XXX

by Mel Odom

This newest action thriller from the team of director Rob Cohen and star Vin Diesel ( The Fast And The Furious ) follows Xander Cage, a charismatic extreme–sports fanatic who is recruited by a secret government agent (Samuel L. Jackson) to infiltrate a Russian crime ring. Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is an underground extreme–stunt star hes cool, charismatic, covered in tattoos, and he likes to spend his days performing wild, illegal stunts for the video cameras of his devoted fans. But when the US government, in the form of a secret agent named Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), finally catches up with him, hes given a doing time in federal prison, or serving the government hes spent his life defying. His mission is one no other agent has been able to He must infiltrate a Russian crime ring thats come into possession of Silent Night, a secret formula that will enable them to destroy the world. Now, with only his own cunning and athletic ability to rely on, Xander, or Triple X, has to win the trust of the criminals including the sexy, mysterious Yelena (Asia Argento)and find a way to stop them from succeeding in their deadly mission.

Genres: Thriller, Action

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

aka Jordan Gray

Mel Odom is a bestselling writer for hire for Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, Gold Eagle's Mack Bolan, and Pocket's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel book lines. His debut SF novel Lethal Interface made the Locus recommended list . The Rover was an Alyx Award winner. He has also written a scientific adventure of the high seas set in the 19th century entitled Hunters of the Dark Sea. He lives in Oklahoma.

Reviews

[James Ronholm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not very good - but I didn't feel cheated by finishing it. Really reads like something written to match a movie (which it is) so be ready for writing that sounds like instructions to the special effects crew.
Stunts that would never work in real life, characters with one-dimensional personalities, unlikely heroes being hired to save the world with no training at all -- everything you would expect from a dumb summer movie that is more about the fight/chase scenes than it is about story.

[Esther Csorba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first novelizations of a movie that I have read, and it immediately got me to see the movie. Which, in my opinion, is the point of these kinds of books, so very well done.