5 comments about America (Jake Grafton Novel) [MP3-CD].

1. This story grabbed me in the beginning, but my interest dwindled towards the end. The story opens with the USA losing a SuperAegis satellite, part of a multinational missile defense system, upon launch. Enter Rear Admiral Jake Grafton, who we have met previously in several of Stephen Coont's novels. But before much more can happen, the USS America, a nuclear submarine, is hijacked on her maiden voyage. Shortly thereafter, the America fires Tomahawk missiles equipped with EMP warheads at the USA, shorting out the electronics of several areas of the east coast. The result: airplanes crashing, hospitals crippled, not to mention the Dollar! And off we go, searching for hijacked submarines and lost satellites (not to mention the bad guys themselves), with several sub-plots thrown in as well.
   While I did enjoy the submarine chases, they are all over the popular fiction at the moment, and I don't think that Coonts' effort stands out significantly from many of the others. His character development is poor. Even Grafton himself seems a little dull and underdeveloped. And we don't even get to know most of the bad guys, and then somewhere along the line, he tries to draw sympathy for some pretty bad apples? I found the direction a bit confusing from time to time. But, it was the end of this novel that really ruined it. Read: "Adventure on the Loveboat". The author had gone to some effort to make the story somewhat plausible beforehand, and now it becomes quite ridiculous. So, the novel ended with me feeling a little sour about it. Three stars from me.



2. Not bad for an abridged audio book. Since the book was abridged the flow of the story was not all it could have been. The reader did a good job with different voices and the sound effects added to the action without going overboard.



3. S. Coonts started out great with Flight of the Intruder, but every book since then has lost more and more. Kind of childish.



4. America by Stephen Coonts continues the story of Jake Grafton. In this book, USS America is hijacked by terrorist. There must be traitors within the government in order to pull off a heist like this. USS America is the United States' latest and most advanced nuclear submarine. It has enough firepower to level a big city. To cap it off, the SuperAegis satellite which is the cornerstone of an antimissile defense system is missing. Admiral Grafton has to use all of his resources to save the day.



5. As Always Steven Coonts Has Treated Us To Another Great Story I Look Forward To Reading All Of His Books As I Have Read All Of His Past Books Robin

5 comments about Liberty (Jake Grafton).

1. Coonts is a surprising novelist who can sometimes strike out with a storyline, and yet other times his books hit a grand slam. I'm happy to say that Coonts "hit it out of the park" with his latest offering "Liberty" If this story doesn't scare the living BeeJesus out of you, nothing will. What makes it so frightening is that this could really happen the way he wrote it only without the happy ending.



2. There was a time when I enjoyed a Stephen Coonts novels. That time may have been before I read novels by good authors. I'm about one third of the way through Liberty, and I doubt that I will finish the book. Sure, the idea that Islamic extremist obtain nuclear warheads with the intent to detonate them in the U.S. is believable. As far as I'm concerned, the characters, the situations and the way the characters react to those situations is far from believable. There is nothing imaginitive about this novel and you can see well advance of the lame characters what is going to happen next.



3. I am a newcomer to Steven Coonts. He is an excellent author. Anyone who is a spy novel buff will love these books.



4. How can we read fiction and know that it can surely be true. There is no doubt that if these things are not happening now we can be assured they will soon. Albeit fiction I surely hope we have people like Jake Grafton and Tommy and some of the others out there in hot pursuit. This novel carried all the ability to keep you reading on and on. I sincerly enjoyed this one as I have the others read. I would highly recommend this book exspecially to someone that has not read Mr. Coonts in the past.



5. Jake Grafton's search for four nukes sold to Muslim terrorists ends at the Statue of Liberty. Good sgtory, but not that much action (Jake directs it and does not engage in it).
   
   Excellent Kindle formatting.

5 comments about Liars & Thieves (Tommy Carmellini).

1. Former burglar and current CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is ready for a boring week guarding an agency safe house. Instead, he walks in on an operation--someone has taken out the CIA guards, set the safe house on fire, and has left only a pretty translator and one of the defecting KGB agent's seven bags of documents intact. The safe house really was secret and the equipment the attackers use can only be government. Carmellini is convinced this isn't the Russians protecting anything, it's a domestic operation--which means there's a traitor in his own chain of command. Together with the translator, Carmellini goes underground--trying both to stay alive and to learn who might be behind the killings.
   
   When neither the shootout at the safe house nor a subsequent battle outside the translator's home is picked up by the newspapers, Carmellini realizes the traitor reaches way up--perhaps all the way to the White House. With the help of a retired Admiral, Carmellini comes up with a plan to smoke out the truth--no matter who gets in the way.
   
   Author Stephen Coonts combines constant action with a tough and likable protagonist--Carmellini's history of burglary making him a bit more human and sympathetic. LIARS AND THIEVES is a hard book to put down and the action--and body count--are intense. I thought Coonts relied a bit heavily on coincidence--allowing Carmellini to arrive first to pick up the Russian defector seemed a bit contrived, but the continual reappearance of sexy ex-lover Dorsey O'Shea even more so. Still, with the story pushing on like a tidal wave, it was easy to overlook these, along with Carmellini's casual attitude toward the opposite sex and just hang on waiting for the next surge of violence.



2. I always enjoy Coonts stories and this was no exception. He is a masterful writer who draws me in every time with an new creative twist.



3. The book itself is fine but the conversion to Kindle format is really bad. The font must be "Bold Fuzzy misaligned", it's hard to read. Also this is the only Kindle book that I have that greatly impacts the Kindle performance. It takes a full 60 sec. to come out of sleep mode and the pages turn noticeably slower. I don't know who did the conversion to this format but get samples first and don't purchases books like this.



4. This was the first Stephen Coonts book that I have read and maybe I've just been spoiled by reading other, better authors like Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, and Patrick Robinson, but the plotline of this book is horrendously implausable. The President nominating family to join him on the ticket, a strike team made up of disgruntled FBI employees wiping out a CIA installation with Army personel on-site, a trail of dead bodies among a dozen locations which are never reported to the police, The FBI identifying the protaganist as the culprit without evidence (which is possible, of course, because the White House is controlling the entire investigation. That always happens, right), and the hero of the story only has two kinds of friends...the ones that will be dragged into the mud with him or suffer a nasty interrogation and torture session (if they live) and the ones that will end up stabbing him in the back before he finds out and mercifully sends them away to their evil lair to brood. I can only recommend you read the book for you to appreciate just how doubtful the story is. This book evidences that there is a line between great fiction and incredible fantasy. Perhaps there is an audience for the book, but only if you forgive a lot of impossible events.



5. The quality of the print in the Kindle version is so bad that I will probably never read this book.

5 comments about Cuba (Jake Grafton Novel).

1. In "Under Siege" (1990) Stephen Coonts tells about a revolution in Cuba. The Cubans are fed up with Fidel Castro and rebel. "Viva Cuba! Cuba Libre!" they chant. "They shot Castro around ten o'clock the next morning", it says on page 210 of the paperback edition I read.
   
   In "Cuba" (1999) it turns out that the revolution in 1990 was just a figment of Stephen Coonts' imagination! Fidel Castro is still alive, and still dictator of Cuba, but now he's dying of cancer! Fortunately, his mistress is at his bedside when he expires, and she manages to grab some videotapes that will later play an important role in the selection of Castro's successor.
   
   One wonders what Fidel Castro thinks of all this.
   
   I think it's unfortunate that Stephen Coonts bases a book to such a large extent on a real person. In "Under Siege" Castro wasn't really in the story, and his death was a minor event. But in "Cuba" the dying Castro is THE main character for the first 100 pages. And for the following 150 pages the main story is about how the various people in Castro's inner circle fight each other to become the new leader of Cuba.
   
   It's all very exciting and interesting, but it's so hypothetical (the last I heard good ol' Fidel was still alive and kicking) that it makes it difficult to get seriously involved.
   
   Fortunately, in the last half of the book Rear Admiral Jake Grafton of the U.S. Navy becomes the central figure in the story, together with his loyal sidekick Toad Tarkington. Toad's wife Rita is also present, flying a V-22 Osprey, a hybrid helicopter / fixed-wing aircraft - more about this later.
   
   The focal point of the overall story are some chemical/biological warheads belonging to the USA, and some ditto chemical/biological warheads being developed by the Cubans for use against the USA. The Americans are shipping their CBWs from Guantánamo Bay back to the USA for destruction, but the Cubans manage to hijack the transport ship, so now the Cubans have both their own CBWs and the American CBWs. It's a new Cuban missile crisis, for those who can remember the first Cuban missile crisis back in the 1960's.
   
   Stephen Coonts' solution to this crisis is a bit too Tom Clancy'ish for my taste. Lots of high-tech weaponry (cruise missiles and stealth bombers, for example) being used to put a third-world country in its proper place. Still, it is rather exciting, and recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq indicate that it's not all that unlikely.
   
   This book marks the introduction of Tommy Carmellini, a CIA operative and former jewel thief. Tommy goes on to feature in the next three Jake Grafton books, and then finally graduates to star in his own book, "Liars & Thieves" (2004) (published as "Wages of Sin" in Europe).
   
   Finally, a quick note about the V-22 Osprey, featured in this book as the U.S. Marine's new transport/attack aircraft. The Osprey was actually still being tested in 1999, and unfortunately two of them crashed in 2000, killing a total of 23 Marines. The latest information I can find about this aircraft is that the program is still on hold.
   
   In conclusion, not one of Stephen Coonts' best books. The first half is intriguing but too hypothetical, the second half very exciting but a bit too weapons-oriented. Still, it is Stephen Coonts, and he is very good at writing exciting stories with inventive plots and populated with interesting characters.
   
   Rennie Petersen



2. Stephen Coonts served in Vietnam as a carrier based fast-jet pilot. Tom Clancy, so legend has it, sold insurance.
   My point is this: If you want real-time warfare, read Coonts. Without a doubt America's best.



3. This was a great summer read. I enjoyed the intrigue, action, and daring of the characters. The potential of biological weapons was introduced as a palpable threat not to be taken lightly. The importance, therefore, of diplomatic relations becomes all the more crucial. The author did some good background work in presenting the complicated political situation of our island neighbor. Using that as a backdrop for a thrilling adventure kept me turning the pages. A surprise ending that sealed the deal. I would recommend it to all.



4. So far all of the Stephen Coonts (Jake Grafton Novels) are great. I can't wait to dive into the next one.



5. Audio Book arrived on time and was in great shape, I only wish it was in an unabridged version. As always, Stephen Coonts novels are well written and keep you on edge. This abridge version told the story, but lack the details that make his books a page turner, but it was good company while traveling.

No comments about Saucer: The Conquest.

5 comments about The Assassin: A Novel.

1. I couldn't finish this book as the plot line was so stupid. Why would anyone in their right mind include a relative of the terrorist being targeted in the super-secret group financing the attack? And the coincidences are ridiculous: Tommy Carmelini just happening to be be in the same restaurant where a critical murder occurs. Very disappointing.



2. The Assassin by by Stephen Coonts
   
   Jake Grafton is back! Once again Coonts creates a cliff hanger that you really don't want to put down. The reality of terrorism is one of the things that makes this book truly sobering. Tommy Carmellini and Jake Grafton team up to stop a radical Islamic assassin.
   
   Truth is stranger than fiction. Much of this book could be true. I understand the feelings of frustration and anger portrayed by the characters when dealing with the mindless fanaticism of terrorists. As in all of Coont's work, the action rocks and the plot rolls. It moves at warp speed and entertains while in some ways depresses. Once again the only solution to a problem seems to be the application of judicious violence.
   
   I recommend the book.



3. This book is mind numbing and trivial. Mr Coonts aught ought be ashamed to put his name on it. I hope he made money beause I can think on no other reason to waste the time writing and wasting ther readers' time reading it!! Also my fault by reading past the first 50 or 60 pages.



4. I'm a HUGE Coonts fan, starting with the great Grafton series that kicked it all off. He is the master at story writing with just enough tech splash and visual accuracy around aviation and military operations to keep the pages turning. This book had me digging deep at times with his usual suspense and hot action, and then it drifted off other times with bland side plots. I think I found myself wanting more pages with Jake's adventure, and less of Tommy's even though he is really developing well as a new character in the latest series. I found that I read this book while on a plane ride for business travel, and then setting it down until the next flight with a couple of weeks in between. Three regional flights later I finished it and the book ended almost within prediction, but a good wrap up none the less. The little details really made this a good story and developed the plot well even if a bit slowly at first. I'd love to see a new book with Grafton getting kidnapped and even tortured awaiting rescue by Tommy and the gang. That way we can get some Jake action as he plots an escape and even fails just as the others break through political and military barriers to pull him out with his life hanging by a thread. Surely Grafton has enough enemies now to fuel this type of plot?
   
   Anyway, I look forward to the next one!



5. This book got my attention snd interest early. I have read many of his books and I think some are a little slow in the beginning.

5 comments about The Traitor: A Tommy Carmellini Novel.

1. This review is directed predominately at the audio performance. Other reviewers have accurately portrayed the quality of the book in some detail. On its own, I'd give it no more than two stars. The plot is pedestrian and predictable. The rating diminishes to one star with the audio performance, which is truly execrable. The reader, Dennis Boutsikaris, appears capable of running the gamut of emotion from only A to B. Much of the book takes place in France, and his attempt at delivering English with a French accent is so bad it's laughable. The only thing worse is his pronunciation of French itself. For anyone here who remembers seeing any of The Bowery Boys movies on TV as a kid, this statement will have meaning: I'd sooner hear the accent (French OR English) of Leo Gorcey and his pals than this clown. He also narrated another audio book I had the misfortune to buy: Jeffery Deaver's The Twelfth Card, where he took a much better book than The Traitor and made it a laughingstock. As of this writing, Amazon sellers are offering it for as little as 20 cents. Enough said? Note to producers of audio books: If you can't find any performers better than this, scrap the project!



2. Exellent book! Coonts has keep me into it again. Looking forward to getting the next in the series.



3. CIA agent Tommy Carmellini is just back from too long in Iraq when he's sent to France--along with the beautiful woman he once dated and who now hates him, Sarah Houston. The CIA has learned that French intelligence has a plant high in Al Queda, and they desperately want access. Tommy and Sarah are to play lovers willing to sell out their country in order to get access to French intelligence. Tommy's old boss, Jake Grafton is running the show in Europe--and there's a coming meeting of the G-8 that Al Queda would just love to disrupt or destroy.
   
   Although Tommy's identity is supposed to be secret, pretty much everyone, from French Intelligence to Israeli Intelligence to Al Queda quickly finds out, and they all seem to be gunning for him. Tommy has to stay quick on his feet and with his fists, as well as fancy with his rented Vespa, to stay ahead of foreign killers. Then there's the woman he drugged back in America who inconveniently shows up.
   
   With his identity blown, the turning traitor trick doesn't seem likely to work, but Grafton insists on it, and Tommy, along with Sarah, get a chance to test their skills with the polygraph machine. Could Tommy be a sociopath? The story culminates with Tommy battling with evil traitors within Versailles Palace.
   
   Author Stephen Coonts writes in a breezy and engaging style, slipping seamlessly between first person for the Tommy Carmellini scenes and third person for the others, and making Tommy's problems seem real. The title sums up not just the role Tommy is assigned to play, but also the theme of the book--with betrayal coming from all directions and from all levels.
   
   Much of the story deals with dealings between supposedly allied intelligence agencies (the CIA and the French DGSE). Coonts rightly reminds us that even allies may have different interests, and may be unwilling to share all of their secrets, or simply be unable to trust their friends. I found some of the adventure to be hard to believe, however, and I guess I didn't buy into why Grafton would send Carmellini to play traitor after his cover was blown. Although it served a purpose in the story, I don't know that it made sense from an intelligence perspective.



4. This is my fifth novel by Mr. Coonts and I have enjoyed them all. He has a talent of dropping just enough info on any twist to keep you thinking about what is coming next. Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini bounce off each other in a fine way along with many of the other people envolved. All in all I highly recommend this novel and will continue to read more of his writings starting now.



5. I truly enjoy the Tommy Carmellini series - good story lines, and entertaining as well.

No comments about Deep Black CD Collection: Deep Black, Deep Black: Biowar, Deep Black Dark Zone (NSA).

1 comments about Deep Black: Sea of Terror (NSA).

1. the main characters from the other books had been in this one.
   
   I have enjoyed reading about Charlie and Lia's exploits around the world, the high tech gear they use, and the people who support them. All the way from the first book of the series have I followed them. I was excited for a new "chapter" in their story.
   
   Unfortunately for me, the main characters I know and love are largely absent from this book's pages. More time is spent setting up the story, and then bolstering the story than is spent following Charlie trying to end the crisis. Lia seems to only be in as an afterthought.
   
   There just seemed to be little to no real imagination in the writing. Plot lines were obvious, and it didn't have the feel of a techno-thriller.
   
   There were a few great moments, but that was about it. It just wasn't worth my time in the final analysis.

5 comments about The Disciple (Tommy Carmellini).

1. How can you justify charging $15 for a book that you cannot physically touch. I can buy the same book at Costco or Sam's Club and then sell it when I am done. In turn it is far cheaper to me to do this. Why should we have to pay extra for convience for us. The publishers it is very convient as well, since there are no huge costs involved with printing the book. This is a total rip-off.



2. My personal history of interest in Iran goes back to the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-1980. Jimmy Carter's ignorant naïveté, waffling inaction, and the resultant humiliation of America still rankles me, as does the Iranians crossing over legal diplomatic borders and taking Americans hostage. Reagan's entry into office makes the Iranians realize things have changed, and the Iranians release the hostages. Details of this can be found in the excellent book "Guests of the Ayatollah" by Mark Bowden.
   
   Fast-forward now 30 years, and the Iranians realize they replaced one dictatorship with one that's much, much worse. They're demonstrating in the streets, they're on the right side of "FREEDOM!" now, and we have another naïve president who thinks saying nothing (therefore implicitly supporting the fascist regime, rather than supporting freedom) is the way to {not} respond.
   
   My anger for the Iranians illegally entering "USA Territory" 30 years ago has been replaced with admiration for the brave Iranians fighting and dying for freedom.
   
   It's in this context that Stephen Coonts inserts Grafton and Carmellini into his latest military thriller: the vast majority of Iranians that simply want to live freely while their Islamic Fascist dictatorship mystically believes they can bring Allah's kingdom to earth by initiating a nuclear holocaust.
   
   There's plenty of technical military action along with a duped press corps falling to and even supporting Iranian propaganda in a race against time.
   
   But rather than the typical Coonts military thriller inserted into real history with real characters, the Iranian people's desire for freedom creates a backdrop that in many ways is closer to William F. Buckley's very excellent "Stained Glass" tone of poignancy and sacrifice. This is the book that you would love to see read by the freedom-desiring people of Iran so that they know that Americans support and understand their desire for freedom.
   
   This is an excellent book; I've read all of Coont's books and this is my favorite. He has one graphic sex scene that's really not necessary, but other than that this is truly a fantastic book.



3. I was a dedicated reader of this author. Last few books turned me off. This is back to the author I enjoyed. Believable, a bit scary (because it was believable) and engrossing. Keep them coming like this and I am back.



4. I have read and enjoyed Stephen's books since Flight of the Intruder, his first. I consider Disciple to be his best.



5. The US just discovered Iran has an arsenal of nukes and Ahmadinejad intends to start WWIII by destroying Israel and other key targets in the Middle East. Grafton, Cam and others are deployed to stop the destruction. The plot is more involved and devious than implied in my review but I don't want to ruin it for new readers.
   
   This was one of Coont's best books and congratulate him for writing a current hot button topic. The military and political savvy Coonts writes a realistic thriller that could eventually happen. Although some have criticized, the author does take pot shots at our broken government as the story evolves but the criticism is legitimate and if the event really happens one day, it has a good chance of unwinding in the manner of the book.
   As usual, Cam is at the pointed end of the spear while Grafton directs his actions from Washington. Mr Coonts balances the espionage, fighting on the seas and in the air with great aplomb that should interest and intrigue most readers. The action scenes in the last chapter were great.
   
   If you're already a Grafton fan, you'll love this book. If you haven't read Coonts before but like Vince Flynn, David Poyer or Patrick Robinson you'll probably like this book and the author's other books. Its highly recommended.