Total Control

As a lover of suspense thrillers, Total Control is a book I really wanted to like. Unfortunately, by the end I was struggling to like anything at all. The book read like a bad made-for-tv movie, complete with a sappy ending you could see clear from Chapter 1.

The writing was amateurish and clumsy. It was also amazingly overwritten - eyes blaze, chests heave, characters are stunned, awed, astounded - the word choice seemed more fitting for a graphic novel than a thriller. There was an embarrassing excess of sentimentality on the part of all the characters, with the heroine at one point weeping with love for her husband. Maybe this was meant to appeal to the female reader, but it quickly became a distraction.

The characters are one show more dimensional: the beautiful, brave heroine, the tough-as-nails-but-sentimental g-man, the bad, bad, bad guys with their frozen blue eyes, the cute little tyke, the nerdy computer geek - and on and on. Most annoying was Sidney Archer, who is the archetypal male fantasy: a beautiful, clever, and successful law partner in a major Washington, DC law firm - who's yearning to give it all up to be a homemaker and mother.

By the end of the book, we're supposed to believe our slender heroine is capable of special-forces commando maneuvers, and that our FBI agent can pick out minute details on a security videotape that's described as being a lot clearer than any I've ever seen. We're not asked to suspend disbelief, we're asked to buy into a completely unrealistic turn of events.

Finally, and this is hardly the author's fault, the technology which figures so prominently in the book didn't age well, and the constant talk of floppy disks, whining modems, and AOL just seems...odd. Baldacci has a great reputation as a writer, but it must be for titles other than this. show less

This was not David Baldacci's best. There was suspense but it still dragged in some places. The technology was so dated that I had to laugh but helped me enjoy it some. It referred to floopy discs and there was a monologue about how that Internet is going to change the world which was interesting.

Jason Archer lies to his wife, Sidney. He told her that he is going on a job interview when he was actually carrying out a secret plan by competitor company. He told his wife which flight he woud be taking and it was sabotaged. But he had traded clothes with another man on the lay over and later found out later that the plane had crashed.

So Sidney thought he was dead when she heard the news about the plane. So Sidney leaves her daughter with show more her parents and starts out to find the truth. Was the husband she loved so much on the side of evil or good? She does things I never would have done and she starts a friendship with an FBI agent, Lee Sawyer. I liked Lee Sawyer more than her. He was very empathetic and it was easy to understand him. He had faith that Sidney was on the good side and took chances for her.

The story was OK but it was unintentionally improved by being very outdated when it comes to different references to computer technology. show less

I didn't realize how old this book was until I started reading it and technology like computer discs had me wondering. I did guess some of the plot points ahead of time (the pregnancy in particular). I also guessed the suspect before it was revealed--well, at least in part. The actual suspects were more widespread than what I guessed but the person I suspected was one of the ones involved.

Jason and Sidney Archer are a happily married couple with a 4 year old daughter. Jason works in IT, and Sidney is a lawyer. During a work project, Jason accidentally uncovers evidence of some financial wrongdoing. He tries to pass the information to the FBI only to be tricked. His actions lead to Sidney being suspected of undermining a business deal show more she's negotiating for his company.

Arthur Lieberman is head of the Federal Reserve until his untimely death in a plane crash--on the very plane that Jason Archer was meant to take as well.

Lee Sawyer and Ray Jackson are FBI agents tasked with figuring out who sabotaged the plane. Their investigation begins with Lieberman, moves to Archer, and then circles back to Lieberman.

I didn't quite understand why Sidney didn't call Sawyer when she realized she was going to be framed and at least try to feel him out on her explanation or give him a heads up that someone else had been there. show less

Unlike most thrillers I read this one does not start with hundred's question marks on what exactly is going on. Event that will drive the plot are given in first couple of chapters - young married couple Jason and Sydney Archer, IT engineer and successful lawyer respectively, both working for huge international mega-corporation aiming to acquire the pioneer AI company in order to create the portfolio that will enable them full monopoly in the field of software and hardware development. From the very beginning it is visible that Jason is working on something secret but not to the very end is the reader aware of what is truly going on. Then we have a huge disaster where hundreds are killed and no-one knows why exactly. What seems like a show more reasonable premise soon is discarded when new facts come to light.

Book is full of twists (main antagonists do not hesitate to bring down the entire commercial airplane to further their agenda) and concerns that ring true even 23 years after the book was published - mass surveillance, personal data collection and use of AI to control the populace. All the reasons for ruthless businessmen to do whatever it takes to gain the power and money. What I like about the book is that although high financial and technology world is constantly in the front, actual reasons for crime are as mundane as they can be.

Some would say that characters are bland and I would say they are your standard off-the-mill thriller characters, especially police officers (i.e. grizzled old veteran with problems in family). Our main protagonists are not stranded in financial issues and they all work in rather prestigious companies, they are loyal to each other and work hard to figure out what is going on. Point here is that you need to read the book to the end to figure out what is happening - trust me even if you read half the book there is great chance you are on a wrong trail. If you are prone to building views of others on incomplete data then you will find characters in the book rather difficult to root for. But when you get to the end of the book a lot of things get clear and true criminals are exposed.

Interesting book. Recommended to all fans of thrillers. show less

This is the second Baldacci book I read (after Absolute Power) and while I enjoyed Absolute Power more, this is still a solid book. For people who like thrillers with fast-paced action, this should be a satisfying read for anyone who is already a fan of Baldacci or just a newbie looking for a good read. If you've never read David Baldacci, I recommend you try Absolute Power first. The tale of the Archers here and their trials and tribulations are a interesting read, and there were quite a few parts where I had no desire to put down the book. Solid 4/5 stars for a book written by a good author.

So many questions arise from this thriller that was too thick by half. What do you do when a favorite author disappoints? Try to slog through. Will it get better? It didn't. What happens when authors that are not technologically-literate decide to try their hand at a technothriller? Prepare to cringe a lot. How many plots are based on only one copy of a digital file? Too many. Not recommended, even the Baldacci faithful should take a "bye" on this one.

"Total Control" begins with two high-tech companies, both in need of technological infusion, pursuing a smaller firm whose advanced technology will guarantee future success. The potential for conflict is immediately evident as the same high-powered law firm is representing both companies in their bids. Attractive corporate attorney Sidney Archer is handling the affairs for one company, but it just so happens that her husband Jason is the main person collecting records pertinent to the sale for the same company. I will admit the tech language got a bit much sometimes but this is pure David Baldacci. If you want to read an exciting novel that holds your interest with each page this is it.