The First Commandment: A Thriller

Six months ago: In the dead of the night, five of the most dangerous detainees in the war on terror are pulled from their isolation cells in Guantanamo Bay, held at gunpoint, and told to strip off their orange jumpsuits. Issued civilian clothes and driven to the base airfield, they are loaded aboard a Boeing 727 and set free.

Present day: Covert counterterrorism agent Scot Harvath awakens to discover that his world has changed violently -- and forever. A sadistic assassin with a personal vendetta is wreaking havoc of biblical proportions. Unleashing nightmarish horrors on those closest to Harvath, the attacker thrusts everything Harvath holds dear -- including his life -- into absolute peril.

Ordered by the president to stay out of the investigation, Harvath is forced to mount his own operation to uncover the conspiracy and to exact revenge. When he discovers a connection between the attacks and a group of prisoners secretly released from Guantanamo, Harvath must ask himself previously unthinkable questions about the organizations and the nation he has spent his life serving.

A renegade from his own government, Harvath will place his life on the line as his search for the truth draws him into a showdown with one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth.

Brad Thor roars through this nonstop adventure full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, and ultimate revenge.
 

Customer Reviews:

Are you kidding?

I read a lot of political thrillers... good ones and not so good ones... this one I could not finish. The story was predictable, the characters caricatures of ultra-right wing rednecks and really, do I need to know that the characters ate before something happens in the story? Page 101: "once he gulped down his breakfast". Page 79 "he even allowed himself an after-dinner drink.". Page 115, "the resort's chef made a late lunch and the men made small talk as they ate". This weird interest in using meals as either filler or segways between scenes goes on and on. Did the publishers put a stipulation in his contract as to the number of pages he needed to fill? The politics of this author are predictable, ridiculously one dimensional and outright pandering to a certain segment of the population. There is nothing complex about this book. It doesn't make you think, it doesn't make you feel and it doesn't even make you care for the characters. I was fervently hoping something bad would happen to the main character as I would have shot him myself if I could have.

2008-08-25

Baldacci and Flynn are better

I bought this book based on an NY Times Book Review. It sounded interesting and in the same genre as the Vince Flynn and David Baldacci books I've read. The book starts out well and builds a credible story, but doesn't hold the interest as well all the way through.

Thor's protagonist is a likable guy that anyone would want to root for on the post 9-11 era but his character is not as well developed as some of Flynn's, Baldacci's or Nelson DeMille's characters. You may feel for the people in the story who have been struck by various tragedies of the (Harvath's girlfriend and friends particularly) but Thor does not develop them or their backgrounds well enough for the story line to be credible.

This was mediocre beach reading but I was expecting more. I may give Thor another try again, not with my $ but with my library card instead.

2008-08-22

The Last Patriot by Brad Thor

The first sentence of this book reminded me of Angels & Demons. I haven't finished it yet, but so far I like it.

2008-08-17

A Thriller with Biblical Assaults

Fete of Death
"First Commandment" is a well-crafted political thriller rife with action and plot twists. Nano-chapters and -paragraphs help kick the story along in high gear.

Not only must Scot Harvath fight the bad guys, namely the terrorists, in this one, he must also duel with the president of the United States, who wants him out of the picture, dead or alive, for reasons of his own. In short, everyone's got it in for Harvath. He must use all his wits to hunt down the villain who is terrorizing his family, and at the same time survive while the president assembles a team of SEALS to do away with him.

Brad Thor has done his homework with a lot of research for his book and it sounds like he has good sources as well.

A la Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, Harvath tortures and maims his way through the novel to a final bloody mana a mano with the terrorist on Lake Geneva.

2008-08-17

Great thriller

I was hooked from the first page. This was more along the lines of a Vince Flynn fiction. I had to finish this book in one night for I couldn't put it down. Scot Harvath must find the paid terrorist who is targeting his loved ones. Became very upset with President Rutledge who would make deals with terrorists. Glad Scot is a maverick and is on the right side. Highly recommend this book, but the reader won't get any sleep until the book is finished.

2008-08-12