- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New Ed edition (9 May 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006470629
- ISBN-13: 978-0006470625
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 11.2 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,388,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Under Siege
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Product Description
Product Description
In an explosion of terror, America's worst nightmare comes true when Colombian suicide squads hit the streets of Washington. With its power and communications systems blown apart, the city is plunged into turmoil. Captain Jake Grafton and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have to face the challenge.
From the Back Cover
IT’S A KILLER’S GAME, AND THE DRUG BARONS KNOW ITS CRUELLEST MOVES
In a stunning explosion of terror, America’s worst nightmares come true when Colombian suicide squads hit the streets of Washington. They have gone to war, and will destroy everything and everybody in their path.
With its power and communications systems blown apart, the city is plunged into turmoil. In the Pentagon, Captain Jake Grafton and the Joint Chiefs of Staff face the most deadly challenge ever to threaten America.
But while confusion and chaos rule the streets, a ruthless hunter, serving an unknown master, has his own catastrophic mission. He will not rest until he has wiped out the whole cabinet, starting with the President himself …
“Nobody does it better than Stephen Coonts. He’s unsurpassed at creating a story that bristles with intrigue, excitement and surprise”
CLIVE CUSSLER
“A terrific novel … a hell of a story . Coonts gives the idea some special twists and tells it with pulse racing excitement”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Under Siege is the fourth or fifth (depending on which way you put them in order) book that Stephen Coonts has written about his fictional hero Jake Grafton. It's a good read, both because it explores a scary scenario about what could happen if Columbian drug lords terrorized Washington DC in the same way they terrorize Columbia, and because it details the lives of some very believable people who are involved in the conflict.
Unlike some of the later Jake Grafton books, Under Siege doesn't feature much in the way of high-tech weaponry. Instead, it features a large cast of characters from all walks of life and describes them in ways that make them seem real and allow us to empathize with them.
This book is a thriller, of course, and the story is certainly suspenseful and exciting. A Columbian drug lord has been extradited from Columbia to the USA and awaits trial in Washington DC. In the hopes of forcing the Americans to release him, he institutes a war of terror against Washington DC on several levels. Soon there are assassination attempts on the President and several other key government figures, innocent people are being gunned down left, right and center, bombs are exploding in public places and the city is blacked out when the electrical system is destroyed.
How will the politicians, the police, the military and the ordinary residents of Washington react to this? Stephen Coonts has his suggestions, some of which are rather surprising, and this keeps you reading as the level of terror increases and the story unfolds.
Stephen Coonts is good at describing people and their relationships. Here's a passage I found especially appealing:
"You love a woman for many reasons. A goddess she seems when you are young. But finally you see she is of common clay, the same as you, with faults and fears and vain, foolish dreams and petty vices. So you cherish her, love her even more. As she ages you cling closer and closer, holding tighter and tighter. She becomes the female half of you. The toughening of her skin, the engraved lines on her face, the thickening waistline and the sagging breasts, none of it matters a damn. You love her for what she is not as much as for what she is." (Page 87 in the paperback edition I read.)
Not what one expects in a thriller, and that makes this quote even more appealing.
I do have some criticisms though, and that's why I'm giving Under Siege four stars instead of five.
Most importantly, I dislike thrillers that create a fictitious modern history populated with real people. An assassination attempt on the President of the USA is exciting, but placing George Bush Sr. in the role of the target makes the whole thing a bit too weird.
Another problem I had with Under Siege is that the description of the mutilation and killing of a drug dealer gets quite a bit too graphic for my taste.
Finally, there's a scene where an assassin shoots a man 500 yards away, firing through a glass window right in front of his gun. This is simply not possible as far as I know because the glass window will deflect the trajectory of the bullet by a tiny amount, and after 500 yards this tiny deflection will have become a very large displacement from the desired trajectory.
Still, I did like Under Siege a lot, and I think it's a refreshing change from similar high-profile thrillers that are typically populated by cardboard clichés instead of real people.
Rennie Petersen
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I did enjoy it. A little ponderous at times but still a darn good read. I have read a couple of his books and will certainly try some more.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This in my opinon was Stephen Coots worst story, this doesn't mean it was a terrible story. It was very ambigious, It had a lot going on, perhaps too much, lots of little themes through the story thats were only loosly tied together. I was constantly waiting for the book to get started. I gave it three stars though because some of the characters where strong, like the undercover cop, the Sniper and obviously Jake Grafton and Toad Tarkington.
By far its biggest let down are the 2 chapters on Cuba and Fidel Castro, and how that relates to the book Cuba, (2 books later).
As none Techno thrillers go, it was ok, but I have read better
Mark Kaye
By far its biggest let down are the 2 chapters on Cuba and Fidel Castro, and how that relates to the book Cuba, (2 books later).
As none Techno thrillers go, it was ok, but I have read better
Mark Kaye
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great begining
From the start Coonts gets your attention. The US Govt. brings a drug lord to America to stand trial. He uses Columbian tactics to be released. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2007 by M. A. Ramos
A great adventure story!
I'd never heard of Stephen Coonts before I picked this book up cheap but I'm now a fan. If you're after an action packed adventure this won't disappoint.
Published on 29 July 2001
FAILS TO LIVE UP TO ITS PROMISE
THE PROBLEM IN THIS CASE IS THAT THE CONTENTS FAIL TO LIVE UP TO THE "BLURB".ITS A NOVEL THAT SEEMS CONSTANTLY ABOUT TO TAKE OFF BUT NEVER DOES. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2001 by svickersuk@yahoo.com
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