Rating: 
Summary: Exciting and entertaining
Review: After the Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth was expected to produce something as splendid in his next novel, ie The Negotiator. Set against a background of the crumbling USSR era and the ending of the Cold War, the Negotiator is one of the few last novels about the Cold War drama of political intrigue.
In this novel, I found that the hero, Quinn, very charming and interesting. Here I personally find it interesting, when Forsyth put some emotions in Quinn, compare to the other characters created, that seemed like 'cardboard' characters living off their 'professional' life! I love it when Forsyth writes about those 'cat and mouse' games. He did it wonderfully in The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Fourth Protocol. And in The Negotiator, he masterfully crafted it again. The Negotiator has a good plot, the events of the story intelligently revealed and a 'good touch' ending. The lackings in this story include the Forsyth tendency of making his character a Mr Know-it-all and rebelious, which seem a bit unrealistic in the 90s, and a wee chauvinistic. But Quinn is certainlly better that most of other Forsyth characters like Cat Shannon and the Jackal. Good job Mr Forsyth!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't get warned off by the editorial reviews. 5 star book!
Review: Don't mistake this novel with the film "The Negotiator" with Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey. This book has a lot more depth and action. The story revolves around three main problems: 1) The Soviets will run out of oil soon and thus there are hints to invade some oil rich country(ies) to the south. 2) The president of the United States will soon sign an arms reduction treaty with the soviets. 3) The increasing dependence on the "corrupt" Middle Eastern countries for oil. The last two scenarios are the main things that drive this action packed story. A group of armaments specialists, an oil tycoon and a shipping tycoon band together to keep the president from signing the treaty and to end american dependence on the "corrupt Arabs" once and for all. Psycological warfare is used to control the president and there's an elaborate plan to end american dependence on Saudi oil. The character Quinn comes into the story in the psycological warfare part. Quinn is an ex-green beret who reluctantly accepts a special assignment which is integral to the main plot. Quinn in many ways is like James Bond with the exception of the fancy gadgets. Reading this book is like watching a James Bond movie with a more intricate plot. Surprises and twists abound.
Rating:
Summary: not like the movie
Review: Don't mistake this novel with the film "The Negotiator" with Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey. This book has a lot more depth and action. The story revolves around three main problems: 1) The Soviets will run out of oil soon and thus there are hints to invade some oil rich country(ies) to the south. 2) The president of the United States will soon sign an arms reduction treaty with the soviets. 3) The increasing dependence on the "corrupt" Middle Eastern countries for oil. The last two scenarios are the main things that drive this action packed story. A group of armaments specialists, an oil tycoon and a shipping tycoon band together to keep the president from signing the treaty and to end american dependence on the "corrupt Arabs" once and for all. Psycological warfare is used to control the president and there's an elaborate plan to end american dependence on Saudi oil. The character Quinn comes into the story in the psycological warfare part. Quinn is an ex-green beret who reluctantly accepts a special assignment which is integral to the main plot. Quinn in many ways is like James Bond with the exception of the fancy gadgets. Reading this book is like watching a James Bond movie with a more intricate plot. Surprises and twists abound.
Rating:
Summary: Forsyth's Brain is an Encyclopedia of Espionage
Review: Forsyth continues to amaze me with his attention to detail and mastery of his subject matter. The information he has between his ears about espionage, military tactics, geography, rules of engagement, etc. would make any policeman, detective, or military leader drool. I have read about five of Forsyth's books, and The Negotiator ranks up there with the best of them. As always, the book is fast paced, entertaining, and leaves you wondering how the hero is always one step ahead of the bad guys. The Negotiator is thrilling in the James Bond sense: you are amazed at the same time you say to yourself, "Oh, come on." You know that there will be a plot twist, but you can't necessarily predict where it will come from, and/or which good guy will turn out to be bad. Forsyth's descriptions of landscape alone, from cities in the Netherlands to the rural Vermont countryside, demonstrate the author's range, never mind his accounts of weaponry and combat. Out of sight.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not Forsyth's best.
Review: Forsyth is an excellent writer, and this book's by no means a waste of time, but it could be a lot better. The storyline is a little uneven, to put it mildly, and at times it feels like Forsyth was in a hurry to finish the book and move on to something else. The book begins by unveiling a Russian scheme to invade Iran and gain control of its oil reserves. The first couple of chapters are devoted to the development of this scheme. Then, once the conspirators have worked out what they're going to do and set things in motion... ...well, nothing. This subplot - which looked like it was going to be the central story of the book - simply _vanishes_, never to be mentioned again, and it's not at all clear why Forsyth bothered to include it at all. His books are usually very tightly plotted, with just about every subplot coming together near the end of the story, so this is a disappointing departure from form. Then, towards the end of the book, it looks like Forsyth got bored and wanted to take a few short-cuts to the finish line. The strength of Forsyth's novels is their realism - one usually feels that yes, this _is_ how things happen in the real world. But the end of 'Negotiator' has the ring of a James Bond movie: "Before I kill you, Mr. Bond, I will tell you all about my diabolical plan." In a Forsyth novel, this is a disappointing cop-out. All in all this is a good way to kill a few hours, but it's nowhere near the level of, say, "Day of the Jackal".
Rating:
Summary: Standard-Issue Hostage Drama
Review: Freddy Forsyth wrote three or four good numbers in the seventies and eighties: unfortunately "The Negotiator" is just another formula. The President's son is kidnapped and no-one knows what to do (apart from PM Thatcher, who makes a real-life intrusion into this otherwise fictional tale). Our "Negotiator" is a hostage negotiator - no relation to Kevin Spacey or Sam Jackson in the epynomous movie - though frankly there's precious little to differentiate between all of these hostage dramas at the end of the day. Forsyth once wrote outside formula; after "Negotiator," it forever dominated his destiny.
Rating:
Summary: Enticing and Shocking Action Thriller
Review: Frederick Forsyth is a master of 'spy' story telling. This book was my starter to Forsyth's other works. The story line and the facts presented in THE NEGOTIATOR is enticing by giving complete details as if I was in the story with Quinn. The plot is shocking due to many twists and exploding action along the story. The characters are well developed and carried the suspense till the end. This book is an ultimate satisfaction. Because of this book, which made me fall in love with Forsyth's work, I bought the following books:- Icon, The Deceivers and Devil's Alternative.
Rating:
Summary: Holds your attention
Review: I heard an audiotape of this book (narrated by Anthony Zerbe, I believe) and was hooked. The suspense was well drawn and the characters were interesting. The exception would be the female agent, who was really rather mindless and gullible. Both these traits, naturally, would be undesirable and unrealistic in an intelligence agent of either gender. Still, a gripping story.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting
Review: I thought the author slipped a bit with this book, not as good as some of his others. I just did not believe the story line therefore I spent the rest of the book looking for errors (to his credit I do not think I found many). Overall he always delivers a good story, I would read his work over many others. You need to pay attention, as the story is not written to put you to sleep, but to get the excitement level going and for the reader to pay attention. He is good at this form of book and if you like him you will like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting
Review: I thought the author slipped a bit with this book, not as good as some of his others. I just did not believe the story line therefore I spent the rest of the book looking for errors (to his credit I do not think I found many). Overall he always delivers a good story, I would read his work over many others. You need to pay attention, as the story is not written to put you to sleep, but to get the excitement level going and for the reader to pay attention. He is good at this form of book and if you like him you will like this one.
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