State of the Union: A Thriller
by Brad Thor
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brad ThorEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-05-24
ISBN: 0743436784
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Pocket Books
Book Reviews of State of the Union: A Thriller
Book Review: The development of a Novelist...
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading PATH OF THE ASSASSIN, and being thoroughly entertained, STATE OF THE UNION was a natural choice as it picks up the storyline of ASSASSIN. Once again, I must quickly admonish, this is a work of fiction, one where the "secret agents" are not real and actually to live to fight another day regardless the overwhelming odds of death they face. It's a bit like all the James Bond movies...Bond always wins. With that established...
The book opens with U.S. President Rutledge requesting that our hero and uberagent, Scot Harvath, leave the Secret Service to fill a new position within the new, ultraclandestine Office of International Investigative Assistance. Net, net, this is the often bandied "black ops" organization that reports only to the President, and can use any means necessary to accomplish their tasks and missions. While Harvath is leery, Rutledge makes it easy by installing Harvath's friend and, as we learn, surrogate father, Gary Lawlor as the head of OIIA. In previous installments, Lawler was the Deputy Director of the FBI.
Early on, Lawlor cannot be located or contacted, and there is great concern, on many fronts, about Lawlor's mysterious absence. Lawlor spent a great deal of time overseas in his early career, and there are mumblings that Lawlor could possibly be a double agent. Harvath, ever the vigilant friend, is incensed by these accusations, but is more concerned about finding Lawlor than defending him. However, as Harvath learns more about Lawlor's disappearance, and his past, it becomes a plausible possibility that the double agent theory has credence. Harvath still doesn't buy it, but a case is there to be made. This becomes further complicated by the sudden death of a number of intelligence operatives who reportedly had contact with Lawlor not long before their demise.
During Harvath's search for Lawlor, he stumbles upon a sleeper plot developed by hard-line Soviet communists at the end of the Cold War. This plot calls for, in Thor's perfect "fit the current environment" themes, suitcase-based nuclear bombs to be placed in multiple cities, and detonated simultaneously. While this is a sobering thought for any reader given today's landscape, Harvath knows he must stop this diabolical scheme concurrent with his search Lawlor.
Thor develops the storyline quite well and weaves in the expected "Harvath miracles," which for some readers, has been overdone. Again, this is fiction, and fiction can take many roads to an end. Regardless one's predisposition for reality, development of a hero, one who is fallible, yet reliable, is a central ingredient in most successful novelists today. Consider Patterson's Alex Cross, Clancy's Jack Ryan, Silva's Gabriel Allon, and we can't forget Parker's Spenser. All of these best-selling authors have developed a character that has certainly relied upon something that can only be described as "superskills" to get out of every possible dire situation, and live to fight again. It is expected. Thor's Scot Harvath is no exception; the only difference with Harvath is that he has an air of invincibility. Perhaps, after reading STATE OF THE UNION, this invincibility will be quelled somewhat, as Harvath finds himself in a variety of situations not befalling an uberagent.
Regardless, this was a fun, fast-paced mystery novel, full of bad guys, beautiful ladies, and a couple of heroes. Just what this world needs right now...
Summary of State of the Union: A Thriller
From the national bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne and Path of the Assassin comes another electrifying international thriller featuring all-American hero Scot Harvath, as he plunges into the frigid heart of the Russian tundra to save the fragile state of the union. On a cold January morning, the United States awakes to discover that an old enemy, one long believed dead and buried, has crawled out of its grave to lay siege to the world's only superpower. With the stunning discovery that enhanced Soviet-made suitcase nukes have been secreted in America's major cities, President Jack Rutledge gathers his National Security Council to weigh the feasibility of a first strike against the Russian Federation. There's only one problem. For over two decades, the Russians have been funneling international aid money into a top secret air defense system, which has just been brought on-line and which will render any conventional attack upon their country utterly ineffective. After exhausting all of his other options, and with Soviet sleeper agents preparing to detonate their deadly payloads across the United States, the president turns to the nation's final hope, ex-Navy SEAL and Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath. Assigned to a covert section of the Department of Homeland Security and charged with defending the nation against all foreign aggressors by any means necessary, Harvath finds himself hand-picked by the president to unravel a brilliantly orchestrated, fiendishly timed conspiracy that has already shattered the fragile peace between the world's nations and which, if successful, will leave the United States in smoldering ruins. With family friend and former Deputy FBI Director Gary Lawlor nowhere to be found and suspected of betraying his country, Harvath embarks on an adventure that will test the bonds of loyalty and reveal a nation's deepest secrets. As high-voltage and timely as they come, State of the Union is a frighteningly real, headline-ripping tale of espionage and intrigue that will keep readers guessing until the last tantalizing piece of the puzzle locks into place.Literature & Fiction Books
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