Black Sunday

Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced and tighly plotted
Review: For starters, I would like to address the ignorant and non-sensical complaints by some reveiwers that this book does not feature Hannibal Lector and is dissimilar to Harris's other works: shut up ignorant reveiwers. Must an author write all his novels off the same characters? Would an author that made all his books the same be a good author? No; Thomas Harris is a very good author because of his ability to create beleivable pyschopaths who are almost sympathetic. Hannibal Lector is a supporting character and works very well as one. Now, on to Black Sunday

Black Sunday is argubly the most intelligent action book I've read. The plot is simple: Michael Lander wishes to blow up a signifigant amount of explosives in the United States. He has Palestinian assistance and a very unstable mind. David Kabakov is a member of the Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service. He knows very little about Lander's plans but must stop him at all costs. Time is short, and the stakes are huge.

What makes Black Sunday great, not just good, is its ability to transcend the action novel format and develop orginal and intensely beleivable characters. In telling about psychotic Michael Lander, Harris does not fall back upon the standard "abused as a child and therefore crazy" cliche; he creates a backstory that is convincing and saddening. Major David Kabakov is not the epitome of good or heroic but he is willing to do whatever it takes to get the mission accomplished and is intensely likeable. It doesn't take much to get the reader rooting for him

To sum things up, I highly reccomend this near flawless book. The action sequences are engaging, the love-story not obligatory or carelessly handled, the human element present and the ending uncertain until the very last. 9.5/10

Rating:
Summary: Politics & Sports & Murder
Review: From fiendish terrorism on our own turf to political insanity, you'll never look at another *blimp* the same way again! Great read & oh so dangerously possible!

Rating:
Summary: Scary, suspenseful and fun
Review: Harris' first novel is a disturbingly prescient portrayal of our post-9/11 world almost 30 years after it was published. It follows three terrorists -- two Palestinian "freedom fighters" and a disgruntled Vietnam vet -- as they execute a frightening plan to explode a bomb over the Super Bowl and kill everyone there, including the President. And in a parallel storyline, it follows the movements of the Israeli Mossad and CIA as they try to track down the terrorists, deduce what they are planning to do and stop it.

In the '70s, this book must have seemed like a fantastic thrill ride. Today, it's all too realistic. Even in his first novel, Harris' spare, precise style is evident. The book reads more like a screenplay than a novel, and for this type of story, that's just what is needed to keep the suspense honed.

This was my second reading of BLACK SUNDAY, and while I found it just as enjoyable and suspenseful as the first time around -- I didn't remember what happened at the end -- I wasn't quite as engaged this time, perhaps because it become so much easier to imagine something like this actually happening.

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing first effort
Review: Harris' first novel is an excellent freshman outing. It's a bit different than the more famous ones that have followed, but that's to be expected. The American villian is a fasinating monster as only Harris can construct but the protagonists could have been stronger, a problem that Harris rectifies in later work. All in all, an absorbing and shockingly possible premise told with great detail and suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable terrorist thriller
Review: Having seen the film a long time ago, and of course, reading some of Harris' other works, I finally got around to reading this one. It's his first book, so it's not as polished (or as long) as a really first rate thriller usually is, however, it was a quick and enjoyable read and I'd highly recommend it to any that enjoy the genre of thriller/spy/terrorist nature.
Post 9/11 brings an era where this type of book is no longer highly speculative fiction, but rather a story that could turn into a horrible reality all too easily. I hope that our public officials that are in charge of our security have read this book (and all like it).

Rating:
Summary: Frightening, almost prophetic.
Review: I agree with the other reviewer who states that life does imitate art in reference to this book. I remember the 1991 Gulf War commenced right before the Super Bowl. Newscasts mentioned this book and the movie based on it; that year, no blimp was allowed to fly over the stadium during the game! Now in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, we see how horrifying terrorism is when such actions are successful.
Although this book is not on par with Harris' later works (Red Dragon in particular is very well written), it well demonstrates his researching technical facts to build a credible storyline and in character development. Superficially, the storyline seems rather humorous: a plot to destroy a football game! However, once you're immersed in this tale, you realize how terrifying such a concept is and how truly possible such an idea can quickly become real.

Rating:
Summary: amazing, prophetic book
Review: I bought this book for my daughter, because she is a big Thomas Harris fan. I started reading it, and couldn't put it down until it was finished. It is amazing to me that it was written in 1975, and on September 11, 2001 we saw the same basic story played out in our country. Now I am wondering if this information has been common knowledge in some circles for some time. How foolish our leaders have been to not take it seriously. I read that there is a movie based on the book,...

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I could not put it down! I loved this book

Rating:
Summary: Typical...
Review: I loved reading all of Harris's other books so I decided to give this one a try. I did not like it this book at all. It read very much like a Tom Clancy novel and lacked the spark of all three of the Lector series books. It seemed too focused on the PLO but I suppose that the book was timely for when it was published in 1975.

Rating:
Summary: What did I miss?
Review: I've read all the review. I honestly don't see what was so good about the book. The summary made this one of the most highly anticipated reads for me ever. But the plot moved along slowly I thought. The conclusion was too fast. Sorry, I loved everything else he's done. I just couldn't like this one. The author is what saved this from a 2 star.