The Ghost War

I am always worried when I pick up the second novels of authors - especially when I really liked the first one as was the case with Berenson. John Wells, the man that spent years under cover with the Taliban in Afghanistan, did not sound like the kind of CIA agent that will be very useful outside of that storyline. And writing the same novel multiple times (the way Dan Brown does) is not so easy to pull off.

Berenson made me forget all of those concerns pretty quickly. He weaved a story that connected an arms dealer, a Chinese Mao-wannabe, Iran, the Taliban and North Korea. If it all sounds too familiar, remember that it was written in 2008 - when things were not so different but they were a lot calmer. It is a classical spy novel, full show more of misdirection and surprises that never stop - the world peace in in jeopardy and CIA's rag team is doing their best as always - not always using the legal means (but managing to pull off a very expensive rescue mission).

It is a violent book - even more violent than the first one. And in addition to all the beating Wells took, he managed to add one more enemy to the list of people that really want to kill him. Considering the the one from the first one was Osama bin Laden, this one sounds like the smaller problem - but based on geography and abilities, I have a suspicion that this will be the main feature somewhere later in the series.

This series may not be high literature but they are great at what they are - spy novels with enough thriller thrown into them to almost move them away from the genre. show less

“The Ghost War” was better than Alex Berenson’s first John Wells book “The Faithful Spy,” which is quite a compliment. About the only issue I had with the first book was that it drug a bit in the middle once Wells returned from Afghanistan. “The Ghost War” had little in the way of back story on Wells’ family issues, so it was more consistently fast-paced.

This one sees Wells return to Afghanistan to help take out some Taliban forces who are operating at clearly a more professional level. Meanwhile, we also see Li Ping, the Chinese defense minister, plotting a way to force America into submission. There are unseen connections at work and Wells must get to the bottom of it before both countries go to war.

My only show more disagreement with this book is not a unique one—Wells’ “super human” ability to overcome some brutal physical activities. But then, that’s what heros do, no?

I would encourage interested readers to start with “The Faithful Spy” although it’s not mandatory. But since it’s so good, you’ll be glad you did. Now let’s see if Berenson can make it three in a row with “The Silent Man.” show less

This is one action packed spy novel. Listening to it from an audio book, I appreciated the reader’s ability to go from one accent to another as characters in the book came from varied countries in the Far East and Russia, as well as the United States. This book is chock full of sub plots as evidenced by the fact that there are 10 cd’s.

If you are taking a long car ride, a road trip somewhere, this is the book to take. It will keep your mind jumping from the constant suspense and yet the plot is realistic; there are plausible possibilities that something like this could actually occur if diabolical minds were intent on causing world catastrophes with the ultimate goal of gaining more power.

John Wells is the ultimate spymaster. show more Fearless and brave, he is nevertheless, an enigma. Will he prevent the crisis from bringing about a war or will he be the victim of his own courage and dedication to the cause of freedom.

China is joining forces with Iran, helping them to attain nuclear power while using North Korea to incite an incident with the United States so that an unscrupulous minister in China can ascend to the top of his party and become, in his mind, even better than MAO. Although his motives are to supposedly to help advance the cause of the Chinese people, his arrogance about his own worth propels him forward and poisons his efforts. The Chinese spy network seems far superior to ours as does their powers of logic and deduction in a crisis.

Even Russia is involved in this master plot, since they are represented immersed in the struggle for world domination, using North Korea and Iran to help China against the United States. Who will be the next superpower?

Actually, the United States seems woefully underrepresented in the smarts department, in this book. They seem like bunglers, so impressed with their own success and power that they make foolish decisions that don’t seem well thought out and therefore end in failure. Of course it is a novel, so the author can write it anyway he wishes and in the end, his hero will win out regardless of whether or not his skills are superior.

As an audio book, to keep you awake and always guessing, this fills the bill. It is not rocket science, but it sure is entertaining. show less

Meh, just like the last one, nothing wrong with it, but nothing that prevented me from putting the book down and doing something else. Wells is growing on me, but he’s no Reacher, or Corey, or Elvis Cole, etc. This and the previous one were the only books I have from the series but I don’t feel particularly inclined to search out the rest. If one fell into my lap I’d read it, but there won’t be much effort extended.

It's been a while since I read a book with this many pages in one day. This book wouldn't let me go, for longer than it took to make & eat lunch and dinner.
It was a nice book. A combination (for me) of Ludlum & Clancy, my favourite writers. An interesting plot. A thrilling story. A plausible plot, that is incorporating/pointing at recent history.
I just loved it. I'm very happy to have part 3 waiting for me :-)

Second in the series about John Wells, a rebellious CIA agent. This is a rollicking story of international intrigue, global power-politics and a world brought to the brink of nuclear war. Wells is a complex character and a highly capable operative. Good story. Even minor characters are "fleshed-out" and the story holds up all the way through.

One common flaw of political adventure novels is a tendency to labored plot-devices to complete the story line. Berenson never seems to resort to this. His stories are well-plotted and everything that he makes happen COULD happen.

The Ghost War features CIA agent John Wells, who much like Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp character, is the kind of agent that doesn't play nicely with others, but does manage to get things done when others can't. The novel starts off with a sequence of events that are seemingly unrelated. First is the killing of a North Korean scientist who is a mole for the US, along with a top CIA agent, a secret deal between a Chinese general and the Iranians, a double agent in the CIA feeding the Chinese sensitive information, and the training of Taliban fighters by Russians. Wells gets in the middle of the action trying to uncover the plot. He starts off the story reckless and nearly suicidal after foiling an al-Qaeda plot in Times Square, and needs to show more get back into the action. Focusing his energy against terrorists is a means of survival for him.
The action in this novel is very strong. There is a good deal of political intrigue, back door deals, and treachery. Wells has to go off the books to get things done. Although he kills when he has to, it's not something he takes lightly and haunts him afterward. Wells comes off as a believable character, as well as many of the villainous characters, who come off as more human than most bad guy characters. The novel finishes in a fiery conclusion that is satisfying.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street show less