The Lion's Game

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Summary: What a relief! Corey and DeMille are back!
Review: I have been waiting for this book for a year now, and was delighted with the reward for patience. A scary, at times funny, at times touching experience. Won't say more to ruin it for all you lucky ones who will soon be reading it except - Enjoy!

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Summary: John Corey is back
Review: I picked up a copy of "Troika Magazine" to read some fiction by Craig Furnas (whose thriller THE SHAPE is right up there with Demille's stuff), and happened to read in "Troika," too, an excerpt of PLUM ISLAND that made me then go out and buy the book itself. Well, PLUM ISLAND was a treat, and if you liked that, and especially the endearing John Corey, you'll have to read THE LION'S GAME. It's Corey dealing with a Lybian who is not as he first appears...and only Corey can stop him...but I won't tell if he does, or how...You'll have to read the book.

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Summary: The paperback book and audiobook are excellent!
Review: Paperback: Five stars

Audiobook (read by Scott Brick): Five stars
Brick actually performs what he's reading instead of simply reading aloud. His range is a little limited (i.e., he's not very versatile when it comes to doing accents or women's voices), but his John Corey is spot on.

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Summary: When the implausible becomes plausible
Review: THE LION'S GAME is my first Nelson DeMille novel but clearly it will not be my last. His writing style kept me on the edge of my chair and at times I started to sweat from the suspense. It's very easy to get lost this novel. Reading THE LION'S GAME was like watching a film in my mind. I have often wondered what techniques authors employ to induce readers to become intensely drawn into the world of their novels. I don't have the answer, but believe I am on the trail of focusing a few particular writing skills. Two aspects of DeMille's writing are noteworthy.

First, throughout the novel, DeMille is able to seamlessly move from first person pronouns (the hero, John Corey) to third person pronouns. Later, he manages to employ the same skill with Asad Khalil, the anti-hero. In particular, I found the phone conversation between the two men nothing less than fascinating. It was written in the first person for both hero and anti hero. What emerged was a life-like conversation - pictures in the mind. Due to DeMille's skill of moving from first to third person, he was able to create a vivid picture of both characters' motivations. Good and evil in this novel is not black and white, it is grey. DeMille's writing skills, particularly his seamless ability to switch from first to third person pronouns, creates realism to his characters that we rarely witness in novels.

Second, the capacity to make implausible situations plausible is another important skill. A 747 jumbo jet independently and successfully lands at New York's JFK airport with the entire crew and all passengers dead - except for Asad Khalil. To me with no technological knowledge of commercial jet travel, I accepted the idea. Yes, although implausible, DeMille had me believing that jets can successful land without a pilot at the helm. I remained lost in the pages of this book until the scene where Asad had cornered Corey and Kate behind a small boulder. As a sniper, Asad employed a silencer and a telescopic lens, but Corey and Kate elected NOT return gunfire. They feared that upon hearing their gun shots, the Secret Service agents would enter the situation thereby giving Asad additional targets. At that point, the novel stopped creating pictures in my head - the implausible didn't plausible. In my mind, by returning gunfire the Secret Service would be able to identify Asad's location and take him out. In fact this scene forced me to stop reading. With great frustration, I describe the scenario to a retired Special Forces sniper who later was part of a SWAT team. He informed me that the actions of Corey and Kate were common procedure under such peculiar circumstances. Well - DeMille does his homework and I was able to finish this grand book. What I thought was implausible was common.

I found the end quite unnerving, but had a rare kind of realism that infrequently appears in such novels. I am hoping that DeMille will bring back Asad and Corey for a final showdown. Yet, I doubt this will happen - too implausible.

I still don't have the answer to my question, "what makes an author create pictures in the mind of the reader?" But - I do know that DeMille has this rare skill and I will continue to read his work.


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Summary: Revenge Story Whose Idea We Ignore at our own Peril....
Review: During the bombing of Tripoli in 1985, a young boy loses most of his family, grows up angry, revengeful, and psychotic. In fact, his mission in life is to attack and kill any Americans having to do do with his family's death. This includes the airmen, generals, et al. After hijacking an airliner, and killing all its occupants, he seeks out his targets, and will not be happy until his "mission" is accomplished. This is a harrowing chase thriller by an author who understands the complexities of war and revenge. Unfortunately, many of our present day "leaders" do not. It might behoove them to read this book, since its plot is just as relevent today.

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Summary: Exciting, funny read
Review: Nelson Demille is a tremendous writer. He takes his time developing characters and he keeps the reader laughing. His characters are intelligent and treated with respect. Demille can be a little wordy in places, but that is part of his charm. I enjoy the rich details he provides. He avoids formulamatic writing and shortcuts. With the exception of General's Daughter, I recommend all of his works.

Lion's Game was very topical and truly ahead of its time. The 9-11 foreshadowing was absolutely scary.

Several others have sung the book's praises and discussed the story. I'd like to touch on a few issues....




{{{{ SPOILER ALERTS }}}}




1 - John Corey falls in love a little too quickly for me. The engagement and marriage was crazy. It made no sense and didn't belong in the book.

2 - Why wouldn't they make Azim call Khalil from the van? Why not put 4 agents inside and take a drive? That was Dan Brown-level dumb. The book was so smart and sensible, then the agents make that blunder? Let the guy get smoked out in the van, not the house!

3 - I like the fact that the villian escapes. Of course, when the sequel is written it will probably stink and we will know the ending, but I give Demille credit. The good guys don't always win. Bravo!

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Summary: Reads Like Today's News
Review: This is the only DeMille book I've read and after reading this book I do want to read some of his others. I read this book about two years ago, closer to 9/11 and this was a very errie read. I will not summarize the book, others already have. Sometimes it seems as though game plans are being laid out for terrorists. It was a very very quick read, the characters were believable and it was like a semi non-fiction because it reffered to many real events. It is a long book about 600 pages, you can read it over a long snowy weekend.

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Summary: Another outstanding book from Nelson DeMille
Review: I loved Plum Island, but think this one was even better. It was pretty scary reading this story about Mideast terrorism in the United States. It refers to the World Trade Center bombing - that is the first one, since this book was written before 9/11. He also references many real life pieces that we are more aware of, than when it was written (JTTF - the Joint Terrorist Task Force), as well as some good descriptions of goings on in New York, like the Port Authority Police officers roles. I love John Corey's humor. At 677 pages long, it went suprisingly quickly.

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Summary: Eerily prophetic. Reads like an action flick w/bad direction
Review: I don't know if I would have bothered with this book pre-9/11. I simply would have had no interest in terrorists or the motivation of Muslim radicals. Now I found it riveting, painfully realistic and hauntingly prophetic. With the first mention of the World Trade Centers, I turned to see when The Lion's Game was published. It was eerie to realize that it was published just 10 months or less before 9/11. Equally eerie was the terrorit's use of a plane to kill Americans - albiet differently than on 9/11. It was unsettling to read the scene of the NY City Police Commissioner looking out his window at the World Trade Center, watching over it and thinking about how it was always a terrorist target and had been bombed in 1993. Chills actually went down my spine though when I read, "...jetliners were little more than flying bombs ... sailing through space with the potential to take out a few city blocks."

As to the merits of the book itself, I found myself "watching" the book in my mind, just like a movie. The book had a soothing rhythm switching the scene back and forth between the terrorist and the protagonists every other chapter. We watch as Asad Kahlil cooly and methodically hunts down and kills his enemies, with near seamlessly detailed planing, always remaining steps ahead of his persuers. I found the character of Asad Kahlil well developed and his motivations and actions believable up until the end.

Then, like an action flick gone bad, the rhythm stops, and the plot loses all believability and crediblity. Throughout the story we have been privy to the inmost thoughts and workings of Kahlil's heart. We know why he's on US soil, what he's come to do, and how he thinks and operates. We watch him make very few mistakes and never stray from the path of his obsession with killing the 8 men in the bombing squadrin who killed his family 20 years before. Suddenly, we stop all focus on Khalil and switch exclusively to our two FBI agents - John Corey and Kate Mayfield who have become lovers. While working together often leads to sexual intrigue, in light of the very serious plot line, the sex scenes seem strangely out of place and banal.

When we finally rejoin Kahlil we find he has a new, heretofore never mentioned objective to kill President Reagan - an interesting plot line that could make an entire book - just not this one. This plan has never been mentioned before in Kahlil's musings, which is entirely out of character. A man of his singular intent would not switch gears mid-plan, nor would he have kepts us (his thoughts) in the dark about this plan. It is an unbelievable plot twist that instead of being exciting, causes the reader to say, "Yeah, right!" Then, in the classic way of an action flick director who has forgotten his plot line and just wants a really bang up ending, our antagonist suddenly goes from being a self-controlled precision assiassin, to firing off over 70 rounds over the course of a few minutes in an attempt to kill John and Kate. It is so far out of character, that as a reader I just wanted to yell, "Cut! Rewrite!" Then poof, it's over. No more Kahlil - as if the writer didn't know where to go from there, so he just gave up.

Lion's Game seemed like two books in one. The first half of the story was suspensful, carefully planned, rythmic and well written. It was interesting looking into the mind of a terrorist. The second half was not well done, and looking back could be skipped. Whatever ending you decide to create could be no more ambiguous than the one written.

Because the violence is vivid, and the plot line is now a reality of our world, I recommend this book as an action/thriller, and an object lesson to those with stout hearts and a curiosity about terrorism. To those for whom the pain is still raw or the world too realistic, I recommend a lighter fare.

Rating:
Summary: Long winded thriller
Review: Let me begin by saying THIS BOOK IS NOT BAD. I enjoyed it; I was turning the pages feverishly. The plot was good; the dialogue was captivating, especially the interaction between agencies. John Corey's character was very funny. This is not my first Demille novel, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I picked up this book. The joke about the CIA, FBI and NYPD still makes me laugh when I think about it. Even the terrorist Asid Kalil was intriguing as far as his motivation, mindset and intelligence were concerned.

What spoiled the book for me was that between one exciting or interesting moment and the next one, there was, unfortunately, an unnecessary amount of nothing; situations that didn't really move the plot forward. I was often tempted to skip paragraphs because I could anticipate what should happen next but I felt like I was at a stoplight and the light was red for just a little too long.

And often time "John Corey" would digress from a thought and clumsily seque back with "Well, anyway, back to ___". First time was ha, ha cute . After the sixth or seventh time, it lost its humor. Those are my only gripes about the novel.

I found the book chlling at times. In this post 9/11 world we live in, reading sentences that were, at that time, considered fiction, and are now a reality, were definitely unsettling. In one scene "John Corey" writes: "...jetliners were little more than flying bombs ... sailing through space with the potential to take out a few city blocks." Hindsight is, indeed, 20/20.

Regarding the ending, I won't spoil it for those who haven't read the book yet, but we've seen this type of ending in other books and movies too. Obviously there were a number of ways Mr. DeMille could have finished his novel and he chose the non-traditional route thriller readers don't anticipate as they near a 900+ book.

I look forward to reading other DeMille novels. I only hope he cuts out the fat and gives us the lean meat.