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Rating: 
Summary: Fast-paced with interesting characters
Review: For fans of the techno-thrillers - those big, character-packed, action-filled and wrenching stories of good guys, bad guys and military hardware - this is a great book.First-time author Steve Bartman poured his passion into this book, and it shows. Like many people I dislike techno-thrillers because the female characters are cardboard and the plots often too gory. This story has strong characters including women and a driving finish that will keep you reading. Support a new author and read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing, well-crafted, exciting.
Review: I'll preface my remarks by noting that I do "know" the author via discussions on Usenet. I greatly enjoyed this book (does staying up till 4 in the morning count as "gripping"?). The basic plot is this: Renfro, about to become an ex-marine, has his life completely shattered by an encounter with an extremely violent crime, one in which the perpetrator gets off scott-free. He is able re-focus and re-build his life when he gets a chance to design and run a unique kind of prison (PaxAm). PaxAm is designed to contain the worst criminals in the system, one which *completely* isolates them from the rest of society using high-tech methods. Now add in an extremely intelligent and charismatic terrorist (Zeiss), one who will stop at nothing to hit back at the US, and you're in for a great read! Like other techno-thrillers, this book has plenty of high-tech wizardry, intense military action, and a good dose of politics (but without endless political/philosophical monologues and sermons). The pacing has some of the same feel as Clancy's _Red Storm Rising_, with separate yet tightly integrated sub-plots. A whole range of characters and views are presented, with few obvious easy answers, and it strongly encourages you to do your own thinking about how we should deal with criminals and their punishment. So no book is perfect and this one does have some problems. The biggest one is the price. If you enjoy reading Clancy, and you're able to indulge your reading habit, then I encourage you to get it anyway. If you accept the basic premise, then problems become rather nit-picky. A few of the characters are a bit pat and cliche, and it's sometimes hard to believe Zeiss could be as good as he is. To summarize, I really liked it, and think you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced with interesting characters
Review: I'll preface my remarks by noting that I do "know" the author via discussions on Usenet. I greatly enjoyed this book (does staying up till 4 in the morning count as "gripping"?). The basic plot is this: Renfro, about to become an ex-marine, has his life completely shattered by an encounter with an extremely violent crime, one in which the perpetrator gets off scott-free. He is able re-focus and re-build his life when he gets a chance to design and run a unique kind of prison (PaxAm). PaxAm is designed to contain the worst criminals in the system, one which *completely* isolates them from the rest of society using high-tech methods. Now add in an extremely intelligent and charismatic terrorist (Zeiss), one who will stop at nothing to hit back at the US, and you're in for a great read! Like other techno-thrillers, this book has plenty of high-tech wizardry, intense military action, and a good dose of politics (but without endless political/philosophical monologues and sermons). The pacing has some of the same feel as Clancy's _Red Storm Rising_, with separate yet tightly integrated sub-plots. A whole range of characters and views are presented, with few obvious easy answers, and it strongly encourages you to do your own thinking about how we should deal with criminals and their punishment. So no book is perfect and this one does have some problems. The biggest one is the price. If you enjoy reading Clancy, and you're able to indulge your reading habit, then I encourage you to get it anyway. If you accept the basic premise, then problems become rather nit-picky. A few of the characters are a bit pat and cliche, and it's sometimes hard to believe Zeiss could be as good as he is. To summarize, I really liked it, and think you will too.
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