Honor Among Thieves

Rating:
Summary: A BESTSELLER BECOMES A BEST-LISTENER
Review:
TV personality Larry King has said there isn't a better storyteller alive than Jeffrey Archer. I can't vouch for that but Archer is certainly among the top tier with some 120 million of his thrillers in print. In addition to complex plotting and surprise endings Archer is known for using public figures in his tales. "Honor Among Thieves" is no exception as Bill Clinton in the early days of his presidency and Saddam Hussein take center stage.

Can't think of any more deadlier foes than the Mafia and the Iraqis. When they hook up it takes super human skills and efforts to attempt to foil their plot. While it sounds implausible, the plan in a nutshell is to have a Clinton impersonator swipe the Declaration of Independence and pass it along to Hussein so that he can burn it in front of CNN cameras on the Fourth of July.

Obviously, a little help is needed to purloin this document from the National Archives and substitute a forgery. Not to worry Archer has an unlimited supply of nefarious characters from a lawyer on the take to a star plastic surgeon to a premier forger.

First released in 1993 with a whopping 500,000 copies, "Honor Among the Thieves" was a bestseller. Now, released in audio book form by Audio Renaissance and read by the talented Bill Roberts it's a best-listener.

- Gail Cooke




Rating:
Summary: Top-of-the-line action
Review: If there is one Archer book that can be called his best, it must be Kane & Abel. But if asked for another, then it must be this. Honor Among Thieves is a true international thriller. No doubt, it became an instant international bestseller.

Saddam Hussain pays a hundred million dollars to a New York businessman to arrange for the stealing of the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives is Washington DC. At the same time, a Mossad team is set up to assassinate Saddam. How the Declaration gets stolen and how it is restored is the plot of the story.

So much for the plot, but many authors would have found it tough to convert that into a good, readable book. Archer belongs to a class of his own, and one will find that the action in this book is gripping - so much that one will be compelled to finish this book in one sitting, which was the case with me!

A truly great book!

Rating:
Summary: He's had better
Review: Jeffrey Archer is by far the best storyteller I have read in this generation, but this book is sub-par in comparison to his other novels. A Matter of Honor blows it away in comparison of action thrillers. If someone is interested in reading a story with a comprable plot, they should read Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor, in which the American government and economy plays victim to a non-violent and yet devastating form of terrorism. Clancy, contrary to Archer in this specific novel, gives a story of economic sabotage that is so detailed and original, it will leave you in awe, especially as Clancy connects the various characters in an intrinsic web. Back to Archer and Honor Among Thieves, it was an enjoyable read, but as far as this being great for first time readers, NO WAY! Pick up Cane and Abel, or A Twist in the Tale, his collection of short stories, so you can first see what a marvelous storyteller he is. I especially recommend A Matter of Honor for the action/thriller genre. As for Archer fans, you'll know it's not his best but an enjoyable quick read none the less!

Rating:
Summary: Plenty of Honor in THIS book!
Review: The premise of this book was SO interesting that I felt that I HAD to get it and read it...I did, and was blown away. From beginning to end it totally held my imagination, and twisted not just once or twice, but enough to make me want to read it again. Just what would be the result if Saddam Hussein, in his desperate and embarassed condition after the Gulf War, hatched a plot to steal THE actual Declaration of Independance right out from under the US Government, and on what would be considered OUR Holy Day, July 4th, burn it on live television...sounds like an interesting story, right? I am here to say it's all that and MORE. From the complicated plan to get the perfect someone to not only replicate it with such accuracy that when it's snatched, nobody will ever know until it's too late, to the double cross pulled on Saddam himself. It all translates into a VERY fun story--I just hope that Saddam doesn't read this book and start to get some ideas... Ever since reading Archer, I've tried to find something else of his that grabbed my interest, but to date have found nothing. 'Honor Among Thieves' truly IS great fiction, sorta what might happen if you combined Tom Clancy & Clive Cussler. Real good stuff! Enjoy the ride!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Book!
Review: This turned out to be a very exciting book. Saddam Hussein(who
of course is the villain) decides to humiliate the American. Hussein pays an American mafia leader $100,000,000 to help him steal the Declaration of Independence. A Bill Clinton look alike
is hired to play the role of the new President. He steals the Declaration of Independance and hands it over to the agents of
Saddam Hussein. Saddam plans to burn the historical document on
national television in Iraq.An American CIA agent teams up with a Female Mossad agent to retrieve the document. They enter Iraq
and begin their hunt.There are many action sequences. This is a very exciting book that you will enjoy Buy it and read it.

Rating:
Summary: International intrigue, lots of action in post-Gulf War Iraq
Review: This was our first exposure to Jeff Archer, who's skill with complex international plot development reminds one a little of Tom Clancy without the high tech stuff. The main theme is that shortly after Clinton replaces Bush, Saddam Hussein pays $100M to a mob-related group to steal the American Declaration of Independence. A Yale professor (and our hero) Scott Bradley, gets his desire for a field assignment with the CIA to get it back. Thereafter, most of the action is in Iraq, and before it's over Bradley teams up with an Israeli female spook (and falls in love while he's at it!), as well as some other American diehards from the CIA, who build a complex plan to steal back the precious parchment and avoid Hussein's planned humiliation of a Fourth of July burning on national TV. Does he succeed in time?

We suspect Archer stayed up nights scheming his double and triple crosses -- we totally lost track of the real document long before the whole story unfolded. Much of the horror of Suddam's regime is spelled out in gory detail, and not all the good guys escape horrid fates. Meanwhile, some decent Iraqi people risk their lives to help the American's cause.

Modest suspense, a few characters we wanted to win, good against evil, and even some humor along the way kept us entertained throughout. Archer's writing may not captivate everyone, but we were impressed enough to try another of his stories some day. This one trips the meter at "good but not great"!