Rating: 
Summary: Don't get warned off by the editorial reviews. 5 star book!
Review: Don't mistake this novel with the film "The Negotiator" with Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey. This book has a lot more depth and action. The story revolves around three main problems: 1) The Soviets will run out of oil soon and thus there are hints to invade some oil rich country(ies) to the south. 2) The president of the United States will soon sign an arms reduction treaty with the soviets. 3) The increasing dependence on the "corrupt" Middle Eastern countries for oil. The last two scenarios are the main things that drive this action packed story. A group of armaments specialists, an oil tycoon and a shipping tycoon band together to keep the president from signing the treaty and to end american dependence on the "corrupt Arabs" once and for all. Psycological warfare is used to control the president and there's an elaborate plan to end american dependence on Saudi oil. The character Quinn comes into the story in the psycological warfare part. Quinn is an ex-green beret who reluctantly accepts a special assignment which is integral to the main plot. Quinn in many ways is like James Bond with the exception of the fancy gadgets. Reading this book is like watching a James Bond movie with a more intricate plot. Surprises and twists abound.
Rating:
Summary: Forsyth's Brain is an Encyclopedia of Espionage
Review: Forsyth continues to amaze me with his attention to detail and mastery of his subject matter. The information he has between his ears about espionage, military tactics, geography, rules of engagement, etc. would make any policeman, detective, or military leader drool. I have read about five of Forsyth's books, and The Negotiator ranks up there with the best of them. As always, the book is fast paced, entertaining, and leaves you wondering how the hero is always one step ahead of the bad guys. The Negotiator is thrilling in the James Bond sense: you are amazed at the same time you say to yourself, "Oh, come on." You know that there will be a plot twist, but you can't necessarily predict where it will come from, and/or which good guy will turn out to be bad. Forsyth's descriptions of landscape alone, from cities in the Netherlands to the rural Vermont countryside, demonstrate the author's range, never mind his accounts of weaponry and combat. Out of sight.
Rating: 
Summary: Standard-Issue Hostage Drama
Review: Freddy Forsyth wrote three or four good numbers in the seventies and eighties: unfortunately "The Negotiator" is just another formula. The President's son is kidnapped and no-one knows what to do (apart from PM Thatcher, who makes a real-life intrusion into this otherwise fictional tale). Our "Negotiator" is a hostage negotiator - no relation to Kevin Spacey or Sam Jackson in the epynomous movie - though frankly there's precious little to differentiate between all of these hostage dramas at the end of the day. Forsyth once wrote outside formula; after "Negotiator," it forever dominated his destiny.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting
Review: I thought the author slipped a bit with this book, not as good as some of his others. I just did not believe the story line therefore I spent the rest of the book looking for errors (to his credit I do not think I found many). Overall he always delivers a good story, I would read his work over many others. You need to pay attention, as the story is not written to put you to sleep, but to get the excitement level going and for the reader to pay attention. He is good at this form of book and if you like him you will like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of his bests efforts, but not bad
Review: Its not a terrible book, but it definitely is not one of Forsyth's best. The story does get to be interesting after a slow start, and once all of the central characters are introduced it keeps moving at a good clip. I had problems with the Sam character as I felt she was underwritten, and practically screamed "love interest" the moment she was introduced. Just once I would like to see the female lead not be (a) stunningly beautiful, (b) amazingly smart, (c) incredibly willing to fall in love at a plots whim, and (d) unbelievably available with no prior commitments, relationships, boyfriends, etc. holding her back. Please, somebody send out a memo to all mystery/suspense writers about this. Also I must echo a previous review in that the ending seemed kind of lazy, in a "Hello Mr. Bond I have you and I'm going to kill you but first I'm going to tell you all my plans and how I achieved everything" kind of way. Having said that, it is fairly entertaining nonetheless, and I did read the last 100 pages fairly quickly to see what was going to happen. It certainly is not as good as "Day of the Jackal" or "The Odessa File," but its not all bad.
Rating:
Summary: The end is not so good
Review: On one hand, the story keeps you reading with interest on the story. On the other, is a story that can not be true at all, I want to see that the president's son is kidnapped in another country and nobody in America does nothing because they don't want to make an international problem, not telling that the son's bodyguards didn't have any guns.
At the end of the book, the bad guy in Washington could be anybody, Frederic never gives us a clue of him, and in the book he is never bad or do anything suspicious I didn't like this end.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating politics, intricate plot, dull characters
Review: Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I do have some complaints. As stated in other reviews, it takes a bit for the action to pick up. There are also many, many characters and places and too-detailed descriptions that I found unnecessary. My biggest complaint, which was something that started off as a minor annoyance but gradually became more and more irritating, was the author's abysmal, despicable portrayal of the only female character in the entire story. She was nothing more than eye-candy, which I'm sure sounds strange for a novel, with horrible dialogue consisting exclusively of "Are you okay?", "What now?", and "Oh how terrible" lines, seldom more than a sentence at a time. There was really no reason for her to exist in the story as she was written. Aside from these complaints, the story was very good. The politics, subterfuge, espionage, and suspense were very well done. The plot to keep the oil barons rich and the American military budget booming ran a worrisome parallel to our current political situation. I am willing to recommend this book, but I would suggest purchasing it used, or looking for it in your local library. I would also remind the reader that the story was written in the late 1980s and may seem a little dated in its pacing and character development, but ultimately anyone who enjoys a decent political action thriller should enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Reading.
Review: The first 100 pages sets up the basic premise and characters before launching into a nail-biting hostage drama and a chase across Europe for the kidnappers that leads back to the US. Although the character Quinn, the negotiator, is fully fleshed out along with the kidnapper Zack, the story is far fetched when it comes to the detective work. The kidnapping case comes to a climax half way though the book and I found everything fully believable and enjoyable until then. After this pinnacle part of the story it looses the believable part and just becomes strictly enjoyable. Unlike his other novels "The 4th Protocol etc.", it seems to miss out on keeping the story simple and believable. This novel is a bit like "Hannibal" in many ways. There are lots of disturbed villains with their own tastes and a great memorable character in the form of British gentleman working for the KGB, but alas it really does have some big plot holes and "chance" discoveries that leave you thinking that the book could have been planned a bit better with regards to that. Although the writer does go to great pains to tell us that detective work needs a bit of "luck" or a "break" in the case for things to work out, the breaks that Quinn gets are all too much to really believe. Other than that the novel is extremely easy to read and you will not put it down until you have finished that "next chapter". Good show, shame about the severe bending of reality though. Keep it real Fred!! I much preferred the detective work in "The 4th Protocol" compared to this.
Rating:
Summary: A Non Stop Suspense and Action Thriller
Review: The first book of Forsyth that we've ever read. Catches my attention from the first page itself. Non stop thriller with riveting plot that kept building up along the story. Quinns' character is so well developed through out his adventure. The story line is so real with a clear detail of what happening around the characters environment. The story also gives emphasisation for all the characters making the book a very exciting read. After reading this book we got so hooked up with Frederick Forsyth's books and started buying all these books:- Icon, The Deceiver, Fist of God and Devil's Alternative. This is an ultimate satisfaction for both of us. Keep writting good books.
Rating:
Summary: mediocre for Forsyth, which means it's worth a look
Review: This is not one of Forsyth's better books in my opinion, but it's still an enjoyable read overall. While Quinn, "the negotiator," is an interesting and entertaining character to follow, I don't think he lives up to the claim of "Forsyth's best yet." The plots and subplots here are really nothing very unique, but the book is good because of the way Forsyth tells it and puts it together. There are some nice surprises, especially in the last third of the book, and the conclusion, while perhaps quick, is quite satisfactory. The inclusion of Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev in their respective real-life political roles is handled well but is by no means a primary focus of the book. The Negotiator is good, but if you're pressed for time and can only choose one Forsyth novel, you'd be better served to choose one of the others.
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