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6th out of 18 books
—
13 voters
Vertical Run
You think YOU had a killer workday. . .
Get ready for the FASTEST thriller of the summer!
Each morning in his 45th floor executive office, David Elliot savors the quiet
moments until the workday begins.
Until today, when his boss walks in and aims a gun at him.
For the rest of the day, he will be trapped in his midtown office building, and
everyone David Elliot meets will try t...more
Get ready for the FASTEST thriller of the summer!
Each morning in his 45th floor executive office, David Elliot savors the quiet
moments until the workday begins.
Until today, when his boss walks in and aims a gun at him.
For the rest of the day, he will be trapped in his midtown office building, and
everyone David Elliot meets will try t...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
July 1st 1996
by Bantam
(first published 1995)
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My brother forced me to read this book. It's his favorite novel of all time. I didn't want to read it, especially after seeing the nasty, yellow-stained, warped paperback copy he brought over for me to borrow. It looks like he dropped it in the toilet or something. Disgusting. It took me about a year to work up the nerve to touch it, and then I had to read it with my shirt pulled over my hands and a thick coating of hand sanitizer on. Anyway, it goes to show how good the book is that I was willi...more
I may be rating this book a bit conservatively, as I enjoyed it more than my rating may indicate. As thriller, it is very solid, with a likeable hero and an adequately, if somewhat 2-dimensional, evil foe, and has good pacing in an entertaining narrative about a corporate man whose world has turned upside down as he is being hunted down in his offices, by an unknown agency.
If I had read it back in the mid-90s, when this book had come out, I'd give it a 3-star rating, but now, with more than 15 y...more
If I had read it back in the mid-90s, when this book had come out, I'd give it a 3-star rating, but now, with more than 15 y...more
This was an audio book I had laying around. Unfortunately it was an abridged version but even so was a very good listen. It was a thriller that kept me wanting to listen.
Dave Elliott is a retired Marine who is married to his second wife and lives a rather usual life. He runs in the morning, then goes to work and showers there and changes clothes. He follows the same routine most days but this morning when he opens his bosses door, he is met with a gun. Dave has no idea what's going on but is abl...more
Dave Elliott is a retired Marine who is married to his second wife and lives a rather usual life. He runs in the morning, then goes to work and showers there and changes clothes. He follows the same routine most days but this morning when he opens his bosses door, he is met with a gun. Dave has no idea what's going on but is abl...more
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This book took a while to really get into, but once you do your in for a great ride! If you liked the Jason Bourne books you'll love this one.
It is about and ex-soldier who fought in the vietnam war who begins everyday by doing his normal daily things. Get up, have breakfast with family, etc. However when he gets into his large office build that he had been working at for years, things go out of his daily chain. His business parter, who he had worked with for years, pulls a gun on him. Infact...more
It is about and ex-soldier who fought in the vietnam war who begins everyday by doing his normal daily things. Get up, have breakfast with family, etc. However when he gets into his large office build that he had been working at for years, things go out of his daily chain. His business parter, who he had worked with for years, pulls a gun on him. Infact...more
Okay, this is definitely a guilty pleasure book for those liking action. There are predictable aspects to it and the novel is definitely dated now. However, it is still a very enjoyable read for what it is.
I call this kind of book "mind-candy". It's easy-reading, sucks you in... but isn't too memorable or deep. Just enjoy it as it is... which is a book in the vein of the original "Die Hard".
I think the author sets a good pace and creates interesting (although stereotypical) characters and scen...more
I call this kind of book "mind-candy". It's easy-reading, sucks you in... but isn't too memorable or deep. Just enjoy it as it is... which is a book in the vein of the original "Die Hard".
I think the author sets a good pace and creates interesting (although stereotypical) characters and scen...more
I absolutely love this book. Just read it for the 3rd or 4th time. I skimmed a good amount because I also read it just a few months ago (for the first time in years) but it's one of those books I can just pick up and really get into all over again. It owes a bit to Die Hard but beyond some of the premise and a couple details it's wholly original. Great action and a satisfying conclusion, which is one place that books like this sometimes come up short. It's really too bad that Mr. Garber died so...more
I've read this book several times because I find it thrilling, even though there are serious flaws. In any other book, those flaws (including unlikely scenarios, stilted dialogue, and lack of character development) would have me closing the covers without reading the whole thing. But the thrills are undeniable. The story of David Elliott, who in the space of one day goes from ordinary, almost-middle-aged office drone to fugitive relying on ancient military skills, falls into a subgenre of books...more
What a great book! One of the best thrillers I've read so far. It's really intense and does a wonderful job at keeping you hooked and dying to know what happens next.
Both the main plot and the whole background story about the main character are very believable. Dave is a striking character, I sympathized with him and was pulling for the story to work out in his favour. I loved as well that the author included Dave's reasoning and planning of his actions and the traps he'd set.
I'm looking forward...more
Both the main plot and the whole background story about the main character are very believable. Dave is a striking character, I sympathized with him and was pulling for the story to work out in his favour. I loved as well that the author included Dave's reasoning and planning of his actions and the traps he'd set.
I'm looking forward...more
Talk about a fast, thrilling read! David Elliott wakes up and goes to work one ordinary day only to have his boss pull a gun on him. For the rest of the day, every one David meets tries to kill him. A great page turner that kept me up way past my bedtime... Your life won't be enriched, nor will you feel altered by what you read, but much like a super-condensed season of "24" in book format, for the sheer joy of escapism through reading, this book was amazing.
A quick read if you don't mind a lack of characterization and richness in plot. I had this around a 3.5 star rating halfway through the book...however, it never did turn the corner and take it to the level I thought it could've reached. I may be considered picky, but I like good character development and a plot with good context and I found this novel lacking in both. However, I did read just about the entire book so it did enough for me to get through it for the most part. I lost interest in th...more
This book was an unexpected treat for me. I really did not think I'd enjoy when a friend reccomended it to me. After the constant nagging from said friend I decided to crack it open. Within what seemed like such a short amount of time I returned the book and proceded to give great thanks. This is still one of the best thrillers I've ever read. Readers will raise an eyebrow here, and there, and then finish with an expression of WTF?
Dave comes in early to the office and his boss tries to kill him. A real thrill ride.
I really like the character. It turns out Dave is not only good at turning the hunters into the hunted, but he gets a real charge out of it.
I would give it 5 stars but there is some stuff about torture, heads on poles, and some bad stuff from his Vietnam days, and the ending had some odd spots, but it is still one of my favorite books.
I really like the character. It turns out Dave is not only good at turning the hunters into the hunted, but he gets a real charge out of it.
I would give it 5 stars but there is some stuff about torture, heads on poles, and some bad stuff from his Vietnam days, and the ending had some odd spots, but it is still one of my favorite books.
Wow! What an intense and, at times, a little frightening novel. I was torn between wondering if the author was going to throw me for a loop and have it turn out that Dave really was suffering from some delusion or something.
Dave is a character you root for and I really enjoyed how he was able to think under pressure. I would have been panicking.
Dave is a character you root for and I really enjoyed how he was able to think under pressure. I would have been panicking.
From the first page the action starts and does not let up. David Elliot is a successful middle-aged executive who goes into work just like every weekday morning but what happens next is anything but normal. The present day narrative switches off with scenes from David's past in Vietnam which helps the believability factor. A real page turner.
Fast paced page turner about an executive who reports to his daily job/grind only to find that first his boss and then armed thugs are trying to kill him. He resorts to clever tactics learned in his days in the army to evade them and figure out why he is a target.
Not the most complex book, but if I had to categorize it, Vertical Run would be one of those summer blockbuster movies. Fast paced action, sometimes over the top action, decent enough characters and a fascinating grabber that keeps you turning the pages.
Interesting book. I really liked it, but couldn't escape the feeling that rather than originality, the book was serving up action plots I had already heard, with the author's own spin on them. I honestly kept thinking of John McClane the whole time.
This was a distracting/amusing read, but not very good. I was especially appalled at the depiction of New York City as a crime-ridden war zone where you barely have time to turn your back before a crime takes place. I guess it suited the plot development to treat New York that way but I thought the setting for the book was supposed to be a plausible, contemporary New York.
This book is fast paced. It is also predictable. The only reason this book gets one star is because I did not feel the need to edit the grammar as I read it. This book is best for the adolescent male, or some one who identifies with one.
A very pleasant surprise! This turned out being one of those books that I could not put down after I'd started. This is a true thriller; a suspenseful story! I look forward to reading more from this author.
This was a propulsive novel. I'm going to re-read it someday. Sort of like the movie Die Hard. It was more plot driven than character driven, but if you like thrillers, this won't bother you much.
Great action book. It was Die Hard: The Novel, and just as compelling as the movie. This book made me a fan of Mr. Garber and I have added more of his works to my reading list.
You told us that you enjoy James Patterson, which led me to this survival thriller. It shares many of the fast-paced page-turning aspects that you may like about James Patterson.
You will LOVE this book. Action, action, action as well as being put in the shoes of the main character trying to figure out why everyone is trying to kill him.
I loved this book. I really enjoyed the "one man against the world" concept. I enjoyed Whirlwind too, wish there were a lot more Joseph Garber books out there.
It had a fun summer movie blockbuster vibe at the start, but it ultimately it fell apart on itself and I found myself skimming the final third. Bummer.
So good. A man has to get to the top of a armed and guarded office building on the realization he's terminally ill. He must find the man who did this to him.
Lumayan deh, ceritanya tentang eksekutif perusahaan yang kena virus saat menginspeksi perusahaan/laboratorium yang mo di beli ama boss-nya.
Dia nggak tau kalo dirinya sudah terinfeksi dan nggak ada yang nagsih tau karena laboratorium itu sebenernya laboratorium rahasi milik pemerintah USA yang sedang mengembangkan senjata biologi. Jadi ya gitu deh. Dia dikejar-kejar ama sekelompok tentara bayaran supaya virus-nya nggak nyebar.
Garis ceritanya lumayan ok, cuman herannya kenapa nggak bilang aja ke...more
Dia nggak tau kalo dirinya sudah terinfeksi dan nggak ada yang nagsih tau karena laboratorium itu sebenernya laboratorium rahasi milik pemerintah USA yang sedang mengembangkan senjata biologi. Jadi ya gitu deh. Dia dikejar-kejar ama sekelompok tentara bayaran supaya virus-nya nggak nyebar.
Garis ceritanya lumayan ok, cuman herannya kenapa nggak bilang aja ke...more
This was one of those can't put it down books. I finished it in a day and went looking for more by him but never found anything as good as this one.
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Joseph R. Garber was an American author, best known for his 1995 thriller Vertical Run and for the articles he wrote on technology for Forbes magazine.
Garber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moving often as an army brat. He attended the University of Virginia, but quit to join the U.S. Army himself, eventually graduating from East Tennessee State University in 1968 with a philosophy degree....more
More about Joseph R. Garber...
Garber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moving often as an army brat. He attended the University of Virginia, but quit to join the U.S. Army himself, eventually graduating from East Tennessee State University in 1968 with a philosophy degree....more
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Sep 09, 2010 10:53am