Rating: 
Summary: Must Reading for the FBI
Review: This should be a training manual for the FBI on the possibility of dealing with nuclear terrorism. It is scary, to say the least. The action was gripping. I was hooked as soon as Belden had his trip to visit the grand jury. From there on, it was non stop thrills. I think Hollywood will latch onto this story. How does a lawyer like Martini learn so many details about nuclear weapons? I only hope some of the technical details were fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: pure drivel
Review: Reviewer: jfarro from Virginia says it best. Martini seems to have a problem with reality. His Paul Madriani novels which start out soooo good
also eventually slide into the slag heap due to his sudden veering off into magic land. Critical Mass was bad all the way thru. Not recommended
Rating: 
Summary: I Like Any Story That Promises To Blow Up The IRS
Review: The whole point to action adventure novels is to make them believable, exciting and fast paced. Ordinarily Martini writes a good story, his plots are paced well, and the novels have that "It could happen" type feel. When you read his other works such as "The List", "The Judge", and "Compelling Evidence", there is no doubt that Martini is a talented writer. However, "Critical Mass" does not measure up to his usual excellence. Most of the characters are a little hard to believe. Jocelyn Cole, the main character, is a heroine that seems to be a jack of all trades. She is an attorney that can handle automatic weapons as well as house closings. Sometimes it's little hard to swallow, when you see the protagonist snatched up by the villains and held captive for no reason. It reminds me of James Bond movies, where the criminal mastermind has to stop from killing Bond in order to explain how his fiendish scheme works (thusly allowing Bond to escape). The other major character Gideon van Ry is created very similarly to Jocelyn Cole, his I'm a computer nerd turned commando character is hard to stomach. One minute he is typing on his keyboard and in the next minute he is Sargent Rock carrying a rifle and attacking an enemy installation. I mean come on... Ok, the story is not all bad. The plot is pretty plausible. The Russians, in their decline, lose track of two nuclear weapons. The weapons wind up in the hand of an arms dealer and known scumbag and the chase is on. Also the fact that the IRS is the target for the bomb is a huge plus. However, be forewarned that Martini is setting up us for a sequel. The ending is less than satisfactory.
Rating:
Summary: The verdict is in this tight woven thriller
Review: ***** Exceptionally intrigue thriller by the author of the Judge. Great plotting through out! I just can't believe that Martini can actually make me read every page. Great pulse pounding.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating thriller!
Review: Wow! What a wonderful book to read. When I finished reading this book (in one 4-hour setting), I put it down feeling completely mentally refreshed - it was that good! The first 6 chapters or so develop the plot while introducing the characters. Many books just dump the characters in your lap, but Martini weaves their introductions into the development of the plot, possibly better than any other book I've read. Our heroine, a lawyer who recently set up shop in Washington, gets pulled into the middle of a national security crisis when she gets retained by an arm's smuggler who has been hired to smuggle a nuclear bomb into the U.S. and blow up a city. But where is the bomb, who is the smuggler, and what city is targeted? Just when you think you're on to the plot and you know what is going to happen, the plot twists, and you are left in amazement. This is one of Martini's strongest books, and it was a pleasure to read.
Rating: 
Summary: One to pick up!
Review: Enjoyable! A good read! Steve Martini is a new author on my list. A friend pass on one of his earlier books and I was hooked. "Critical Mass" is a great mystery, I enjoyed the characters both male and female. Therefore, recommending this book to both genders.
Rating:
Summary: Near Nuclear Disaster
Review: The dictator of a Middle Eastern country, a man whose wife was virtually hounded to death by the IRS, and a mercenary who will find and deliver any kind of weapon--all working to destroy Washington DC and it environs with a powerful nuclear bomb. Into this plot walks an unsuspecting attorney, Joselyn Cole, who is tired of big-city living and who retreats to a remote island off the coast of Seattle, Washington. "Critical Mass" takes the reader through a labyrinth of plot twists and turns, to a thrilling climax. The characters are well-drawn, with equal shares of heroes and villains. This book is a page-turner and would make a terrific movie. I recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: A quick-paced story
Review: This was my first Steve Martini book. I thought the book to be superb. It was like watching a movie. If you want a book that will entertain you for whatever little time you've got, then you shold read this. Don't expect a book with too many adjectives. This book has very little of them. Instead, it is replete with VERBS...ACTION PACKED! Highly recommended. Perfect material for a NICOLAS CAGE movie.
Rating:
Summary: CRITICAL MASS - An 'explosive' suspense thriller
Review: Hold onto your seats! This Steve Martini novel opens with two ships carrying a mysterious cargo on the stormy seas (a perfect storm?), and doesn’t let up until the nature of the cargo yields its nefarious intent at the very end. Two strangers, an attorney from a sleepy island in Washington sound, and a nuclear researcher from Monterey, California, become unlikely heroes when they are summoned to the other Washington to explain to the President what they know about possible Russian bombs missing in the former Republic. The puzzle begins to fall into place except for one problem: the President has a personal agenda that he would prefer to keep private. And he will go to 'unprecedented' lengths to keep his agenda a secret from his enemies and the American people. (Art imitating life?) This is a great novel that would make a thrilling movie: the post-Cold War political realities; the American court system pushing the envelope with secret grand juries; an egomaniac President who is out of touch with the people he is suppose to serve; and ordinary Americans who will rise to the occasion to defend America from those that would destroy it. The suspense is further heightened by the reality that this story seems like it could become a real one. CRITICAL MASS lives up to its nuclear namesake, from the stormy start to the heroic ending.
Rating: 
Summary: a technothriller that lacks the brain
Review: Critical Mass is my first Steve Martini book. I hope his other novels are better because... The story is full of cardboard characters who perform actions that made no sense. For example, any hospital noticing such serious cases of radiation among the fishermen will report the illnesses to the government. You would not have to wait until a local lawyer starts investigating the lawsuit potential! I guess such logical actions cannot take place because the story would end right on the first chapter. The more the story progresses, the more it feels like a story of how wrong things can go. Unfortunately, stories of how things can go wrong tend not to be fun to read. If you want a superb story of terrorists taking the world hostage, try Devil's Alternative by Frederick Forsyth, and skip this one.
| 
