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Covert-One #5
The Lazarus Vendetta by Robert Ludlum and Patrick Larkin Unabridged CD Audiobook
Unabridged CD Audiobook 11 CDs / 13 hours long
Audio CD
First published October 19, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
September 11, 2022
I Love the Covert-One series (not all evaluated the same). This one kept you on edge and wondering what and where and who...I enjoyed the Audio version by Rick Bell. He's really good and makes the story really interesting.
December 26, 2021
it's book 5... no i didn't read books 1-4 but i got it for free so here we are.
shit just kept going, it wouldn't end... maybe it's shit or maybe it's not for me 🤷🏻♀️
shit just kept going, it wouldn't end... maybe it's shit or maybe it's not for me 🤷🏻♀️
July 20, 2010
I really enjoy Ludlum's books, but I’ve noticed he tends to repeat the same themes in most books. The following is a list of things I’ve learned about the world by reading Robert Ludlum:
1. Everything that happens in the world is linked to either a fringe lunatic who plans to kill three quarters of the world’s population so he can rule over the rest like some ancient emperor; or someone who wants to “improve” national security by reinstating the cold war.
2. If you retire from a job as an intelligence operative:
a. You will be framed for treasonous acts by your mentor;
b. Your mentor will be part of the President’s inner circle;
c. The President and the rest of his cronies will place you “beyond salvage” and order you assassinated;
d. Eventually, the President will realize you were framed and say “Oops! My Bad! Sorry about that whole assassination thing. By the way, if you don’t help us stop your mentor, we’ll keep trying to kill you.”
3. Finally, if you subscribe to any economic, religious, or political ideology you should get either a false tooth, or a secret pocket in your shirt collar which contains cyanide pills to be used if you are ever abducted.
1. Everything that happens in the world is linked to either a fringe lunatic who plans to kill three quarters of the world’s population so he can rule over the rest like some ancient emperor; or someone who wants to “improve” national security by reinstating the cold war.
2. If you retire from a job as an intelligence operative:
a. You will be framed for treasonous acts by your mentor;
b. Your mentor will be part of the President’s inner circle;
c. The President and the rest of his cronies will place you “beyond salvage” and order you assassinated;
d. Eventually, the President will realize you were framed and say “Oops! My Bad! Sorry about that whole assassination thing. By the way, if you don’t help us stop your mentor, we’ll keep trying to kill you.”
3. Finally, if you subscribe to any economic, religious, or political ideology you should get either a false tooth, or a secret pocket in your shirt collar which contains cyanide pills to be used if you are ever abducted.
May 9, 2022
I'm not sure what I expected from a book based on a series started by the guy who invented Jason Bourne but here it is. There is the skeleton of a good story here with a decent twist about the main villain, a good matryoshka doll structure to the organization and even some terrifying henchmen. Unfortunately the ending falls extremely flat. There's no cleverness or interesting twists. The hero just ... heroes. It would probably be a 3 star book if it wasn't for the fact it's also needlessly long with a lot of those extra pages being devoted to how cool Santa Fe is and some more to the problems with France's social support system. Overall a forgettable boilerplate spy thriller.
January 6, 2013
Lt. Col. Jon Smith is once again called into action as a member of the super secret spy agency known as Covert One. His cover is his military rank and the fact that he is a medical doctor attached to USAMRIID. In the Lazarus Vendetta is there are attacks made on labs that are working on nanotechnology. The Lazarus Movement has devised nano that destroy human. It is a race to save humanity my Jon and his sometime partners from other agencies ... Peter (M16) and Randi (CIA).
November 3, 2024
Narrator Scott Brick. Tropes like Andromeda strain. Melodramatic & gruesome
April 10, 2024
Terrific thriller.
Although not exactly from Robert Ludlum but based on his writing this was written after his death.
No doubt it comes very close to his original writing and his characters still have the same magic. Totally loved it.
Now gonna go back to his original works for more fun.
Although not exactly from Robert Ludlum but based on his writing this was written after his death.
No doubt it comes very close to his original writing and his characters still have the same magic. Totally loved it.
Now gonna go back to his original works for more fun.
July 9, 2025
So clearly written by a man. The author is in love with coming up with full names for characters, even the secondary, tertiary and quaternary ones. Completely redundant information that introduces chaos
January 29, 2023
When Ludlum died or as ideas developed by him were developed further and written as novels by a stable of authors it seemed that Ludlum's style changed for the better. It became streamlined, more action-oriented, less prone to lengthy passages of chatter recapping what had occurred, explaining again what had been explained and outlining what was to come (the unexpected 'twists' I'd actually been conditioned to expect). Or so I thought: then I slam into this mess like a race car into a tar pit. I have just completed a 60-page passage of this Patrick Larkin (turning pages that lift like roof shingles) which was nothing but chatter, explanation and re-explanation, animated by a narrow-eyed glare or finger point. Patrick, if your premise is so outrageous, if your plot is so utterly ridiculous that it needs constant shoring up with boring, repetitive and ultimately pointless dialogue--stamp it a fail and drop it. I am certainly tempted to do that. A thriller must thrill. It relies on action and momentum. Quit your day job, Patrick, and turn your hand to painting. Might I suggest--as your first canvas-- something a gallery might label "Extremely Still Life With Sigh and Glare." Too, the story progresses (progresses? slogs toward the end, shall we say, like tourists in the Winchester House) through a series of brief vignettes set in various (random?) places around the globe. While these vignettes are presumably intended to cement the novel, they do the opposite. They're more an inventory of incidents than cohesive units of plot. They are merely stakes supporting that teetering premise. They break concentration, they break momentum and when one finally returns to our hero's exploits what's he doing? Chatting over coffee. Seriously? Seriously. Oh, I'm sure there's suspense if one thinks about it: Will the coffee go cold before it's drunk? Will Smith spill the coffee? Are those jeans stain-guarded? What if they're not??? What if they're not!!! I shudder to think...
January 23, 2016
The Lazarus Vendetta is the fifth book in The Covert One Series created by Robert Ludlum and written in conjunction with other authors. This is the first of the stories written by Patrick Larkin, and the results while acceptable, are not overtly impressive. My main complaint is that the story itself is too far-fetched and unbelievable. As a result, the reader remains an observer of the action rather than a participant in the action. Good stories, I would argue, so envelope the reader that she no longer feels as if she is reading at all. Obviously, believability in every detail is not the essential element to make a story work, but it is fairly important in the thriller/spy genre, especially if said story is set in modern times. Despite how well the other elements of the story may be developed, ultimately the book falls flat if the reader can't imagine the events actually happening in real life. And The Lazarus Vendetta is just a bit too far gone to be fully enjoyed. Longtime readers of The Covert One series will also note that Larkin's style is a bit different than other authors. Most notably he's more graphic (gory), and some of the traits of main characters are portrayed differently. For instance, Fred Klein was addicted to his pipe in the last novel, but his obsession is hardly mentioned at all in this story. In one scene, Jon Smith suddenly develops a conscious towards a would-be attacker and nearly dies as a result. I don't dislike the book, but it falls a bit short when compared to the stories Gayle Lynds has written in the series. As it goes, Gayle Lynds is the best author in the Covert One Series so far, with Patrick Larkin and Phillip Shelby a distant second and third.
2 of 5 cups of black coffee.
2 of 5 cups of black coffee.
September 11, 2012
Maybe it was just where my head was at when I started this book a few months ago. It became one of those books you pick up, read a chapter or two, then set down and forget about for a while. In any event, this books turned out to have enough twists and turns to keep me interested to the end but not enough character development to give it much depth. I'd recommend it for a good diversionary book to occupy time for a few hours by getting lost in the world of super spies and nefarious techno-sociopaths.
The Lazarus Vendetta was actually written by Patrick Larkin rather than Robert Ludlum, so is not part of the original Lazarus series by the original author. I find it interested that the one thing the cover hypes is "New York Times Bestselling Series." It is rare to get much better than that in the world of book derivatives. Despite my so-so review, I'd like to read a few more of Patrick Larkin's takes on Ludlum's work before deciding on them one way or the other.
The Lazarus Vendetta was actually written by Patrick Larkin rather than Robert Ludlum, so is not part of the original Lazarus series by the original author. I find it interested that the one thing the cover hypes is "New York Times Bestselling Series." It is rare to get much better than that in the world of book derivatives. Despite my so-so review, I'd like to read a few more of Patrick Larkin's takes on Ludlum's work before deciding on them one way or the other.
June 4, 2023
An adventure of outdated style and aesthetics by the late Robert Ludlum. Forty years ago it would have been top notch, but written (or published) after 2000 it looks as fresh as Tutankhamun's body.
Agents, spies and bigoted madmen who want to make the world an orchard ... for a few, get involved in a life-and-death struggle, where death strikes silently with nanomachines, while CIA and FBI have their own problems caused by corrupt agents rendering the two services ineffective. The solution is given by Landlam's favorite UNIT (one man show, superman in kevlar vest, Phd owner with extra platinum marine training plus). Or, at least, three cooperating units, which against all odds are fighting to save humanity from the dream of a madman and at the same time stay alive.
WILL THEY DO IT? WILL THEY DO IT IN TIME? (oh, c'mon stop chewing your fingernails, you already know the answer).
Read it, but only if you have nothing else to do.
Agents, spies and bigoted madmen who want to make the world an orchard ... for a few, get involved in a life-and-death struggle, where death strikes silently with nanomachines, while CIA and FBI have their own problems caused by corrupt agents rendering the two services ineffective. The solution is given by Landlam's favorite UNIT (one man show, superman in kevlar vest, Phd owner with extra platinum marine training plus). Or, at least, three cooperating units, which against all odds are fighting to save humanity from the dream of a madman and at the same time stay alive.
WILL THEY DO IT? WILL THEY DO IT IN TIME? (oh, c'mon stop chewing your fingernails, you already know the answer).
Read it, but only if you have nothing else to do.
February 24, 2024
I finished reading this book.
It was an okay book, but to me it was a bit unlike other Ludlum's I read. Usually I enjoy the many storylines and the fact that the scenarios described are quite close to real life. For the plot of this book it felt not so close, more fabricated as it were.
And that made reading this book less enjoyable to me. What doesn't mean, that the book is bad, I just didn't like it that much.
It was an okay book, but to me it was a bit unlike other Ludlum's I read. Usually I enjoy the many storylines and the fact that the scenarios described are quite close to real life. For the plot of this book it felt not so close, more fabricated as it were.
And that made reading this book less enjoyable to me. What doesn't mean, that the book is bad, I just didn't like it that much.
March 14, 2022
Sâmbătă, 25 septembrie
Undeva în Zimbabwe, în apropierea văii râului Tuli
Ultimele raze ale soarelui dispăruseră şi stelele începuseră să pâlpâie slab pe cerul negru care se boltea deasupra terenului arid. O regiune din Zimbabwe extrem de săracă, chiar şi după standardele extrem de modeste ale acestei ţări cu probleme. Nu se vedeau prea multe lumini care să înfrunte întunericul, iar drumurile pavate care să facă legătura dintre satele izolate din sudul regiunii Matabeleland şi restul lumii erau şi mai rare.
Două faruri apărură brusc în întuneric făcând să iasă la iveală, pentru câteva secunde, copacii uscaţi şi tufişurile ţepoase. O furgonetă Toyota rablagită se chinuia să păstreze direcţia de-a lungul unui drum din pământ bătătorit plin de gropi. Atrase de fasciculul mişcător al farurilor, roiuri de insecte zburau în jurul maşinii, cele mai multe dintre micile vieţuitoare sfârşind zdrobite de parbrizul plin de praf al furgonetei.
— Merde! înjură printre dinţi Gilles Ferrand, luptându-se din greu să stăpânească volanul. Încruntat, francezul înalt, cu barbă, se aplecă peste volan, încercând să vadă drumul prin norul de praf şi de insecte din faţă. Ochelarii cu lentile groase îi alunecaseră în jos pe nas. Îşi luă o mână de pe volan ca să şi-i pună la loc şi imediat trase o nouă înjurătură fiindcă maşina aproape că ieşise de pe drum la o curbă apărută pe neaşteptate.
— Ar fi trebuit să fi plecat mai repede de la Bulawayo, mârâi el în direcţia femeii suple, cu păr cărunt, care şedea în dreapta lui. Această aşa-zisă şosea e groaznică chiar şi pe timp de zi. Acum, noaptea, e un adevărat coşmar. Ar fi fost bine ca avionul să nu fi ajuns aşa de târziu.
Susan Kendall ridică din umeri.
— Dacă dorinţele noastre ar fi peşti, Gilles, atunci am fi cu toţii morţi din cauza intoxicării cu mercur. Proiectul nostru are nevoie de seminţele şi de uneltele care ne-au fost trimise şi atunci când te afli în slujba Mamei, trebuie să accepţi şi anumite inconveniente.
Ferrand se strâmbă, sătul până peste cap să o audă pe colega lui americancă dându-i lecţii. Erau amândoi veterani în Mişcarea Lazarus, luptând pentru salvarea planetei în faţa lăcomiei nesăbuite a capitalismului global. Nu-i plăcea deloc să fie tratat ca un şcolar neinstruit.
Undeva în Zimbabwe, în apropierea văii râului Tuli
Ultimele raze ale soarelui dispăruseră şi stelele începuseră să pâlpâie slab pe cerul negru care se boltea deasupra terenului arid. O regiune din Zimbabwe extrem de săracă, chiar şi după standardele extrem de modeste ale acestei ţări cu probleme. Nu se vedeau prea multe lumini care să înfrunte întunericul, iar drumurile pavate care să facă legătura dintre satele izolate din sudul regiunii Matabeleland şi restul lumii erau şi mai rare.
Două faruri apărură brusc în întuneric făcând să iasă la iveală, pentru câteva secunde, copacii uscaţi şi tufişurile ţepoase. O furgonetă Toyota rablagită se chinuia să păstreze direcţia de-a lungul unui drum din pământ bătătorit plin de gropi. Atrase de fasciculul mişcător al farurilor, roiuri de insecte zburau în jurul maşinii, cele mai multe dintre micile vieţuitoare sfârşind zdrobite de parbrizul plin de praf al furgonetei.
— Merde! înjură printre dinţi Gilles Ferrand, luptându-se din greu să stăpânească volanul. Încruntat, francezul înalt, cu barbă, se aplecă peste volan, încercând să vadă drumul prin norul de praf şi de insecte din faţă. Ochelarii cu lentile groase îi alunecaseră în jos pe nas. Îşi luă o mână de pe volan ca să şi-i pună la loc şi imediat trase o nouă înjurătură fiindcă maşina aproape că ieşise de pe drum la o curbă apărută pe neaşteptate.
— Ar fi trebuit să fi plecat mai repede de la Bulawayo, mârâi el în direcţia femeii suple, cu păr cărunt, care şedea în dreapta lui. Această aşa-zisă şosea e groaznică chiar şi pe timp de zi. Acum, noaptea, e un adevărat coşmar. Ar fi fost bine ca avionul să nu fi ajuns aşa de târziu.
Susan Kendall ridică din umeri.
— Dacă dorinţele noastre ar fi peşti, Gilles, atunci am fi cu toţii morţi din cauza intoxicării cu mercur. Proiectul nostru are nevoie de seminţele şi de uneltele care ne-au fost trimise şi atunci când te afli în slujba Mamei, trebuie să accepţi şi anumite inconveniente.
Ferrand se strâmbă, sătul până peste cap să o audă pe colega lui americancă dându-i lecţii. Erau amândoi veterani în Mişcarea Lazarus, luptând pentru salvarea planetei în faţa lăcomiei nesăbuite a capitalismului global. Nu-i plăcea deloc să fie tratat ca un şcolar neinstruit.
August 14, 2020
What if the worldwide eco-conscious anti-nanotechnology movement you believed so much in was led by a man who had a secret and evil agenda to destroy the world as we know it, using Lazarus followers as disposable pawns? Fearful that The Movement was preparing for a violent attack on science labs worldwide, the FBI and CIA run undercover surveillance on the group. But can they be trusted? The US president isn’t so sure. Enter Lt Col (and doctor/scientist) Jon Smith who is part of Covert-One, a highly secretive spy and investigative program known only to the President.
In the opening scene, deadly nanobots are inexplicably released into the atmosphere just as Lazarus followers attack the lab in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thousands of the believers are killed in a horribly gruesome fashion. Who is responsible and why?
The Lazarus Vendetta is one is a series of Covert-one books. It’s graphically violent so was sometimes difficult for me to handle. But Larkin’s descriptive talents are also used in setting scenes. Each chapter opens with a detailed and sensory picture of where the reader is now. These read a little slowly sometimes as the mind tries to see where it is, but it’s worth it. Another thing I appreciated was that the number of characters isn’t too many so it’s easy to keep everyone straight even during the most complicated of twists and turns. I don’t usually read this kind of novel so it was a little hard to get into, but by the end I was riveted.
It will take me a while to recover from the gruesomeness, but I’ll definitely try another in the series. There is a lot in the novel that made me think about what is going on today in 2020. Can we trust our leaders.... of movements, politics, religion? Are they really who they say they are or are we just blindly following?
In the opening scene, deadly nanobots are inexplicably released into the atmosphere just as Lazarus followers attack the lab in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thousands of the believers are killed in a horribly gruesome fashion. Who is responsible and why?
The Lazarus Vendetta is one is a series of Covert-one books. It’s graphically violent so was sometimes difficult for me to handle. But Larkin’s descriptive talents are also used in setting scenes. Each chapter opens with a detailed and sensory picture of where the reader is now. These read a little slowly sometimes as the mind tries to see where it is, but it’s worth it. Another thing I appreciated was that the number of characters isn’t too many so it’s easy to keep everyone straight even during the most complicated of twists and turns. I don’t usually read this kind of novel so it was a little hard to get into, but by the end I was riveted.
It will take me a while to recover from the gruesomeness, but I’ll definitely try another in the series. There is a lot in the novel that made me think about what is going on today in 2020. Can we trust our leaders.... of movements, politics, religion? Are they really who they say they are or are we just blindly following?
March 19, 2023
"Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three?"
Seems appropriate for this book of the series. I was initially hesitant to see the three of them yet again in the same book, but I got over it by just thinking that they were part of the same team. Much easier to digest the book that way.
Anyway, I'd probably say the strength of the book is with the opposition. Granted, "big strong henchmen" isn't the most original of ideas - see the multiple comedies and action-comedies where the main character punches the big henchman and grimaces in pain while blowing on his fist - but adding the Roman concept of Horatii was a nice touch. Ditto with the "eco-terrorist" environmental movement package.
The enemy du jour of nanotech was both a good foil and a showcase of America's dilemma of being the leading nation in a technology that was suddenly demonized. The CIA-FBI touch was also a good "good intentions" subplot, as well as the father-son dynamic which surprised me significantly.
Add in the usual spy, military, and bureaucratic thrills, and all of that forms what to me is the most enjoyable, if not strongest, entry in the Covert-One series so far.
Seems appropriate for this book of the series. I was initially hesitant to see the three of them yet again in the same book, but I got over it by just thinking that they were part of the same team. Much easier to digest the book that way.
Anyway, I'd probably say the strength of the book is with the opposition. Granted, "big strong henchmen" isn't the most original of ideas - see the multiple comedies and action-comedies where the main character punches the big henchman and grimaces in pain while blowing on his fist - but adding the Roman concept of Horatii was a nice touch. Ditto with the "eco-terrorist" environmental movement package.
The enemy du jour of nanotech was both a good foil and a showcase of America's dilemma of being the leading nation in a technology that was suddenly demonized. The CIA-FBI touch was also a good "good intentions" subplot, as well as the father-son dynamic which surprised me significantly.
Add in the usual spy, military, and bureaucratic thrills, and all of that forms what to me is the most enjoyable, if not strongest, entry in the Covert-One series so far.
January 23, 2020
I was determined to give a try,
To a book by Robert Ludlum. (Ludlow? I forget, and I’m not looking at the book, and this will begin to tell you my impression.)
First of all, I didn’t particularly enjoy the first hundred pages, so I quit reading it. Life is finite, death a certainty, and there’s too much to read and do and eat while I’m alive to spend on meh.
Second, after going online to learn more about it, I learned he didn’t even write it. It’s one of those “in a Series with characters created by...” things.
That means for you at home - this is the literary equivalent of the 1994 Straight to DVD Aladdin sequel “Return of Jafar.”
If you want to give up seven hundred pages of your life to Return of Jafar, BY ALL MEANS!!! Do it!!! I assume the kids are out of the house, crochet isn’t your bag, your project in the garage is half finished and you just need a break and so ENJOY!!!!
Otherwise - probably skip it.
August 1, 2017
2.5 out of 5 - Passable thriller from the Ludlum franchise, penned by Patrick Larkin.
This book would have probably gotten a three star rating if this were the first Covert One novel that I read, but having read a number of them, I find they all seem to follow the same pattern and are pretty much forgettable. In fact, although this is Covert One #5, I only remember fragments of the first one and can't recall much from the others.
The character development is almost non-existent, as in the other Covert One novels, and the premise is extremely implausible, at least by today's technological standards. However, there were enough interesting parts to hold me until the end.
This will probably by my last Covert One novel, not due to any shortcomings of Mr. Larkin, but because I'm tired of the formula and lack of character development.
This book would have probably gotten a three star rating if this were the first Covert One novel that I read, but having read a number of them, I find they all seem to follow the same pattern and are pretty much forgettable. In fact, although this is Covert One #5, I only remember fragments of the first one and can't recall much from the others.
The character development is almost non-existent, as in the other Covert One novels, and the premise is extremely implausible, at least by today's technological standards. However, there were enough interesting parts to hold me until the end.
This will probably by my last Covert One novel, not due to any shortcomings of Mr. Larkin, but because I'm tired of the formula and lack of character development.
February 21, 2022
Super secret agent do-all Jon Smith is part of a black book task force called "Covert One", an intellegence agency no onr except the president and its members know of. Not even the CIA and FBI know of its existence. After a zealous eco group called Lazarus is involved in phishy protests and murders, our agent Jon Smith investigates them. He uncovers a plot by the loved Lazarus movement to rid the world of humans as a plague, by using the hated developments in nano technology.
I truly enjoyed reading the Lazarus Vendetta. It was just as I was expecting: A James Bond-like hero chases bad guy with inherently good intentions around the globe, shooting their way through famous capitals and countries. The book surely is all that, an enjoyable albeit extremely predictable story captured my attention for most of the time. Action scenes and fighting are described in great detail but maintain their speed, which is what the writer excells in.
If it had been just this (cookie cutter story with some nice shooting) I had been inclined to give it 3 stars. Well-written, good fun. But our American hero has a huge emphasis on America. The book pampers the USA, throws shade at Europe and Europeans in devious little ways, and is even slightly racist in some jabs here and there. No, it is in no way obvious and blatent, so no need to cancel the entire series. It is however enough to be very annoying, especially when the aforementioned great action scenes are spread too thinly in an action novel that really shouldn't have such long, pandering intermissions about weapons, world politcs, and the secret services of the world. Lazarus Vendetta is obviously written by Americans, and some praise is more than expected, but the book panders in the same way some American blockbusters do which just rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, not too often to take away the fun, but too often to not mention.
In short: looking for a fun, predictable shooting adventure with your superman secret American soldier, pick it up! It's great fun if you want a page turner, and the writing style is surprisingly good. With a little bit more creativity in the story, and a little less blatant nationalism, it could have been a 3 star.
I truly enjoyed reading the Lazarus Vendetta. It was just as I was expecting: A James Bond-like hero chases bad guy with inherently good intentions around the globe, shooting their way through famous capitals and countries. The book surely is all that, an enjoyable albeit extremely predictable story captured my attention for most of the time. Action scenes and fighting are described in great detail but maintain their speed, which is what the writer excells in.
If it had been just this (cookie cutter story with some nice shooting) I had been inclined to give it 3 stars. Well-written, good fun. But our American hero has a huge emphasis on America. The book pampers the USA, throws shade at Europe and Europeans in devious little ways, and is even slightly racist in some jabs here and there. No, it is in no way obvious and blatent, so no need to cancel the entire series. It is however enough to be very annoying, especially when the aforementioned great action scenes are spread too thinly in an action novel that really shouldn't have such long, pandering intermissions about weapons, world politcs, and the secret services of the world. Lazarus Vendetta is obviously written by Americans, and some praise is more than expected, but the book panders in the same way some American blockbusters do which just rubbed me the wrong way. As I said, not too often to take away the fun, but too often to not mention.
In short: looking for a fun, predictable shooting adventure with your superman secret American soldier, pick it up! It's great fun if you want a page turner, and the writing style is surprisingly good. With a little bit more creativity in the story, and a little less blatant nationalism, it could have been a 3 star.
September 9, 2018
While the book kept my interest for the most part, it took me awhile to finish. It didn't catch my interest well enough for me to put other things to the side. As the book progressed it became clear that the ending would happen in as little as a few pages thus ending on a quick note. Which was very disappointing and sad. Other reviews talked about how it was outlandish and unreal and I would have to agree. I cannot believe that in such a short amount of time three people were able to put a stop to everything. Especially with small amount of ammunition. Not to mention how dumb Doctor Smith was in strategic thinking. But anyway done with this one and probably won't read anything by this author again unless it's his original by himself work.
March 11, 2021
Just like a modern action movie this book gets going from the first page and the action never slows. With the world teetering on destruction at the hands of a genocidal maniac Covert-Ones Jon Smith and friends must follow the action around the globe in hope of discovering who this mysterious villian is and saving us all. The identity and goals of Lazarus are carefully guarded and his world domineering manipulation is impressive making the task that much tougher for our hero. It's a fast paced read with not much depth but ... If you like a good action story ... Then you'll probably love this. I did. Nice easy read over a few nights. Very entertaining!
September 13, 2018
This book was an amazing mystery thriller. It gave the story of a covert war between the United States and a secretive organization known as the Lazarus Movement. This book had a few exciting and enjoyable plot twists that keep the reader on edge. Overall, it is an amazing book and I highly recommend reading it.
September 29, 2021
This was a 13-hour book and there were a couple of times it dragged a bit but as a whole, I enjoyed the book. You really have to pay attention to the characters (which is a high number) so that when you get to the last 1/3 of the book you have those AH HAH moments. There is a part I never saw coming. Scott Brick does a good job as usual.
August 9, 2022
Once again, Robert Ludlum amazes me with an incredible tale of international espionage, treachery and a rabbit hole so deep, you cannot actually see the twisted mastermind behind all the chaos! Brilliant writing accolade to his collaborator, Patrick Larkin, too. The Lazarus Vendetta has you on tenterhooks from start to finish.
November 29, 2023
Κινηματογραφικό βιβλίο , άλλωστε ο συγγραφέας του είναι διάσημος για τις μεταφορές των βιβλίων του .
Συνεχή δράση , όχι αρκετή αγωνία , αφού ο ένοχος αποκαλύπτεται αρκετά πριν το τέλος .
Παρόλαυτα είναι ευκολοδιάβαστο , ενδιαφέρον , παρόλο το "αηδιαστικό του θέμα " που τώρα τελευταία παίζει πολύ ως υπόθεση ή σενάριο.
Μαζική εξάληψη ανθρώπων με ιούς για να " σωθεί " η Γη .
Συνεχή δράση , όχι αρκετή αγωνία , αφού ο ένοχος αποκαλύπτεται αρκετά πριν το τέλος .
Παρόλαυτα είναι ευκολοδιάβαστο , ενδιαφέρον , παρόλο το "αηδιαστικό του θέμα " που τώρα τελευταία παίζει πολύ ως υπόθεση ή σενάριο.
Μαζική εξάληψη ανθρώπων με ιούς για να " σωθεί " η Γη .
November 26, 2017
Robert Ludlum was the master storyteller. However, it takes nothing away from Patrick Larkins following story based on Ludlum's original creations. I thought it was brilliantly done and thoroughly enjoyable
August 17, 2019
An okay Covert One book which finds Jon Smith investigating a horrible accident at a nano tech facility which appears to be connected to a shadowy environmental group. With his own intelligence agencies arrayed against him the President must count on Covert One to avoid a catastrophe.
June 18, 2021
This is the first book I read on Covert One series.
The plot is full of suspense and action. I appreciated the lack of unneccesary fluff while reading the book.
The focus was on the main plot where Smith is hunting for Lazarus.
The plot is full of suspense and action. I appreciated the lack of unneccesary fluff while reading the book.
The focus was on the main plot where Smith is hunting for Lazarus.
May 25, 2022
Another decent thriller in this series. No real surprises as yet another egomaniac tries to take over the world and the familiar cast of 'good' guys try to stop him. It won't win any prizes for literary merit but it does its job very well.
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