Stone Cold
by David Baldacci
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Book Reviews of Stone Cold
Book Review: Camel Club, volume three
Summary: 4 Stars
A couple books ago in The Collectors, David Baldacci did what I consider a cardinal sin in a thriller novel: he left a major storyline unresolved. While multi-book stories may be fine for science fiction or fantasy (and even that's debatable), they aren't appropriate for thrillers, which by definition, are novels of suspense. The payoff for the suspense should be in the same book.
In Stone Cold, the follow-up novel to The Collectors, it looks like Baldacci is about to repeat that sin. As in The Collectors, Stone Cold has two almost separate plots running parallel to each other. Happily, this time, Baldacci resolves both of the plots.
Stone Cold is actually the third novel featuring the Camel Club, a group of four loners who have a knack for uncovering grand conspiracies. The leader of the club is Oliver Stone, the long-held alias of ex-government assassin John Carr. Stone may have faked Carr's death, but the ghosts of the past are coming back to haunt him anyways.
One plot focuses on Harry Finn, a nice family guy who happens to also be a killer. He is murdering individuals linked to the death of his father, a group that included not only Carr, but retired intelligence chief Carter Gray. Finn's father was killed as a government-sanctioned hit, supposedly because he was a traitor; Finn doesn't buy it and is out for revenge. Though Carr/Stone is not on the hit list because he's presumed dead, Gray (who knows what's really going on) intends on changing that, endangering Stone and his friends.
Meanwhile, in the second story (unresolved in The Collectors), the Camel Club is assisting Annabelle Conroy, the beautiful con artist who is on the run from nasty casino owner Jerry Bagger. She had conned Bagger out of a heap of money, principally out of revenge for Bagger's murder of her mother. As Bagger closes in, the Camel Club tries to assist, with the aid of their honorary Club member, Secret Service agent Alex Ford.
With a good deal of twists and rapid-pace suspense, Baldacci atones for his past crime. Nonetheless, I would not recommend reading this book until you've read its predecessors, The Camel Club and The Collectors. Once you have, this book should be a fine addition to the series.
Book Review: Who proofreads and edits Baldacci's books?
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all, I was shocked with how little introduction Baldacci gave for the members of his so-called "camel club". Unfortunately, I did not read the previous entries to this series and was dumbfounded when I realized that I was supposed to "know" these characters. I would not recommend this book as a stand-alone novel to any reader.
Furthermore, Mr. Baldacci tries too hard to make his book read like a movie script. Very short chapters "twists and turns on every page" that would make every USA Today reviewer jump up and down with joy. It just appears he is trying too hard.
The story itself starts out fairly interesting, but the confusing array of unnecessary characters makes it tedious to read. The novel becomes progressively less interesting and is too long for it's own sake. The action becomes very unrealistic and Clive Cussler'esque. I would expect more realism from Baldacci.
His technical research: This is an area where Baldacci is absolutely to sloppy. Another reviewer already pointed out that Baldacci refers to the desktop computer case as a "CPU". You do not need to be a computer wiz to know that this is incorrect. This is unacceptable in this day and age. In addition, during one of the "action scenes" he uses the age old trick of blinding agents, who using night vision scopes, by turning on the lights. This does NOT work - you do not loose your eyesight for days (not even minutes) when exposed to bright lights when wearing night vision goggles. I believe Mr. Baldacci has watched too many spy movies.
Last, but not least, I must say that any passage in the book that involves the Finn character having interactions with his kids is absolutely unreadable. The way these kids talk are not even Hollywood - it is so corny and unrealistically saccharine it gave me horrible toothaches.
I strongly suggest Mr. Baldacci gets a better editor before he releases his next novel. He has shown in the past that he can spin a decent yarn, but his work needs fundamental editing and proofreading.
Baldacci - if you read this give me a call - I'll do it!
Book Review: Oliver Stone Cold Killer
Summary: 4 Stars
This is another in the Baldacci series of Camel Club adventures. It does not matter what order you read them, they all stand alone. In this caper Baldacci intertwines two fast paced yarns. We have a casino mogul who is beyond evil, bent on revenge for his falling for a long con and a short con, managed by an estranged daughter and father team.
Then we have the expected advance of the Camel Club. The genesis is an unrelated set of murders of former Oliver Stone colleagues. The Intelligence chiefs get the idea that Stone is the killer since there are many marks of an experienced assassin. However the back story is more complicated, we have to go back to the last bad days of the Soviet Union. A lot of us, including President Reagan, considered it good fortune that the leaders of the USSR were geriatric geezers prone to short terms with no achievements. Apparently there was more to this than coincidence and the vagaries of our term on this planet.
The Cold War went on so long that we need to let some of the killing fall to the second generation of spies. Now we have an independent contractor killing Stone's colleagues. Fortunately all the good guys end up on one side and the Intelligence chiefs see the tables turned. To keep renewing the Camel Club roster, we lose one member but gain some new ones, so the Baldacci children will not need to worry about food on the table for some time.
Overall these are fun books to read. This one is probabaly the best of the series. Baldacci is remarkably clever in bringing two unrelated stories together to an unexpected result.
Book Review: Listen up, Hollywood!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book. No, it probably won't make the category of a literary classic like Moby Dick and such, but for adventure/suspense readers, this book does the trick. Those who rated it with one or two star must've been having a real bad day. How else could they give such a negative review to such a good book.
The character, John Carr (a.k.a. Oliver Stone - thus the title, STONE COLD), is an admirable personality, indeed - highly intelligent, modest and unassuming, strong convictions, fiercely loyal to his friends and principles, brooding over past deceptions to which he'd been victim, grieving over past sins & losses, and incredibly lethal when necessary. True hero material.
If any Hollywood producer happens to read this, which I doubt, STONE COLD (and the whole CAMEL CLUB series) would make for great cinema. Given the right director and screenplay writer, it has potential for a wonderful blend of cinematic humor, pathos, chemistry between the CAMEL CLUB's personalities, and a complex but engaging story line.
And I have a suggestion regarding who might make a great John Carr. Mark Harmon, who plays Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the TV show NCIS, could step right into the character without any trouble, although he may need to bulk up slightly to fit Carr's mold. Leroy Jethro Gibbs and John Carr are very similar - tough, honest, and determined men in a tough world. We need to see more of that.
No need to thank me, Hollywood. Just send me a cut of the profits! Yah, right, I won't hold my breath.
Book Review: Revenge City
Summary: 5 Stars
Author David Baldacci's Camel Club, a key element in the book, excludes dromedaries and his Oliver Stone, a central character, only directs himself to the kitchen. Nevertheless, this book is a very fast read. The story centers on a plot to avenge the murder of a high CIA operative. The avenger is the dead man's son, Harry Finn, the kind of guy who can take out a platoon of hostile gunmen by using his strength and cunning.
Another vengeful (and tough) character is Annabelle Conroy, whose mother was murdered by a vicious casino owner. So, the tale is largely about revenge. How Finn's and Conroy's lust for payback come together is an integral part of the book.
Finn's "day job" is working for the Department of Homeland Security to determine how tough security really is around potential terrorist targets. He repeatedly finds that this security is very flimsy and easily penetrated by someone as clever and resourceful as he. Although this is a work of fantasy, it suggests a real need for increased vigilance.
The book suffers from a couple of bizarre coincidences as the conclusion approaches. One expects this sort of thing in a thrilling spy games yarn, but Baldacci drops some real whoppers here. Not to worry, though. It's still an exciting conclusion.
I can see movie written all over this novel. If it is produced, it will be a challenge for Hollywood to top the book.