The Lions of Lucerne

Rating:
Summary: Thor is no Clancy, Ludlum, or Cussler!
Review: I am stunned at the number of reviewers comparing Brad Thor to Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Clive Cussler. This book is not even close to being comparable to their work. I am an especially big fan of Clancy and his characters are deep; his plots deep and well-developed. The Lions of Lucerne's characters are flat and not well-developed and the plot is like a stereotypical Hollywood action movie with continuous gun fights and no depth.

The main character, Scot Harvath, is not well-developed and I never got any sense of who he was or what made him tick. None of the other characters in the novel were well-developed either; they were all flat and I never got a feel for or cared about any of them. The plot was too much action and did not have enough depth. It was pretty ridiculous how Scot managed to put all the pieces of the crime together so quickly from the few clues he had. Everything just came together too quickly and too neatly. Like another reviewer mentioned, it was irritating how a gang of brilliant commandos who pulled off a spectacular kidnapping could turn into a bunch of bumbling morons who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a machine gun.

I'm giving this novel a 3 for an interesting story idea and because Thor's locations were well-developed. It is unlikely that I will ever read another Brad Thor novel, there are just too many better authors out there in the Thriller genre. If you want an example of a great first novel, try Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October". That novel was head and shoulders above The Lions of Lucerne.

Rating:
Summary: Lame...juvenile writing
Review: I don't consider myself a big book connoisseur and am willing to read almost anything, but I couldn't even finish this book. I got about 1/4th the way through and couldn't take it anymore...I had to quit! The plot was lame, and the writing was juvenile. This is kind of how it goes: "Blah, blah, blah", he said. And then he said, "I know. Blah, blah, blah and blah." "You're so right," he said. "It's blah, blah, blah!", he said, nodding his head in reply. ....Give me a break!!! To top it off, he uses dialogue to explain what's happening or the setup for a particular scene. People don't really talk this way because they implictly know what's going on...they don't need to state the obvious!! I probably should've taken the hint with this statement on the page following the dedication: "For reasons of national security, certain names, places, and tactical procedures have been changed within this novel." Yeah, right.

Well, maybe Brad has matured as a writer and his subsequent novels are better, but for me, I will think twice before trying him again.

Rating:
Summary: The Lions Of Lucerne
Review: I have been a Robert Ludlum ( Jason Bourne Series ), Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts and Dan Brown fan for years. I place Brad Thor on an equal to these authors. He has created the character of Scott Harvath that compares to Jason Bourne, and Mr. Clark. I found the book to be well written, and fast-paced, the type of book I didn't want to put down for a minute.

Rating:
Summary: Cannot put this book down!
Review: I just finished reading this book and on an evening when I was sleepy it kept me awake until 3:00am. Then I couldn't wait to finish it the next day. I am a Tom Clancy fan, but this author will become a new favorite!

It is fast paced and visually accurate. I had visited Mt. Pilatus more than 30 years ago - now I want to return for closer inspection!

Rating:
Summary: Great Yarn!
Review: I just finished this book and found it to be excellent. I read a couple of the other reviews and found them to miss the point. The book is told from the narrow viewpoint of the protagonist over a very brief period of time. I loved the focus of the book and its fast pace. Thumbs up Brad!

Rating:
Summary: Not bad for a debut novel...
Review: I just finished this book and must say that I was a little disappointed with it. What began with such promise seemingly evaporates in the last hundred pages....can someone say "deadline" ?? The other reviewers who talked about the sudden inability of master assassains to hit a target were, pardon the pun, dead on! The Claudia Mueller character appears early in the novel and is not seen again for nearly 300 pages. The Harvath charcter is good, but he is no Mitch Rapp! Brad Thor is good but he has a way to go to catch up with Vince Flynn.

All that being said I will more than likely pick up Path of the Assassain when it comes out in paperback. Even my favorites like Ludlum and Cussler were still developing their tradecraft in their first novels. Thor deserves a second chance with this reader.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I think Brad Thor is the new kid on the block to look for in the future. Hopefully we will see more of our new hero Scot Harvath. It was a quick read and if you give it a try I don't think you will be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Much more than a thriller...
Review: I reserve the five star rating only for an author who has passed away; it leaves no room for improvement...

The deceptive power of Brad Thor's debut thriller "The Lions of Lucerne" should not be lost within a genre known for the escapism that it offers it's readers. Thor's portrayal of the unstoppable Scott Harvath is dead on as he paints a portarait of the quintessential 'man on a mission' who compromises nothing in the execution of his duties. In Harvath, Thor has created more than a new American hero, he has given the United States a shining example for it's citizens.

Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Honor, and Integrity are ideals not only embodied by Scott Harvath, but are attitudes and beliefs desperately needed by this all Americans in the post 9/11 world.

You have to own this book. Thor will evolve into much more than a thriller writer as his career evolves and you will want that first edition of 'Lions' on your bookshelf, trust me.

Let's raise our glasses to an outstanding new author and a patriotic American...

Rating:
Summary: Hunter or Flynn Lite
Review: I thought Brad Thor was a pen name, but he thanks his parents who are named Thor so I guess it's real. Scot Horvath, super skier, Navy Seal now bodyguard to President Rutledge will soon be suspected of engineering the President's disappearance. This could be a Stephen Hunter plot (who didn't write a blurb for the book jacket) or Vince Flynn (who did), but it's way short of anything they've turned out.

The first half sets up the chase. Gerhard Miner mobilizes the Lions of Lucerne to take out Rutledge's Secret Service detail and kidnap him off the slopes at Deer Valley. Scot saves the President's daughter and fights the bureaucracy (including a corrupt FBI agent, of course) with his own investigation. Evil Senators Snyder and Rolander who are in the pocket of fat cat Fawcett set up the snatch. Sen. Snyder's penchant for killing his studly 20-something boy toys backfires when one gets away and finds Scot, a friend of his old boyfriend's sister. Scot tells the story to his mentor the Secret Service Director who unfortunately is one of the bad guys. Bring on the hitmen. Scot escapes in some pretty good action shootouts and gets to Switzerland.

Halftime.

Scot goes to Jackie an old skiiing pal who happens to be a friend of Claudia Mueller the Swiss investigator who is after Miner in another case. Claudia was on the scene when the hit team arrived, Scot thought she was after him, but with Jackie to broker a truce they team up for the final chase.

One can't count the impossible escapes, and does the President really believe he's being held captive in the desert when he's in a cave in the Swiss Alps? I can't believe I bought it, let alone finished it.

Rating:
Summary: It was okay...
Review: I'm going to have to disagree with some of the reviewers that have written previously. You know, going into this book, I didn't have extremely high hopes (I hardly ever do), but I like to read reviews of a book before I spend a week or so of my valuable off-work time reading it. I saw all the good reviews and decided to give this one a shot... and I have to say it was... eh. I was more than a little disappointed because usually the reviews here are right on the money if you look at the average.

I consider myself a pretty avid reader. I've read most everything Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Lee Child, and Daniel Silva have to offer... as well as a lot of Stephen King, and various other authors that I can't even remember right now as I'm sitting here. I'm not that hard to please as long as the story is decent, characters are somewhat believable, or if they're not believable at least their actions are in the context of who they are. I LOVE a good story, no matter what genre.

That being said, the premise was cool... the action was pretty well choreographed... and I liked the bad guys getting it in the end. What about the story in between ? Well... for starters, the dialogue was very subpar considering who Thor is being compared to. I've always thought that it wasn't an actor that won the Oscar, it was the director behind the actor that won the actor the Oscar. I think also, that a good editor should have caught most of the trite dialogue that can sound good to the author at the time, but should come up after a couple of revisions.

Scot Harvath, at least for most of the first half of the book, comes off a lot of the time as a petulent child. I mean how many times does he insist on getting up and getting after the bad guys after being injured in the avalanche ? It's like "I get it Mr. Thor !! He's dedicated and wants to get out of bed !! Ok ? Can we move on ?" His actions and dialogue seemed like a 8 year old who's just been told by his mommy he can't go out and play with little Jimmy Jones down the street. And let's not get started on his actions in the case. Breaking the rules is one thing, but being a Navy SEAL does not make you an expert investigator. Nothing in the plot line suggested even remotely that the FBI investigators were inept and couldn't handle things themselves. Again, I was reminded of a child being told he can't do something and then doing it anyway just because he can. I found myself sympathizing with the investigators who were just trying to do their job and Harvath being a total jerk along the way... contaminating crime scenes... stealing evidence, etc. I admit, I grew to like him more and more along the way, but I couldn't get over my first impressions of him. He reminded me of a SEAL that I've seen many times before named Scott Helvenston who recently died in Iraq as private security personnel. Extremely talented, but what a complete jerk. (Remember the show "Combat Missions"?)

It seemed there were a few themes going through the story. "Everybody hates the FBI and they're a bunch of goofballs except the ones that are Harvath's friends"... "Nobody understands despite overwhelming proof otherwise what is happening except Harvath, the only one without extensive investigative training"... and "Harvath is a dedicated ex-Navy SEAL who is a top of the line Secret Service agent who has superhuman instincts and senses that he got from his SEAL days. Did we mention he was a SEAL ?"

There were little things here and there that bothered me... such as Harvath and Claudia only bringing ONE magazine a piece for their firearms to a potential gunfight. Also the bit about bringing a toy Airsoft gun along to intercept some bad guys. Inventive, yes, and I understand why... but extremely stupid and unprofessional. And I thought it odd how the "most notorious team of professional killers the world has ever known" according to the jacket cover... could miss EVERY SINGLE TIME they shot at Harvath and Claudia when they were standing completely still. One time, maybe... but every single time ??... well except for the flesh wound he got in his arm when he was running. Make Harvath run ! Because you're not going to get him if he's standing still ! He must have learned that skill in the SEALs. This along with the other "themes" I mentioned are beat into your head time and time again.

I don't mind melodrama. Hey, The Bourne Identity is one of my favorite books ever... and at one point I thought I'd had enough of the "I'm Jason Bourne. No, I'm David Webb. No, I'm Michael Jansen. No wait. Wrong novel" type stuff. But the story was wonderful and original and the dialogue was at least passable.

I was disappointed because of what this book could and should have been. Better than Clancy or Ludlum ?? Are you nuts ?? If you like the tough guy who beats up and/or kills all the bad guys in a satisfying fashion type book, read Lee Child. Start with "Killing Floor" and work your way up. There's none better.

I gave this one 3 stars because the action was good, and the premise was pretty original. The storytelling is what made it suffer. All the emotion felt dry and forced. Not a bad first try, but let's hope for better in the future.

As for Harvath, Bourne or Reacher he is not... but did I mention that Harvath was a Navy SEAL ?