Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Dynamite!
Review: I am recommending this book to all my friends who love a real heart-pounding thriller. I refused to put this book down until I finished it...Total Control has all the verve and excitement of Absolute Power but is infinitely more intriguing. The high-tech aspect of this novel was well researched. I love Baldacci's treatment of his women characters: in Sidney Archer he has created a smart, determined and savvy tigress who exhibits extraordinary resolve and courage in her quest to find out about her husband's surprising death. She is as adept at dealing with hired hit men as she is with slick corporate lawyers. The plot itself is a rather convoluted maze with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing about the next plot line: chapter by chapter. This is pure David Baldacci. There is no filler here. If you want to read an exciting novel that holds your interest with each page this is it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but it could have been better
Review: By the time I was halfway through this novel, Total Control, I was on the edge of my seat. This was a page-turner, a book that was tough to put down. However, what had been a suspenseful, gripping story became predictable by the end, culminating in an almost stereotypical, melodramatic climax - the kind you see in movies. Indeed, it almost seems like the author wrote this book with the big screen in mind. This story turned out so much like a two-star movie that you could almost picture it in your mind. I've already identified the ideal cast for the three main characters: Sharon Stone is the perfect Sidney Archer; Tom Berenger is virtually typecast as Lee Sawyer; and the nefarious Oscar Gamble would be played by none other than Al Pacino. Though I would envision this as a two-star movie, I'll still give Total Control a four-star rating as a book. It was, after all, quite engrossing for the better part of the story. Just prepare yourself for a less than memorable conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: The author is on fire.
Review: A great story. I could not put this down.
Rating: 
Summary: Convoluted
Review: What kind of a world do these people live in? The lack of communication, the distrust, the sheer maniacal destruction of lives. For what? To have more money? I don't like this world and don't want to read about it anymore.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a Thrill Ride
Review: This was my first David Baldacci book and not the usual genre of books I read, but I found it to be a face-paced, exciting tale of industrial espionage and counter-espionage. The many characters and numerous plots twists and turns keep the reader engrossed throughout the almost 700 pages. Written in 1997, the computer and internet technology described may have been somewhat complicated then, but today in 2002, is very easy to read and comprehend. My one criticism is that, like many other authors today, Baldacci appeared to be writing this novel with a screenplay already in mind. Yes, it would make a great movie - but I think he was making that assumption just a tad too early.
Rating:
Summary: This isn't writing; this is publishing.
Review: My wife pushed me to read this, but this is probably the worse book I've ever read. Except for the detail (ie, a secretary explaining back-up tapes to Sidney), the plot and characters are much better suited for a comic book, rather than a novel. There is no character development, no theme, and no plot development. There are no hints as to why the character act the way they do. I didn't even like the characters, even the "good" ones I was supposed to like. Balducci and his agent wrote the book with story boards for the next movie in mind. That would explain why they thought it would be a great idea for an FBI agent to oggle a greiving widow immediately before her husband's funeral. And all the references to Sidney's "sexiness"... Bottom line: ...bad writing.
Rating:
Summary: Fast - Paced Suspense!
Review: I picked up this book one afternoon and before I knew it, it was the middle of the night. Twists and turns that will not let you put this book down make it a very fast 500+ page read. This book was my introduction to David Baldacci who belongs among the leaders of suspense story-telling. A thouroughly researched, well edited thriller which belongs on the bookshelves of every mystery/suspense reader. Baldacci, Bring it on!
Rating: 
Summary: Fast paced action thriller
Review: I came across this bestseller thriller by David Baldacci quite accidentally. David is a new writer (for me), my research shows that not only has he an official website (...) where he participates actively with the readers to answer their messages etc. but also that he has produced a string of best sellers in last 5 years, one of which has been made into a movie. David, in his early 40's has a good writing style, functional and interesting enough with good narrative sans the pomp., concentrating more on action and description rather than on introspection and philosophizing. This book, an action-suspense thriller is of Ludlum genre, and seeing the good job done by David, he can well occupy the niche vacated by Ludlum. It is a taut story with a complex plot is full of non-stop action, and a pace that leaves you breathless. Lee Sawyer, an accomplished FBI agent is investigating a mysterious case of a plane that fell down from the sky has reasons to believe the crash to be an act of sabotage. Sidney Archer, a young attorney with a lovely 2-year-old daughter, and a loving husband Jason, a software geek successfully employed in an IT- giant has a life that one could ask for. One fine day the whole thing comes crashing down with sudden demise of her husband in the plane crash that Lee is investigating. Lee meets her and is sympathetic to her tragic fate. The investigations point to a deadly plot to eliminate an important passenger on the flight, and Jason who never took the flight is alive, but in hiding. Jason is declared a fugitive and the investigators as well as conspirators are hounding Sidney who has accessed some data in Jason's computer. Sidney is on the run and in process has been declared as an accessory. The story narrates the determined investigations by Lee, and the dogged fight by Sidney to unravel the conspiracy and exonerate her husband. In the process, David also unfolds the enormous power and reach of the information technology and computers that are and can transform the future drastically...for good as well as the bad. Though David has made Sidney the central character, to me Lee Sawyer appealed more as the central character. After graduating from the old masters of yesteryears like; Maclean, Wallace, Hailey,Lecarre, Forsyth etc. I had come to depend on the ruling trio of Clancy, Crichton and Grisham. Now I have added a new writer David Baldacci to my list and he seems to be a promising writer who will go places in coming years.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Suspense...
Review: This was the first book I read from David Baldacci. I couldn't put it down! It's a great book full of suspense and unanticipated action! It's rare that I feel the adrenaline rush while sitting on the couch and reading, but this time I couldn't wait to turn the page! If you like suspense books and are into reading, fraud and hackers you must pick this up! I am definitely going to be a loyal David Baldacci reader...
Rating:
Summary: First novel
Review: this was the first novel that I have read by David Baldacci, and I was quite impressed. This book was an outstanding tale of suspense and action. I could not put this book down.
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