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Summary: neo nazis are among us in droves. watch your neighbor...
Review: nazis are on the rise and come close to wreaking havoc. a summer fun read, but pure silly fantasy. for a better read (and only a little longer...) try 'debt of honor' by clancy. that's where some looney japanese characters want to re-build the empire of the sun...when will WWII villains be replaced by today's villains in fiction?
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Summary: Might have been interesting, till someone spoke
Review: Nazis! Spies! Brainwashing!! I thought I was in for a great spy story, till one of the characters spoke. The dialogue was artificial and made the characters seem so fake. I like just about everything from simple everyday dialogue from the likes of Ed McBain to John LeCarre's pompous British spymasters with their droll metaphors and turns-of-phrase. But Ludlum's choice of dialogue made me shudder. (Let's italicize every third word! Let's have every second character exclaim, "What?") I put it down unread.
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Summary: Ludlum Shmudlum...when do we get a new plot?
Review: OK so I am against the popular vote, but give me a grabber with a new plot that doesnt twist predictably and I'll 5 star it. Go read for a quick sleeping pill. BH
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Summary: The Apocalypse Watch
Review: One of the least exciting, most poorly written "thrillers" I've ever read. Up until this point I've been a huge Ludlum fan -- killing many a long flight or day at the beach reading such classics as the Bourne Identity and the Parsifal Mosaic. Either my tastes have drastically changed or Ludlum is just mailing it in these days. This book has a ridiculous story line, poor dialog and thoroughly uninteresting characters. Its hard to believe Ludlum would put his name on such a [bad movie].
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Summary: Fun, Fun, Fun With The Children of the Sun
Review: Out of the vast territory of espionage thrillers and the people who write them, Robert Ludlum is singularly talented in that he knows how to maintain the intrigue and paranoia that make spy novels so much fun to read. Practically a modern pioneer in the field, Ludlum--who like several of his rivals is a former spy himself, as well as a television actor in the era that made Ronald Reagan's "Death Valley Days" such an intriguing foreshadowing of his presidential administration--made his mark dramatizing the secretive corners of the Cold War. "The Apocalypse Watch," however, hearkens to two novels of his early career: "The Holcroft Covenant" and "The Rhinemann Exchange," both of them speculations based on the murky disappearance of Nazi money and "Odessa." Harry Latham has penetrated the nexus of the neo-Nazi movement: a hidden valley the cradles the headquarters of the secretive "Brotherhood of the Watch" whose goal is to instigate the Fourth Reich. When he emerges from cover, however, he brings with him a loaded gun: a list of names that purportedly reveal the extent to which neo-Nazis have infiltrated the governments of the world... Ludlum does escalate the sense of paranoia by creating minor characters who often resemble persons such as Oliver North, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. But...are these names real? Or are they a red herring? And...why is Harry Latham's life continually in danger? Ludlum is the master of the double entendre. When he makes a reasonably weighty statement, something that potentially reveals the direction of the plot, you can almost always count on it being a statement that can point in many directions. Careful to limit information to the reader without alienating his audience, Ludlum also raises the stakes of suspense with all sorts of pertinent details that mirror statements made by conspiracy theorists like Jim Marrs and others who continually insist that a big conspiracy is already underway. A lot of this information not only heightens the reader's paranoia--I, for one, always get paranoid while reading Ludlum--it also raises the reader's consciousness and sense of wonder. While the writing is often less than literary, Ludlum's purpose is not essentially a literary one. He's writing an adventure novel that has been called by some "escapist fiction" although the master of the genre, Graham Greene, called his own spy novels "entertainments." What's especially good about "The Apocalypse Watch" is that here Ludlum's fiction runs closely parallel to current realities. Remember the recent revelations that Swiss banks have been concealing money the Nazis stole from their victims? Or, how about the scandal involving stolen artwork that suddenly appeared within the listings of Christies? Or, how about recent allegations that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is rife with neo-nazis? Or, Pat Buchanan's supposedly pro-Nazi statements? Or, from a more far-flung sector, Sieman's huge entry into the U S market...the purchase of Chrysler, maker of the tanks that defeated the Nazis, by Daimler Benz, the company that made the Nazi tanks...or even the purchase of Napster by Bertelsman, a publisher that contributed with honor to the cause of Hitler... ...in other words, Ludlum knows, and we also know, that there is plenty of room for paranoia...especially since billions of dollars of Nazi money just up and disappeared after World War II. High Nazi officials by the scores entered the United States, brought here by an intellegence community that apparently needed their expertise in countering the Soviet threat--as well as their scientific research that helped to develop Sarun gas and other biological weaponry the Nazis didn't get a chance to use. All in all, it is this sort of intrigue that makes "The Apocalypse Watch" such an entertaining read. Although most of Ludlum's characters are stock characters--the neo-Nazis are seemingly invincible, but do the stupidest things; the Americans are happy-go-lucky and always drink and smoke a lot; and the French may just go both ways...but all in all, Ludlum's latest is lots of fun.
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Summary: thumbs up
Review: Page-turner book, like a Craig Furnas thriller novel. Ludlum brings his intricately woven plots together with physical action to make your heart pitter-patter from page to page.
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Summary: Great book with a Stunning Ending
Review: Spectacular and frightening ending, a reasonable and possibly accurate depiction of the current state of the Nazi movement.
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Summary: The body count rises¿
Review: This audio version is very well read by Edward Herrmann, he uses his talented voice to portray Frenchmen, French women, Germans and Americans, and manages to get every accent and nuance perfect. American agent Harry Latham must penetrate deep into a Nazi hideaway in Austria, to try and learn the truth and depths of a neo-Nazi movement threatening to form a fourth Reich. His brother Drew must find out the fate of Harry, who disappears mysteriously. The story encompasses the inner workings of Intelligence Operations from London to Paris to Washington to Berlin, and the Nazis are everywhere, waiting to execute their latest plan, a plan so vile and so destructive it will kill off political power figures in all the major cities in the world. The story is crammed with violent acts of murder, so many that I lost count, and the spies are in every crack and crevice. But who is spying for whom, and who can be trusted? Were it not for the many changes in venue and the overdone introductions of new characters every ten minutes, I might have been able to answer that question. As it worked out, I understood the story, and thought the plot was great, but had such a hard time keeping track of all the characters and events that I think I lost a lot of the effect. There were four audio cassettes, with a running time of 6 hours, which was great, a good value for your money. There were plot twists that were brilliant and will surprise and delight you, but the best part about this story was Edward Herrmann's voice. Don't look for the mini series soon.
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Summary: Another good spy novel from the MASTER!
Review: This book from beginning to end grabbed my attention and did not let go. The plot may not be the best but the way he goes about telling the story and setting up the events make it well worth it. I know most people believe that Ludlum was starting to lose his touch with this book I firmly disagree and constantly telling people to buy this book.
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Summary: Stimulating
Review: This is by far my favorite Ludlum and I am a Ludlum fan. It is stimulating and combines his suspense with current day type technology.
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