Rating: 
Summary: Loose Ends
Review: Will Lee, Democratic Senator from Georgia, is planning on running for the presidency in 4 or 8 years, but is convinced by the current Vice President, Joe Adams, to start his campaign immediately even though he feels unprepared to make the move at this time. Adams has confided a dangerous secret to Will, one which has convinced Will to pursue his campaign. The path to the White House is dangerous and fraught with more pitfalls than Will and Kate, his devoted wife who is a deputy director in the CIA, ever imagined. Will is threatened with bad PR from a convicted murderer who claimed that Will was incompetent when he represented him nearly 10 years ago. Will is also threatened with a sexual scandal for a brief liaison with a movie star years ago; and to place him in even more jeopardy, he is the target of a remote militia group assassin, for no apparent reason other than he is a politician. Woods does a masterful job of building suspense and weaving together various sub-plots. The short chapters are well-paced, and move effortlessly between the different scenes and sub-plots. However, some of the sub-plots are never resolved and are left dangling. What happened to Ed Rawls in the Atlanta State Penitentiary who seems to have mysterious powers over politicians and former CIA colleagues? Some topics and plot elements are introduced and then dropped, which leaves you with an incomplete feeling by the end of the novel. After weaving a complicated and intriguing plot, the writer seems to lose interest in some of the characters and just drops them. In spite of these loose ends, "The Run" was a quick, satisfying read, and I will definitely read some of Woods other books.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Run" doesn't get my vote...
Review: Here we go again. Another story about a politician who is truly passionate about the love of his country and incensed with the idea for doing right on behalf of the people in his homeland. Passionate political person finds himself thrown into the United States presidential race for election. The race... or "The Run" alludes to "The Position" by any means necessary and "The Passion" seems to eventually take a lower priority and get lost somewhere in the mix. Woods weakly attempts to weave sex, scandal and politics into a story that we have all heard before.... (one that we've heard about every four years, to be more accurate). The well-intentioned political candidate finds himself privy to a ton of secrets that require him to run for the office of the Commander and Chief. But little does he realize that his over-sensationalized past will try to catch up with him! At the end of the audio tape, Woods leaves a message to his listeners that made a mediocre story seem even more unpalatable. He directs listeners to his internet website and sarcastically reprimands readers for not knowing their own e-mail address. Woods could have most definitely phrased his concerns in a much more tactful way to those who have just spent their precious dollars on his creation. I would recommend this eight hour audio tape only as a desperate alternative to listening to a talkative spouse and screaming kids on a long car trip. There are much better selections from which to choose.
Rating: 
Summary: Ridiculous Premise! Contradictory characterizations.
Review: Woods book THE RUN begins with a senator and his CIA employed wife sharing important matters in their personal and profeesional lives. hey seem well suited and honest with each other. Suddenly the author throws two facts at us, and each of them changes character and hides truths from their best friend. Ridiculous. Bad read.
Rating: 
Summary: empty, but fun
Review: This is not a brilliant piece of literature, but for beach or Saturday afternoon piled up on the couch it was fun. Some of the plot machinations were a bit strained, but it moved at a good pace. I found myself wanting the candidate to win, so I must have been fairly involved. it would make a good cable movie.
Rating:
Summary: Really rates about 3 1/2
Review: While all of Woods stories seem to carry you along pretty quickly this was uniquely intriguing with impending election in a couple of days. The story was interesting, but I have to say it fell short in several areas. If you like Woods as an author, then this book is entertaining enough that it will keep you going until his next book comes out. However, if you have not read Stuart Woods yet give another book a chance. The reason for this is that while it is a story that moves along, it seems to be riddled with cliches and predictable twists. You also might find several areas of the story far-fetched beyond the story of an honest politician (yeah, right). Try reading "Dead in the Water" or "Swimming to Catalina", and you'll get a better feel for the author Woods can be.
Rating:
Summary: Run away from this book
Review: The Run is one of the dumbest books I have ever read! The storyline had potential, but the end result of every attempt at a plot twist was ridiculous. "Run" away from this book!
Rating: 
Summary: The Run keeps Woods fan happy
Review: What a perfect time to read The Run during this, a presidental election year. This is a great read for any student of the presidental selection process. Instead of bombarding you with the dozens of characters one could in examing the election of a president, Woods offers only a few that are excellent composites of current political personalities today. A quick and concise read, The Run still left me feeling like I had a comprehensive view of Will Lee's pursuit of the presidency.
Rating:
Summary: A vote NO
Review: I am a big Woods fan, but this one is a major disappointment. From political cliche to White House spin, this one feels like it was written by the DNC. There is a glaring absence of Wood's great style and use of character, and it felt like the book was thrown together to hit a deadline rather than tell a great story. I won't forget this one!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book was referred to me by a friend who thought that since I have worked in politics, I would enjoy the book. Here's what I will tell her -- it's about 85% accurate about how traveling presidential campaigns work, and that missing 15% created a problem for me. I kept saying,"That would never happen" or "He'd never do that." And, the plot is too thin. The book is written mostly in dialogue, giving you little or no character development. Overall, it's a disappointing book that could have benefited from more research.
Rating:
Summary: "Primary Colors" written by your local high school jock
Review: The cover of the WHite house in the rifle scope and the inside blurb got me interested in this book. It depicts a Clinton-like Georgia politician (minus the bimbos) who somehow gets in a race for the Presidency "against all odds". Not much thought as to political theory - sorta liberal, fuzzy, not a lot of time given to issues. Instead, what should have been a taut thriller was a yawn. The treatment was quite amateurish. The author tried a few tricks. The use of the "f" word on the first page from the future first lady was one. The woman (who was based on Hillary) never uses it again in the book and in fact the word was used only a couple more times. Talk about gratuitous language. My main complaint is the almost universal shallownes of the characters who were so one-dimensional. The politicians were so token (the SC Senator had a black mistress and had been in the KKK) and it seemed every politician in DC was either sick or had had an accident. The wife was simply a presence. Oddly, the only character developed was the villian, a militia-type guy in the back woods who seemed strangely poignant and bitter-sweet. Despite his backwardness he was somehow capable of outwitting government agents at every turn. At the end, I found my mind racing trying to recall the names of the characters in the books. All in all, skip it and find another one.
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