Howard Gordon (1) (1961–)

Once again, I have to clarify: Three stars means I (ultimately) liked Hard Target. It had a tight plot with page-turning suspense, realistic situations and settings, and spare writing. Once I connected with the situation and the plight of the characters, it was not easy to put down. That should have gotten it four stars, but I have to knock off a few points.

First, a half point off because I did not immediately feel connected with the protagonist. The author used a prologue to try to get the reader into the situation and define the bad guys. While this might work for a television show (the author is a successful television writer and producer), in this case it seemed more of a distraction. When we meet up with Gideon Davis in chapter one, the reader is wondering why we are spending time with this loser on his way to work, instead of finding the fate of the poor woman in the prologue.

Another half point comes off for all the head hopping. This is the not the first time I've been assaulted by viewpoint roaming from character to character in a thriller. This may be a stylistic choice and most readers might not notice. I find it jarring and distracting when it happens within a single chapter or scene. It just chops things up too much, giving the story the feel of a badly edited movie-of-the-week.

Otherwise, this was a pretty decent read and I can recommend it for anyone looking for some hard action adventure.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review.
… (mere)

When a meth-mouthed white-supremacist passes on information to US Diplomat, Gideon Davis that he has insider knowledge on a homegrown terrorist plot to take place against a ‘high-value target’, the information is passed on by the FBI as just another nut-job threat. That is, until the informant disappears within twenty-four hours of failing to give additional details to Davis’ inside-FBI contact.
Using his brother Tillman—a former CIA-operative—Davis uses the little information he gained to help infiltrate the organization to see if there was any truth to the situation since the FBI bosses have now ignored, and put on suspension, his FBI source. Now they cannot officially monitor the alleged threat.
The Idaho-trained supremacists and their meth-making boss are soon hunted to their base, and the threat is over with until the real head of the organization—a former military commander with a chip on his shoulder because of his amputee son’s treatment by the government—and his right-hand man are discovered going ahead with the final plan, using poison gas to take out all the attendees of the State of the Union address.
The Davis brothers lead the chase to get to the president before disaster can happen as Gordon, in this sequel to “Gideon’s War,” let’s them go rogue to stop the government from annihilation. A literal ticking time bomb of a thriller that keeps you guessing until the final second. Gordon uses his skills as executive producer and writer of the smash TV hits 24 and The X-Files to keep you turning the pages of this thriller for the ages.
… (mere)

When a meth-mouthed white-supremacist passes on information to US Diplomat, Gideon Davis that he has insider knowledge on a homegrown terrorist plot to take place against a ‘high-value target’, the information is passed on by the FBI as just another nut-job threat. That is, until the informant disappears within twenty-four hours of failing to give additional details to Davis’ inside-FBI contact.
Using his brother Tillman—a former CIA-operative—Davis uses the little information he gained to help infiltrate the organization to see if there was any truth to the situation since the FBI bosses have now ignored, and put on suspension, his FBI source. Now they cannot officially monitor the alleged threat.
The Idaho-trained supremacists and their meth-making boss are soon hunted to their base, and the threat is over with until the real head of the organization—a former military commander with a chip on his shoulder because of his amputee son’s treatment by the government—and his right-hand man are discovered going ahead with the final plan, using poison gas to take out all the attendees of the State of the Union address.
The Davis brothers lead the chase to get to the president before disaster can happen as Gordon, in this sequel to “Gideon’s War,” let’s them go rogue to stop the government from annihilation. A literal ticking time bomb of a thriller that keeps you guessing until the final second. Gordon uses his skills as executive producer and writer of the smash TV hits 24 and The X-Files to keep you turning the pages of this thriller for the ages.
… (mere)

Though light on the character development, the story itself is full of peril and excitement, which, let’s be honest, is why we read thrillers. Actually, Tillman Davis seems like he could have been an interesting character after his separation from Gideon, but we didn’t see much of his inner turmoil and growth, which was a shame. Gideon and Kate, the two protagonists, are somewhat bland but just likeable enough that I cared about their story. There was a good variety in the action sequences, though, from land to the air to the water to under the water. All it was missing was outer space, and I wouldn’t want that or suspect it would come into play.… (mere)