- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Quercus; New Ed edition (7 Jun 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1847240720
- ISBN-13: 978-1847240729
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 906,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Donald Westlake
Gores is dogged and brilliant
Review
'Gores is dogged and brilliant' Donald Westlake.
'An exciting page-turner' Daily Telegraph.
'An exciting page-turner' Daily Telegraph.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There have been a couple of good US Presidential assassination thrillers in recent years - Lee Child's Without Fail and Mike Lawson's The Inside Ring - and this new book by Joe Gores is a worthy addition to the genre.
In fact, in Glass Tiger we get two stalkers/assassins for the price of one. Newly elected President Wallberg is being threatened by Vietnam vet Hal Corwin, sniper and woodsman. The reasons for the threats apparently go back to the violent murder of Corwin's daughter, and in reality to a much earlier incident in the 1960s. To hunt the hunter, the FBI and national security turn to Brendan Thorne, himself an ex-CIA sniper, whose life has been dogged by the same violence and disasters that shaped Corwin's. Thorne is half-blackmailed, half-suckered into working for Wallberg's men though it's plain from the start that almost everything is being concealed from him apart from the identity of the would-be assassin.
The particular villains here are the President's Chief of Staff and Terrill Hatfield, a ruthlessly ambitious FBI agent who is looking to be made Director. Everyone in government, from the President down, emerges badly and for that reason alone Glass Tiger hits an exposed nerve at the moment, with the security agencies using the catch-all excuse of the War on Terror to intimidate their own citizens.
Thorne follows the back trail left by Corwin and works out the single location in the mountainous wilds of Montana from where the sniper can get his long-distance shot at Wallberg, when the nervous President ventures outside the security of the Washington beltway to see the release of two grizzly bears back into the wild.
The confrontation between Corwin and Thorne - two grizzlies in a different sense - comes at the halfway point of Glass Tiger, and it would be unfair to say much more about the rest of the novel. Some of the twists you can see coming but Gores still holds plenty of surprises up his sleeve, and the book constantly shifts the balance between hunter and hunted, with one becoming the other. You need to suspend disbelief from time to time, and vital information occasionally drops too neatly into Thorne's lap, but the rush of the narrative carries the reader forward with plenty of asides on the arts of stalking, shooting and concealment.
Recommended.
Credited to Philip Gooden
In fact, in Glass Tiger we get two stalkers/assassins for the price of one. Newly elected President Wallberg is being threatened by Vietnam vet Hal Corwin, sniper and woodsman. The reasons for the threats apparently go back to the violent murder of Corwin's daughter, and in reality to a much earlier incident in the 1960s. To hunt the hunter, the FBI and national security turn to Brendan Thorne, himself an ex-CIA sniper, whose life has been dogged by the same violence and disasters that shaped Corwin's. Thorne is half-blackmailed, half-suckered into working for Wallberg's men though it's plain from the start that almost everything is being concealed from him apart from the identity of the would-be assassin.
The particular villains here are the President's Chief of Staff and Terrill Hatfield, a ruthlessly ambitious FBI agent who is looking to be made Director. Everyone in government, from the President down, emerges badly and for that reason alone Glass Tiger hits an exposed nerve at the moment, with the security agencies using the catch-all excuse of the War on Terror to intimidate their own citizens.
Thorne follows the back trail left by Corwin and works out the single location in the mountainous wilds of Montana from where the sniper can get his long-distance shot at Wallberg, when the nervous President ventures outside the security of the Washington beltway to see the release of two grizzly bears back into the wild.
The confrontation between Corwin and Thorne - two grizzlies in a different sense - comes at the halfway point of Glass Tiger, and it would be unfair to say much more about the rest of the novel. Some of the twists you can see coming but Gores still holds plenty of surprises up his sleeve, and the book constantly shifts the balance between hunter and hunted, with one becoming the other. You need to suspend disbelief from time to time, and vital information occasionally drops too neatly into Thorne's lap, but the rush of the narrative carries the reader forward with plenty of asides on the arts of stalking, shooting and concealment.
Recommended.
Credited to Philip Gooden
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I absolutely loved this book, but after finishing it, I wanted to know why I had not seen others.
Mr Gores is an accomplished story-teller, his scenes of action are completely believable and he puts you right there with the characters. I have not enjoyed a first read of an American author since my first Stephen King novel. That is how highly I rate the author.
It is obvious that he has researched extensively and thoroughly into the background of every character, and every location, in the story. If you like suspense, action, conspiracy and crime, it's all here, and done so well that you will not want to put it down.
Mr Gores is an accomplished story-teller, his scenes of action are completely believable and he puts you right there with the characters. I have not enjoyed a first read of an American author since my first Stephen King novel. That is how highly I rate the author.
It is obvious that he has researched extensively and thoroughly into the background of every character, and every location, in the story. If you like suspense, action, conspiracy and crime, it's all here, and done so well that you will not want to put it down.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
It takes a sniper to bag a sniper
14 Dec 2006
Format:Hardcover
Under the theory that it takes a sniper to understand a sniper, FBI agent Terrill Hatfield pressures ex-Ranger and ex-sniper Brendan Thorne into tracking down Hal Corwin, a legendary Vietnam operative who has threatened the life of new President Gustave Wallberg. Backed up against the proverbial wall by the machinations of the ruthless and ambitious Hatfield, Thorne starts to shadow Corwin's footsteps, getting into his prey's head, puzzling out just how and when the killer will strike. Doing so, he develops a grudging admiration for the man, whose tragic past bears eerie parallels to his own. Digging into Corwin's seemingly twisted motivations, he also discovers secrets which make him dangerous to Hatfield and the current Administration.
Although it starts from a similar premise as Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact (determining the best way to assassinate a target) and explores similar terrain (extraordinary individuals in extraordinary situations), Joe Gores' latest is very much its own book, an engaging battle of wits between two very similar men whom life has treated very badly. Gores brings each of his main characters to vivid life; readers will have a difficult time deciding whom to root for over the course of the novel, as its twisting course provides different perspectives on each. Fast paced and surprising, Glass Tiger finds Gores getting better with age--at a time in his life when the majority of his contemporaries are content to (literally) rest on their laurels, this multiple Edgar Award wining scribe continues to pen novels that challenge and entertain.
Although it starts from a similar premise as Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact (determining the best way to assassinate a target) and explores similar terrain (extraordinary individuals in extraordinary situations), Joe Gores' latest is very much its own book, an engaging battle of wits between two very similar men whom life has treated very badly. Gores brings each of his main characters to vivid life; readers will have a difficult time deciding whom to root for over the course of the novel, as its twisting course provides different perspectives on each. Fast paced and surprising, Glass Tiger finds Gores getting better with age--at a time in his life when the majority of his contemporaries are content to (literally) rest on their laurels, this multiple Edgar Award wining scribe continues to pen novels that challenge and entertain.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
deja vu all over again
2 Oct 2006
Format:Hardcover
If you've read Gores 1989 novel 'Wolf Time' you'll recognize the back story of this book...except the names have been changed. Corwin was called Fletcher, Wallberg was Westergard, Nisa was Nicole etc, etc,
The familiar plotline drove me crazy until I finally remembered where I'd read it before...why it was not 'billed' as a sequel to 'Wolf Time' is a mystery; the answer maybe known only to Joe Gores and his publisher. Gores is always great but his remixing of a previous book was disconcerting and vaguely annoying. 5 star rating would have to be 32 Cadillacs!
The familiar plotline drove me crazy until I finally remembered where I'd read it before...why it was not 'billed' as a sequel to 'Wolf Time' is a mystery; the answer maybe known only to Joe Gores and his publisher. Gores is always great but his remixing of a previous book was disconcerting and vaguely annoying. 5 star rating would have to be 32 Cadillacs!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
"He had not only the sniper's eye, he had the assassins mind."
2 Oct 2006
Format:Hardcover
This is excellent genre fiction, boasting an edgy plot that begins with an assassination attempt on the newly-elected President of the United States, Gus Wallberg, the author skillfully building the tension between the pursued and the pursuer. Everybody has an agenda in this thriller, from the President-Elect, who wants his potential assassin, a man from his past, eliminated, to his chief of Staff, who indulges in rough after-hours sex games, and top FBI agent, Terrill Hatfield, head of the Hostage and Rescue/Sniper Team, who is determined to come out on top when the dust settles, no matter who he has to intimidate. Ambition is a powerful motive and none of the power-brokers around Wallberg shirk from violence in the name of expediency.
Besides Hal Corwin, Wallberg's friend from his high school years, is an ex-Vietnam sniper and arguably the best in his field; Brendan Thorne is the wild card in this cat-and-mouse game. Thorne is minding his own business, a guide for rich tourists in Kenya, his killing years for the CIA left behind, when selected by the administration to track down Corwin before he surfaces. Corwin is a virtual doppelganger for Thorne, a match in wits and expertise. True to form, the FBI, in the person of Terrill Hatfield, heavy-handedly maneuvers Thorne into an untenable position, his future return to Kenya at stake. Doing their bidding, Thorne uncovers sensitive information that unfortunately renders him a target just as he is closing in on his quarry, now an endangered species just like Corwin.
In top form, Gores' prose is relentless, the plot a serpentine maze that inevitably leads to the heart of the killing field, fueled by one man's crime and another's ambition, both feeding upon power and greed. With Corwin in his sights, Thorne's Ranger training kicks in, in spite of insurmountable odds and the awesome power of the Feds on the hunt. Thorne proves a formidable threat to the status quo, especially when someone he cares about is threatened. In this brave new world of terrorism and politics, Glass Tiger adds a chilling element to this assassination tango, the power of a rouge agent to threaten the lives of citizens under the banner of National Security. In the end, Thorne barely escapes his intended fate, sure that that killing "is for younger men whose consciences have not yet made cowards of them all." Luan Gaines/2006.
Besides Hal Corwin, Wallberg's friend from his high school years, is an ex-Vietnam sniper and arguably the best in his field; Brendan Thorne is the wild card in this cat-and-mouse game. Thorne is minding his own business, a guide for rich tourists in Kenya, his killing years for the CIA left behind, when selected by the administration to track down Corwin before he surfaces. Corwin is a virtual doppelganger for Thorne, a match in wits and expertise. True to form, the FBI, in the person of Terrill Hatfield, heavy-handedly maneuvers Thorne into an untenable position, his future return to Kenya at stake. Doing their bidding, Thorne uncovers sensitive information that unfortunately renders him a target just as he is closing in on his quarry, now an endangered species just like Corwin.
In top form, Gores' prose is relentless, the plot a serpentine maze that inevitably leads to the heart of the killing field, fueled by one man's crime and another's ambition, both feeding upon power and greed. With Corwin in his sights, Thorne's Ranger training kicks in, in spite of insurmountable odds and the awesome power of the Feds on the hunt. Thorne proves a formidable threat to the status quo, especially when someone he cares about is threatened. In this brave new world of terrorism and politics, Glass Tiger adds a chilling element to this assassination tango, the power of a rouge agent to threaten the lives of citizens under the banner of National Security. In the end, Thorne barely escapes his intended fate, sure that that killing "is for younger men whose consciences have not yet made cowards of them all." Luan Gaines/2006.
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