Gauntlet

by Richard Aaron

660 tons of Semtex is detonated in a massive explosion in Libya. The operation seems to have gone smoothly, but within minutes of the explosion, CIA agent Richard Lawrence discovers that one shipment of the explosive has been hijacked. Days later, a glory-seeking 'Emir' broadcasts to the world that he is planning a massive terrorist strike against a U.S. landmark. And he gives a time line of one month. Now a desperate chase is on, as the men bent on attacking the U.S. use every weapon at their disposal to evade American authorities. Time and again they prove willing to destroy anything—and anyone—standing in their way. But Hamilton Turbee, an autistic computer mastermind at the newly created TTIC agency, discovers a way to track them. His flawed genius gives the nation its only chance at stopping the attack . if the American leadership will listen. As the enemies near their destination, it is up to the TTIC team to stop the massive explosion that could destroy the lives of millions.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

488 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

I was born on January 19, 1960, in a home that sat on the south side of the Rotterdam docks. Some of my earliest memories are of watching the loading and unloading of ocean-going vessels. These ships also led to some of my earliest daydreams, imaginings, and fantasies. When I was 9, my family took me from the shipyards and moved to Canada, eventually settling down in Vancouver (the most beautiful city in the world). As a new immigrant, and a little kid in a whole new world, the most difficult thing for me was learning the English language ... something that my critics still bring to my attention from time to time (with my absolute support, of course)."

Reviews

[Cinnamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often began a review with some jubilant exclamation. I am easy to please, but more than that, I have very fortunate to be blessed with the good luck of picking fabulous books to review. The newest addition to that list is Gauntlet by Richard Aaron and let me tell you, it skyrocketed toward the top! I don’t usually choose action thrillers for myself, but again, I was blessed with some awesome luck. Gauntlet found its way to me and I had a hard time putting it down for anything outside of work and a few hours of sleep.

Gauntlet was a fantastic tale about international intrigue. My favorite part about the book, and the trait that really made the book stand out, was that we get to follow the story of multiple characters. I’m not talking about just two or three characters here. The main characters that we get to follow are Turbee, Richard, Yousseff, Zak, Indy and Leon. Their stories are rich and complex, added to by handfuls of smaller counterpart characters. Even though I wouldn’t call these secondary characters main characters, Aaron gives each a rich history and personality that really round out the corners of the story.

As I mentioned above, Gauntlet is best described as a thriller surrounding international intrigue. We follow the stories of the main characters as a terrorist threat on the United States begins to take shape. We follow Richard, a CIA field agent with a deeply troubled past. His discovery that a significant portion of the explosive SEMTEX, which is due to be destroyed, is missing leads to an investigation that will eventually turn deadly. Zak, Richard’s lifelong friend is undercover with the enemy and will discover that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Indy, our friendly Canadian, seems fairly oblivious to the missing SEMTEX issue as he pulls his hair out while trying to uphold the law and keep drugs out of his country. Unfortunately for him, the local justice department isn’t so helpful. Leon is the antithesis of Indy. He is the drug smuggler that Indy keeps trying to get his hands on and the very one that keeps alluding him. Turbee, my favorite character, is a highly functioning autistic genius, working for TTIC, an intelligence group with the objective of thwarting terrorist activities. That brings us to Yousseff.

One wouldn’t think that readers in the U.S. would harbor any sort of pleasant feelings toward the terrorist set on destroying part of our country, yet I found myself doing exactly that! We learn early on that Yousseff is the bad guy of the book. Yet, at the same time, he’s very much a good guy too. I have miles of praise that I could type out about Aaron and Gauntlet, but the most astounding bit to me was how fair he was in his writing. He could have easily made Yousseff an awfully terrible person with no redeeming qualities. Yet, he portrayed a very realistic picture. In our eyes, yes, Yousseff is definitely not a good guy; however, we get to see the justification of his actions from his side of things. He may be ruthless and his competitors may just disappear in the night, yet he pays all of his employees beyond the asking price for their jobs and ensures that families are taken care of as well as the people from his native lands. He is a caring person with morals, although he does backtrack on them occasionally. Aaron did a phenomenal job with this character, winding the complexities of real life in the words on the page to make a wonderfully glowing spot on the book.

Aside from the characters, the writing in Gauntlet was fantastic. With so many characters and the details surrounding them, I expected Aaron to get caught up in the complexities of the relationships and devote less time and effort to make the story flow well. Instead, Aaron created a story with complex characters and relationships with wonderful pacing and flow. Every bit of high intensity action was quick in pace and pulled the reader along while each bit of self reflection and downtime was slower, but not to the point of dying. Aaron really needed pace on his side to pull off a book with this much complexity and he definitely found it.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes some good action. I’ve heard some people say that they thought they might have a hard time with the many characters, but I’ll stand (or sit) here and say that I honestly don’t think it will be a problem. Aaron devotes space to each character and although you might think they would, the characters really don’t get too muddled up.

Fair warning time: Just because this is not a romance does not mean that you are going to get out of a good old dose of warning. Like I mentioned earlier, we are dealing with two opposing sides. When one side gets a hold of someone from the opposite side, things don’t always turn out well. There are a few graphic scenes although, in all honesty, I think the pictures that my imagination offered up were worse than what the words on the page actually described.

Now you know what I think. Go out, get the book, read it and love it. You’ll be oh so happy that you did.

[Mishel Forte · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 tons of Semtex has gone missing! The highly explosive plastic material has somehow gotten into the hands of terrorists bent on striking the United States in a terrible way. Authorities have no idea where the attack will take place and they only have about a month to find out or else a lot of innocent people die. With every clue they get the clock ticks closer to the detonation. But no matter what authorities do, the terrorists seem to always be one step ahead.

At the heart of the action is a group known as TTIC, or the Terrorist Threat Integration Center And among them is a vital employee who just happens to be an autistic math genius named Hamilton Turbee. Turbee is good at cracking codes and doing quick calculations in his head and may just have what it takes to crack the case!

There's too many unique and distinguished characters in the book to name them all. But as the reader is bounced across the globe through this fast-paced thriller, it's easy to see how devastatingly widespread and serious the situation is.

I have to admit, when I was first approached to do a blog tour I was given the choice between a couple of books. I decided to go with this one because it sounded somewhat decent, granted not really my style but I thought "What the hey - maybe you'll like it Mishel..." I received it a little late, which was no big deal. But when I opened the package I became a little intimidated. The book is pretty hefty. But when I told myself to get over it and started to read, I became so totally engrossed in the story it was scary.

Richard Aaron is a great story teller! The fact that this kind of thing can actually happen adds some thrilling, if not totally frightening, excitement to the reading experience. The amount of detail and research that was put into the book is amazing. I never once thought that it was too much. I did however, get a headache thinking how crazy it must have been putting a book like this together.

One thing I absolutely loved about Gauntlet was it's characters. I've read some reviews that frowned upon the background layout of some of the characters. I personally loved it. Characters are one of the most important things for me in a story. The fact that Aaron gave readers detailed backgrounds on the them made them seem more human - well for me anyway. Even the "bad guys" in the story seemed totally human and I somewhat sympathized with them. And yes, I know they were planning a terrorist attack on the US. So shoot me! Lol.

I did feel the ending was a little rushed, or just a little off kilter. It just wasn't as enjoyable for me. Although I gotta admit, the action in the end really had me on the edge of my seat. I'm so totally ready for the sequel to come out! The story isn't over - I need to know what happens lol. A definite read for anyone that enjoys books like this! But even if you aren't into terrorist books or military thrillers of this kind (I don't even know what genre the book is because I just don't usually read anything like this) I still think you should give it a try. The characters, story, action may just pull you in!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The United States thought they had come up with the perfect way to dispose of six hundred tons of Semtex. They would denote it out in the desert of Libya. Shortly after the big explosion, CIA agent Richard Lawrence learns that some of the Semtex was high jacked enroute.

Then an “Emir” televises that he plans to blown up a major landmark somewhere in the world. The only other piece of information that the Emir provides is that he plans to attack within the month. To hide the disaster that the USA has on their hands, the president issues a cover up.

Now the president and the rest of the world are relying on the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, otherwise known as TTIC to help locate these terrorists before it is too late. The TTIC was founded on May 1, 2003 due to attacks on American soil. Hamilton Turbee, a mathematician and programmer is the newest member to join TTIC. He also happens to be very brilliant. He has found a way to track the Semtex. Unfortunately these terrorists are lead by a very rich and smart man. He has come up with ways to evade the US and stay one step ahead but how long will he be able to keep it up?

Let me first start off by saying I am enthralled by Mr. Aaron. Gauntlet is his first novel and the first in a series. I was barely a third of the way into this story and already I was thinking about how much I really wanted to pick up the second book in this series. Each character in this story played a piece of the puzzle. Richard Aaron’s writing was so vivid it was like I could feel the grit of the sand. Plus talk about an adrenaline rush. This story spanned across many different continents from the Middle East to the US, to Canada. Gauntlet is not for the faint at heart. If you are looking for a solid, best-seller then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book today.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite an early plot hole that nearly derailed my reading (neither a significant amount of stolen Semtex nor the murdered soldiers responsible for its transport are missed) and some inaccuracies in the story (for instance, the TTIC has been known as the NCTC since 2004), Gauntlet was a solid, enjoyable read that deserves a place upon the techno-thriller shelf.

It probably leans more towards the Michael Crichton side of the shelf than the Tom Clancy side, with the focus more on the technology than the tactics, but Richard Aaron has clearly spent a lot of time thinking through the ramifications of a terror strike. More importantly, he's also invested heavily in the characters on both sides of the struggle.

This is a book of immense scope, with a large cast of characters, and various subplots crossing one another. The reader almost needs a scorecard at times, just to keep things straight, but Aaron does a good job of making the characters easily identifiable, and instantly memorable. For instance, Turbee (the eccentric/Autistic math geek) is a fun character, very much a social outsider, but precisely the kind of guy you're glad isn't on the other. CIA Agent Richard Lawrence is another strong character, somebody I could very well see fitting into a show like NCIS, while I found the portrayal of Inspector Inderjit Singh as a solid, serious, dependable representative of the RCMP to be very refreshing.

This is also a novel is that is truly international, as demonstrated by its cast. All too often the genre seems to be about American chest-thumping, with little regard for the other players, but the rest of the world does have a part to play here. Even the terrorists are portrayed as characters to whom we can relate, as opposed to just cartoon/stock villains. There is no doubt that Youseff is a threat to the United States, but you can see how some might consider him to be a hero for the cause.

One word of caution - after a blistering final hundred or so pages that really drive the story to a climax, we're very much left hanging. It really just stops, leaving the bulk of the story to be explored in subsequent volumes. If you're a reader who likes a self-contained story, then that may be a concern, especially with the wait for a sequel now approaching 4 years. However, Counterplay is due to be released sometime this Fall, so now is a great time to become invested in the story.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gauntled by Richard Aaron

A Novel of International intrigue

Pages: 504
Published: 2009
Thriller

RICHARD AARON lives in a cold, northwestern city with his wife, four children, and various dogs and cats. He has a university degree in mathematics and a masters in law. Neither has anything to do with his burgeoning career as a writer. He worked in the real world for two decades before realizing that he was actually meant to be a writer. Gauntlet was produced soon thereafter. He is working on the sequel to Gauntlet and it is soon completed.

Visit Richard at his website

About the Book:
A terrorist threat is looming; an attack that would dwarf any other. This time, the government knows it's coming, but doesn't know where… or how.

From a stunning new voice in international intrigue comes a dramatic story of high-stakes missions, treachery, honor, an unlikely hero, and the ultimate terrorist attack.

Six hundred sixty tons of Semtex is detonated in a massive explosion in Libya – the last of a deadly stockpile. The operation seems to have gone smoothly, but within minutes of the explosion, CIA agent Richard Lawrence discovers that one shipment of the explosive was hijacked en route to the destruction point. Days later, a glory-seeking “Emir” broadcasts to the world that he is planning a massive terrorist strike against a major U.S. landmark. And he gives a timeline of one month.

Now a desperate chase covers four continents, as the men bent on attacking the United States use every weapon at their disposal to evade the American authorities. Time and again they prove willing to destroy anything – and anyone – standing in their way. But Hamilton Turbee, an autistic computer mastermind at the secretive and newly created TTIC agency, discovers a way to follow their tracks. His flawed genius gives the nation its only chance at stopping the attack… if the American leadership will listen. As the enemies near their destination, and an attack becomes imminent, it is up to the TTIC team, still without a true leader, to stop the massive explosion that could destroy the lives of millions.

As the world watches in horror, the President asks TTIC two questions.

Where will the attack be?

And can it be stopped?


The Review:
It's a high intense thriller, think 24, Body of Lies for movies and tv-series like that. As for books, it's harder since I have seen them around but I have stuck in my own corner of books I read, and these have always felt very manly and testosterone filled, which is strange since I do like to watch movies like it.

I decided to show you something intense next to give a feel of the book.

“They smashed his right leg to pieces. They tore the tibia completely from its surrounding flesh and tissue, and discarded it. It was not with the rest of the body. They smashed most of the bones in his feet to pieces with some kind of blunt instrument, probably a hammer. They ruptured both testicles, through blunt force trauma. The forensic scientists who examined him think this was done through repeated, incredibly vicious blows to the groin. He had many internal injuries, some occasioned by blunt force, others by surgical instruments.”


Yousseff Said al-Sabbhan, an Afghan drug smuggler who has worked his way up in the world in one of the main characters in this book. We get to see his life through back flashes, and it's an interesting story about a young boy who sees a chance and takes it. He is one of the big pieces in the puzzle, he and the Emir is working together on a plan that will cause damages in the states. Against him stands, Terrorist Threat Integration Center, or TTIC for short. Different characters who all work together trying to find out where the attack will take place, because after the semtex goes missing it's just a matter of time.

I find it interesting that one of the main characters at TTIC is an autistic mathematician, who is a genius with computers. He sees things that the others can’t see, and I like that he has made him a hero in this book. Hamilton Turbee is someone who stands out together with Yousseff. Good versus evil in a world that is about to get darker.

This is a book for people who like thrillers, adventure and action. Between the flashbacks we get the hunt for answers, will the semtex be used by terrorists, and if so then where? Messages from the Emir are aired, and the clock is ticking away. Can they stop it in time? They are all working hard, and some are taken and tortured. It's not a book that jumps over details; instead it will give you what would happen.

It is a well-written book and the bad part, oh how it leaves me hanging. Yes it does have an ending, but what will happen next? And there are certain characters that I wonder about. It’s a cliffhanger without really being a cliffhanger. It ties up loose endings but leaves room for much more. Evil is not that easily stopped, and that is the good thing about this novel. It doesn’t have a happy ending with good has won again, no it gives you reality. But who knows what will happen in books to come.

[A. Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I could not put this book down! Mr. Aaron is quite an exciting, thrilling story teller! My thanks to my daughter for recommending it.

[Valorie Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Richard Aaron’s Gauntlet, about 4.5 tons of a highly explosive plastic material known as semtex has gone missing and is in the hands of Afghanistan terrorists plotting against America. Authorities don’t know where the attack will take place and have only a month to find out and stop it from killing a lot of innocent people. The terrorists, skilled at what they do, evade detection and catch at every turn. A major hub of the action is a group known as the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, or TTIC. One of their most vital employees turns out to be an autistic math genius named Hamilton Turbee who is good at cracking codes and doing quick calculations in his head.

The plot will take you everywhere from the caves of Afghanistan where terrorists hide and plot, the deserts of the Middle East, the Canadian border where a cop is investigating drugs, and to Washington and back. While reading, you will jump around the world, and this constant movement gives a sense of scope to the plot such that you realize how widespread and serious an issue like the one in the book really is, and of all the work that goes into cracking the plots of and stopping terrorists.

Everything is fast paced, jumping from one character to the next, and there are A LOT of characters. Each character is distinct, though, even the terrorists that you come to understand the motives of. Gauntlet is a book to read when you don’t have anything else to do because you will not want to put it down. With each page, the suspense builds until you feel like it is going to crack. What makes the book even more immediate and hard to put down is that everything within it feels real, as if it is happening or has happened. After all, we are living in a world aware and fearful of terrorist attacks. The thought that something like this could happen, or could be happening behind the scenes, is quite frankly very terrifying.

This is really the first time that I have read a book like this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love a complex plot that twists and connects all over the place, and this book certainly delivered a well thought out and wonderfully written series of events. I don’t want to give too much away, but suffice to say that you will be on the edge of your seat.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gauntlet is not an easy or mindless read. It required me to pay attention to what was going on and think about what was happening. When I started this book, I was a little overwhelmed. Not only with the size of the book but the complexity with which the author discusses the various government agencies involved in the plot. Once I finally got into the book a few chapters I started to connect with a few of the characters. Once that happens for me, I tend to have an easier time sticking to the book.

There were places in this book that became too in-depth and more detailed than I needed which seemed to drag things out a bit. I also think that this is much more a man's book than a woman's. However, even with the length of the book, I found that I got more interested in it toward the end. The further that I got, the more that I really wanted to finish it. But I wanted to finish it because I was invested in the characters and I wanted to see how things ended for them. Not because I wanted to know what happened.

The last 100 pages of the book were definitely better than the first 100, but I didn't like the end. I really feel like it left me hanging. I believe that Aaron intentionally left the ending hanging since there is a follow-up in the works, but I don't know that I'm invested in the story enough to pick up the sequel. That being said, I still liked the book. It took me a while to read (I wasn't giving up sleep because I couldn't put it down) but it was good enough to keep me interested. I didn't ever think about putting it down or quitting altogether. I just felt that I was more interested in what happened to the people than the missing Semtex. I guess that says a lot for character development, huh?

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gauntlet is a scary thriller. A terrorist threat is imminent. The government has been warned but doesn't know how or where.

A bunch of Semtex, plastic explosive, has been purposely blown up in the desert of Libya as Libya is now friendly with the United States. However, CIA agent Richard Lawrence discovers some of the Semtex was hijacked en route. Is this part of the terrorist threat or will the terrorists release a dirty bomb?

The newly formed anti-terrorist agency, TTIC is charged with finding out what is going to happen. One of the members of the TTIC, Hamilton Turbee is a autistic computer genius who untangles all the webs to try to follow the trail of the Semtex. His boss dislikes his mannerisms and does not allow Turbee to do his job properly. Will anyone listen to Turbee?

The Emir has entrusted his terrorist plot to Yousseff. Yousseff is a self-made arrogant international drug lord without a compassionate bone in his body. His network of thiefs are hand-picked and very good at their jobs. Will their loyalty be tested?

Also involved are two RCMP officers who are trying to find out how drugs are entering and leaving Canada. How is it possible with the border being so tightly patrolled?

From Africa to Pakistan to British Columbia and the United States, this book covers a lot of territory. This book was difficult to follow at first because of the multitude of characters and stories around the main plot. A word of advice: stick with it as the reward is immense. A very thrilling suspense that has the reader on the edge of her seat. I couldn't read fast enough to see what was going to happen next. I hope never to see this scenario in real life.

[drey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gauntlet is a debut novel by former lawyer Richard Aaron, to be released on March 2nd. I read it quickly, in one sitting, as I just had to know what was going to happen...

The cast of characters is quite large. There's the TTIC (Terrorist Threat Integration Center) staff and their not-so-bright director - the standout here is Hamilton Turbee, the super-rich autistic computer genius. The CIA operative Richard Lawrence, who's hooked on painkillers and mourning the apparent death of his adopted brother. The mastermind behind the terrorists, who puts the plot into motion. And the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) who stumble onto the chaos while tracking drug dealers' shipments south across the border.

With all of these people involved, I'm not surprised this is a large book. The story proceeds at a good pace, with only a few sections that got repetitive. And while I liked the background on Youssef (the mastermind), some of it was just a tad implausible. I mean, skinny pale little 13-year-old from the tribal villages of Afghanistan figures out how to process opium into heroin by eavesdropping on his elders? Hmm...

In any case, as mentioned before, the story was engrossing, and there were no obvious plot holes. ** SPOILER ALERT ** in the next sentence!! Except that all the extra references told you way before you get to the end, that they don't quite manage to stop the attack. I didn't need to know that with 48 pages to go...** SPOILER ALERT ** end.

The sequel has already been named (Counterplay), and I will definitely pick it up to see where this story goes from here.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and waffled between 3.5 and 4 stars just because there were two story lines going on that eventually come together at the end and I found one of them rather slow and had a hard time getting through it. Following the story line about Youssef, TTIC and the CIA agents was exciting and I could not wait to find out what happened next. I had to stay up late to finish the book and was slightly disappointed that you were left hanging. I can’t wait for the next book.

Most of the characters were great. You can’t help but root for Turbee, the autistic but brilliant computer geek working for TTIC, and I was practically biting my nails waiting to find out what happens Richard’s brother, Zak. It was also an interesting twist to see what happened in Youssef’s past that brought him to the point in life where he is ready to help the Emir enact this terrorist attack. He’s not your typical one track mind fanatic portrayed in most terrorist attack novels, his character shows the internal moral debate and in fact you can almost come to like his character.

Like I mention above there is a second story line following two cops in Canada, Indy and Catherine, trying to find the hole used by drug traffickers between the US and Canada. While I liked Indy the story line was a little too slow for me and took to long to show how it connected with the terrorist attack plans.

Overall this was a great page turning suspense and I for one can’t wait for the sequel.

See my other reviews here: http://debbiesworld.wordpress.com

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blockbuster!

With realistic, three-dimensional characters and a dynamic, completely plausible blockbuster plot worthy of today’s headlines, Richard Aaron has brought himself screaming into the writing world with this debut thriller – the first of a planned series.

Gauntlet features a main character who is diagnosed with autism and shows us the inner world of a person trying to make a living and a life for himself and the struggles associated with societal misunderstanding of the condition.

But they need Hamilton Turbee’s uncanny intellect and computer-like mind to stop a terrorist attack. Security forces from Canada and the US combine for an international espionage/terrorist plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rarely does a debut author create such a stir. Rarely does a debut author get me so excited over a book. Rarely does an author (debut or not) get five stars out of me. To my recollection I have only ever given 5 stars to one other fiction writer – and it wasn’t his debut.

Looking forward to the next release!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gauntlet is all about international intrigue. The reader follows the lives of several different characters throughout the book. We follow Richard, a CIA field agent; Zak, Richard’s friend who is working undercover with the enemy; Indy, a Canadian who is oblivious to the SEMTEX issue while trying to keep drugs out of his country; Leon, the drug smuggler alluding Indy; Turbee, an autistic genius who works for TTIC (TTIC is the intelligence group that tries to thwart terrorist activities); and Yousseff, the villain of Gauntlet.

All of Aaron’s characters are in-depth, which is pretty awesome because there are so many of them to follow. The character I was most intrigued with was Yousseff. He’s so much more than the bad guy. Yes, he may be ruthless, but he makes sure his employees and their families are well taken care of. With so many characters and details to write about, this book still amazingly has a good flow, without everything becoming too confusing or hard to follow.

Can’t wait for any upcoming works by Aaron!

All in all, a great read of 2009.

[Roger Scherping · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many characters, most not well developed (one of my pet peeves). Too many main characters. The first protagonist is introduced on the first page, and then he basically disappears until the last pages of the book.

Too much back story on some of the characters. Some of the main characters don't seem to impact the plot at all and instead just have their side stories that never catch up to the main plot.

In the beginning, lots of narration and too little dialogue. Way too much technical detail about engineering creations like rails for transferring loads.

And the strangest ending of any book I've ever read. The author ends the book right in the middle of the action, not at all at a stopping point, with lots of loose threads left hanging. I'm sure there will be a sequel, but why not just shorten this book (needlessly long at nearly 500 pages) and just make it one book??? This is a very dissatisfying ending.

All of these criticisms dampened my enthusiasm for what is really an interesting and well-thought out plot.

[Kasey Cocoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and thoroughly researched with only a few minor issues at the start. The plot has an interesting scope and keeps the reader page-turning except during those info-dumps not everyone loves to wade through. Even with those, the book keeps you wanting to read how things eventually end up. There are a LOT of characters. Most of them felt authentic, fleshed out and 3-dimensional. The dialogue was well done as well. There was a lot of work put into this book and it shows. This is an excellent first book by this author, and a sure indication of potential. I would recommend this to those who enjoy thriller suspense type mysteries. I received an evaluation copy from a book publicist in exchange for an honest opinion and review. In no way has this influenced our opinion. Read more reviews, author interviews and enter giveaways on my blog.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to decide between it was ok and I liked it. This is a way too long thriller trying to stuff way too much information into one book. There's hints that it might be the beginning of a series and equally evidence that it is a one-off. The twists in the usual mad muslim terrorists set out to bring down great satan are intriguing but spoiled by characters that for the most part lack sufficient realistic detail to make real.

[Riley M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad thriller. Lots of time and details were used in developing characters and relating to the use of technology. The author is a lawyer (currently living in my hometown of Prince George), so you could tell he had done some extensive research. I enjoyed it and it looks like this is the beginning of a series. I liked how Richard Aaron developed the whole drug smuggling plot so the villains of the book were able to rise to prominence and finance the terrorism operation. Entertaining read!

[Audra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I finished it....I feel that it has way too many F words! But the story was really intriguing. I didn't really care for the ending. He left too many story lines unfinished... Like how Turbee said he had an idea of who was behind the attacks. Then you never here anything more about it. The book just ends. Zaks escape was all up on the air too. Good book, but bad ending... There is probably a sequel that I now have to go find. At least I hope there is.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good until he left the end just dangling. Maybe it's the setup to his next novel, but I felt that it was a rip-off. Otherwise it was an interesting and well-detailed story.

A couple too many stereotypes (subtle ones, but still...) but I enjoyed the story through 99-44/100% of the book.

[John (JP)]

Get this book from your local library. It is a good summer read. Somewhat plodding. Yet I enjoyed seeing an autistic character in a positive light. I enjoyed seeing this guy write about truly flawed characters that rise above themselves. This appears to be book one of a series. The ending seems rushed ,but promises more in the next book.

[Kay Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was overloaded with unnecessary details dragging the story down. It was well researched and sounded plausible, but moved very slowly. I did like the characters though. The main reason it gets one star is because IT DID NOT END! Not even close! I spent all of that time and got no conclusion.

[Gary]

A NOVEL OF INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE.
Started out with a bang but has slowed enough to question my desire to finish.

[Lee]

You know, in general, I found myself liking the drug runners better than the heroes. I'm pretty sure this was not the authorial intention.