Millions have come to love Brad Thor's literary creation, Scot Harvath. Ex-SEAL, Secret Service agent, hunter of terrorists, Harvath's legacy begins in The Lions of Lucerne. The seemingly invincible Harvath, working in the Secret Service, saves the life of the president's daughter during an attack, but many of his colleagues are killed in the process and the president himself disappears to points unknown. Middle-eastern terrorists are suspected, but Harvath is too smart to be fooled by the ruse. Following a trail of clues that everyone else misses, as well as his intuition, Harvath tracks down the Lions of Lucerne. I don't think I'd be revealing too much to let slip that he saves the day. . . .
Sure, Harvath is larger than life. Sure, he is inconceivably lucky. Sure, there is sometimes a cartoonish, melodramatic flavor to the story and the action. But this isn't Jane Austen. This isn't Ernest Hemingway. It's fast-paced, raw meat, superhero, special forces, flag-waving action and adventure! It's fun to read, fun to observe as Harvath puts the puzzle together, fun to see him get the girl, and fun to see the bad guys lose and lose big. The Lions of Lucerne starts out with Harvath serving in the secret service White House detail. As Thor's readers are well aware, Harvath's future is much broader than that, hunting terrorists where they roost. The Lions of Lucerne sets up that future.
One word on the audio book. I listened to the abridged version (that's what they had at the library). It tells the story efficiently, but it definitely had the feel of being abridged. On many occasions, I had to check my iPod to see if it skipped a track. The shifts in action were just too abrupt. I should have waited for the unabridged edition.
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