From Publishers WeeklyFormer Edgar Awardwinner Berenson returns with another top-notch spy thriller that is as realistic and unnerving as anything in the genre today. After his fiance and partner is severely injured in an attack, CIA agent John Wells tours the world in search of revenge. With a cast of international characters, narrator George Guidall has a tough task on his tongueluckily, he comes through with a rousing performance that captures the dialogue with ease and holds listeners' attention from start to finish. Guidall's tone is gritty, dry and speckled with an underlying sense of realism that makes this story all the more frightening. A Putnam hardcover ( s, Dec. 15). (Feb.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistJohn Wells saves the world for the third time in as many books, but we wouldnt have it any other way. Islamist jihadists manage to steal some fissionable material out of a remote Russian weapons depot, intending to build a crude atom bomb to unleash on the great Satan. Meanwhile, Wells love interest is nearly killed by an old enemy, sending our dour, driven hero eastward on a one-man mission of vengeance, even as the terrorists head steadily westward with their awful freight. Wells has lost some of his promise as a devout Muslim action hero (The Faithful Spy, 2006), an intriguing premise completely jettisoned here. But while Wells has grown two-dimensional, the supporting cast of holy warriors and their reluctant assistants (such as Gregor, a pathetically hulking weak link on the weapons depots payroll) are fleshed out and motivated far more than your typical baddies. Oddly enough, it is the terrorists desperate nuclear caper, plausibly detailed and convincingly problematic, that keeps the reader caring, and guessing, until the end and that keeps this series in the first rank of international thrillers. --David Wright "Alex Berenson's third novel, The Silent Man, succeeds in seizing the attention from the start and never letting go until the end" New York Times "An exciting story and a timely one ... Berenson, a reporter for the New York Times, tells his story expertly. He has a sharp eye for detail, a good understanding of the "tradecraft" of the spy world and a talent for vivid writing ... He squeezes every drop of suspense out of the approaching nuclear holocaust" Washington Post "Berenson's well-plotted and thoughtful third thriller to feature CIA agent John Wells ... Fast and furious ... this is a welcome addition to an excellent series" Publishers Weekly what is the database of a book The Silent Man (A John Wells Novel)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Bombs away, maybeBy LacelleBerenson starts his books with the plot line and characters to be developed as the story unfolds. You wonder how, when and why John Wells will enter the picture, but when he does, usually right after the prologue, it is with a vengeance. His love interest is nearly killed protecting him and the threat of a nuclear dirty bomb being set off is motive enough for him to enter the fray and take all comers.John Wells is a former CIA operative and is under the protective eye of his mentor, Ellis Shafer, a sarcastic, sardonic, atheist who has John's back in any way that he can do so.When he realizes where and who has the bomb, he acts quickly and decisively, nearly losing his own life in the process, but when all the smoke clears and it becomes known what he has done, he is a hero.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Too much storyBy K FosterBerenson is a good storyteller. He will set up the story and its characters allowing a very slow build if the main storyline. Once you know what is what and who is who, the story picks up the pace. In this one, the story never picked up pace. Somehow 85% of the books is the back story of the bad guys, their upbringing, their families, why they are plotting against the US, how long they have plotted, how they will feel when its accomplished, what they plan to do in minute detail. Literally we go through the tools used to build the bomb and the material and how they spent days working on it. It took days to read about it. You think it's important so you hang in there but it's not important at all. what could have been two pages ends up being several chapters of their planning, page after page. And it goes on and on and on. I put this book down so many times it took me days to complete it. Over and over their motivation, the plot, the challenges. By comparison, John Wells has three related meets with bad guys and then the book closes with the final scene. John Wells is in the book honestly about 15% of the book. This is not the case with the prior two books. I have no idea what happened. Very frustrating.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Can a former deep undercover operative ever find peace in this turbulent world? Not very likely!By David M. WilsonWhile I really enjoyed the GHOST WAR-- The Silent Man was almost as good. Berenson does a great job showing that his hero, John Wells, is a troubled being, troubled by his violent life, but unable to keep from being drawn back into undercover intelligence work and its violence. In this story, Wells is attacked by professionals hired by a nemesis left over from the GHOST WAR novel. While seeking vengeance, his nemesis clues him in on a threat to the United States that is imminent and would prove disastrous. How the agency gathers their info and seeks to track down terrorist cells and the the threat is almost as interesting as the hero of the novel. This series is a great find and I'm enjoying it immensely,.