Rating: 
Summary: Cradle and All
Review: Considering that this is the first of James patterson's work that I have read, I must say I was caught up in the labyrinth of details provided to keep me turning page after page well into the night. I was fooled all the way up to the end and wait anxiously for the sequel. I love this kind of writing because no matter where I am I will pull out my book and read voraciously unable to put it down till I am forced to. Good mysteries are hard to come by, but he took us on location from Ireland to the Vatican and to Sachuest Point, keeping us breathless and fearing for the very lives of our protagonists. Giving us a peek of future events in the Epilogue only served to whet my appetite even more. The characters were unforgettable and gave us insight to our own humaness. Great reading, spellbinding, mesmerizing!!! I have become a fan of Mr.Patterson's and will now look for his previous work, hoping that it is every bit as good as Cradle and All.
Rating:
Summary: A fun ride
Review: Covert-one operative Jon Smith is sent to Venice to help bring out Yuri Danko, who has sent a desperate message for help. Tragedy strikes. Yuri is killed and Smith barely escapes (thanks to a piano). Thus begins Jon Smiths desperate attempt to find out what Yuri knew that cost him his life. This is what I consider good escapist fiction. International locales with some space shuttle action thrown in, drives this somewhat complex thriller. The idea behind this biological thriller, is using an altered smallpox virus with no possible vaccine, in warfare. Sure it stretches reality but that's what escapist fiction is all about. The motivation behind some of the powerful figures in this plan are??? I'm not sure. Non-stop action and suspense. Recommended for thriller fans who want to escape.
Rating:
Summary: cassandra compact
Review: excellent book but detaials of Venice (bridge of sights)and closeness of Palermo to Naples demonstrate a great deficieny in the edit process.i would welcome your views on this
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story
Review: I almost did'nt pick this book up because of the reviews I had read. What a mistake that would have been. I enjoyed this book very much. Highly recommend it in spite of some purist reviews. It's FICTION! Read the Hades Factor first though. Another great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok, not Ludlum
Review: I believe that this book was published after Ludlam was dead, that doesn't make it awful I just don't think his name should be attached to it Basically the premise is the same as in the Hades Factor, except this time the autistic computer hacker has been replace with some Russian kid. Smith and his buddies must stop an international conspiracy before it kills a significant part of the population(I read this somewhere before didn't I?). The only reason this book is getting 3 stars is because of Peter Hoyle the British spy it was his activities in this book that, in my opinion pervented this from being a really bad book. It is still not up to snuf with the stuff that Ludlam was putting out when he was alive but it is not horribly awful. To sum it all up: The delivery system is different some of the names and faces have changed but if you didn't like the Hades Factor your not going to like this one.
Rating:
Summary: A time-passer
Review: I happened to like the Prometheus Deception, and therefore, fully expected to like this book too. Like the Prometheus Deception, you'll find action, suspense, and diabolical characters. However, unlike the Prometheus Deception, this book just didn't add up. It's more like a movie that you go to see that has so much action going on that you don't realize that there really is no compelling story until the end. The plot was a familiar one and decent, but the events that took place -- at times, seemed a little far-fetched. There wasn't a lot of character development, but what was done was sufficient. However, the inclusion of characters from the earlier book seemed to be just to show continuity -- which isn't a bad thing, but it didn't seem necessary since there was no in-depth interaction among them. Despite its "faults", the book is entertaining enough to pass the time with and it is a decent read. And, there were some pretty good suspenseful scenes in the book that kept me on pins and needles. If you read the book and don't expect the caliber of story you typically get from a Ludlum book, you'll be okay.
Rating:
Summary: Poor showing for a great author
Review: I have been a Ludlum fan for many years and have read all of his novels. I have enjoyed many of them so much that after a few years I pick them back up and reread them to get a dose of his suspense filled writing that keep me up turning pages far into the night.
However I was disappointed with Hades One and this book, his last effort I believe before his death, was equally disappointing.
His descriptions of scenes are not up to his earlier standard, his character development is shallow and he telegraphs his villians, unlike earlier works and comes up with completely impossible situations. The suspense he used to create in his books is missing. I used to stay up late reading his page turner suspense filled books, now I just couldn't wait until I was finished, hoping it would get better.
Unfortunately we have lost a great writer, but this book is not anywhere near the caliber of The Holcort Covenant, The Bourne Identity or any of his earlier works.
Rating:
Summary: Good story for a long drive.
Review: I have read many Ludlum books and will always beleive that nothing will come close to The Bourne Identity. However, I really enjoyed this book. The story was good, the characters were interesting enough so that I actually cared and the reading kept me interested throughout my long drive. However, one thing kept bugging me. The reader kept pronouncing NASA as Nasau. A minor annoyance, but I still recommend this for a road trip.
Rating:
Summary: OK--so it's not wonderful
Review: I read the first book in this series and laughed my way through it--not because of the writing, but because of the characters (Marty in particular). I finished this book in a few hours, and although it is a good escape from the doldrums of summer, there are a few things to complain about. First---this should be out in just a regular paperback--not the oversized version that is currently available. This book is NOT worth...its price... Mainly because the lines are spread out on the page and the font is WAY bigger than any of the other fonts in Ludlum's books. Second, while I do agree with another reviewer that there are inconsistencies in the book, I don't think they detract 100% from the story. The story is essentially about how Jon gets on with his life in his new capacity as a cipher for Covert One (which isn't really explained). There are just too many coincidences in the book and characters show up just so that they can be named (Randi, Megan, Klein) and to keep some continuity in the series. The whole point behind to book, the theft of the smallpox virus, is solved in the first 100 pages, (at least to the reader) and then it's just left to the characters to solve the mystery. And, since I read this book after reading the Parsifal Mosiac, I can honestly say that the way the mystery is handled is NOT Ludlum's writing. Some collaborations work--this one does to a limited extent, but it is trading in on Ludlum's name, and unfortunately, the fact that he recently passed away in order to sell books and hoping that the readers won't really notice. All in all, even if Ludlum didn't write this book, and there are inconsistencies, enjoy the book for what it is--an escape from the doldrums of summer.
Rating:
Summary: Its Allright
Review: I thought the book was pretty good all things considered. It may not have been his best but it does keep you wondering until the end. It was worth reading and over all was a good book
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