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3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Reiss, in his unsettling debut, depicts a truly frightening scenario: a deadly microbe contaminates the world oil supply, effectively shutting down all cars, planes and machines—anything driven by oil. Food supplies and electricity run out. Police have no way to patrol the streets. Gangs and marauders seize control in the world capitals. Scrambling to find not only a solution to the problem but who's behind it is Greg Gillette, an epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Gillette furiously tracks the microbe from the Nevada desert to rural Massachusetts, experts predict total chaos will soon sweep Earth. Lost in the maelstrom, however, is a full explanation of how the microbe works and the motive behind the calamity. Still, Reiss, a Hollywood screenwriter, has created a true page-turner of pell-mell action and momentum, already in production as a movie produced by Tom Jacobson. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Screenwriter Reiss (the name is a pseudonym) plants himself firmly in Michael Crichton territory with this techno-thriller. A microbe that eats oil has somehow appeared in oil fields around the world. Any machine that runs on gasoline is rendered inoperable by the microbe. Greg Gillette, an epidemiologist, tries to beat the clock and find an antidote to the techno-plague before society collapses. Written with urgency and wit, the novel (already snapped up by Hollywood) is imaginative and plausibly plotted. The book doesn't feature Crichton's lengthy scientific explanations, but it does have the same sort of plucky characters and high-octane pacing. Sure to be a crowd-pleaser. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 13, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743297644
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743297646
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #418,959 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but ultimately falls short, March 6, 2007
By E. Bonnell "Bonnell76" (E. Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book had all the ingredients for a great read. A terrifying plot, visions of an apocalyptic America, a ruthless assassin and the mysterious master mind lurking in shadows. This potentially fascinating story however gets lost in the authors uninspiring writing. The novel seems to be very scattered. Reiss uses flashbacks way too often and at the worst times. I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that as Gillett is getting shot at, he finds the time to reflect on his mentor's lessons and how they molded him into the person he is. This happens through out the entire book as it seems to be the author's only device for developing his characters and it gets old quick. There also is not much explanation about the virus that attacks oil, or the motives behind the villain's use of it which leaves the end a little unsatisfying.

There are however some positives to the story. After all, a bacterium that renders oil supplies useless in today's over dependent society is a scary and timely scenario. There are some gruesome chapters which illustrate the complexity of civilization and how easily it can brake down. The scenes of chaos and destruction are well described. The way that governments deal with social breakdown is frightening. It also sends a tremendous message about our dependencies not just on oil, but on anything capable of destroying us should it disappear. Is it a far fetched plot? Probably, but lets not forget that this is a work of fiction. This is a "what if" book and as long as the reader starts with that question in mind it will be at the very least a quick entertaining read.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertainings, Some gross scenes..., February 13, 2007
What would happen if a super-bug infects the nations oil leading to massive economic breakdown, looting, and paralyziation of the nations's military? Reiss explores this premise in Black Monday, a thriller about corruption, human greed, and human perseverence.

I really enjoyed the premise of this novel and many of the characters.

***Mild Spoilers***

I did find myself mildly put off by the first part of the book which describes a hitman gruesomely killing someone in a casino. The same hitman commits several murders during the course of the book including murdering children. There is also a semi-graphic scene of torture which I found rather disturbinng. I found the graphic quality almost made me stop listening. I don't mind thrillers, sex and violence but I don't need the details.


***End Spoiilers***

The hero Gillette is interesting but a tad superhuman. Not only is he an ex-gang member, but he is a super-scientist of the ludlum variety, who can out-shoot, out-ski, and out-snowmobile the badguys at a moments notice. He also has 2 hot women lusting after him. Fine, but a little fantastic.

4 stars. The ending was a bit over-the-top, and I could've done without the graphic murder, it didn't add anything in my opinion.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Great Premise, Flawed Execution, May 10, 2008
By Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
BLACK MONDAY starts with a great "what if" premise: what if the Western world was suddenly deprived of the use of all of its oil? Unfortunately, Reiss doesn't really deliver on the promise of this idea.

In this novel, Reiss goes into familiar territory: within a few weeks of the oil disappearing, he imagines a post-apocolyptic world arising in the United States where Americans, stripped of all their modern conveniences, become violent and cannibalistic. I've seen this type of world before, in novels like Stephen King's THE STAND and Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD. There is nothing new about Reiss's own attempt, which falls well short of what's been done before.

The major flaw of this novel is the flat characterization. Reiss just isn't very good at creating characters that are distinct and memorable. The square-jawed hero of this book is a virtual superman -- and not the least bit interesting. Most of the dialogue is bland and colorless. There's a lot of action in this novel, but you don't care about any of the key characters, so the suspense level is close to zero.

BLACK MONDAY isn't exactly terrible, but I just didn't find it very engaging. Other than some interesting scientific information about how oil is used and refined, there is little about this book that stands out. I would give it a pass if I were you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars good if you like Ayn Rand and Ann Coulter and own guns
If you own a gun, you'll probably like this book, because guns are its real heroes. In the book, lack of oil causes society to disintegrate within three weeks, and only those who... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Coleman

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite Crichton.
R. Scott Reiss' debut novel, "Black Monday", is compared on the book flap to a 'Crichton-like thriller'. It is ironic that I am reading this book the week that Mr. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ray J. Palen Jr.

3.0 out of 5 stars Would Make a Good Far Fetched Movie but Not a Very Believable Novel
I have to admit even with all the storyline's flaws I would still hand over a couple of bucks to rent a DVD movie version of this novel. Read more
Published 13 months ago by James N Simpson

2.0 out of 5 stars Fast Read but Ultimately Flawed
Interesting premise that (if nothing else) does a great job of showing the nations' dependence on foreign oil--- the book is worth reading for that, if no other reason. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Only Best

3.0 out of 5 stars Black Monday

Good, thought-provoking read. Will probably make a good movie, too.
I was somewhat disappointed with the ending - could've been a bit more imaginative maybe... Read more
Published 20 months ago by MayBelle

4.0 out of 5 stars Dan Brown bested by Reiss in this Sci-Fi Da Vinci Code!
This has got to be the Da Vinci Code of recent Science Fiction and thriller offerings: It's over the top. Read more
Published on June 2, 2007 by Gregory Maier

5.0 out of 5 stars Something has invaded most of the world's gas supply....Planes fall out of the sky, food sits rotting, people get hungry...
BLACK MONDAY by R. Scott Reiss is my latest nightmare-inducer. The premise of this tightly written, chilling work is fairly simple: something has invaded most of the world's gas... Read more
Published on May 29, 2007 by Bookreporter.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Oil Apocalypse
This is a very good book on many levels. But the most important thing about it is that the author uses a make believe senario (oil eating bacteria) to do very quickly, what... Read more
Published on April 17, 2007 by Maurice Roulee

4.0 out of 5 stars Would make a good movie
Suspenseful except for the last two chapters of the book then it moprhs into a predictable Hollywood ending. Read more
Published on March 15, 2007 by CloakNDagger

5.0 out of 5 stars Down & Dirty goes Clean & Hollywood!
Deinococcus radiodurans showed up in canned meat. It survived radition doses that had previously killed all microbes. Read more
Published on March 11, 2007 by R. A. Barricklow

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