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on January 6, 2014
I read the book cover to cover and the entire time was wondering what was different from this book versus those that I can not put down at midnight when it is well past my bedtime. To start with there are way too many undeveloped characters. Some of the scene descriptions lack the depth of detail that makes you feel like you standing right there.
With that having been said I read the Dan Brown books backwards from Davinci Code to his first book. By doing that I could see in reverse has his writing got more mature with time. My hope is that the same will happen here. It is my intentions to keep reading the Black Flagged series and make a decision later as to if Steven ends up on my MUST read list like Vince Flynn.
With that having been said I read the Dan Brown books backwards from Davinci Code to his first book. By doing that I could see in reverse has his writing got more mature with time. My hope is that the same will happen here. It is my intentions to keep reading the Black Flagged series and make a decision later as to if Steven ends up on my MUST read list like Vince Flynn.
on April 7, 2016
To me, Robert Ludlum has always been the best of the "conspiracy thriller" writers. Well, I just finished Black Flagged: Alpha in one day and I have the same feelings I had after finishing one of Ludlum's best: mind-blown and breathless at the ride I have just taken. Steven Konkoly, thank you for introducing me to Daniel Petrovich.
Daniel Petrovich is a former covert operative living the quiet life in Maine with his wife Jessica when he is called back to perform one last job by his former commander. What follows is a twisting, bloody, adrenaline-pumping race as Daniel tries to stay ahead of the FBI, CIA, and multiple law enforcement agencies trying to capture/kill him after his cover is blown. To try to explain the plot further would take too many words. There are inter-agency rivalries and vendettas, long-buried secrets surfacing and rampant paranoia that keep Daniel literally running for his life.
And just when you think you've got a grip on the action, Konkoly throws in a few final plot twists I never saw coming (I love it when that happens!). This story is brilliantly constructed, the characters are well-drawn and developed, the pacing is amped to the max. If you like your conspiracies convoluted and crazed, this book is for you.
Note: The only complaint I have with this book is the editing. There were just enough minor grammatical errors (past and present tenses in the same sentence, etc.) to pull my attention away from the story momentarily. But for that, this was a near-perfect reading experience for me. Well done!
Daniel Petrovich is a former covert operative living the quiet life in Maine with his wife Jessica when he is called back to perform one last job by his former commander. What follows is a twisting, bloody, adrenaline-pumping race as Daniel tries to stay ahead of the FBI, CIA, and multiple law enforcement agencies trying to capture/kill him after his cover is blown. To try to explain the plot further would take too many words. There are inter-agency rivalries and vendettas, long-buried secrets surfacing and rampant paranoia that keep Daniel literally running for his life.
And just when you think you've got a grip on the action, Konkoly throws in a few final plot twists I never saw coming (I love it when that happens!). This story is brilliantly constructed, the characters are well-drawn and developed, the pacing is amped to the max. If you like your conspiracies convoluted and crazed, this book is for you.
Note: The only complaint I have with this book is the editing. There were just enough minor grammatical errors (past and present tenses in the same sentence, etc.) to pull my attention away from the story momentarily. But for that, this was a near-perfect reading experience for me. Well done!
on December 27, 2013
This has been characterized as action/thriller/mystery, but the mystery part is pretty weak and is probably designed to be so. What it does very well is continue the off-the-books black ops super-agent trope played so well by Ludlum (Matt Bourne) and Clancy (John Clark). One thing I like very much is that Daniel's (main character) rellow operatives had specialties - they were all good at most special ops skill areas, but each had one or two things that they were world-class at. Daniel, as the hero, gets three instead of one or two, and is almost as good as the specialists in a couple of others, but that's what makes him the hero, right?
The other thing Konkoly does really well is show the cold-blooded pragmatism that would be necessary for people like this to survive. Some readers may find the protagonists too cold-blooded in their violence to be sympathetic, but if you are a trained assassin that's a core skill - if you can kill a target without remorse, then in the heat of battle bystanders are a terrain feature to be used and only get seen as people when the action's over. There's enough soul-searching afterwards to keep him on the side of the angels but not so much as to make it implausible for him to survive the next encounter, which is the problem so many writers have in this genre.
The other thing Konkoly does really well is show the cold-blooded pragmatism that would be necessary for people like this to survive. Some readers may find the protagonists too cold-blooded in their violence to be sympathetic, but if you are a trained assassin that's a core skill - if you can kill a target without remorse, then in the heat of battle bystanders are a terrain feature to be used and only get seen as people when the action's over. There's enough soul-searching afterwards to keep him on the side of the angels but not so much as to make it implausible for him to survive the next encounter, which is the problem so many writers have in this genre.
on March 22, 2016
The dialogue is simple minded and unrealistic. I agree with what Animal wrote. Stick with Vince Flynn books. However, Vince's excellent writing, dialogue and storyline will spoil you for other mediocre authors (such as this one) and unfortunately there won't be more books by Vince.
on May 26, 2013
I presume that the author actually knew what was happening in this book - because, oft times, I had no idea!
There's a plethora of extraneous characters that are sometimes called by different names or titles; which confuses the reader further.
Situations seem to happen without any context to the tale, or are never explained.
There's lots of exciting action - negated by a habit of suddenly inserting page after page of some history or background information about different characters.
One of the characters regularly slaughters innocent people willy-nilly, and with complete impunity.
It's a pity really because, in there somewhere, lurks a good Ludlum-style story.
That said - the author has talent, so I gave it *** anyway.....
There's a plethora of extraneous characters that are sometimes called by different names or titles; which confuses the reader further.
Situations seem to happen without any context to the tale, or are never explained.
There's lots of exciting action - negated by a habit of suddenly inserting page after page of some history or background information about different characters.
One of the characters regularly slaughters innocent people willy-nilly, and with complete impunity.
It's a pity really because, in there somewhere, lurks a good Ludlum-style story.
That said - the author has talent, so I gave it *** anyway.....
on February 3, 2017
I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book. Spy thrillers aren't usually my preferred genre. I called that one wrong. This was a very tightly written story. Every event led to another. No wasted words or action. I never felt the recessive a cheap shot scene added simply to make the story work.it all flowed. Good work!
Yes there is a bit of guts and gore but you can't go around killing people (very efficiently, I must say) without that but it was understated compared to some others in this genre. Just enough to get the job done.
I did see one of the big connections between people coming. But that just made the story better. I think I'll have to see what happens next in the remaining books in this series.
Yes there is a bit of guts and gore but you can't go around killing people (very efficiently, I must say) without that but it was understated compared to some others in this genre. Just enough to get the job done.
I did see one of the big connections between people coming. But that just made the story better. I think I'll have to see what happens next in the remaining books in this series.
on June 29, 2013
The action of Black Flagged , which part one of a trilogy, starts out fast and furious with a single man assault in Serbia circa 1999 and then quickly fast forwards to 2005. The high paced movement continues as we are sent to various location and introduced to a plethora of characters. Now the characters are probably my biggest 'complaint"...there are a lot of them and up until about midway through the book I really had to concentrate and think back on who is who and whatnot. This, however, did not detract me that much because the plot twists and turns made up for any overabundance of characters.
A former black ops agent is pulled out of retirement and thrown into a dark and dirty game of cat and mouse. Daniel Petrovich, our protagonist, has a sort of Jack Bauer feel, although this may be due to rewatching 24 at the same time I was reading Black Flagged, but while they have similarities, for me, Daniel was not as likeable a character. Yes, he does things he has to do to get himself to safety, but I feel he was much more apathetic then he should have been. As the body count rises the story unfolds and we begin to learn just how deep the corruption goes within the government. Black Flagged is a well written opening to a thrilling series of which I look forward to delving into very soon
A former black ops agent is pulled out of retirement and thrown into a dark and dirty game of cat and mouse. Daniel Petrovich, our protagonist, has a sort of Jack Bauer feel, although this may be due to rewatching 24 at the same time I was reading Black Flagged, but while they have similarities, for me, Daniel was not as likeable a character. Yes, he does things he has to do to get himself to safety, but I feel he was much more apathetic then he should have been. As the body count rises the story unfolds and we begin to learn just how deep the corruption goes within the government. Black Flagged is a well written opening to a thrilling series of which I look forward to delving into very soon
on March 1, 2017
I read all of series three years ago. Decided to reread all of them before reading the last one that just came out (Omega). This first one has been just as exciting and spell-binding the second time around. The characters, the locations, the action...all are as clear to the mind's eye as if I, too, were IN the action. Konkoly is just plain good at creating image. I foresee this book being made into a movie, or at least it should be.
on January 3, 2013
I wanted to stop reading this book before I finished the first chapter. The descriptors for the weather were repetitive and unnecessary. "driving downpour," "relentless rainfall, "impenetrable rain squall," "torrential rain," "the rain intensified," "water pummeled," "frigid early spring rain," "to get out of the rain," etc.
Even though I was ready to stop reading, I decided to soldier on. When you hit the 10% mark in the story, it improves. The plot picks up and the references to the weather drop off. However, he does over use "instinctive" in its various forms.
The story was okay but few of the characters were likeable. Unless you are heavily into this genre, I wouldn't recommend it.
Even though I was ready to stop reading, I decided to soldier on. When you hit the 10% mark in the story, it improves. The plot picks up and the references to the weather drop off. However, he does over use "instinctive" in its various forms.
The story was okay but few of the characters were likeable. Unless you are heavily into this genre, I wouldn't recommend it.
