Rating: Summary: One of the best historical thrillers I've read-terrific! Review: This is the first Glenn Meade book I've read and it definitely won't be the last. As an English and History grad, the period particularly interests me, and Meade did not disappoint, not by a long shot. Wonderful setting, dramatic, dynamic characters, a terrific twist at the end, and a story based on fact. Having read some of the reviews that cribbed about the implausabile plot, I can only direct them to read the real story Meade loosely based his tale upon--I came across it some years ago in a book about the history of the NKVD (The Soviet Union's Secret Police, pre KGB)--yes, Sands of Sakkara really is based on a true story) And the actual true story of how the Nazis attempted to kill Rossevelt and Churchill--called Operation Longjump--is wildly unbeliveable--so much that I doubt any reader would believe it for a minute. Yet it happened. I think Meade, in his wisdom, has actually made the story more credible, and told it wonderfully--with drama and emotion. He's also a terrific writer. I look forward to reading his other novels.
Rating: Summary: BOOOOOOOOOrrring!!!!! Review: The story line is excellent but unfortunately mired in too many depth-less characters and painfully convoluted subplots. It is slow on the uptake tho thankfully does pick up the pace, but only at the last, and after you have waded through so much extraneous babble that you often wondered where you were headed in the first place---which was, incidentally, a plot to assassinate Churchill and Roosevelt. The book flap summary---and even the design of the dust jacket---made it seem like I was in for a treat. Wrong!! I often did not want to pick it back up (it took forever to finish!!!) but I am determined that if I spend money on a book, I'm going to read it. I would recommend this story to only the most patient of readers and certainly will not read again myself.
Rating: Summary: A good thriller Review: i enjoyed it, not as much as follet's the key to rebecca, though, overall, it's a good WWII thriller.
Rating: Summary: More like 2 1/2 stars. Review: Being a big fan of the WW II espionage thriller and not having read one in a while, I looked forward to reading this book. Not far into it I realized that I read it already some 20 years ago when it was called THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. While SANDS is reminiscient of EAGLE it doesn't hold a candle to the Higgins classic. It took me four weeks to finish this book. Four weeks!!! That's how un-suspenseful and un-compelling I found this story. I read SHOGUN in less time. Meade's 3 main characters are paper thin, unsympathetic and just downright DULL. The back cover leads one to believe that you are going to read a thrilling cat and mouse pursuit between two friends who wind up on opposite sides of the war. Nothing like this happens. Weaver, the American "intelligence" officer, merely tags along behind Sanson, the British intel officer who figures out the threat, interprets all the evidence and does all the leg work. Halder, the German "super spy" thinks he can win the war without getting his, or anyone else's hair mussed. If you keep reading looking for the dramatic showdown when these two friends and the woman they both love confront each other, save yourself some time, it never really happens. Skip this one and pick up a copy of THE EAGLE HAS LANDED by Jack Higgins or EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follet.
Rating: Summary: A Nazi Plot to Kill Roosevelt in Cairo! Review: Glenn Meade's novel 'The Sands of Sakkara' is a well thought out page turner that fans of World War Two spy fiction will love. The story revolves around two friends, Harry Weaver and Jack Halder, who find themselves on opposite sides of a plot to kill the President of the United States. Set during the Cairo conference of 1943, Halder is sent to scope out the security surrounding Roosevelt so that Otto Skorzeny's crack SS commandos can move in. But British intelligence soon learns of the plan and tries to stop him with the help of American Lt. Col. Harry Weaver. In the center of the action, and these two men's lives, is Rachel Stern, the woman they both love. Though the plot does bog down at times, it nevertheless captures the spirit of some of the best World War Two spy thrillers. A lot of fun.
Rating: Summary: Three stars book but entertaining for the beach. Review: I wouldn't dream of reading it again, but is quite enterteaning in the way of Agatha Cristhie's works. Not a masterpiece, and you guess some of the turns of the plot, but I have read worse thrillers, and less elegantly written.
Rating: Summary: Briliant! Read Meade's 'Resurrection Day', banned in USA Review: Sands of Sakkara is a terrific read! However, I recently finished his latest, Resurrection Day, oublished only in Europe, and not in the USA (banned, I hear, because of the controversial and sensitive subject matter!) Resurrection Day is an incredible book, prescient and right up to the minute, about an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack on Washington DC--and one of the best books I've ever read, a must for Meade fans, up there with Snow Wolf, and maybe even better. You have to read Resurrection Day--it's scary, fast paced, and stunning. US readers can order it through ... Don't miss it.
Rating: Summary: Entertaining fiction. Review: Overall I enjoyed this book. Yes, much of the book was unbelievable, and how Jack Halder and Rachel Stern continued to elude capture throughout the book was a bit overdone. I overlooked these factors, however, and just tried to enjoy the storyline and the thrilling conclusion. The characters, both heroes and villians, were very interesting and the setting was exotic. If you are looking for history, forget it. However if you enjoy espionage thrillers, particularly those set in WWII, this may be for you. A bit of advice, don't overanalyze. Just relax, the story will take you along and give you an enjoyable and thrilling ride.
Rating: Summary: Extremely Enjoyable Historical Thriller Review: Historical thrillers can sometimes become tedious when the author becomes too involved in facts at the expense of character and plot development. Glenn Meade avoids this trap is this very entertaining World War II novel. The story is based on a triangle of friendship that is threatened by love and deceit. The historical setting is simply a prop to the story line. For those that found the assassination plot implausable, I ask them to come up with realistic scenario for such an act at any time, let alone in the middle of a war. It's not supposed to be easy to gain access to a U.S. President. That's why such acts don't succeed more often.
Rating: Summary: Great Story Review: This was a very well written book that keeps the reader interested and unable to put it down. The characters were great and the plot was excellent. A MUST READ !!
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