Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Stephen Coonts' Deep Black by Stephen Coonts, Jim DeFelice ISBN: 0-312-98520-7 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.88 (17 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Non-Grafton tale short on thrills & chills - why co-author??
Comment: It's beginning to look like Stephen Coonts doesn't know where to take his career now that the Jake Grafton series has been pretty well tapped out. From his first book ("The Intruders") through "America", we've watched Grafton grow from a young naval fighter pilot to an Admiral, providing suspense and thrills certainly on a par with Clancy's Jack Ryan (except in much fewer words!), with possibly a little more spin on politics (e. g. "Cuba" and "Hong Kong") and a little less focus on the glamour of technology.
In "Deep Black", in which Coonts collaborates with co-author Jim DeFelice (himself with a half dozen or so books to his credit), we find a tale about National Security/CIA intrigue fostered by a possible coup in Russia. Our leading characters, Charlie Dean, a ex-Marine sniper, and Lia DeFrancesca, a former Delta Force trooper, spend most of the book deep in Russia ferreting out various evidence of mischief by the bad guys. Activities there alternate with command and control vignettes back at the "Art Room", some sort of conglomerate spy oversight agency. [Perhaps we know now how the co-authors divided their assignments.] At any rate, all are out to control world politics before the Russian President becomes an assassination victim, with most of the suspense leading up to the moment of truth re that event.
While the story was mildly entertaining at times, we thought the plot and writing skills on display were a departure from what we expect of Coonts. In particular the gender and sexual tension generated (or not) between the leads Charlie and Lea were barely beyond adolescent. Much of the technology used by the operatives, such as ear-embedded communications with an agency half-way 'round the globe, remote controlled drone fighters, and many other sensing and locating devices, were rather far-fetched, detracting from the credibility of the plot. It doesn't seem to us Coonts did his fan club any favor with this novel - perhaps it was just to keep his name out there while he gets ready to publish his next hardback? Our advice: wait!
Rating: 1
Summary: My first and last Coonts novel
Comment: I couldn't finish this book although I really tried. This was not well put together and I didn't care about any of the protagonists. I got this book on Audio and I'd like to know who came up with the voice of Reubens: who talks like that? He sounded like a pompous actor practicing A Shakespearian play, very unconvicing for the head of a spy operation. Lia was annoying, I like women that can take care of themselves but not her. Too many details where fewer were needed and too few details where more were needed. I could drift in and out of this book without feeling that I was missing anything.
Rating: 1
Summary: Look Closely before Purchasing!
Comment: I read a lot of books and I read for pleasure, not for literary value. I haven't finished this book, and I'm not going to. That says a lot, because of all the books I've read in the last 10+ years, this is #2 that I've willfully not finished.
I've had 3-4 starts with this book and each time it was easier to put it down and read something else than it was to try to finish it first so I could start another. I just can't seem to get into it. Someone else said, "the pace is like watching paint dry." I wish that I'd thought of that, but upon reflection, that's part of what bugs me about this book. This is not due to a shortage of action; there's plenty of that; it just doesn't move. I'm having trouble with some of their gadgets too, and the biz of the Art Room "guiding" the operatives through a building smacks more of micromanagement (like the REMFs who tried to run the Vietnam war from DC) than anything helpful.
There's 4-5 books on my table waiting for me, and I'm going to start a new one rather than finish this one. I'm not sure why Coonts thought he needed a co-writer; he does just fine on his own. I like the Jake Grafton novels; that's why I picked up this one. Make no mistake, THIS IS NOT A JAKE GRAFTON NOVEL.
I'm beginning to think that any book that is co-written such as this one deserves close scrutiny before purchase. I am now adding Stephen Coonts to the same list that I've now placed Tom Clancy on: Look Closely before Purchasing.
 |
Title: Air Battle Force by Dale Brown ISBN: 0060094095 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: Liberty: A Jake Grafton Novel by Stephen Coonts ISBN: 031228361X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
 |
Title: Dale Brown's Dreamland: Piranha by Dale Brown, Jim Defelice ISBN: 051513581X Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 29 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: Retreat, Hell by W. E. B. Griffin ISBN: 0399150811 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 05 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
 |
Title: The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy ISBN: 039915079X Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 11 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
