challenges to readers on two levels. First, he writes such fast-paced narratives that it is hard to put down one of his books. Beyond that, his knowledge of the complex threats facing our nation challenges readers to think. If you enjoy fiction that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, then I highly recommend "White" (as well as Whitcomb's previous thriller, "Black"). And if you want to understand the experiences that have given Whitcomb his unmatched ability to write about the FBI and national intelligence agencies, then check out "Cold Zero," his non-fiction book about his time in the FBI's hostage rescue team. ~Andrew J. Field, Denver, Colorado

White is yet another great novel written by FBI veteran Christopher Whitcomb. This author weaves such great story lines in his fiction, it seems those of us who follow his work share a great secret. Let's just hope that the furious pace this author gives us within his books transfers to production. Here's hoping we get the next read soon.

There must be some sort of recovery program for people like me: folks who keep reading obviously bad books to see if they get worse. Reading Christopher Whitcomb's "White" through to the last page is obviously a symptom of a terrible malady: like masochism, perhaps.

Regardless of how awful a book is, I don't like to reveal plot and I won't make an exception here, though I am sorely tempted because the plot of this potboiler could be a source of perhaps great comedy.

Every cliche you've read in the last fifty or so years of thrillers is thrown into this. I found myself identifying the original authors and titles where this and that came from. Every character, including the little children, is either a super-hero or a super-villain. The characters themselves are cliches, so predictable that you may find yourself uttering their dialog a page or two before they say it.

The basic story is simple: terrorists threaten the United States. A billionaire is manipulating the world. Corporations are evil. Religious people are evil. The CIA is evil. The FBI is evil. The United States is always wrong. Whitcomb is at least an equal opportunity kind of guy: he invokes the common cliches commonly hurled against right and left. To no point, but he does tar everyone with the same brush.

The worst part of "White" fo rme was Whitcomb's attempt to make it a techno-thriller. The early Tom Clancy did his research and his technology. Same with Dale Brown. Even Clive Cussler oftenw does his homework. Whitcomb does not. Instead he assumes his reader is technologically ignorant. For example, he has one character portentiously declare that a super-secret system uses "binary logic" programs. Uhm, all computer programs by definition employ binary logic. They won't work if they don't.

So what is "White"? An amusing read because it is so bad. In many ways it reminded me of Garison Keilor's description of Lake Wobegone's children: all above-average and good looking, even the bad guys (except for one). The techno mumbo-jumbo adds nothing. The plot has everyone double or triple or quadruple crossing everyone else. After all that, the climax is incredibly weak; laughable in fact.

In short, the reader who enjoys good to great thrillers won't find much of interest here.

Jerry

FBI Hostage Rescue Team Special Agent Jeremy Waller is looking forward to coming home to spend time with his family after an assignment in Indonesia fighting terrorists; three are Americans and the CIA supports instant execution. Shocked he heads home only to find American under attack as extremists bomb Disneyland Anaheim, Minnesota's Mall of America and a popular Atlanta nightspot. The first reaction from law enforcement and the media is they terrorists are Islamic Jihads.

Soon speculation turns to within and Jeremy begins to suspect an unholy alliance between Islamic Jihad, white supremacists, and the highest levels of the American government as clues lead to the White House. Could the recently elected President Venable be a traitor or is there someone else behind the scenes. While he struggles with the clues more attacks occur on key American energy points. The country is on the brink of collapse and the terrorists are becoming more brazen with every success; only Jeremy and a couple of super female agents stand in the way of turning the Red, White and Blue totally blood red.

WHITE, the sequel to BLACK, is a terrific thriller that is action packed from start to finish, but also contains solid characters like the heroic Jeremy. Several key players from the previous novel provide critical support such as Sen. Elizabeth Beechum who is now VP and Jordan Mitchell of Borders Atlantic telecommunications. However, the key to this exciting thriller is that it seems possible so much so the audience will reconsider some of the intrusive authorizations handed to the FBI. Christopher Whitcomb writes a tense terrorist thriller that fans will be grateful to have read it.

Harriet Klausner

Fast-paced and finely crafted, this riveting sequel to Whitcomb's BLACK takes readers on a breakneck ride from a black ops mission in an Indonesian rain forest to Manhattan telecommuncations conglomerate boardroom to White House "situation" room and beyond. FBI Special Agent Jeremy Waller goes undercover to unravel the latest terrorism threat to the United States, an unholy alliance between American extremists and Islamic terrorists.

A former FBI Hostage Rescue Team sniper, author Christopher Whitcomb charts a fascinating, first-hand journey deep into a shadowland world where the end nearly always justifies the means and no one, anbsolutely no one, is who or what he seems.

A must-read for fans of political thrillers as well as finely-crafted suspense.