Empire State: A nail-biting thriller set in the high-stakes aftermath of 9/11

Robert Harland #2

by Henry Porter

In a world that inspires paranoia on a grand scale, where international agencies show no scruple in hunting down terrorists, Robert Harland must find the link between a sequence of apparently random worldwide events, including the assasination of the head of the US National Security Agency.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Crime, Spy Thriller

496 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2003

About the author

Henry Porter has written for most national broadsheet newspapers. He contributes commentary and reportage to the Guardian, Observer, Evening Standard and Sunday Telegraph. He is the British editor of Vanity Fair, and lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Andy]

pg 102..... had enough as the star of the first book Bobby Harland is yet to make an entrance & well I jus dont care & life is short yadda yadda.... The End.

[Caroline]

Potential to be very interesting since the plot follows similar theories to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, however this is a bit too complicated to follow. The characters are pretty good and as a feminist I'm thrilled that the lead is taken and the case is solved by a woman, but keeping track of who is good and who is bad makes for complex reading. I haven't read anything by Henry Porter before but would consider reading something else by him just to see whether this one was more involved than his usual style of writing.

[Mike Rogers]

This book showed promise. The plot appeared well thought out, and in the hands of a better author could have been a good thriller. However, it was let down by some very immature, unbelievable characters, some basic holes in reasoning and required a suspension of disbelief in order to allow the story to progress. It just wasn't well enough written for these jarring moments to be overlooked.

[Studvet]

Interesting writer as always, and topical, factually interesting, but not up to the high standard of some of his others.

[Tim Kenny]

lot of detail

Don’t lose your concentration or you will lose your place in the story. That is a great deal of detail about how they respective intelligence and special services operate and at times it gets in the way of the story. I quite enjoyed it, but I found myself bogged down from time to time with the slowness of events and the red herrings that were planted. Not an especially easy read.

[Melanie Fraser]

This was well written but lost it's way in the middle, meandering, as if the author wasn't sure what to do next with the plot. I almost lost interest.

Picking it up later on was helpful and I enjoyed the last part. Overall, the book seemed far too long to me and would have had a better impact if it had been more concise and the fast pace at the beginning, maintained.

[James Sparks]

I gave up halfway through, which i rarely do.

Overcomplicated.

[Tessa]

I became totally lost in this book and had to leave it unfinished.

[Wendy]

Complicated, and I kept losing track of which characters were which - but I kept going because I wanted to find out what happened. Have read other Henry Porter books which I enjoyed much more.

[Sneha]

#Empire State #Henry Porter #HighBridge #GrovePress #NetGalley

This is a tale of espionage, terrorism, and counterterrorism. Robert Harland and Isis Herrick with MI6 need to figure out what links the murders of the head of NSA at Heathrow, a family at Uxbridge, and a group of refugees in Macedonia.

It is something entirely plausible and is a sign of the times we live in.

This ALC was an interesting listen. Matthew Lloyd Davis narrates the story well.

[Emily Johnston]

This book was incredibly complicated. I kept slogging through mainly because I felt I’d invested so much time in it and wanted to know what happened, but it was a slog until part 3. There are so many characters and details and it is really long. I enjoyed the female protagonist and the character of Harland. I didn’t hate it and would actually be interested to read the third book in the series as I cared about the two main characters - but I also don’t know if I can bear the complicated detail.

[Nathan Marriott]

Very disappointed in this. Took me along time to get into it, then when I picked it up I couldn’t wait to put it down, and that’s not a good sign for me.

Didn’t realise it was a #2 in a series, but then why introduce the character so late, I thought Isis was the main character.

It could have been c.100 pages less. Very disjointed and overly complicated. I didn’t want to pick it back up but I don’t like leaving books unread. Binged the last few chapters to get it over with.

[sarah steer]

Fast paced triumph of ‘good’ power over ‘bad’ plus evil doers crushed. A satisfactory read on the whole.

Wonderfully complex international (wide ranging) tale of deering do- a female star too. A good read! Well described cities world over plus an intriguing Egyptian island. Go for it!

[Andrea Susan]

A great spy read from the murder of a family to the gunning down of migrant workers. Chasing the links between these events and the arrival of 2 postcards with a world renowned osteopath is Robert Harland and Isis Herrick from MI6. It's a chase that leads them to dark places and other countries and figuring out who to trust.

[Caleb Matthew C.]

The book is listed as the second in the "Robert Harland series" but Harland doesn't appear until almost halfway through the book. He eventually shows up-- doesn't resemble the Harland of the first book and plays no role of importance. It was quite duplicitous to label this book as part of a "Robert Harland series."

[Jeff]

Very good. The head of the US National Security Agency is assassinated in a spectacular killing at Heathrow. A Pakistani employee at the airport and his family are found murdered. Other seemingly unrelated murders follow. Trying to find the link between these apparently random events is pursued by Robert Harland performing a dual role for the UN and MI6.

[david]

Not his best

Slapdash plot, unlikely characters and a non linear plot. Pretty weak stuff and bitterly disappointing. Makes me reconsider easing more Someone give me a decent book please ....

[Kerry]

First try at a Henry Porter thriller and already ordered another one. Really could not put this down. One of the best thrillers I’ve read recently. Absolutely loved a feisty female spook too - more of Isis Herrick please.

[Jonathan Wilson]

An interesting evolution

The second book in the Robert Harland series doesn't actually take him a great deal. Some new characters are introduced with great stories. But while this is a fun yarn, there is little real surprise or suspense.

[Tony]

An exciting read from start to finish! Good to have a female heroine.
One of those novels where you feel you need to makes notes about who everyone is! I found it all a bit confusing. I also felt the book was a little too long, but an enjoyable read nonetheless!

[Paddy]

Perfectly decent spy-novel, enjoyable but not absolutely outstanding. Some other reviewers seemed to think it was over-complicated, but I didn't think so. Reading it in 2024, however, the 9/11-influenced plot feels dated and no-longer topical.

[Patricia]

Headlines Bypassed

A work with complex intertwining plots, compellingly written. Quite a mix of characters. Some good characters with off putting traits and some bad characters with appealing traits,well developed.

[Patrick]

Whereas A Spy’s Life was overly long with a compelling story at its heart, Empire State was overly long with a needlessly complex story. Like A Spy’s Life, there is too much going on and too many people/names to keep track of. A more concise story and a better editor would’ve served Porter well.

[John]

I enjoyed both this and the first book, A Spy's Life, which create convincing spy adventures around SIS (MI6) and the CIA, including plays on the tensions between them. I have read 3-4 books by Porter, and I'll now look out for more.

[Jon Ellis]

So nice touches in the plot but the author has loaded all the action on one character. Very implausible

[Mike Mason]

Another quick Madeira holiday library read. Enjoyed the storyline. Isis Herrick the main character seemed real. Will catch up with more of these books

[Didi]

Good airport read. Read fast otherwise you will loose track of all the characters

[Madelene Blum]

Well done

[Peter]

The book is all over the place and it’s Isis who is the main character and not Bobby!!

[Drka]

DNF I struggled through the first. This one seems just as complex.