|
The Invisible | 
 enlarge | Author: Andrew Britton
Publisher: Kensington
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy Used: $5.66
You Save: $18.34 (76%)
New (29) Used (20) from $5.66
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 157461
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0758213352
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780758213358
ASIN: 0758213352
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Hadcover. Light to no cover wear. All pages clean with a strong binding.
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Book Description
With searing narrative twists, The Invisible plunges us headlong into today's shadowy, fever-pitched battle between terrorism and intelligence, as a covert counterterrorism operative risks everything, including the woman he loves, to save the life of one person... For more than a decade, Ryan Kealey has been a key player in the war on terror. First, as a captain in the U.S. Army's third Special Forces Group, then as a contract operative with the CIA. His actions have saved thousands of lives, including that of the U.S. President. Now once again, Kealey receives the call of duty--only this time, the odds for success are slim to none... Tensions between Pakistan and India are at an all-time high. To complicate matters, twelve American climbers have disappeared in the snow-capped peaks of Pakistan's Hindu Kush range. The President is demanding answers, but neither government is supplying them. As the conflict escalates, Brynn Fitzgerald departs Washington D.C. on her first official trip as acting secretary of state. Her goal is to serve as an intermediary between the leaders of both nations as well as to ensure all efforts are being made in the search for the missing American climbers. But when Fitzgerald's motorcade is ambushed on the outskirts of Islamabad, her back-up team arrives to discover a disastrous scene: dozens are dead, including seven diplomatic security agents, and the secretary of state has vanished without a trace. In the wake of the unprecedented attack, Kealey's operation goes into high gear. Once again, he is joined by Naomi Kharmai, the British-born analyst who has taken on a daring new role with the Agency. But Kharmai is becoming as unpredictable as the man they're going after, and as they work their way toward the target, it becomes clear to Kealey that anyone is fair game--and no one can be trusted.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 alphabet soup and retro-paternalism April 1, 2008
Julia M. Walker (NY Finger Lakes)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
All writers of thrillers work hard to impart an authenticity to their material via code words, techno-speak, untranslated languages. In general, readers appreciate this. There can, however, be too much of a good thing.
Andrew Britton's The Invisible hits the too-too-much barrier at warp-speed with a thick soup of acronyms. In addition to the usual suspects -- DSS, CIA, MI5, DCI, NSA, ETA -- there's a highway (the KKH), a number of pieces of technology (PTT, UVA, MP5, RPG, NVG) and a slew of varied entities: DGSE, GSPC, MDJC, ISI, GIA, SDO, DDO, CNP, SSG, SFOD-D, ERT, TDY, OGB.
Really. And that's not all; I just got tired of listing.
To make matters worse, the last set includes collections of letters not technically acronyms. GSPC is the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, while GIA stands for Armed Islamic Group. I assume these are translation issues, although the disparity isn't explained. Certainly this defeats the purpose of an acronym, both in practice and as a device to clue the reader. Britton has a touching confidence in his reader's memory, for the full names of the groups are given only once. Furthermore, we are expected to remember GSPC - and all the info that goes with those four letters -- after a gap of 40 action-packed pages, a demand that assumes a greater degree of concentration than the average reader generally brings to a thriller.
Since these are real groups - Britton is using Wikipedia assiduously - it's hard to quarrel with the letters themselves, but if the author thinks we should have these names at our fingertips, he might consider spending a bit more time providing context. He's excellent at making us care about minor characters who are about to meet gruesome deaths. Similar attention to key organizations would be a kindness.
When I had a moment to stop being irritated by the acronyms, the sheer paternalism of the main character and the narrator struck me dumb. Well almost dumb. Ryan Kealey (always called Kealey by the narrator) has a history with Naomi Kharmai (always called Naomi by the narrator) to which I'm not privy, since this is my first Britton book. Clearly something bad happened. We are given to understand that R K loves N K; he also thinks she's a idiot. OK, not actually stupid, but the adjective "naive" is used more often than GSPC, while Britton finds and employs every known synonym for "damaged." She needs saving and Ryan is just the man for the job. She has "shimmering black tresses" -- no, I'm not kidding, _tresses_ -- drifting around her face and shoulders and "flawless carmel-colored skin." We don't know what he looks like.
Oh come on. Is this still the 21st century, or did I miss something? Many reviewers compare Britton to Ludlum, but Ludlum's later novels gave us strong women characters, both good and bad, nary a damaged hottie -- nor a shimmering tress -- in sight.
Here's an oldie but goodie from the acronym file: MCP. What a yawn. There are at least 17-zillion such thrillers already on library shelves. Don't spend your money on this one. Wait for the next Daniel Silva. Or buy Alex Berenson's second book, The Ghost War. (Buy the first one, too.)
 high octane espionage thriller February 26, 2008
Harriet Klausner
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
Four months ago CIA Agent Naomi Kharmai ended her relationship with CIA operative Ryan Kealey. He took it bad, walking off the job to roam aimlessly around the globe. However the agency needs Ryan's brand of service immediately; as the CIA leadership believes only his out of control lunacy can handle a particularly nasty cleaning job behind enemy lines.
His CIA handler Jonathan Harper offers the despondent agent a deal; he will present him Naomi if Kealey returns to work; Kealey accepts. Kealey is to find and take down Algerian terrorist Amari Saifi, who has kidnapped several Americans in Pakistan. As Kealey searches for his target, Saifi announces his presence by boldly abducting acting Secretary of State Brynn Fitzgerald.
In his third espionage thriller (see THE ASSASSIN and THE AMERICAN) Kealey remains out of control and fun to watch, but has lost some of his edge. Still this terrorist vs. antiterrorist High Noon tale is fast-paced and filled with action of a blow em up variety. Readers who enjoy a high octane tale will be pleased with Andrew Britton's latest escapade though it reads too similar to his hero's A book encounters.
Harriet Klausner
 Captivating thriller. February 28, 2008
Patricia Duffy (Michigan, USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book immensely. It held my interest from start to finish. Very well written!
 Read prior books first.... March 9, 2008
P. Morris (Ohio)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The story is fast paced with a good blend of factual people and places with fictional ones. I thought the kidnapping of the acting US secretary of state believable and well done. I had one tiny issue ...having not read the prior two books, I felt I was missing details to some of the characters, their relationships and their motivations which made pieces of the story feel incomplete. It's obviously a series which the author plans to continue with the opening left at the end. If you're interested in this book, I'd recommend reading the prior two first.
Great from start to finish March 31, 2008
Timothy J. Kindler (Rochester, NY)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Larsen has been a recent addition to my "must read" author list. Having read and enjoyed Larsen's first two novels, I was looking forward to his latest work and was not disappointed. Larsen grabs the reader in the first few pages and does not let go. Start to finish, this is a great read. Readers of the previous works will appreciate the growth in Larsen's writing, while enjoying the familiarity of the Ryan Kealey character. If you have been wondering about whether to take a chance with a new author, pick up this book. I do recommend, however, that you go back and first read the earlier works, the American and the Assassin. You won't be disappointed.
|
|
|
|
| |
