The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)

The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath #1)

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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99  ·  rating details  ·  6,110 ratings  ·  425 reviews
On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has happened: the President of the United States has been kidnapped, and his Secret Service detail massacred. Only one agent has survived -- ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath. He doesn't buy the official line that Middle Eastern terrorists are responsible, and begins his own campaign to find the truth -- and exact revenge. But hi...more
Paperback, 512 pages
Published October 29th 2002 by Pocket Star (first published 2001)
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Pam
08/23/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: LIONS OF LUCERNE by Brad Thor
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Thriller/2002/416 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: 1st Scot Harvath
TIME/PLACE: Early 2000's/Utah, Washington, DC, Switzerland
CHARACTERS: Scot Harvath/Secret Service Agent
FIRST LINES: "Senators" said Fawcett as he strode across the polished floor in his monogrammed Stubbs * Wooton opera slippers. "I'm so very pleased you could make it."

COMMENTS: Library book. Fast paced -- full of action and adventure. Don't usuall...more
Eric
Mar 12, 2013 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of gritty spy thrillers
After loving my first exposure to Brad Thor and his Scot Harvath character, Black List, I figured I would start back at the beginning with the first in the series. While the writing isn't as tight -- this is Thor's first published book -- the story was just as compelling, if not more so. The stakes couldn't be higher, with Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath having to hunt down those responsible for the kidnapping of the U.S. President and the killing of thirty of Scot's Secret Service co-workers....more
Ru
THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED. If that isn't engrossing, I don't know what is. Highly impressed with Brad Thor's debut novel, & it's precisely what I had been looking for. I wanted a spy/intelligence series with plausible, real-world characters, heavy on action, without being too partisan in politics, but yet have a strong governmental aspect to it all. This book fit the bill. Sort of a cross between TV's "24" and a Tom Clancy thriller, the Scot Harvath character is well-written and can b...more
Lisa (Harmonybites)
Oct 16, 2011 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: No One
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
Uhm...not sure where to start to convey all the ways this struck me as ludicrous. I read it because it was recommended in the Suspense part of The Ultimate Reading List. I probably should have been warned it wasn't for me when I saw blurbs praising it by Vince Flynn of Term Limits and Glenn Beck. But hey, as it turned out, it wasn't that it was outre right-wing that turned me off, but that when it comes down to it I'm the kind of gal who believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone to assassinate Pres...more
Chuck
This book shows why I first became hooked on Brad Thor novels; it's fast paced, alternately tense, with a wise cracking tough guy character truly different from most series technothrillers. Scot Harvath is tough, smart, resourceful, and has a sense of humor about himself and others. He is also on the President's secret service detail, and was 'on watch' when the Commander in Chief was kidnapped. In disgrace, he realizes the investigation into the President's disappearance is on the wrong track,...more
Zoe
I didn't really like this one. It lacked finesse. It's very long-winded with little action and its very conspiratorial with lots of characters, viewpoints and complicated schemes. Scot isn't all that likeable either. He's a bit immature and inexperienced to me. Mainly talk and no action. Fortunately, his incompetency isn't fatal due to a good dose of luck time and time again. I feel sort of harsh saying that, but I wanted to see Scot do something clever, at least once. I finished the book becaus...more
Steph
My dad recommended this author to me. This is his first novel with recurring character Scot Harvath.

The first of Brad Thor's political thrillers involving main character Scot Harvath, Lions of Lucerne will not disappoint. This fast paced novel is hard to put down. When I was forced to step away from the book I found myself thinking about it... wondering how Agent Harvath was going to escape his current life or death situation.

I typically read in bed to help me fall asleep at night. This is not...more
Richard
This is Brad Thor's first book and my first read of Brad Thor. I had read a couple of Vince Flynn novels and Thor was recommended on Goodreads and Amazon as a similar read. This is definitely true. The main chararacter of both authors are similar at least in their ability to be a super efficient killing machine, all legally done under the guise of 'National Security'. Also both characters are hugely likeable. I almost felt sorry for Thor's Scott Harvath through most of the book as he seemed to h...more
Tyler Montague
Meh.

After reading 11 Vince Flynn novels, and being unable to wait until Vince beats cancer so he can write some more, I decided to give this Brad Thor guy a shot. I'll keep looking for a fix elsewhere. This is very mediocre writing; the dialogue often didn't fit the intensity level of the situation. For example, they just had 30 fellow Secret Service agents shot up, and the president kidnapped, and immediately after Thor feels like it is a good time to develop protagonist Scot Harvath's characte...more
Craig
The President of the US is successfully kidnapped on the ski slopes of Utah. As Scot Harvath, former SEAL and now with the Secret Service (in charge of the President's security detail) is framed, he must take charge on his own and unravel the conspiracy. The plot had potential, but was not plausibly developed. Too many details "conveniently" fell into place. Down to four stars. I reduced my rating by another star as I found the author continually explaining (rehearsing for the reader) what had j...more
Phil
The Lions of LucerneBrad Thor

Enter a new player to my reading; Scot Harvath, the hero of this suspense novel series. Trained and served with Seal Team 2, now assigned as Secret Service to protect the president. If you like the John Wells Series by Alex Berensen or the Mitch Rapp Series by Vince Flynn, you will love Scot Harvath and the series that Brad Thor has created. Another new player that I enjoy thoroughly is the Dewy Andreas Series by Ben Coes.

All of the above, and probably many more, are...more
Mormonhermitmom
This thriller is the first of a series chronicling the adventures of one Scott Harvath, Secret Service agent and all-around stubborn, slightly egotistical, obsessive pursuer of justice/bad guys, adrenaline junkie, etc. etc. To be honest, I actually read one of the books later in the series before I read this one. I hate doing that. I hate breaking continuity, stepping in the middle of an ongoing story, but I digress.

Scott Harvath works the Presidential detail, but this particular day, he is esc...more
John
The politics of the author aren't as blatant as many books of the genre (John Ringo, anyone?), but I'm not sure that it makes the book better. The thriller genre seems to rely on an over-the-top sensibilty; a sense of the absurd, if you will. Incredibly over the top political opinions seem to feed into that.

That said, I enjoyed not being clubbed over the head with the author's political views. They're readily apparant, but not obnoxiously so. The story itself strains believability. The main cha...more
Gunnari
Starting to read this book I wanted to love it however, it never really picked up for me. The sign of a fantastic thriller is the desire to stay up much later than you ought to trying to fly through the book as quickly as possible. This is done to see how all of the crazy situations are resolved. At no point throughout this book did I feel that compulsion kick in.

***Spoilers to follow***

This story just seemed so unreal on many more levels than a normal spy thriller that it didn't seem remotely...more
Paul S
Scott Harvath is a bit of a jerk, with few redeeming qualities, is what I thought at the start of this book. I have a hard time enjoying books that lack a main character that I can get behind, so I wasn't exactly thrilled when I picked up this one.

However, as the story progressed, the author seemed to drop the tough guy cliches, which were how he defined Scott Harvath at the start of the novel, and began to more fully develop the character.

Like his character development, Thor's writing during th...more
Justin Sinclair-smith
I really wanted to find what I thought was a good thriller writer to go along with Vince Flynn, Andy McNabb and Nelson Demille. I looked at the rating and thought I was in for a good ride. Could not be further from the truth

The first thing that let me down was the dialogue. Horribly cliched, the main characters are given to stating the obvious, especially the protagonist Scott. The dialogue is, at best unsophisticated and really spoon feeds the reader. It is corny, contrived and downright facile...more
Lisa Gines
I really enjoyed this fast-paced, novel. I was pretty impressed with the amount of research that must have gone into this book as it spans different branches of goverment, and many countries. I thought the passages pertaining to Utah and the Morman faith were hilarious. The sterotypes that stick... amazing. I thought the main character was one tough dude. I had to disregard some of the macho stuff that seemed to me to be overboard...being a girl and all. The theme of trust and committment are pr...more
Brandon Jensen
I really enjoy this book after the first 20 pages or so. (I actually stopped reading it for a year or so after those pages.) Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. I especially liked that the first 1/3 of the book, other than those first few pages, is based in Park City and Heber. It also describes some location in Switzerland that I've been to.

As far as the story goes, it's your typical political/action thriller. The president is kidnapped in a complex plan while skiing in Park City. We...more
Inomniuparatus
This was one heck of a good read. fast passed and full action on your face writhing. Although the finale was a bit predictable. Anyway 4* is well placed score.

Scott Harvath, a Secret Service Agent is part of the detail that is protecting the President and his daughter while on a skiing vacation in Utah. A conspiracy at the highest levels of government causes the skiing party to be ambushed and only Harvath, the President and his daughter survive the assault. However, the President has been kidn...more
Patrick Gibson
The first in the Scot Harvath series. I have been told this is the poorest of the batch—but should be read first for establishing character etc. Too late! My previous experience with Thor was Harvath #7 in the series. I wasn’t paying attention when Sharon gave me a bag of mercy books so I started backwards. Now I can see how his writing improved because “Lions of Lucerne” is clunky and a little more than slightly preposterous. But . . . and here’s the rub . . . his testosterone level is almost a...more
Mary Bertuzzi
I just found Brad Thor and I love his books. I am on the third book right now. If you like action and suspense, you will love his books. His hero is Scot Horvath former Navy Seal, Secret Service, CIA and Homeland Security agent. I'm not sure who he works for now but the adventures and excitment just keep on coming. The Lions of Lucerne is his first book about Scot. In this book he is on the president's detail. They are on vacation in Utah skiing with the president and his daughter. All the agent...more
Mark
I read this for the same reason I've read some other books--it tied-in with a place I visited on vacation. When I got the opportunity to travel to Switzerland, I did some searching for fictional books and found this typical airport thriller that had my hotel's city right in the title! That part was really fun, as the name-dropping for landmarks included all sorts of things I saw myself. No question about it, that was a lot of fun for me.

But objectively, this is yet another Tom Clancy knockoff,...more
Cleo
wanted to read the Brad Thor book on the best seller list and found that this book is first in a group (Tom Clancey-like) of thrillers with the same main character. Since the first book "sets" the character I decided to read it first and I wasn't disappointed. A funny sideline is that - being set in the DeerValley/Park City area a Mormon family became part of the plot. The descriptions of the Mormon relegion was really hilarious to a Mormon. Just when I decided the author had researched with a...more
Michael Smith
This is yet again another book where I wish I was able to give half stars. To me this was a very solid 3.5. It was good enough that I would be willing to read more of Brad Thor's books, but it wasn't good enough to make me anxious to read more. The plot was interesting enough, the action was good, but the dialogue was often forced and unnatural sounding. It seemed like Brad wanted to inject some humor into the story but rather than it being fluid and a natural part of the story it just felt cram...more
Michael
As a big fan of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series, I started Brad Thor's similar Scot Harvath series in the hopes it would deliver the same thrilling action. I was very disappointed. I felt the character development was subpar, and more than a couple times I felt myself asking why it was I should be rooting for Harvath. I mean, besides the obvious -- he's one of the good guys, and he's trying to save the President! But his personality was pretty blah.

The lack of good character development wasn't m...more
Maria
Another rogue agent book - this time he's Secret Service. But the author didn't do his homework about Presidential code names: family members all have names starting with the same letter; his President goes by Hat Trick, and his daughter goes by Goldilocks. Sitting presidential family is "Renegade," "Renaissance," "Radiance," and "Rosebud." Former presidential family were "Tumbler," "Tempo," "Turquoise" and "Twinkle." Some dynamic physical activity during fight scenes that I am not sure are poss...more
Caermon
Not bad. The plot was good and I liked the protagonist, but it felt like Thor was trying too hard to channel Robert Ludlum in a lot of places. He also doesn't seem to be a fan of the "show, don't tell" philosophy of story telling. Just about any time the characters made a decision about something, there were at least a couple of paragraphs detailing why they made that decision. A lot of that stuff could have been cut without detracting from the story at all.

It's a decent first book and Thor sho...more
Larry
I had previously listen to several ABRIDGED books by Bard Thor in the Scott Horvath series – out of order – while driving to FL. I enjoyed them but I didn’t feel that they weren’t THAT good. Well, since Thor was recommended by my friend Tom – a man of excellent taste – as “just as good at the Mitch Rapp series”, I decided to give the UNabridged books a chance. I’m so glad that I did!

I thought that Brad Thorn is more like Clive Cussler than Vince Flynn but, nevertheless, I the plot was interestin...more
Goede
It is a thrilling book, but I read it after reading the first book of mark greaney in the court gentry serie. The court gentry serie is just a bit more action filled. Both writers make use of a lot of details about weapons and world politics. I think brad Thor will grow in this serie which I plan to read in total completion. Will see.

a good book which good be better by being a bit more realistic. Harvath Scott is an ex seal and has to many rookie mistakes. This is sometimes irritating because Br...more
Katie
OK, I originally stopped reading this b/c of the f-words. THe book seemed to have a lot. But then I tried it again, this time on CD. There were only like 5 instead of 25, something I can handle but if you can't then don't read it. I loved listening to it on CD!! That will be my new thing. I cleaned my whole bedroom while "reading" the entire book! Anyway, the story was pretty good, more action/spy stuff. Mostly takes place in Europe which I always like. It's the first of the Scot Harvath series...more
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Goodreads Librari...: Title needs fixing please 3 181 Dec 16, 2012 06:34am  
Goodreads Librari...: "The Lions of Lucerne" needs fixing 3 23 Oct 04, 2012 07:22pm  
The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)
The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)
The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)
The Lions Of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)
The Lions of Lucerne (Scot Harvath, #1)

5088
The publication of BLACK LIST marked a milestone for me - my 12th - and I think my best thriller yet. For 2013, I’m kicking off an exciting challenge--The Ultimate Reader Experience-- by inviting readers old and new to start or re-start my Scot Harvath series together; reading one book per month in order.

And to make it even more interesting, I have personally revisited each book to bring you enha...more
More about Brad Thor...
State Of The Union (Scot Harvath, #3) The First Commandment (Scot Harvath, #6) Foreign Influence (Scot Harvath, #9) The Last Patriot (Scot Harvath, #7) Full Black (Scot Harvath, #10)

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