- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group (May 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0425179567
- ISBN-13: 978-0425179567
- Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 9.9 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 413,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
When I was a young lad in the 50s and 60s, I read all books of The Hardy Boys series wherein these two clean-cut, drug-free, American teenagers outwit a wide variety of scoundrels. In THE END OF ENEMIES, Frank and Joe Hardy have grown up to become Briggs Tanner and Ian Cahil, two clean-cut, nobly heroic, ex-Special Forces types employed by a private firm that does top secret wet work for the U.S. government. (Plausible deniability for the President, you see.) In any case, Tanner and Cahil now have the opportunity to save the world, or at least the Eastern Mediterranean.
This potboiler is a standard global conspiracy thriller involving leftover WWII munitions, a renegade Japanese industrialist, Arab terrorists, Syrian plotters, seduced damsels, the FBI, the Mossad, traitors, blackmail, the CIA, and a Doomsday plot. It's entertaining in a silly sort of way, much like the Impossible Missions Force movies starring Tom Cruise.
I don't know. Maybe it's because I've read so many similar storylines that I've become jaded. In this case, my peevishness stems principally from the fact that all the characters, whether American, Canadian, British, Japanese, Israeli, Russian, Syrian or Palestinian, all "sound" like customers recruited by Central Casting out of a Seattle corner Starbucks and dressed up in costumes for a day of play acting. (This is a failing of quite a few works of espionage fiction, not just this one.) Moreover, author Grant Blackwood is occasionally incredibly sloppy in the small details. I picked up on a few (and wonder how many more I missed). The page numbers refer to the paperback edition.
1. A woman with a femur broken in five places - imagine the cast - is not going to be seen having "curled herself into a ball".
2. Except for the "scrambled eggs" on the visors of Commanders and above, the billed caps of American naval officers do not carry rank badges.
3. It seems highly improbable that an American fleet attack submarine on WWII patrol is going to have an Ensign, the lowest officer grade, as the Executive Officer, i.e. the second-in-command.
OK, ok, ok - so I'm picky, picky, picky. This book admittedly has more elements that are positive than are negative, but the fact remains that it's no better than an average representative of the genre. Worse than that, the author is so busy tying up loose ends at the conclusion that the last 6 pages are patently ridiculous.
If you want to read a novel that deals with Middle Eastern terrorism and is well crafted, as opposed to being slopped out any old way, then I would recommend John le Carré's THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL or Gerald Seymour's A LINE IN THE SAND.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
35 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
The End of Enemies is Phenomenal
6 Jun 2001
Format:Paperback
As a wannabe, I was thrilled to read about local writer Grant Blackwood's new book, The End of Enemies, in our hometown newspaper. I arrived early for the first noted book signing and was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Blackwood took several minutes to discuss the making of his book. I whizzed through the first two chapters before deciding the autographed paper back was too precious to render dog-eared and immediately placed an Internet order for a second, "expendable" copy. The End of Enemies is more than just a great story; it is a first novel by a master storyteller. While some have compared the work to James Bond stories, I found Mr. Blackwood's vast application of real world knowledge and his ability to spin a complex web and then bring it all neatly together more similar to the writing of Tom Clancy. Several chapters into the story-which switches settings and characters at breakneck speed-I forced myself to consider whether I truly understood the many pieces/parts. The answer was a resounding YES! The End of Enemies is written so well that it pushes reading speeds to new heights yet loses not a scintilla of comprehension. Though the frequent use of acronyms was a bit confusing at first, I quickly realized the modern world operates within a sea of abbreviations and that to fully spell out each term would inject an unnatural feeling, especially to dialogue. Bottom line: The End of Enemies is a terrific book and I heartily recommend it to all readers (PG13 and above, that is.) Gifted new writers don't surface often, and my only fear is that Grant Blackwood's talent could easily be overlooked in the light speed flow of new releases ... So, read the book and spread the word so that we may enjoy many, many more Grant Blackwood novels!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Action, Intrigue and character development to boot
22 May 2001
Format:Paperback
Blackwood masterfully mixes fast paced adventure and cliff hanger chapters with full character development that will keep the reader engaged throughout the book. Tanner and Stucky are fully developed and diametrically opposed characters who are sure to clash at every turn.
Blackwood puts in enough naval and intel detail to keep fans of Clancy and Cussler on thier toes while his story and character development stand on their own merits.
I'm a huge fan of John Sanford's "Prey" series and read this book and Sanford's latest in the same week...I'll be waiting just as eagerly for the next Blackwood as I will for the next Sanford!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
This summer's must read!
30 April 2001
Format:Paperback
I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The End of Enemies. I'd never read a book of this genre before, and was initially quite intimidated by the scope of the plot. I had nothing to fear. The End of Enemies is a fast-paced adventure with enough twists and turns that kept me turning the pages; even some of the more technical aspects of the book didn't slow me down. Threads of the plot weave together to form a tight story from start to finish. No questions are left unanswered, and there are no unnecessary side plots. The dialogue is natural and unforced. There is no gratuitous violence.
There are several characters integral to the story, yet each one has a distinctly separate persona. I didn't confuse characters since I did not find them cut from the same cloth. Money and power, of course, drive the villains. Yet even the villains have more substance to them than your average bad guy. They aren't evil simply to be evil. There are real and believable driving forces beneath their actions.
And Briggs Tanner isn't a hero simply to be a hero. He does what he does because of an inherently curious nature and a pulsing desire to uncover the truth, even if it puts his own well-being in danger. He's not afraid to put himself out there to protect the lives of those he cares about or the lives of innocent people caught in the crossfire. One could say these things about many fictional heroes, but I find Briggs Tanner to be a multi-dimensional character with fears, self-doubt and an intense loyalty to himself and those he knows he can trust. I look forward to learning more about him in upcoming novels. There is much we do not know about Briggs Tanner, and the author has merely scraped the surface.
The End of Enemies will entertain you with a gradually escalating plot that puts you in the action. If you read any books this summer, this is the one to read!
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