Rating: 
Summary: Great Action...one of the best I've read this year.
Review: I found some of Nance's books boring but this one rates up there with Last Hostage and Medusa's Child for quick action that keeps you turning the pages. I read it at one sitting.
Rating:
Summary: The king of the air
Review: I have yet to finish this book but as with all of Nances' previous books this comes up to par. It's riveting and suspenseful. Don't ask me what it is I find fascinating about air disasters and the like, but John J Nance writes the best around, and I've read loads. I bought this book just because he wrote it, and I'm usually skeptical. Enjoy
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I picked this book up at Dallas-Ft. Worth airport just before leaving for Geneva via Brussels this week. I finished the book by the time I got to Geneva. Few books have kept me turning pages like this. Tom Clancy's books (the real ones, not the Op-Center and Net-whatever balony) have gripped me like this as well, but they are much longer.I guess it helps that John Nance is a pilot, and that I am an aviation nut. He goes into a lot of detail on how to fly a 747 in the first half of the book, and I don't remember spotting a single technical error, which is very unusual. The plot is quite plausable, and there is enough information withheld (and fed to you bit by bit) to keep you guessing right up to the final chapters as to who are the bad guys and who isn't, unlike certain books which give the reader all the info and you have to read how the characters discover what you already know. So good marks to John Nance for that. The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 stars is that the book COULD have been a lot more. Just imagine if John Nance had given the manuscript to Tom Clancy for a bit of reworking. The book would have come back with a LOT more character development, and more artfully crafted descriptions of scenes and action. The book may have ended up being twice as long, but the story and characters are easily interesting enough to keep your attention for a good, long round-the-world trip. Charles
Rating: 
Summary: The first time I've been truly disappointed by Nance
Review: I've read several of John Nance's novels and been drawn in by the plot of every single one up until now. The number of positive reviews on Amazon of Blackout puzzles me. I found the number of chases to be reminicent of a bad action movie that relies on car chases and stunts to cover up a lack of plot. The characters in Blackout were shallow and stereotypical and not at all believeable. Generally I will read a novel in a few days, but this one took me two weeks because I kept putting it aside after reading one unbelieveable encounter after another. I did finish it, because I wanted to know how it would all wrap up, and truthfully, not much was wrapped up at all. I would recommend Phoenix Rising, or even Turbulence, but not Blackout. It was just BAD.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb Diversion
Review: If mindless action is your gig, then you'll find this book satsifying. But if you're the type that bemoans high levels of cliche and implausibility then avoid this pulp fiction. A book for the fans of Sylvester Stallone movies. With paper-thin characterizations, down to the bad guy's "I'm going to kill you now, but first let me explain my motives and plans" speech, this book continually demonstrates it's target for an mass, non-discriminating audience, and not for anyone with an operational logic filter.
Rating:
Summary: all foam, no beer
Review: If this book were made into a movie, it would have a lot of chase scenes and plane wrecks. But even chase scenes get boring after awhile. Not much character development and a simplistic writing style give the book little substance. The description of the plane crash in the first chapter of the book was gripping, but by the second or third wreck is was "ho-hum."
Rating:
Summary: Very Realistic
Review: If you are a pilot, you will find this book very accurate. The scary thing is that this technology does exist and hopefully it never falls into the wrong hands.
Rating:
Summary: A thrill a minute
Review: In Hong Kong, FBI Agent Kat Bronsky and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Robert McCabe wonder. . . where do you go when there is no place to hide from the people chasing after you? McCabe believes he has a partial answer to what caused Sea Air Flight 122 to crash in the Gulf of Mexico, killing over two hundred people. He is convinced that a terrorist act caused the disaster, but has no proof. Kat thinks McCabe has the evidence to prove his assertion. She plans to fly back to Washington with him, but at the last moment is called off the plane. They agree to meet, but a bizarre incident happens. The pilot of the plane McCabe is flying dies and the co-pilot goes blind. The plane crashes in Viet Nam with only six survivors. Kat rescues them even as the saboteurs give chase. These unknown assailants seem to always be one step ahead of Kat, as if they are being fed insider information from the top. Still, Kat thinks McCabe knows something critical even if he is unaware of its importance. He is the target and she must keep him safe. John J. Nance is renowned for his pulse pounding thrillers that always take the audience along for one heck of a ride. His latest tale, BLACKOUT, is another triumph for an author with one of the last decade's best résumé. The graphic story line feels so believable that many frequent flyers will take the bus just as many moviegoers avoided beaches after Jaws. The engaging characters gain empathy, as what happens to McCabe and Kat seems important to the reader. Mr. Nance provides his fans with an electrifying tale that shows how talented he is. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A wild, exciting, and fast ride!
Review: It seems that John Nance just keeps getting better by the book. I had really enjoyed his last book, "The Last Hostage", so I was eager to read "Blackout". He surpassed all expectations with this one! It goes without saying that Mr. Nance really knows his stuff when it comes to aviation. What makes him special, though, is that he can explain all the technicalities of any given aircraft and make it understandable for the layman. That's the strong trait in his reporting for ABC, and shines through when you read his novels. He also excels in his fictional writing by developing a plot that is utterly plausible and completely believable. These two traits combined make him one of the better authors on the market, and helps lock the reader in for a great adventure. "Blackout" was one of a small handful of books that I can recall reading where it was literally impossible to find a stopping place. The action starts right at page 1 and keeps roaring without pause to the very end. You really were compelled to keep plowing right through the pages to see what was coming next. I wound up reading roughly half of the book in one sitting one evening, then finished it off the next, and I found myself eagerly anticipating getting back to the read during the period in between (while I was at work!). As I mentioned above, the plot is completely believable, and is helped (as in his other books) by not being one where you can guess the outcome well ahead. He keeps the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat with the various twists and turns. The only thing that keeps me from giving this book a full five-star rating is the conclusion. It's a small point, and only a minor discouragement in the book. However, I felt he let things down a notch by resorting to the time-worn (and overdone) sequence where the villian finally catches the hero/heroine, then proceeds to talk for several minutes before killing them. This, of course, allows someone else to step in at the last second to save the day and kill the bad guy. It just seems an ending too reminiscient of every bad "B"-grade action movie you've ever seen. If they were so hell-bent on killing you immediately throughout, why would they suddenly spill their guts to you when they finally catch you? I guess it's an easy "out" to tie up all the loose strings, but only because it's overdone do I highlight it. The conclusion aside - like I said, it's a minor point - I would highly recommend this to anybody. Like I said earlier, Nance writes for a broader audience than the technical details of a Tom Clancy, so just about anyone should get the same thrills and excitement I got out of it.
Rating:
Summary: What a thriller!
Review: It's one of the best roller coaster rides I've ever been on.TERRIFIC READ !
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