most genre fiction, spy thrillers have their tried and true formulas, generally involving a conspiracy to uncover that left unchecked will mean, if not the end of the world, a disastrous outcome of some kind.
Suspension of disbelief is required is there any James Bond plot anyone truly believes could happen Im sure there are plot elements that push individual readers beyond what theyre willing to believe, but readers prone to object to this probably stay away from the genre.
Although spy thrillers are plot driven, my contention is that what differentiates one of the genre from another is how invested the reader gets in the main characters.
If we care about them, we care about the story, "The Patriot Paradox" has three characters who are our potential heroes Amanda Carter, and the brothers Kurt and Mike Vetter, Amanda is a riddle. We never learn much about her, and I only became invested in her because she was helping Kurt and appeared to be on his side.
I suspect as we get to know her better in future books in the series this might change,
It is the two brothers whom we identify with and want to see succeed, It might seem strange that Mike, who is murdered in the first chapter, is a character were pulling for, However, Mikes shadow is always present, His example is constantly pushing Kurt to succeed so that his death wont have been in vain, This is something the reader will also want, The character of Kurt is a good person who has made mistakes and been through hell, His success is a kind of redemption we want him to achieve, Now Im eager to see what is in store next for Kurt and Amanda,
Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog, May have received a free review copy, I have to say, when I initially saw the length of this novel, I was skeptical about much could really lie within less than three thousand Kindle locations.
Color me surprised, then, when Esmont delivered a hard, driven story with a complex conspiracy and an unexpected emotional range,
This novel had me constantly agitated, afraid for the fates of various characters as rogue CIA agents set about eliminating obstacles to their nefarious plot.
The amount of information gleaned from simple communications was astounding but surprisingly believable, and I found myself eying my cell phone suspiciously as I read, wondering if so simple a device would be the means by which Kurt and Amanda got caught.
Was it I'm not telling,
Unlike many a thriller, Esmont delves into the tender side of his main character without forcing it, Kurt's initial homecoming was gutwrenching despite its brevity, with a palpable sense of loss and despair, It made it easier to connect to him, something that becomes incredibly important when the protagonist is too busy running from killers to worry about forging a relationship with the reader.
In spite of his skillful use of words, however, the author does seem to struggle with semicolons and commas, as well as quotation marks, as well as occasional redundancy.
The punctuation tended to be off every so often, which was distracting but thankfully not intolerably so, The overuse of words was sporadic enough to be understandable, Still, a bit more proofing would definitely benefit the text,
I did have some difficulty buying into the emotional connection between Kurt and Amanda, which seemed to switch from reasonable to far too fast, and therefore unbelievable, close to the end of the book.
The finale itself was rushed, and the last few pages felt something like riding a gokart down a steep hill with a very solid and inappropriately placed wall at the bottom: one second, you're having a wonderful, freeing ride, and the next, you're smashing into an unyielding surface and wondering what on earth just happened.
The Patriot Paradox is a short but very worthwhile read, and I look forward to more works by this author.
Stimulated Outlet Book s
copy provided by the author The Patriot Paradox starts off with a bang literally there's a murder and then takes off on a nonstop race from Peru to Washington, DC, London, and Moscow.
Along the way there are spies, double agents, terrorists, and a nuclear bomb, Reluctant hero Kurt Vetter teams up with Amanda Carter to locate the bomb and stop its detonation,
I really enjoyed this book, The writing is clear and vivid, and I could easily visualize the action unfolding as if on a movie screen, I would be interested in reading more if author William Esmont decides to turn this into a series,
I did have one small problem with the book, though, The copy I read is not marked as an advance reader's copy or uncorrected proof, but I felt it could have benefited from a good proofreading.
For me, errors in spelling, punctuation, etc, interrupt the flow of a story but then, I'm rather picky, and other readers may not be bothered in the same way.
I won this book on First Reads on Dec,, and I received it on Dec,. Looking forward to reading it, Thanks, William! Won this through the Goodreads Giveaways,
This may appear to be a relatively short book as thrillers go but my god it packs a punch, The story follows Kurt Vetter as he tries to deal with the lose of his brother and the subsequent conspiracy he gets drawn into as he receives a disc of classified information which cost his brother his life.
Although the story has been told in various guises before but then again that's that what thrillers are all about, the government conspiracies and the little guy battling against their huge might and resources but Esmont writes with a style that just sucks you in and brings you along for the ride, occasionally letting you taking a breath.
The character development is superb in parts with Vetter homecoming showing the depth of grief and lose without being overwhelming or excessive in any way.
However the fast pace of the book limits the potential to develop some of the lesser characters and so they are presented in a more sterotypical manner, but this doesn't detract from the story at all and it actually allows Esmont to keep the adrenalin rush going by not bogging down the reader with unnecessary details.
The use of modern events makes the book all the more real and the amount of information cleaned from various personal technology items is seriously worrying I'm never going to look at my phone and computer the same way again and mildly creepy.
This adds a further dimension of realism to the book as the most basic and common of domestic items become weapons in their own right.
The The Patriot Paradox's climax may be a little on the short and slightly rushed side but it still retains its impact as Vetter and the reader hurtles towards almost certain annihilation before hitting the brick wall of the finale.
My only real issue with it is the somewhat sloppy relationship between Vetter and Carter that seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere.
I would have liked this to have been developed more gradually over this and future books as it felt more of an afterthought put in on an editor's suggestion rather than an intregral part of the story.
But other than that this is a great read that will have you looking at all the technology you have in a very different light generally including a lot more suspicion.
Can't wait for future books from Esmont,
I was lucky enough to win a copy of The Patriot Paradox in a Librarything Giveaway.
After reading Elements of the Undead Ominbus by the same author, I had high expectations for this novel, and was not disappointed.
William Esmont has a wonderful writing style, with a knack for drawing out suspense he keeps the reader effortlessly engaged with the plot that he tugs along at breakneck speed.
The Patriot Paradox is essentially a race against time the reader doesn't necessarily know this from the outset, yet Esmont manages to convey a sense of urgency right from the beginning.
His characterisation is interesting perhaps there is not enough back information or evidence of motivation for my liking ,but there is 'enough' to keep you riveted as the two protagonists crash through situation after situation towards the epitome of climatic conclusions.
All I can say is I cannot wait to purchase the sequel, Literally, I can't. I'm going to do it right now,
This is a smashing little thriller at less thanpages it won't take you long to read, but it's most definitely enjoyable.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a thriller or just a wellwritten book! Anothercent one that was just ok, Typical hero saving the world, though this one was a bit more farfetched, To start with, the plot is remarkably good! ExCIA analyst Kurt Vetter has just lost his family his wife and daughter over a road accident.
He hasn't recovered yet from this loss, he receives another bad news,
His brother, whom he loves so much, Mike Vetter was killed in a carjacking gone wrong, Well, that was the official cause of death though just before the funeral, a package was delivered to him containing a classified information the package was from his dead brother sent the day he was killed/murdered.
According to the package, his brother found something at work he should not see, something he should have never touched and Kurt believes that this is the reason why Mike was killed.
His brother instructed him to get in touch with Amanda Carter for she knows how to deal with this problem.
Together they set out to uncover the truth behind the murder of Kurt's brother,
I loved the plot of the story, This book is one of those books you just couldn't put down and I read the whole story in justhours, This is actionpacked with interesting plot and the characters are welldeveloped, I'm looking forward to reading the next installment! If you are into good politicalespionage thriller, buy this book and satisfaction is guaranteed.
Good novel
The characters are well developed and believable, The action was good and at a very good pace, My only issue is that after ending the novel, which is very good because I like when the story ends and I can put the book down, the writer felt it necessary to set up the next book and leave the end a cliff hanger.
I do not like this, If the story is compelling enough, we the readers will look for the next work by the author without prompting, It is worth the read as it is indeed a good book, but just be warned the end is a cliff hanger.
from Murphy's Library ratedand a half there
The Patriot Paradox is a great thriller, Kurt Vetters brother, Mike, was a CIA agent who got caught with privileged information about a rough path of the CIA agency that was planning a big conspiracy against a country.
With the evidence his brother gathered before getting killed, Kurt starts an emotional and rushed action trying to discover everything that lead to his brother death.
The super intelligent Amanda Carter, Mikes friend, is there to help him,
The book is too short for all the action it has You never get a break, and the personal development of the characters, especially Kurts, is affected by the narrative.
Its touching to read Kurts suffering with his brothers end, but it ended there, The character doesnt grow as a person, The conspiracy in this book is fabulous, the development of the action has a good beat and Amanda is a character so dynamic that she surprises you.
The ending makes the reader be sure theres a sequel to come, and it is a little in the predictable side, but as a thriller it comes to a good end.
I think if William get his characters development right, he will get into the point as a thriller writer, because his ideas and narrative are truly good.
Waiting to read more of his work,