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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Fast Read But Very Predictable!, 13 Jan 2007
I've read all of Demille's books and liked them all; of course, to varying degrees. I was very much looking forward to reading his latest, Wild Fire, prior to its release. Overall, Wild Fire held my interest from beginning to end -- but it is definitely not up to par for Demille. I found the premise of the plot to be interesting and and was expecting Demille to deliver the plot with his usual amount of suspense and surprises. Ultimately, however, the level of suspense was very limited, as was the surprise level. Further, the surprises Demille attempts to deliver are highly predictable. My main problem with Wild Fire was not the story, which, as I said, was entertaining enough. My problem pertains to my rapidly growing dislike of Demille's main character, John Corey, who has now been the featured character in three books. Corey's constant wise cracks and know-it-all attitude is much more annoying to me than humorous, and Demille has allowed Corey to become "the real story" in Wild Fire. I'm about to the point that I might skip future Demille books that focus on Corey. In addition, while character development is usually a major strength of Demille's, almost all of the other characters in Wild Fire are one-dimensional at best, and the villain lacks credibility. I don't think you'll dislike Wild Fire, and if it's your first Demille book, you'll probably be very satisfied by it. However, if you're a long-time Demille fan, I think you'll find it, as I did, to not be up to this author's usual high standard.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lowest Common Denominator..., 12 Feb 2007
Just as the TV series 24 began to sink more and more into right wing propaganda I have a sinking feeling that Nelson Demille is going the same way. Sure it will sell to a scared and conspiracy theory ridden audience but great fiction it is not.
Now before anyone accuses me of being a bleeding heart liberal I have no qualms with material of this nature as the book is fiction, nothing more and a writer should not be stopped from writing material that may potentially be confrontational, but I like it to be done in a thought provoking and interesting way and not sinking to sensationalism.
Right the downside out of the way...
I am usually a huge Nelson Demille fan and couldn't wait for the latest outing of John Corey and Kate Mayfield who were last seen thanking their lucky stars for bad traffic as they watch the twin towers crumble around them as they are late for their lunch appointment in the top of the North tower. Interesting Demille doesn't shy away from illustrating Americans (and particularly New Yorkers) fear at the environment that evolved post 9/11, this was something skilfully handled in a realistic manner that I was impressed with. This however is quickly surpassed as I feel Demille tries to over emphasise the point, I don't feel it is anything more sinister than that but I just wish some of the anti-Middle Eastern feeling in the book was in the background instead of the foreground. The obvious exception to that desire is the main protagonists but I just loathed quite how much a lot of the so called good guys empathise with the bad ones.
This is a brave attempt and at times it is vintage Corey and Demille, I just feel there are pathways in the book where Demille made a choice on how this book should read and I didn't feel they were the best choices. On top of that I found the ending too pantomime but that is a discussion for another time...
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real Thriller, 20 Mar 2007
Nelson DeMille is one of America's most popular and best selling authors, and a new book from him is a keenly awaited event. A former US Army lieutenant who served in Vietnam, he lives in Long Island, New York.
Welcome to the Custer Hill Club, a club whose members are some of the most powerful men in America. Business men, military men and government officials. In the main the club is a place to relax with good friends but one weekend the club's board gather to talk about possibly the worst tragedy in American history, the tragedy of 9/11 and finalise a plan of retaliation known only by a its codename Wildfire.
The very same weekend a member of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is found dead. It is soon up to Detective john Corey and his wife, FBI Agent Kate Mayfield to unravel a terrifying plot that starts at the Custer Hill Club and ends up with American cities locked in the crosshairs of a nuclear device.
I really enjoyed this book. It is not my normal kind of reading, but it held my attention all the way through
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