| | |  | Terrorism | Home » » Hard Target | | | | | | | Description: | | From the executive producer of 24 and co-creator of Homeland, the exciting follow-up to Gideon’s War involves a harrowing attempt to stop a homegrown terrorist plot to destroy the U.S. government. Gideon Davis has settled into the quiet life of an academic and is weeks away from being married when he discovers evidence of an impending terrorist attack on U.S. soil. He brings his suspicions to his ex-girlfriend, FBI Agent Nancy Clement, but her bosses are leery of Gideon’s source: a meth-head informant affiliated with a white supremacist group. Both Gideon and Nancy become increasingly convinced that a serious plot exists, but their informant is murdered before they can get more details from him. So Gideon enlists his brother, Tillman—newly sprung from prison through a presidential pardon— as an undercover operative to infiltrate a group of white supremacists who may be involved. Eventually, Gideon and Tillman get on the trail of the real conspirators and uncover their audacious plan to eliminate the entire top tier of the U.S. government during a high-value, mass-casualty attack. With only Nancy’s support, Gideon and Tillman go rogue to stop the powerful titan behind the conspiracy before the entire government is toppled. With nonstop action and ticking time-bomb suspense, Hard Target will keep readers turning pages and their hearts pumping fast. | | | Product Details: | | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 9 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 9 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Gideon's War was not a fluke!Jan 06, 2012
By William P. Dillon
A man with a grudge against the United States government, because his son came back from the war with amputated limbs, concocts a plan to avenge his son. He is going to take out the highest levels of government at the President's State of the Union address. A meth addict with some information about the plan confronts Gideon Davis to try to "sell" him the information. When the addict disappears, Gideon begins to believe it is all for real.
Hard Target is not as outlandish as some moments of Gideon's War but is every bit the roller coaster ride.
Hard Target is a huge success! This is a page turner, even more so than Gideon's War. Hard Target is very exciting and suspenseful.
Howard Gordon has become a "must read" author for me. I can't wait for his next book! Thanks for an exciting ride!
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Hard TargetJan 07, 2012
By grumpydan
Gideon Davis learns of a possible attack on the US government by a militia group and with the assistance of his brother and fiancé, they try to convince the powers that be. Thwarted by the FBI and others, the two brothers go on their own to stop the impending attack.
This action packed suspense is slowed down by lengthy narratives and the climax is somewhat predictable. It is what it is; reads like a television movie plot.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Page-turning suspenseJan 07, 2012
By Bill Weinberger
I have to clarify: Three stars means I (ultimately) liked Hard Target. It had a tight plot with page-turning suspense, realistic situations and settings, and spare writing. Once I connected with the situation and the plight of the characters, it was not easy to put down. That should have gotten it four stars, but I have to knock off a few points.
First, a half point off because I did not immediately feel connected with the protagonist. The author used a prologue to try to get the reader into the situation and define the bad guys. While this might work for a television show (the author is a successful television writer and producer), in this case it seemed more of a distraction. When we meet up with Gideon Davis in chapter one, the reader is wondering why we are spending time with this loser on his way to work, instead of finding the fate of the poor woman in the prologue.
Another half point comes off for all the head hopping. This is the not the first time I've been assaulted by viewpoint roaming from character to character in a thriller. This may be a stylistic choice and most readers might not notice. I find it jarring and distracting when it happens within a single chapter or scene. It just chops things up too much, giving the story the feel of a badly edited movie-of-the-week.
Otherwise, this was a pretty decent read and I can recommend it for anyone looking for some hard action adventure.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
High-Powered ThrillerJan 27, 2012
By Edie Dykeman
In Pocatello, Idaho, a white supremacist group headed by Dale Wilmot is performing deadly experiments in their quest to wipe out high level U.S. government officials in a terrorist attack. Wilmot is angry because his only son, a handsome, popular athlete in high school, came back from Iraq and Afghanistan with major injuries including the loss of several limbs and a severely burned face.
Former State Department official Gideon Davis received news about the impending attack through an informant. He asked a friend of his to help him get the info to the FBI. When the informant disappeared, and the Bureau refused to take Gideon seriously, he enlisted the help of his brother Tillman, asking him to go underground to infiltrate the terrorist organization.
With time running out and the most important people in the upper echelon of politics gathering for a special event in Washington, D.C., Gideon and Tillman go underground in a death defying attempt to stop the slaughter.
Hard Target is the second Gideon Davis novel by Howard Gordon, following Gideon's War. Executive producer of the highly popular television show 24 and writer and executive producer of the X-Files and Homeland, Gordon is well equipped to write action-packed thrillers.
Although Gordon is well-known for his thrillers, he is also adept at building his characters and their relationships with one another; in this case especially the growing bond between the two brothers, Gideon and Tillman.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The creator of Homeland brings out more home-grown terror.Jan 25, 2012
By Ray J. Palen Jr.
"Ray"
Riding high on the success of his recent Golden Globes win for Best Television Drama with the show he penned, HOMELAND, Howard Gordon once again revisits the world of print fiction with the second novel in the Gideon Davis series --- HARD TARGET.
This time around, Gideon is facing a threat to our nation that exists at the very heart of it. Home-grown terrorists with a serious chip on their shoulder towards the U.S. and their government are planning an attack on the Capitol that will literally cripple the entire governmental system. Planned for the night of the President's State of the Union Address, this band of fanatics have their sights set on taking out the government in one fell swoop.
The only thing standing between the terrorists and their target is Gideon Davis and his brother, Tillman. In GIDEON'S WAR, Gideon Davis and his brother Tillman were pitted against each other --- or so we thought. Now joined together and with the help of Gideon's ex-girlfriend and FBI Agent, Nancy Clement, they represent a small band of patriots with a large task to handle.
Tillman does his part by going undercover and joining the ranks of the conspirators while Gideon and Nancy try to enlist support from the rest of the FBI and anyone who will listen to guard the nation's Capitol. Nancy's boss, Director Dahlgren, has serious reservations about trusting Tillman Davis and his meth-head informant within the white supremacist group planning the attack. Additionally, the FBI does not want to overreact against a bunch of hicks and create another Waco.
The Davis brothers realize they are mixed up with some really bad people who have an anti-government agenda that is quite alarming. When two of the leaders of the rebel group, Jim Verhoven and his sadistic wife, Lorene, take Tillman into their circle of trust they share with him their deadly intent to decapitate the entire top tier of the US government. Even though they know about the group's plans, the Davis' are in a race against time to stop them since no one takes the threat seriously and many of the players involved have their own hidden agendas.
HARD TARGET is far more dramatic and slower-paced than the high-turbo action of the previous novel, GIDEON'S WAR. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Howard Gordon uses his knowledge of the U.S. government's inner workings coupled with the twists and turns that make his series HOMELAND such a treat and pushes them to the extreme. The most frightening reality within HARD TARGET is the fact that those who are capable of causing the most damage to our nation may be currently living safely within it. A solid, suspenseful read!
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
