State of the Union: A Thriller

Customer Rating:
Summary: The best in the series so far.
Comment: I've read the preceeding books in Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series. They usually read like they were meant to be easily adapted to silly Hollywood action films--except they are too patriotic to be made by Hollywood. And if I have to read about Scot Harvath's rugged good looks and muscular 5'10" frame, with sandy brown hair and piercing blue eyes one more time I'm going to barf. Enjoyable for a fun read, but not really too believable.

State of The Union was much better. Scot even began to feel run down and tired, rather than superhuman like usual. I really liked the plot twists and turns and the insight into Russian culture and current events. It kept me hooked and guessing. Good stuff. The next one, Blowback, not so much. Kind of ridiculous and a little tedious. But I did enjoy State of the Union. I'm taking a break from the Scot Harvath books for a bit. At some point I'll go back to them because I've heard good things about Take Down, The First Commandment and The Last Patriot.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Comment: If you like suspence and spies Brad Thor mixes both very well. One of my favorite authors and characters.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a thrill
Comment: This is the first Thor book I have read. This book was too hard to become involved and it dragged. I thought I would never get to the end. But, I read another one of his books, The First Commandment and now am a fan.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Thriller
Comment: Brad Thor gave me exactly what I expected- a fast moving military and political thriller which was well written, mostly believable, and full of twists and turns. I read the entire story in one day (I was on vacation). I enjoyed every minute. The main character is unstoppable, hobnobs with the president, and has many miraculous escapes, but I am willing to tolerate that in a good thriller.

Dan Brown wrote a positive review on the cover of my edition, as well he might. Thor is a better writer in many ways. His characters are more believable, the action is more exciting, and the outcome was not easily predictable until near the end. There were no lengthy expositions of falsified history either.

Thor doesn't take pains to be politically correct, and I like that. This is a straightforward novel where the good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and there is no ambiguity. It isn't deep or difficult, just plain entertaining.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Didn't finish it
Comment: I took this on vacation and was looking forward to reading it. But I could only get about 1/2 way through. It was a little slow, with standard plot lines, nothing new here.

If I didn't have a couple of other books, I would probably have finished it, so who knows, maybe the 2nd half is better.