Collision

Very interesting thriller about what happens when right hand does not know what left hand is doing. Ben Forsberg, freelance corporate consultant working on PMC contracts, gets himself in whole lot of trouble after an unknown (but highly rated and feared) assassin is found shot dead with Ben's calling card on him.

Soon he is hunted by one clandestine agency after another - all thinking him to be a mastermind behind a possible massive terrorist attack and all working without knowing for one another or considering others (on the basis of classified and "reliable" data) to be enemies.

Very good view of what can happen when everything is compartmentalized and everything lies in the hand of the few - as they say "Quis custodiet ipso custodes" - show more and what is worse than having those few running their own agendas (most notably profits).

Recommended. show less

Very interesting thriller about what happens when right hand does not know what left hand is doing. Ben Forsberg, freelance corporate consultant working on PMC contracts, gets himself in whole lot of trouble after an unknown (but highly rated and feared) assassin is found shot dead with Ben's calling card on him.[return][return]Soon he is hunted by one clandestine agency after another - all thinking him to be a mastermind behind a possible massive terrorist attack and all working without knowing for one another or considering others (on the basis of classified and "reliable" data) to be enemies.[return][return]Very good view of what can happen when everything is compartmentalized and everything lies in the hand of the few - as they say show more "Quis custodiet ipso custodes" - and what is worse than having those few running their own agendas (most notably profits).[return][return]Recommended. show less

Collision starts off with a bang when Ben Forsberg is on his honeymoon with his wife in Hawaii when a supposedly random shot through the window kills her. This is the prelude to an assassination attempt gone bad when Pilgrim, a member of the Cellar, an off the books dirty ops offshoot of the CIA, survives an attempt on his life in what is a plot to uproot the Cellar and get them to work for the evil government contractor, Sam Hector, who Ben Forsberg works for. Pilgrim then links up with Forsberg to find out who is behind this plot.
There is a good bit to like about this novel. For one thing, it moves at a fast pace. The story is loaded with action. The writing is also quite competent. There are a couple of big flaws in this novel. The show more first is that the author has an obvious political agenda and an axe to grind. The malevolent defense contractor has become tired and cliché in the world of thriller fiction and Hollywood. The other thing is that the villain in the story, Sam Hector, is not remotely believable. He is evil to the core, more of a caricature than a real person. Those things stop this from being a great novel instead of a decent novel. Still it is entertaining and worth reading.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street show less

Frenetic chase scenes, some requiring total suspension of belief, bewildering accumulation of characters with Bondian skills and luck, a good book to listen to while doing chores because you can easily concentrate on something else and then come back to the chase without having missed a whole lot. Think Bullitt but with an amateur instead of Steve McQueen. Will undoubtedly be made into a movie with Tom Cruise. Fasten your seatbelts.

A hit goes amiss in Austin TX. Nicky Lynch was assigned to assassinate two men. He kills Adam Reynolds but the other escapes, finds Nicky and kills him.

Later that day, two agents from Homeland Security ask Ben Forsberg why his card was in the pocket of Nicky Lynch, a freelance assassin. The men tell Ben that Reynolds worked for the government and Ben's name was found on his cell phone and appointment calendar.

Sam Hector, owns a security firm, Global Security. He is the man setting up Pilgrim and Ben. There is a backup team of assassins. This team is made up of Arabs. Along with Nicky Lynch's brother Jackie, they go after the other man who was a target, he goes by the name Pilgrim, actual name Randall Choate. They capture Pilgrim's boss, show more a woman called Teach but Pilgrim kills the Arabs and only Nicky Lynch's brother, Jackie survives. He brings Teach to Sam Hector.

As this is occuring, there is a team of terrorists in New Orleans planning for their "...moment of glory."

When Pilgrim killed the other team of assassins, he rescued Ben from the Homeland Security captors.
They realize that they are being set up and work together.

They make a connection with Sam Hector and determine that it is he who is manipulating events.

It is a complex plot without much character development. However, if the reader is after an action adventure novel, this fits the bill. The pace is fast, the action is wild and the reading fun. show less

Definitely not a favorite. He seems to be interested now in spectacular car chases, and fights where the hero is so injured that in real life he'd not be able to lift his head off the floor but manages to out run, out fight and out think his opponents.

Jeff Abbott is the king of thrillers, and they are non-stop in this novel of action and intrigue. almost as good as 'Adrenaline'.