The Road to Omaha

Road to #2

by Robert Ludlum

BYZANTINE TREACHERY

Discovering a long-buried 1878 treaty with an obscure Indian tribe, the Hawk --- a.k.a. Chief Thunder Head --- hatches a brilliant plot that will ultimately bring him and his reluctant lawyer Sam before the Supreme Court. Their goal: to reclaim a choice piece of American real estate --- the state of Nebraska. Which just happens to be the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Air Command!

RELENTLESS ACTION

Will they succeed against the powers that be? Will the Wopotami tribe ever have their day in the Supreme Court? From the Oval Office to the Pentagon, all the president's men are outwitted, until it rests with CIA Director Vincent "Vinnie the Bam-Bam" Mangecavallo to cut Sam and Hawk off at the pass. And only one thing is certain: Robert Ludlum will keep us in nonstop suspense --- and side-splitting laughter --- through the very last page.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Humor, Mystery, Adventure, Espionage, Suspense

570 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Robert Ludlum was a titan of the suspense genre, whose name became synonymous with the modern international spy thriller. Before amassing a staggering readership estimated between 300 and 500 million copies, Ludlum forged a career in the theater as a Marine veteran turned actor and producer. This theatrical background proved foundational to his literary success; he often credited his sense of pacing and "what-happens-next" urgency to his years on stage. Writing from his home in New Jersey, he crafted 27 novels characterized by "lone wolf" protagonists battling shadowy global conspiracies, corrupt corporations, and clandestine military organizations.
Ludlum is most famous as the creator of Jason Bourne, the amnesiac assassin who first appeared in The Bourne Identity (1980). While the blockbuster film adaptations starring Matt Damon brought the character to a new generation, Ludlum’s original trilogy delved deeper into the Cold War paranoia and intricate psychological trauma of the protagonist. His work often drew inspiration from contemporary conspiracy theories, such as rumors surrounding the Trilateral Commission, and he frequently explored the idea of terrorism as a tool for authoritarian manipulation. Even after his death in 2001, his literary estate has continued to expand his universe through video games and posthumous collaborations, cementing his legacy as a master of the "ticking clock" narrative.

Reviews

[Scott Swager · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book I have ever tried to read. If it is supposed to be humorous, it failed. I believe the author either had a serious drinking problem or he should have after writing the crud.
Every one of his racist attributes he uses, is completely off. All the characters have the same, off beat, crude sense of forced humor.
Every White house executive, including the President is portrayed as a complete idiot. The Generals are completely whacked out.
This is the only novel that I just could not force myself to continue. I stop on page 240.
I have read four of Robert Ludlum's novels. This is way out of his usual fast past, action novels. Awful....
Maybe Mr. Ludlum was just trying a different style of writing. I sincerely hope he goes back to his quick witted, James Bond type characters, that can get out of any crisis. This was well below his standards...

[Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I finish this book? If it hasn't gotten better by the third act, time to walk out. Racist and sexist characters whose voices all sound the same. Terrible accents, dialogue that vacillates between confusing and cringe-worthy. It's possible I don't get tongue-in-cheek humor. Unlikely, but possible. I give it one star for not having vampires and another star for using correct English throughout. My standards have lowered.

[Asghar Abbas · Rating 4 out of 5]

His funniest.

[Eric Herr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars...Funny and entertaining. Some very good parts but I also felt that the dialog was a bit contrived. Sort of a cross between Micky Spillane and Micky Mouse. I am sure this was an intentional affectation by Ludlum but it was not for me.

[Alice Abernathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh-out-loud hilarious. Written in 1992, but the hapless VP could easily be our current dolt. Charming characters with a plot that has more twists and turns than Lindsey Graham's conscience.
Excellent escape fiction. :-}

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I only read about 85 pages of this book because I simply was not enjoying it. Too many silly scenarios I couldn't believe in. I will let someone else decide they like it enough to finish. After reading some of the REVIEWS I don't feel alone in not liking it!

[rachid idjiou · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get through to this novel so I decided to stop it because it didn't fill my expectations

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous-ey sentence:
p132: She had returned to Omaha, passed the Nebraska bar, and was employed by a prestigious law firm when the accident happened.

cement:
p14: "You say one more word, butter skull, and you're gonna be in a cement bathrobe at the bottom of the Potomac, do I makemyself clear?"

p184: "...He's flat out on the cement."

p394: The news of his being alive and well and pulling strings was restricted to a very few people, namely the scumball Wall Streeters on Meat's agenda who would have mouths sealed in cement or later face the rest of their lives in various slammers without the money they figured to make, and his cousin Ruggio.

The comedy at this point in time usually revolves around dimwits armed with homophones (or close approximations) and misunderstood metaphors (not even metaphors, sometimes).

[Marty Mangold · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this fizzy comedy, the author cannot take three steps without planting two feet squarely outside the bounds of good taste, and it's all kind of joyful.

This was my second read, and I found I had forgotten pretty much all of it except that I found it refreshing and fun on the first read.

[Dokusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder mal Action und Witz vereint mit den Protagonisten aus "Gandolfo"... macht Spaß zu lesen.

[Neale Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously I have heard of him but this is my first Ludlum. Having missed The Road to Gandolfo, I maybe never got into this as quickly as I usually would have. But in saying that, I really enjoyed the style, the quirk and especially the dialogue. It was fast and very witty!

Clearly a talented author with remarkable talent. I enjoyed this read immensely.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. This book was a chore. It was inconsistent and choppy; it stumbled and stuttered its way through what should have been an interesting, funny story. It tried to be both of those things - interesting and funny - but for the most part, it was neither. This book was in desperate need of some serious editing... it could have actually been good. Each section felt like it had promise, like it was heading somewhere, and then it would just get lost, like a pinball in a pinball machine... all kinds of flash and noise, but ultimate just going back and forth, and giving me a headache. Then there were the unamusing racial stereotypes. Not offensive, to me anyway, but just plain unamusing. Maybe they were funny 40 years ago. Who knows.

Thank God Robert Ludlum's done much better than this.

[Ginny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this book. I loved "The Road to Gandolfo", but this did not live up to the comedy of the first book. The premise was there, some good characters. But then Ludlum went way off base, making every member of the government into a fool. Plus he went on and on, certainly didn't need 637 pages to do this story. I have had problems with the way Ludlum writes dialog in the past and this book was no exception. He has terrible fake accents, makes stereotypes of an Italian mobster, Puerto Rican pick pockets, American Indians, New England judges, and more. Doesn't matter who it is, the portrayal was exaggerated and not amusing.

[Amrit J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hold Ludlum in high esteem. The Bourne series is a classic. So is the first of the two "Road" series - the Road to Gondolfo is funny and witty, but this one for me was a drag.

The humor and wit is still there but everything seems to be dragged. Say there are 800 pages in the book, 300 of them are needlessly about General "Hawk". Yes, we get it! He is great! He can do everything - now can we stop running around the same tree and walk the straight line which is called the "plot".

Anyway not one of the most involved reads and certainly won't be revisiting this one.

[Grada (BoekenTrol) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book I read a long time ago. It was interesting, but also a bit confusing. Probably because I wasn't familiar with some of the information the writer assumed common knowledge.

Nevertheless a nice read, that made me more aware of things that happened in history.

[Jake Wrobel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish Mr. Ludlum wrote this book in his normal espionage/thriller style; would have made for a much better book.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't stop reading many books after starting them, but I just couldn't get into this one. It was silly and I didn't see much point in continuing.

[Ricardo García Sánchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

La Carretera de Omaha es una novela típica de Robert Ludlum, con su característico estilo lleno de suspense, giros inesperados y una trama intrincada que te mantiene alerta. La historia se centra en el personaje de MacKenzie Hawkins, un ex coronel del ejército estadounidense que idea un plan ambicioso y peligroso para manipular al gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Desde el principio, Robert Ludlum, nos introduce en un mundo de conspiraciones, estrategias y traiciones, donde nada es lo que parece.

La novela tiene un ritmo rápido y emocionante, lo que hace que sea difícil dejar de leer. Robert Ludlum, maneja bien los momentos de tensión, y aunque en ocasiones el argumento puede parecer un poco enrevesado, consigue mantener al lector enganchado. Hawkins es un personaje complejo y carismático, cuya ambigüedad moral añade una capa interesante a la historia. Aunque su plan es extremo, Robert Ludlum, logra que simpatices con sus motivaciones, lo que enriquece la trama.

Sin embargo, a pesar de la emoción que ofrece la novela, en algunos puntos la historia puede volverse un tanto confusa, especialmente con la cantidad de personajes secundarios y la intrincada red de conspiraciones que Robert Ludlum, despliega. Además, algunos lectores podrían encontrar que ciertos giros en la trama son demasiado improbables, lo que puede restar algo de credibilidad a la historia y esto hace que su puntuación no llegue a 7.

En general, La Carretera de Omaha es una lectura entretenida para los fans del thriller de conspiraciones y espionaje. Aunque no es la mejor obra de Robert Ludlum, , ofrece una dosis de suspense y acción que seguramente mantendrá interesados a los amantes del género.

[CharliAnn Olney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, but it did seem to "drag" just a little more than Road to Gandolfo. In fact, it dragged a LOT more. It really took me a lot longer to get through it. As a Native American I was horribly insulted by it! I realize that he was trying to express the times, but Holy COW! For someone who was trying to help, Hawk was as insulting as the Government employees! And I was terribly surprised that Miss Redwing did not put him in his place! Instead, she seem to concentrate her ire on poor Sam who had nothing to do with the actions! (That is until she improbably fell in love with Sam). I was, however, overjoyed that Miss Redwing and her brother Charlie were both Lawyers in a time when many Native Americans were denied a Higher Education! The final Courthouse scene was rushed. The other parts of the books could have been shorter in order to make the climatic scenes seem less rushed. Would have enjoyed a little more involvement from " the girls". Overall, I enjoyed this much less than his first book of this "series".

[Mark Stangroome · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew I was in trouble with this book when very early in it the President of the US marches along a corridor leading his cabinet, he turns, opens a door and enters a room and then begins to address the aforementioned cabinet. There is one woman present and she will not speak and soon the reason becomes apparent; they have entered the Gents toilet. Puerile, middle school writing that would have received a D if it had been written by a 12 year-old.
In parts the book gets a little better but not by much, this book bills itself as a farce rather than a comedy which is the only saving grace; I wasn't expecting to laugh and not even a wry smile was wrung out of my often bemused face.
Some may like it but it was not for me.

[Craig Adamson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually didn’t finish this book. Not what I expected at all.

Much like when my wife watched the Gilmore Girls, the “snappy banter” between characters in this book made me want to blow my brains out. I should have quit after the first chapter. Forced cuteness or strained comedic cleverness is the worst unless you’re Ludlum himself and clued in on the inside jokes and references. I now understand why some people don’t find Dennis Miller (90s comedian) funny.

Wasted 2 or 3 hours of reading time trying to slog thru this book to get to page 163. I quit. I’ll read other Ludlum novels that are thrillers instead. UGH!!!!

[Angela Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Jason Bourne books by Ludlum, so I tried The Road to Omaha. It was good, but not as good as the Bourne books. It's kind of a mixture of Tom Clancy (military) with John Grisham (lawyers) with absolute absurdity in the middle. I got a bit bogged down in the middle of the novel, but it was worth it to stick it out at the end.
The conflict is with a dishonored general getting back at the government by finding an old law that illegally transferred a Native American tribe off of their land.

[Kevin Brindley]

The worst book I have ever read!! Think Ludlum must have had a bump on the head when he wrote this one! Either that or too much sauce! The characters changed their attitudes towards each other like the wind changes direction! A poor attempt at being comical couldn’t get past page 300 & that took me weeks to get there! I normally read a good book in less than a week but this one was like an endurance test so painful to read!!

[Somnath Sengupta · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Road to Gandolfo" was the first Robert Ludlum book I read around 22-23 years ago. Since then he became my favourite thriller writer. Over the years I've read most of the books he wrote & safe to say this is the absolute worst of his works. He tried a new approach, sacrificing his strong point of a good plot. This book has a flimsy plot & Ludlum tried to spice it up with silly, schoolboyish humour where none of the characters speak normally.

[Medhya · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book had its humour and thrills, the moments when you hesitated to put it down. I must say I never really fell in love with it. Possibly it's just me. I didn't connect with the style of writing, or enjoyed how every issue was resolved along the way. It felt too neat and tidy. While neat and tidy is OK, this was even beyond Disney!

[Evander]

I had this and the last one in a one-book edition on my shelf for years as I accumulated a lot of books working in a charity store and from library sales so I want to get through a lot of them while we're on lockdown. I knew from the last one what to expect and just ... so much yikes. Not really sure why I finished this one tbh.

[Timothy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the usual Ludlum fare. The book proceeds at a high pace with many disparate groups hoping for one of two things to happen or not. As the many humorous facts are revealed the various members of the group’s wishes change, old alliances are swept away and new ones created some with former members of the other side and each change seems more ridiculous than the previous ludicrous development.

[Albert LeBlanc · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled to get as far as page 67, and then gave up. The problem was a plot that hardly moved at all. At first I got some laughs out of the slapstick comedy writing style, but that got old. There just seemed to be an overall lack of movement; a lack of progress. This was not my kind of a book.

[L. Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would make an excellent comedy movie in the style of say, Burn After Reading, or In The Loop. I'm surprised nobody has made this book -- and it's companion piece -- into a film with Ben Affleck or Matt Damon for example. If you know a studio head, send them this comment! :)

[Craig Monson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started it twice and gave up both times by the end of chapter 2: couldn't face 500+ more pages of the same. Perhaps if I'd stuck it out a bit longer the situation might have improved, but I'm not giving it a third try: too many other books out there (including Ludlum's thrillers).