Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Gripping and fast paced story with amazingly realistic presentation. Kept me turning page after page until early hours of the morning. A moderate understanding of computer terminoligy will help you appreciate this book best. All in all, a very good book indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: A dull crash course in acronyms
Review: Having read the very positive reviews of the book I expected a gripping thriller with a very imaginative plot and an author who has a deep understanding of the world he is writing about. But this is far from what one gets in this book. A very shallow cast of characters is welded into a story which becomes totally predictable after the first 20 pages. Perhaps the author should have talked to Mark Rich - the real-world commodities trader who fled to Switzerland to avoid a prison sentence for tax evasion in the US - before crafting the sinister Malcolm Dyson, who is longing for world economic destruction from his Geneva home and Zug offices, and get a real handle on the life of a fugitive. Or is this ridiculously exaggerated resemblance to living persons purely coincidental? All this would still be excusable if it were not for the author's obnoxious tendency to hide his further lack of understanding of suspense by introducing and explaining zillions of unnecessary acronyms used by the intelligence and finance community on every other page of the book. And to make matters of his pseudo-knowledge worse he also embarks - like a condescending schoolmaster - on a crash course in recent history by throwing in some side stories on the Oklahoma, the World Trade Center and the Lockerbie bombings and the hostage taking in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Nevertheless, I now know that the "...American Euro-Copter AS350B ASTAR [was] formerly known as the Aerospatiale ASTAR 350B..." and that a "...NOTAM is a Notice to Aviators and Mariners which delcares a certain area off-limits." As for only one of the numerous weak links in the story: It takes a high degree of ignorance of the financial community to imagine the CEO ("...or chief executive officer") of one of the world's largest banks running around with SWIFT authenticator keys (which is - I suppose - what Finder alludes to when describing the "Network" and which is one of the very few widely used financial acronyms which the author does not mention in his book) and having these code keys snatched under his nose by a high class D&S ("...or dominance and submission") callgirl. In summary, this book can only be recommended to somebody who desperately wants to know what CBT and some other 250 acronyms mean. And reader beware: CBT - as explained on page 292 of the paperback version - does not stand for Chicago Board of Trade!
Rating: 
Summary: A Quick Paced Roller Coaster Ride With A Bad Ending
Review: Having read this novel sometime ago, I made myself go back and re-read it before attempting to critique it. Now, after going through it a second time my impressions of "The Zero Hour" have not changed. Joseph Finder captures the reader's attention with a daring jail brake from a South African Prison. If this novel was a chess game I would say this opening was to the point. I was hooked. Add a rather inventive plot concerning the revenge of an incredibly wealthy man by the destruction of a clandestine computer system which practically runs our planet, and this story picked up steam in a hurry. Where it did run into a snag was in the character of Sarah Cahill, the FBI agent that ultimately saves the day. Her character seems too weak and hardly at all a match for "The Prince of Darkness". It would be nice if a female characters in Sarah's position could be portrayed as strong and confident. The fact that she is able to foil, perhaps the greatest professional terrorist of all time is a fluke at best. The ending of this novel ruined all the good work that had gone before. This one looks like it was made for television. The truth of the matter is that professional operatives are rarely stopped, and when they are, it is by law enforcement individuals that are equally as brilliant. Two evenly matched oponents in a real life game of chess, that is what makes novels in this genre work
Rating: 
Summary: Who wrote this book a CIA agent?
Review: I know that the CIA and the FBI are always fighting like brothers, but you have to give a break to the FBI, for example: The Chief of Anti Terrorist department of the FBI knows that somewhere in the US is an african terrorist who escaped from jail in Africa, he (the FBI agent) knows that the terrorist is dangerous is armed and he knows that the FBI is chasing him, so the FBI agent saw a guy behind his car, he is alone and unarmed and say:
"Hold your hands, FBI agent". What do you thing that happened to the FBI agent? After that, and knowing that the terrorist just killed an FBI agent, another FBI agent chase the terrorist alone, no back up, the terrorist enter to a chinese cafe and when go inside the FBI agent saw that the cafe is empty, so he asked a waitress: "Where is the restroom?" What do you thing that happened to this agent? Now, the star of the book, Sarah Cahill, she worked for the FBI, then she worked for the Anti Terrorist Forces of the FBI, she know something don't you think? She went to Central Park with his 8 years old kid and while her kid play base ball with another unknown kid she started to read, then when she finished she didn't see her kid and after 10 minutes or so she saw that four or five kids are knock him and then, in New York, in Central Park came a man from nowhere, save her kid and since then both are lovers, when that man appear to save the boy I knew who he was. At the end of the book, that is as worst as it can be the person who solve the case wasn't the FBI, was a police from the NYPD, please give some credit to the FBI. Now two big lies: First: If you want to track a telephone conversation from house to house you need at least 15 to 20 minutes, but if you want to track a call from a cellular phone with 30 seconds is enough. Second: In the book is written that if you want to destroy the World Trade Center you need an atomic bomb DO YOU REALLY THINK SO? Thinking better, if I were an FBI agent I will sue this book. Now the story of the book, here you will see how work the cellular phone, all the terrorist acts to the US since 1970 secret or not, and all the TOP secrets of the FBI. I don't know why the US want such agency, but thanks God that this book was written before 2001, because if were written after, in the book the FBI Agency would be closed.
Rating:
Summary: A SMASH HIT FOR FINDER....... 5 STARS PLUS
Review: I read J.F. book, HIGH CRIMES, and it was very good. So I took another chance that his previous books would be the same. This story is fresh and quick paced. Finder is the best for drama and suspense. There ae surprises at every turn. The main charcater is Sarah Cahill, whose investigation turns into a desparate pursuit of a highly sophisticated and charismatic terrorist, known only by the code name Zero. Zero's identity is unknown. And get this, the Zero character knows Cahill intimately...very intimately.I could tell you how this happen but it would spoil the smile you woukld get when you find out how it happen in your reading of this book. This is a fasten-your-seat-belt suspense and a guaranteed page-turner. You will kick your later if you don't read this. If you want to wait for a better review of this book to make up your mind, it is your choice...but I would not !!! Happy reading. I recommend High Crimes and Extraordianry Powerrs; also as well as all my other reviews I have done. They are still worth a look. TRIPP
Rating:
Summary: Pre 9/11 Thriller Still Worth a Look
Review: It's unfortunate that this book is out of print-- I suppose that to some it might seem that the events of 9/11 have rendered this tale of a terrorist attack on NYC moot. Not so. Finder's story, set after the first attack on the WTC, is a bit spooky in how it manages to anticipate some of what did occur years later. Details about the world of terrorism and counter-terrorism that may have seemed merely nice detail work originally now have a special kind of resonance. For that reason alone, this book would be worth a look. But that's not all it has to offer. Finder combines the tech-savvy detail of Clancy with the personal drama and driving suspense of Ludlum. We get a whole cast of characters that are drawn well enough to engage us in the story without stopping the narrative push. Action, surprises, twists and a grippingly real premise-- the book manages to entertain and give you something to think about when it's over. A great read. I can only hope that the release of Finder's new novel Paranoia will fuel interest in his earlier works so that this sees print again, because it deserves to be out there.
Rating:
Summary: Finder is a Political Visionary
Review: The Zero Hour is the third in Finder's collection of four (to date) outstanding novels which, upon investigation, reveal some of the most enlightening political info and predictions of our time. His first book, Moscow Club, accurately predicted the Soviet coup just before its occurrence. His second, Extraordinary Powers, accurately predicted the exposure of a high ranking CIA mole. His third, Zero Hour, explains the pitiful security of the world's finance system (and thank God it hasnt come true yet!), and his latest High Crimes pre-dates by three years a remarkably similar tale as the one recently uncovered concerning former Senator Bob Kerrey's command in Vietnam. A truly informative and knowledgeable man with a knack for fantastic presentation, Finder's books are some of the finest around. Pick them up, and you won't ever want to put them down.
Rating:
Summary: Very Fast Paced
Review: This book is a lot of fun. I was reading along and thinking it may not be bad to have this happen to my place of work. This fast-paced book and the speed of the story helps to increase the tension and suspense. I hate to sound like a dust jacket, but this book really is an action-packed thriller. You have prison breaks, terrorists, low down scummy business tycoons, the CIA, and a good smattering of Joe everyday cops. An interesting and exciting mix that keeps the book fast paced. I have read other books by this author and he is getting better by the book. More of his books will make there way to the big screen if he keeps up his history of quality writing.
Rating:
Summary: Very Fast Paced
Review: This book is a lot of fun. I was reading along and thinking it may not be bad to have this happen to my place of work. This fast-paced book and the speed of the story helps to increase the tension and suspense. I hate to sound like a dust jacket, but this book really is an action-packed thriller. You have prison breaks, terrorists, low down scummy business tycoons, the CIA, and a good smattering of Joe everyday cops. An interesting and exciting mix that keeps the book fast paced. I have read other books by this author and he is getting better by the book. More of his books will make there way to the big screen if he keeps up his history of quality writing.
Rating:
Summary: A big zero
Review: This book is awful! It has a somewhat promising beginning where a government agent-cum-terrorist escapes from prison, aided by some nebulous multi-zillionaire. But interest wanes quickly when the reader is inundated with irrelevant details and descriptions about various gadgets and technologies, along with references to previous terrorist attacks, quasi-historical events, and an endless stream of superficial characters. The whole story could be written in a few pages. It's almost as if the author were paid by the word. Endless unnecessary details that have nothing to do with the plot or the character development. Virtually all characters except the two main ones are described with no depth, yet we get overwhelmed with trivial details, like whether or not they take cream in their coffee or wear polyester undershirts. We have the stereotype of the recently divorced single-mom detective. The recently retired ethnic detective. The jealous ex-husband. The overweight computer geek. The disgruntled millionaire. The extremely good-looking and brilliant former spy, now terrorist (descriptions of whom are borderline homoerotic). On and on and on ad nauseum. Another thing that griped me: the author uses the word "phlegmatic" numerous times. I suppose to show off what a word maven he is. I am surprised this book got so many good reviews. It [is bad].
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