jrobles76's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a huge fan of Barry Eisler, but I felt this book was only OK. I do look forward to the super mashup that is coming down the pike with John Rain meeting Ben Treven. I like this world that Eisler has carved out.
My problem: I tried reading one of Vince Flynn's books, but was overwhelmed by how Right Wing it was. Flynn was the first time I stopped reading a book intentionally. Eisler's Inside Out came off as the liberal answer: very left wing. Which is what I am! I write a liberal blog in my spare time. And, I know that most of what Eisler asserts in his book is true. Hell, I agree with Eisler and am a follower of him on twitter and on his blog! The problem was that I would have liked this book as a non-fiction work. I like Eisler's books for their realism and action. I like Treven and the journey he takes in this book trying to find his, shall we say, soul. But the facts/reality seemed to get in the way of the characters. I feel like this book was mostly a vehicle for getting more torture facts out there, and that's admirable. But I don't think the book succeeded as an Eisler thriller. Like I said, if it had been non-fiction, with just factual reporting, I would gladly give this book 4-5 stars.
My problem: I tried reading one of Vince Flynn's books, but was overwhelmed by how Right Wing it was. Flynn was the first time I stopped reading a book intentionally. Eisler's Inside Out came off as the liberal answer: very left wing. Which is what I am! I write a liberal blog in my spare time. And, I know that most of what Eisler asserts in his book is true. Hell, I agree with Eisler and am a follower of him on twitter and on his blog! The problem was that I would have liked this book as a non-fiction work. I like Eisler's books for their realism and action. I like Treven and the journey he takes in this book trying to find his, shall we say, soul. But the facts/reality seemed to get in the way of the characters. I feel like this book was mostly a vehicle for getting more torture facts out there, and that's admirable. But I don't think the book succeeded as an Eisler thriller. Like I said, if it had been non-fiction, with just factual reporting, I would gladly give this book 4-5 stars.
matosapa's review against another edition
3.0
I found Treven pretty juvenile in terms of his internal monologue about his female partners (in this book and the first). Overall, he seemed quite unbalanced and amateurish (compared to Rain). These books felt like an earlier effort by Eisler but I have no idea how they relate to the Rain books in terms of publishing dates.
wintheren's review against another edition
4.0
This took me forever to read, between the library wanting their book back (fair enough)and that the second reservation arrived with 3 other books and they wanted it back again. Finally I bought it as an audiobook.
I've haven't read an audiobook since i was 15.. making this a somewhat new experience. I see what Anne mean when she says that you can read the book twice and getting something different from it each time.
Anyway, political thrillers aren't normally what I go for, but my husband convinced me that I would like this one. And he was right. I loved it.
I've haven't read an audiobook since i was 15.. making this a somewhat new experience. I see what Anne mean when she says that you can read the book twice and getting something different from it each time.
Anyway, political thrillers aren't normally what I go for, but my husband convinced me that I would like this one. And he was right. I loved it.
claudetteb's review against another edition
2.0
Not enjoying this series. Writing is mediocre, characters are pretty much one dimensional, and this book had a ten page political rant attached. Eisner needs to make up his mind what sort of book he's writing. Won't be reading any others from him.
vaderbird's review against another edition
2.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
Rating = 3.5
This was a little slow at the outset, and I wasn't wild about the ending. Also, the big sex scene could have been toned down considerably, or even left out altogether. Otherwise, this is a fine piece of work with some important and depressingly realistic messages.
It looks like Eisler is planning a harmonic convergence of Ben Treven, John Rain, and best of all, Dox. I'm excited!
This was a little slow at the outset, and I wasn't wild about the ending. Also, the big sex scene could have been toned down considerably, or even left out altogether. Otherwise, this is a fine piece of work with some important and depressingly realistic messages.
It looks like Eisler is planning a harmonic convergence of Ben Treven, John Rain, and best of all, Dox. I'm excited!
mato's review against another edition
3.0
I found Treven pretty juvenile in terms of his internal monologue about his female partners (in this book and the first). Overall, he seemed quite unbalanced and amateurish (compared to Rain). These books felt like an earlier effort by Eisler but I have no idea how they relate to the Rain books in terms of publishing dates.
readingpanda's review against another edition
4.0
A little bit more political than I usually like my books, but still a reasonably easy read for the non-politically-inclined. I am still not the hugest fan of Ben Treven - he is somehow harder to like than John Rain was, though I haven't figured out exactly why. The foreshadowing at the end of what's coming next for Ben has me excited - the next book should be very interesting.
stephang18's review against another edition
2.0
Turgid. So much time is spent navel gazing. Ben's characters changes gave me whiplash. Also a fair amount of conspiracy theory that left me underwhelmed.