Rating: 
Summary: Advance praise for The Overseer
Review: "The Overseer is an exceptional debut thriller, refreshingly original, with a feel-your-pulse plot that warp speeds its way through the centuries. Jonathan Rabb writes with studied knowledge of his material. The characters are well-defined, the dialogue crisp, and the history a shake-and-stir mix of fact and fiction...a smooth blend of Ian Fleming and Umberto Eco." --Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and Apaches"The Overseer is a stunning accomplishment, a novel that works both as a smartly plotted, provocative novel of ideas and a taut, complex, thoroughly entertaining thriller remniscent of early Robert Ludlum. Well-written, intelligent, with a unique concept...a richly satisfying literary debut." --Larry Bond, author of The Enemy Within and Red Phoenix "The Overseer is an intelligent, action-packed thriller, a highly original novel that pulls you in from the first intriguing pages and refuses to let up. A riveting piece of suspense fiction that feels chillingly real." --Kyle Mills, author of Rising Phoenix
Rating: 
Summary: What a great movie this story will make!!
Review: A combination of Umberto Eco and Robert Ludlum...brilliant, fast-paced, layered...entertaining while educational...thoughtful, complex characters...forces the reader to examine how social, political and economic structures control our daily lives...MY STRONGEST RECOMMENDATION!
Rating:
Summary: From Publishers Weekly, April 27, 1998
Review: A U.S. agent and a Columbia University professor race to find a 16th century manuscript in this intriguing debut thriller. Rabb imagines a Swiss monk named Eisenreich, a contemporary of Machievelli's who wrote a long-suppressed book called On Supremacy, an outline for world conquest that goes far beyond the ruminations of The Prince. When a group of conservative ideologues decides to put a modern version of the plan into action, the task of stopping them falls to undercover agent Sarah Trent (who worked for several members of the right-wing committee's inner sanctum during an earlier phase of her espionage career) and Xander Jaspers, a brilliant young academic who eventually unravels the intricacies of the plan. The cabal is led by the myserious "overseer" of the title; his minions include a Limbaugh-like demagogue, a brainwashing "educator" in charge of producing footsoldiers to carry out the plan and a prominent conservative financier. Trent and Jaspers are a quirky, entertaining couple, and their hunt for the historical prize incorporates many tightly written scenes (although the scenes in which Trent and Jaspers are captured and recaptured tend to blur together). The satisfying climax reveals the surprising identity of the overseer; meanwhile, there's plenty of intellectual meat in Rabb's description of the origins of the manuscript and implications of the plan. Using an innovative conceit that combines imaginative brainwork and stirring action scenes, Rabb has given us a thriller worth remembering.
Rating: 
Summary: the overseer
Review: CLEVER-VERY CLEVER AND WELL WRITTEN.NOT AS FAR FETCHED AS SOME ARE SAYING.I AM ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH A WRITER THAT KNOWS HIS HISTORY AND CAN WEAVE A CLEVER MYSTERY AROUND THIS KNOWLEDGE....ENJOY IT. RICHARD S. DAVIS-COLLINGDALE PA.
Rating:
Summary: Best read of the year
Review: Couldn't put it down. Love the way Rabb weaves history and action together. Characters were real and innovative. Plus, the philosophy has a real ring of truth to it. Watch out, though. You have to be on your toes to get everything. But it's well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Articulate and smart!
Review: Ever re-read sentences because you're in awe of the author's choice and combination of words? With Rabb's writing, I was constantly amazed. Rabb expertly weaves an extemely complicated plot into a work of art. Thanks Jonathan! Write another one soon!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Exceptionally literate work of this genre...refreshing use of political ideas and altogether timely. Complex but rewarding...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Exceptionally literate work of this genre...refreshing use of political ideas and altogether timely. Complex but rewarding...
Rating:
Summary: A story so unbelievable as to be frighteningly believable
Review: For this lover of intrigue and tales of espionage, The Overseer filled the bill. There's enough plausible storyline here to please devotees of Ludlum, Dale Brown & others of the genre. Granted, as I ran virtually all over the world with Sarah Trent and Xander Jaspers, I finished the trip exhausted--but glad I'd been along for the ride. Rabb crammed a lot into his debut novel, but his is a name I will look for again when I want another book that will keep me up late at night.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Great story, great characters, great concept. Wouldn't it be nice to see more thrillers that make you think. Can't wait for the next one.
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