dburley37's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is the best one so far in the series. There is total non stop action and tension.
tanyarobinson's review against another edition
4.0
I read this after my husband loved the audiobook, not realizing I had only finished the first 2 of the series. As I just now looked back on my reviews I complained about the second book being too violent, and saying that I didn't plan to continue with the series.
Well, I just read the sixth installment, and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it was a bit violent, but the plot was so well done, and it moved so quickly that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Honestly, I could hardly stand to put the book down! There were a few times where I felt Coes went overboard in explaining how his fictional solutions to problems really were credible, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of First Strike. 4.5 stars, and now I'm going to have to go back and read the novels I missed.
Well, I just read the sixth installment, and I absolutely loved it. Yes, it was a bit violent, but the plot was so well done, and it moved so quickly that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Honestly, I could hardly stand to put the book down! There were a few times where I felt Coes went overboard in explaining how his fictional solutions to problems really were credible, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of First Strike. 4.5 stars, and now I'm going to have to go back and read the novels I missed.
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Ben Coes, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with this review.
In a great addition to his Dewey Andreas series, Coes offers a somewhat unique take on the ISIS obsession in thriller novels. After the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tristan Nazir is approached by America's Deputy Secretary of Defence with an offer he cannot refuse; accept a large sum of money to build a state to counter the radical efforts of the region and come out strongly pro-USA. However, after Nazir double-crosses the Deputy Secretary, he emerges with a strong fighting force to amass his own anti-American state, ISIS, which has made inroads into both Syria and Iraq. With the American money having gone to fund this group, there is no turning off the spigot, for fear of significant blackmail. A new shipment of a billion dollars' worth of arms comes through some secret slush funds within the Department of Defence and ISIS remains strong as it fights the very nation supporting it. Dewey Andreas is sent into Syria to attempt to quell some of the fallout and kill the kingpin to the entire operation. However, rather than getting his man, Andreas finds himself being held by ISIS, ready to make him answer for the crimes of his country. Upon learning of the latest shipment headed for the region, the Americans intercept it and turn the ship back, which only ups the ante and forces Nazir to call for a plan of retribution. Using a cell within America, he organizes a hostage taking at Columbia University with students at the core. Will the President blink and openly negotiate with terrorists for the lives of Americans on their own soil, or will Columbia University turn into a bloodbath? With Andreas preparing for a public beheading, anything seems possible, even as the clock ticks down. Coes offers readers a wonderfully fast-paced thriller that will keep readers guessing and hoping until the last page. Not to be missed by Coes fans, new and old!
Coes proves yet again that he is the master of his trade as he constructs an Andreas thriller that pits his protagonist in his most dire situation yet. Building not only on his present storyline but also constructing more of the Dewey Andreas backstory, Coes offers his readers another glimpse into why there is always something new to offer. With a strong cast of characters whose own plots are built into the larger narrative, Coes advances much for fans who have keen interests in those who support the story. Infused with description when it proves necessary, but not too much to turn the reader away, there are many layers to the story that help present it in a factual manner. That said, the reader can suspend a little reality at times and sit back while enjoying the ride.
Kudos, Mr. Coes for another stellar piece of work. I never tire of your stories or how they play out on the page. As always, you keep the reader guessing just enough that they must come back for more.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
In a great addition to his Dewey Andreas series, Coes offers a somewhat unique take on the ISIS obsession in thriller novels. After the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tristan Nazir is approached by America's Deputy Secretary of Defence with an offer he cannot refuse; accept a large sum of money to build a state to counter the radical efforts of the region and come out strongly pro-USA. However, after Nazir double-crosses the Deputy Secretary, he emerges with a strong fighting force to amass his own anti-American state, ISIS, which has made inroads into both Syria and Iraq. With the American money having gone to fund this group, there is no turning off the spigot, for fear of significant blackmail. A new shipment of a billion dollars' worth of arms comes through some secret slush funds within the Department of Defence and ISIS remains strong as it fights the very nation supporting it. Dewey Andreas is sent into Syria to attempt to quell some of the fallout and kill the kingpin to the entire operation. However, rather than getting his man, Andreas finds himself being held by ISIS, ready to make him answer for the crimes of his country. Upon learning of the latest shipment headed for the region, the Americans intercept it and turn the ship back, which only ups the ante and forces Nazir to call for a plan of retribution. Using a cell within America, he organizes a hostage taking at Columbia University with students at the core. Will the President blink and openly negotiate with terrorists for the lives of Americans on their own soil, or will Columbia University turn into a bloodbath? With Andreas preparing for a public beheading, anything seems possible, even as the clock ticks down. Coes offers readers a wonderfully fast-paced thriller that will keep readers guessing and hoping until the last page. Not to be missed by Coes fans, new and old!
Coes proves yet again that he is the master of his trade as he constructs an Andreas thriller that pits his protagonist in his most dire situation yet. Building not only on his present storyline but also constructing more of the Dewey Andreas backstory, Coes offers his readers another glimpse into why there is always something new to offer. With a strong cast of characters whose own plots are built into the larger narrative, Coes advances much for fans who have keen interests in those who support the story. Infused with description when it proves necessary, but not too much to turn the reader away, there are many layers to the story that help present it in a factual manner. That said, the reader can suspend a little reality at times and sit back while enjoying the ride.
Kudos, Mr. Coes for another stellar piece of work. I never tire of your stories or how they play out on the page. As always, you keep the reader guessing just enough that they must come back for more.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
brettt's review against another edition
1.0
In 2010, Power Down introduced Dewey Andreas, a former covert operative disillusioned with his work and his home nation who finds himself called back to work to face a threat that could cripple the country for decades. Since that interesting debut, Ben Coes has kept Dewey humming in adventures that haven't quite lived up to the promise of Power Down even though they feature some great character-building flavor.
First Strike, the sixth Dewey Andreas novel, starts out as strongly as any have before in the series. What if the terrorist group known as ISIS started out as a misguided attempt by U.S. intelligence to create a counter-weight to the jihadi forces sweeping the Middle East? And what if the brilliant mastermind of the group used that fact as leverage to keep the pipeline of weapons and resources flowing? What would happen when that arrangement finally came to light?
Well in a world with Dewey Andreas, the first thing to do would be to send him to Syria to meet with a possible ISIS defector to get information that confirmed the relationship. Although he does, and U.S. intelligence uses that info to stop the latest massive shipment, Dewey is caught and faces a brutal execution. Rather than cleave to the usual "I ain't skeered" attitude of he-man heroes in situations like this, Coes gives Dewey a healthy fear of his fate. Which makes his desperation in his escape that much more believable and heightens the tension as well. This part of First Strike is easily the best and ranks at the top of any of Dewey's adventures.
But the second half of the book, which deals with the ISIS leader's attempts to force the U.S. to give him his weapons shipment by taking over a dorm at Columbia University, is completely pedestrian, silly, cruel and paint-by-numbers Flag-Waving Patriotic Thriller 101. When we've gone a few pages of Dewey and company trying to figure out how to break into the dorm without getting any more people killed, Coes seems to think we need a reminder of how eeeeevil the terrorists are so they commit another atrocity on another poor innocent cipher. These incidents develop a significant cut-and-paste feel, down to similar language -- we cut to the hostage scene at least three times by being informed the air on the un-air-conditioned floor is "fetid" with the heat of so many bodies.
In the end, First Strike almost seems as though it's two unrelated short novellas mashed together under one cover -- Dewey's Syrian mission is a first-rate espionage thriller, but the Columbia hostage dorm segment belongs in a much lesser book.
Original available here.
First Strike, the sixth Dewey Andreas novel, starts out as strongly as any have before in the series. What if the terrorist group known as ISIS started out as a misguided attempt by U.S. intelligence to create a counter-weight to the jihadi forces sweeping the Middle East? And what if the brilliant mastermind of the group used that fact as leverage to keep the pipeline of weapons and resources flowing? What would happen when that arrangement finally came to light?
Well in a world with Dewey Andreas, the first thing to do would be to send him to Syria to meet with a possible ISIS defector to get information that confirmed the relationship. Although he does, and U.S. intelligence uses that info to stop the latest massive shipment, Dewey is caught and faces a brutal execution. Rather than cleave to the usual "I ain't skeered" attitude of he-man heroes in situations like this, Coes gives Dewey a healthy fear of his fate. Which makes his desperation in his escape that much more believable and heightens the tension as well. This part of First Strike is easily the best and ranks at the top of any of Dewey's adventures.
But the second half of the book, which deals with the ISIS leader's attempts to force the U.S. to give him his weapons shipment by taking over a dorm at Columbia University, is completely pedestrian, silly, cruel and paint-by-numbers Flag-Waving Patriotic Thriller 101. When we've gone a few pages of Dewey and company trying to figure out how to break into the dorm without getting any more people killed, Coes seems to think we need a reminder of how eeeeevil the terrorists are so they commit another atrocity on another poor innocent cipher. These incidents develop a significant cut-and-paste feel, down to similar language -- we cut to the hostage scene at least three times by being informed the air on the un-air-conditioned floor is "fetid" with the heat of so many bodies.
In the end, First Strike almost seems as though it's two unrelated short novellas mashed together under one cover -- Dewey's Syrian mission is a first-rate espionage thriller, but the Columbia hostage dorm segment belongs in a much lesser book.
Original available here.
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