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Jack Be Nimble #1
Gargoyle
The boy came to her out of water, unexpected. He was smart and strong and goofy, as boys are meant to be, but peculiar - he remembered everything. In the span of a single summer, she made him fearless. Now, even as Mercedes Adams is at the height of her career, forbidding changes loom over the world. That night, in the hushed calm of a spring evening, two plain-faced killers watch her home, waiting to make their approach. A few hundred miles away, a brilliant technologist returns to his childhood home in order to begin a descent into darkness . . . in London, a military game theorist finds himself pursuing kidnappers . . . outside Prague, a hacker and a thief stumble upon plans for a weapon unique to the world . . . an FBI agent faces an unpredictable fugitive in Chicago, while in Germany, a sniper-turned-schoolteacher finds reasons to take up his ancient calling . . . and a sitting United States Senator finds his life and his work invaded to terrifying conclusion. In Paris, a widowed man begins to recognize the hints and patterns of a greater puzzle that will bring them together . . . or kill them all. Mercedes Adams is about to find herself at the center of a vast, tightening knot of mystery, intrigue, and globe-spanning terror borne of her family's legacy. Rising to her aid is a small group of specially-trained men and women. And at their center? A man who remembers everything.
430 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2011
29 people are currently reading
1111 people want to read
About the author
Ben English
5 books24 followersBen English's thriller series, Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle Book 1, was based on a short story written for a literary contest while he was an undergraduate student. He was first published at age 14 in Merlyn's Pen magazine.
In addition to working as a novelist, and freelance writer, Ben is the head of marketing for an international technology services provider based in Florida.
When he's not writing or busy with work, he swims competitively and leisurely.
Ben currently lives in the Orlando, Florida area with his wife and two children, who infuse his life with hilarity and inspiration.
In addition to working as a novelist, and freelance writer, Ben is the head of marketing for an international technology services provider based in Florida.
When he's not writing or busy with work, he swims competitively and leisurely.
Ben currently lives in the Orlando, Florida area with his wife and two children, who infuse his life with hilarity and inspiration.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 14, 2011
I was emailed by the author asking for a review in exchange for a free copy of the book. As I mostly review young adult books I centered on the part of the email that indicated that it was "firmly PG13" and would appeal to both adults and young adults.
After only a few chapters in I really could not see an appeal for young adults and thought that it was more of a PG 16 if I were to put an age range on it. But that really has no affect on the fact that I really enjoyed the story. There is an appeal to those young adults that like reading about more adult things like work, family life and advances in technology and science. But on with my thoughts on the actual story. Sorry about the intro.
Characters: My favorite character was Mercedes. As a woman myself I found her more appealing and interesting to me. I found that during some of Jack's parts that I became distracted and my thoughts wandered as I read. Alonzo was very interesting for me as well and almost as interesting as Mercedes. You would think that the most appeal of the book would be Jack as he is the crime-solver and a very popular actor. The contribution of several characters to the story I found was very beneficial for me. If this story were just told from one perspective I feel that it would not have turned out as well as it did.
Story: I thought the story was great, I did not think that it slacked at all as I have read in other reviews. For me I liked the whole idea presented right in the beginning of the novel of being able to inject a person with something and have microscopic technology inside your blood stream to have a higher connection to your feelings and body. I know that I am not going to make sense to people who have not read the story because I am not a writer and cannot express it as well as it's written in the book.
Overall the book had just as much appeal to me as the Dan Brown books I have read. International settings with scientific technology and a mystery to solve. Very interesting combinations of characters and it's a pretty lengthy novel as well. For the $2.99 kindle price it's well worth the money and I would encourage you to give it a try. It's the first in a series so if you like it there's more to come.
Book reviews like this make me wish I were better at expressing things. Sometimes as a reviewer I am at a loss for the right words to help explain such a detailed and well researched story.
After only a few chapters in I really could not see an appeal for young adults and thought that it was more of a PG 16 if I were to put an age range on it. But that really has no affect on the fact that I really enjoyed the story. There is an appeal to those young adults that like reading about more adult things like work, family life and advances in technology and science. But on with my thoughts on the actual story. Sorry about the intro.
Characters: My favorite character was Mercedes. As a woman myself I found her more appealing and interesting to me. I found that during some of Jack's parts that I became distracted and my thoughts wandered as I read. Alonzo was very interesting for me as well and almost as interesting as Mercedes. You would think that the most appeal of the book would be Jack as he is the crime-solver and a very popular actor. The contribution of several characters to the story I found was very beneficial for me. If this story were just told from one perspective I feel that it would not have turned out as well as it did.
Story: I thought the story was great, I did not think that it slacked at all as I have read in other reviews. For me I liked the whole idea presented right in the beginning of the novel of being able to inject a person with something and have microscopic technology inside your blood stream to have a higher connection to your feelings and body. I know that I am not going to make sense to people who have not read the story because I am not a writer and cannot express it as well as it's written in the book.
Overall the book had just as much appeal to me as the Dan Brown books I have read. International settings with scientific technology and a mystery to solve. Very interesting combinations of characters and it's a pretty lengthy novel as well. For the $2.99 kindle price it's well worth the money and I would encourage you to give it a try. It's the first in a series so if you like it there's more to come.
Book reviews like this make me wish I were better at expressing things. Sometimes as a reviewer I am at a loss for the right words to help explain such a detailed and well researched story.
February 24, 2012
Jack Be Nimble is a winding tale of espionage and intrigue. It has a fast paced story line full of exciting pages that were very hard to put down.
While this is an adult book, young adult readers will be able to connect with the story as well. Especially the story of Jack and Mercedes, which is mostly told in flashbacks of when they met as teenagers. Jack Be Nimble branches across so many genres that I think everyone could enjoy it, it even has a little science fiction in there (which I found could eerily be real one day).
This book features many three dimensional characters that Ben has created, but I really could only connect with Jack and Mercedes. Jack reminded me of Jack Bauer from the TV show 24, he's this amazing hero who is friends with everyone and is trusted by many, and he always comes through. And the adventure in the book is up there with some of my favorite action plots found in both books and film. Then there's Mercedes, she's smart, gorgeous, and successful. I loved learning about their connected past and can't wait to read more!
As for the many secondary characters, they are essential for this story, though keeping track of them felt tedious at times I'm glad I did. Ben brings all of them in and every corner of the plot falls to place, without even one of them I don't think this book would have unfolded as neatly and wonderfully as it did. At times toward the action packed end of the story I did get slightly confused as to who was speaking and who I was following but I would quickly get back on track.
There's so much to add that I loved from the great locations in Europe, US, and more, to the mystery and suspense. Jack Be Nimble is nothing short of genius, and is sure to be a fantastic series.
Ben's story is fresh and exciting all the while remaining mature and intriguing. It's a wonderfully written story that I recommend to everyone to give it a try. It's not a book I would have normally picked up for myself, and I'm very thankful that this wonderful author approached me to read it.
While this is an adult book, young adult readers will be able to connect with the story as well. Especially the story of Jack and Mercedes, which is mostly told in flashbacks of when they met as teenagers. Jack Be Nimble branches across so many genres that I think everyone could enjoy it, it even has a little science fiction in there (which I found could eerily be real one day).
This book features many three dimensional characters that Ben has created, but I really could only connect with Jack and Mercedes. Jack reminded me of Jack Bauer from the TV show 24, he's this amazing hero who is friends with everyone and is trusted by many, and he always comes through. And the adventure in the book is up there with some of my favorite action plots found in both books and film. Then there's Mercedes, she's smart, gorgeous, and successful. I loved learning about their connected past and can't wait to read more!
As for the many secondary characters, they are essential for this story, though keeping track of them felt tedious at times I'm glad I did. Ben brings all of them in and every corner of the plot falls to place, without even one of them I don't think this book would have unfolded as neatly and wonderfully as it did. At times toward the action packed end of the story I did get slightly confused as to who was speaking and who I was following but I would quickly get back on track.
There's so much to add that I loved from the great locations in Europe, US, and more, to the mystery and suspense. Jack Be Nimble is nothing short of genius, and is sure to be a fantastic series.
Ben's story is fresh and exciting all the while remaining mature and intriguing. It's a wonderfully written story that I recommend to everyone to give it a try. It's not a book I would have normally picked up for myself, and I'm very thankful that this wonderful author approached me to read it.
August 25, 2013
This was a great book! I've already downloaded the 2nd in the series and can't wait to get started. It was very well written and researched. I found myself feeling invested in almost all of the main characters.
The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5, is that the first part of the book, (maybe a quarter?) seemed to be devoted entirely to introducing new characters. I still don't know why Mercedes knew Garrett's name... With so many new characters I felt I had to pay attention to each one and I feel like I want all the threads to be connected. I know this is just the first of four books, so maybe I'm just being impatient. Also, it was frustrating for me because I mainly read while my baby is asleep... so to just read a few minutes here and there during nap time made the beginning feel extra frustrating. It seemed like I was reading a different book - new characters, new story line, every time I picked it up. I think if I had an afternoon to devote to reading and could just plow through the beginning I'd have no problem giving 5 stars. Because, those individual chapters to introduce each character is exactly what made them all so intriguing and helped me to feel invested in each one.
Bottom line: Fantastic book, intriguing story, worthy characters. Can't wait to see what happens throughout the series. I highly recommend it.
The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5, is that the first part of the book, (maybe a quarter?) seemed to be devoted entirely to introducing new characters. I still don't know why Mercedes knew Garrett's name... With so many new characters I felt I had to pay attention to each one and I feel like I want all the threads to be connected. I know this is just the first of four books, so maybe I'm just being impatient. Also, it was frustrating for me because I mainly read while my baby is asleep... so to just read a few minutes here and there during nap time made the beginning feel extra frustrating. It seemed like I was reading a different book - new characters, new story line, every time I picked it up. I think if I had an afternoon to devote to reading and could just plow through the beginning I'd have no problem giving 5 stars. Because, those individual chapters to introduce each character is exactly what made them all so intriguing and helped me to feel invested in each one.
Bottom line: Fantastic book, intriguing story, worthy characters. Can't wait to see what happens throughout the series. I highly recommend it.
October 22, 2011
Mercedes is the main character and the main draw to this novel. She is smart, brave, and charming. Jack, the mystery solver, is just as smart, fairly charismatic, and inquisitive. There are several other integral characters, each having their own quality or quirk that will make them stand out to the reader. The story is told from several perspectives, making it easy for the reader to get the full picture and meet and follow the characters through the story.
The story itself was a pleasure to read. Science fiction fans will enjoy this novel too. The very idea that a substance could be injected through a humans veins and then go on to control/attach to the humans thinking/feelings is unreal, but eerily intriguing. The technical part of the book is handled well, the reader should not be confused. There are a fair amount of action scenes, the author describes the events vividly and spares no detail. In books containing any mystery, the reader needs to feel as if he/she understands the whole plot; with this book, the reader will find that satisfaction. This book is recommended to adult readers.
The story itself was a pleasure to read. Science fiction fans will enjoy this novel too. The very idea that a substance could be injected through a humans veins and then go on to control/attach to the humans thinking/feelings is unreal, but eerily intriguing. The technical part of the book is handled well, the reader should not be confused. There are a fair amount of action scenes, the author describes the events vividly and spares no detail. In books containing any mystery, the reader needs to feel as if he/she understands the whole plot; with this book, the reader will find that satisfaction. This book is recommended to adult readers.
October 29, 2012
3.5 stars
Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle is the first in a series of novels by Ben English. The book opens with Mercedes having an interesting discussion with a mysterious older gentleman who is more than he appears. That was enough to catch my interest and make me read on to find out if these two characters meet again.
The author has a talent for writing interesting characters of varying backgrounds. The first part of the book is a series of written snapshots of each character, giving the reader a peek into their current situations and the sequence of events that eventually lead them to meet up. Because there are several characters, this part seemed to drag a bit and it took a little while to get back around to the other characters. Jack is very likable if a bit too good to be true (a famous actor AND a champion swimmer AND an author AND a trained agent.)
The first half of the book was a lot of set up for the rest of the story so it was considerably slower than last section. Once I got past the flashbacks, introductions and history of the characters, I was pulled into the action and it was like watching an intense action film. The villain’s intentions were terrifying and immense. The scenes in the building were particularly suspenseful. There were some formatting issues in my version where a number of quick scene and point-of-view changes weren’t separated by asterisks or hard returns but I was able to figure it out by context. This issue may have been resolved by now as I have an older copy.
I haven’t read a lot of international intrigue or any books by Dan Brown and similar authors, so I’m not sure how well Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle compares to other books like it. It is a longer read (about 456 pages) and yet there is so much story yet to tell, as evidenced by the three sequels currently available. Jack Be Nimble: Tyro is the next book in the series. If you like larger-than-life heroes, interesting characters, and international suspense then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle.
Review originally published on www.ldswbr.com
Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle is the first in a series of novels by Ben English. The book opens with Mercedes having an interesting discussion with a mysterious older gentleman who is more than he appears. That was enough to catch my interest and make me read on to find out if these two characters meet again.
The author has a talent for writing interesting characters of varying backgrounds. The first part of the book is a series of written snapshots of each character, giving the reader a peek into their current situations and the sequence of events that eventually lead them to meet up. Because there are several characters, this part seemed to drag a bit and it took a little while to get back around to the other characters. Jack is very likable if a bit too good to be true (a famous actor AND a champion swimmer AND an author AND a trained agent.)
The first half of the book was a lot of set up for the rest of the story so it was considerably slower than last section. Once I got past the flashbacks, introductions and history of the characters, I was pulled into the action and it was like watching an intense action film. The villain’s intentions were terrifying and immense. The scenes in the building were particularly suspenseful. There were some formatting issues in my version where a number of quick scene and point-of-view changes weren’t separated by asterisks or hard returns but I was able to figure it out by context. This issue may have been resolved by now as I have an older copy.
I haven’t read a lot of international intrigue or any books by Dan Brown and similar authors, so I’m not sure how well Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle compares to other books like it. It is a longer read (about 456 pages) and yet there is so much story yet to tell, as evidenced by the three sequels currently available. Jack Be Nimble: Tyro is the next book in the series. If you like larger-than-life heroes, interesting characters, and international suspense then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Jack Be Nimble: Gargoyle.
Review originally published on www.ldswbr.com
July 30, 2013
Jack Be Nimble takes us on a journey through the lives and relationship of Jack and Mercedes. This is the core plot line throughout this book, and they both are struggling to keep their separate lives together, when all they want is to be together. They just haven’t completely realized it.
Note, this is NOT a romance novel, so those of you uninterested in romance keep reading, I bet this book will have something that interests you because this book has it all.
Spies, Heartbroken lovers, kidnapping, photographers, England, France, swimming, hidden weapons and action
Truckloads of action!
The other core plot line of the novel is spies, kidnapping, and secret missions. This novel could rivel any military novel, spy novel out there. It’s got all the hallmarks of a good action novel, but it also has the characters and history for a love story.
To be honest, the only reason this book got a B+ and not an A+ was because the scene switches were a little hard for me. I got lost a couple times trying to figure out if I was in real life, fiction life, or past time. The stories are amazing, well written and completely understandable once you are in a scene. I may be the only person who got confused but I loved this book so much, it didn’t hinder me from continuing!
By the time you make it to the end of this novel, it all becomes clear, so hold on for the twist and turns and a bit of confusion from past and present stories, and enjoy it. This novel is the perfect premise for a well thought out, logical action movie! Jack is an amazing character; the depth in the character is clearly present from the beginning, in the future scenes, current scenes, and past scenes. Jack’s character never wavers.
I love this novel, I’ll definitely be checking out his other novels, to see what happens to Jack next, and you should too!
Note, this is NOT a romance novel, so those of you uninterested in romance keep reading, I bet this book will have something that interests you because this book has it all.
Spies, Heartbroken lovers, kidnapping, photographers, England, France, swimming, hidden weapons and action
Truckloads of action!
The other core plot line of the novel is spies, kidnapping, and secret missions. This novel could rivel any military novel, spy novel out there. It’s got all the hallmarks of a good action novel, but it also has the characters and history for a love story.
To be honest, the only reason this book got a B+ and not an A+ was because the scene switches were a little hard for me. I got lost a couple times trying to figure out if I was in real life, fiction life, or past time. The stories are amazing, well written and completely understandable once you are in a scene. I may be the only person who got confused but I loved this book so much, it didn’t hinder me from continuing!
By the time you make it to the end of this novel, it all becomes clear, so hold on for the twist and turns and a bit of confusion from past and present stories, and enjoy it. This novel is the perfect premise for a well thought out, logical action movie! Jack is an amazing character; the depth in the character is clearly present from the beginning, in the future scenes, current scenes, and past scenes. Jack’s character never wavers.
I love this novel, I’ll definitely be checking out his other novels, to see what happens to Jack next, and you should too!
October 20, 2011
Ben English did a great job with this book! The beginning to me seemed a little chaotic. It seemed like each chapter was the beginning of another book, as so many characters were introduced. But as the story went on, the individual threads started coming together in a way that made sense. I was frustrated at first with all of the new characters, but I'm glad I read through them, because the last half of the book was awesome!
Mr. English writes with vivid details and wonderful character descriptions. It's very easy to 'see' what is going on in the story because of the wonderful imagery he creates. The characters are likable and, with so many characters, they all seem like individuals, which is sometimes hard to do. Jack and Mercedes were my favorites (as they should have been!) and I hope to see more of them together in future books.
The action scenes are also well written and easy to understand, even with all of the technical information that was given. The whole second half of the book was kind of hard to put down...I wanted to see what would happen next. I'm kind of curious to see what has happened to Jack and Mercedes to make them the way they are too! Maybe in the next book! :)
Gargoyle was a great book! While it's not my usual type of book I found it engaging and fun to read! Way to go Ben!
Mr. English writes with vivid details and wonderful character descriptions. It's very easy to 'see' what is going on in the story because of the wonderful imagery he creates. The characters are likable and, with so many characters, they all seem like individuals, which is sometimes hard to do. Jack and Mercedes were my favorites (as they should have been!) and I hope to see more of them together in future books.
The action scenes are also well written and easy to understand, even with all of the technical information that was given. The whole second half of the book was kind of hard to put down...I wanted to see what would happen next. I'm kind of curious to see what has happened to Jack and Mercedes to make them the way they are too! Maybe in the next book! :)
Gargoyle was a great book! While it's not my usual type of book I found it engaging and fun to read! Way to go Ben!
October 2, 2015
Well, that turned out to be absolutely riveting.
This book drive me crazy for the first Half! (40% really.) There is a new point if view character in nearly every chapter of the first half. Everything felt very confused and the timeline was barely discernible.
But then, it all tighten up and gelled. The author's imagery and lyrical style kept me engaged throughout and pulled me through my frustrations with the first half. And the adventure was grand with delicious suspense and pace that kept me up till 3am because I couldn't put it down! It was downright poetic.
The plot was neatly resolved and satisfying but with plenty of hooks to draw you into following the characters further. The characters were all very interesting and for as brief a time as some of them received, all were fleshed out quickly into believable people.
So yeah. Boo for a million POV characters, but I bought the next book anyway 'cause this one rocked so thoroughly.
This book drive me crazy for the first Half! (40% really.) There is a new point if view character in nearly every chapter of the first half. Everything felt very confused and the timeline was barely discernible.
But then, it all tighten up and gelled. The author's imagery and lyrical style kept me engaged throughout and pulled me through my frustrations with the first half. And the adventure was grand with delicious suspense and pace that kept me up till 3am because I couldn't put it down! It was downright poetic.
The plot was neatly resolved and satisfying but with plenty of hooks to draw you into following the characters further. The characters were all very interesting and for as brief a time as some of them received, all were fleshed out quickly into believable people.
So yeah. Boo for a million POV characters, but I bought the next book anyway 'cause this one rocked so thoroughly.
January 9, 2012
This was a fast paced thriller that is a great choice for most scifi fans. With its fascinating attention to detail, the story will immerse you in a world of “what if”, at once electrifying and frightening.
What I enjoyed most was the way the plot really moves. Although there are some technical explanations, it never drags, which is always the problem with scifi or fantasy. The details never overwhelm the reader and never take away from the story itself, managing only to enhance it. This is not as simple as it sounds, so for that alone, it’s worth reading this book.
The characters are fun, full of life. Since there are many view points in the story, we really get a good sense of each character: who they are and whom they hope to be.
I can easily recommend this, and I encourage you all lovers of scifi (and even those of you who are not) to give this book a try.
What I enjoyed most was the way the plot really moves. Although there are some technical explanations, it never drags, which is always the problem with scifi or fantasy. The details never overwhelm the reader and never take away from the story itself, managing only to enhance it. This is not as simple as it sounds, so for that alone, it’s worth reading this book.
The characters are fun, full of life. Since there are many view points in the story, we really get a good sense of each character: who they are and whom they hope to be.
I can easily recommend this, and I encourage you all lovers of scifi (and even those of you who are not) to give this book a try.
August 7, 2011
This story was a little bit hard to follow at first because there are so many characters to keep track of. I had to take notes so that I could remember all their names and what their purpose was in the story. This allowed me to follow along better. The action and flow picked up in the 2nd half of the book. With this being the author's first published work as well as the 1st book in a series, it is good, although I'm sure he will get much better with time and experience. Looking forward to seeing what more this author has to offer.
April 14, 2012
3.5 stars. A little confusing at times with all the bouncing around between time periods and not always having clear indicators of which one you are in. Also a little more brutal than I like in terms of description of the violence committed by the "bad guys." Definitely more an adult-genre book.
January 2, 2012
I received this book from goodreads.com for free. I have to admit I didn't read this book. I gave it to my son for Christmas. He finished it last night and absolutely loved it.
Want to read
May 23, 2013Hmmmm, I'm *very* intrigued by this!!
April 23, 2013
I really wanted to like this book - I'm an Idaho girl, and part of this takes place in Idaho; I love mysteries, and this is a mystery; I love international travel, and the international parts of this seemed very well researched. However, after 114 pages, I still had no idea where the book was heading and who the characters were - it jumped around so much and introduced too many characters that I was lost. I wanted to hear more about Jack and Mercedes; maybe if the narration had stayed with those two only I would have continued reading.
June 16, 2013
3.5. The first half of the story was very disjointed, introducing too many different characters and jumping around in time, but I really liked the two main characters. The second half was much more cohesive, though I wasn't too happy with the end. I suppose it works fine if you have the second book to jump right into, but the last chapter didn't really fit in as an "ending" to the first book. I may try to read on...or maybe not.
February 19, 2015
I received a free copy of this book from the GoodReads First Reads giveaways in exchange for an honest review. Strong characters, good writing, enjoyable read.
December 6, 2014
Need more !
February 23, 2015
An interesting combination of teen summer romance and Mission Impossible spy thriller.
May 30, 2017
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourselves.I have really enjoyed reading this book very much so.Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourselves.I have really enjoyed reading this book very much so.Shelley MA
March 14, 2014
Over all I liked this book a lot, especially the character development. Which I don't normally see in the first book of a series of this genre.
With that said though, I also think there was alittle too much time spent on the development as it slowed down the pace of the book; some of which in my opinion did not provide any benefit to the story at this point. Also, the author had too many characters involved in the big action climax scene. As he was continuosly jump between them slowing down the action, suspense, and thrills almost to the point of boredom.
With that said though, I also think there was alittle too much time spent on the development as it slowed down the pace of the book; some of which in my opinion did not provide any benefit to the story at this point. Also, the author had too many characters involved in the big action climax scene. As he was continuosly jump between them slowing down the action, suspense, and thrills almost to the point of boredom.
September 11, 2016
I got about 50 pages into this book and stopped. While I think Mr. English can turn a phrase, I was distracted by some grammatical errors I found in the text. Over 50 pages into the book, and I didn't have a clue on the plot. In that amount of space the story jumped to too many characters and too many settings. The main character seemed to be a knock-off of Buckaroo Banai without the comedic aspects. I didn't think it was worth my time to finish.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews