The Silent Man

I've heard great things about the first two John Wells novels, but my experience begins here with the third in the series. And despite having to play catch-up in places, The Silent Man works brilliantly as a stand alone spy thriller. It also makes you want to go back to the beginning of the series and see what Wells has done previously.

What sets Berenson's series apart in this crowded espionage genre is his knack for finding that elusive balance between the authentic and the entertaining. Wells, despite being the kind of lethal CIA agent who could become a cliche in the hands of many writers, exhibits a complexity of character and a genuine feel. You really believe that this is a dangerous man, in the same way that Daniel Craig makes show more you believe that the movie version of James Bond is not an insult to Fleming's concept of the character. This comes across most starkly in the novel's kill scenes, in which Wells often disposes of adversaries in a quick, brutal manner, making the violence so much more convincing than if it had been dragged out in the exaggerated way favored by many authors in the action genre.

The plot, too, has a realistic feel from beginning to end, making me believe that this really is how things might play out if an Islamic terrorist group got its hands on Russian nuclear material with the intent of building an atomic weapon and detonating it in a major American City. Peopled with well-developed supporting characters, and displaying a feel for the inner workings of the alphabet soup agencies, there are few places in which the realism of this work breaks down. In fact, the only part of the story that did not ring absolutely true for me was the strange turns in Wells's relationship with Jennifer Exley, as her anger toward him often seemed somewhat contrived.

This is, however, a series that I plan to explore fully. The quality of the writing and Wells himself are just too compelling to ignore. show less

I liked this book. A lot. It combines actual threats, circumstances with a chillingly plausible plot.
Thus far these books have pleasantly surprised me with interesting plot threads, background information that together make a good story. A combination of Ludlum and Clancy, I like that!

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as some of the previous ones in the series. I think it may be getting too predictable - the renegade hero/cowboy who wants free reign for his personal grudges, but is never sure what he really wants. In this one, his girlfriend gets hurt as a result of his earlier poking of some enemy, so he decides to get even, even though his girlfriend and everyone else says not to do it. He goes ahead, and almost causes an international incident.

This, of course, doesn't stop him from continuing his maverick style, and as usual, he sort of wins in the end. I won't be reading more, especially after reading some of his fake news posts on Twitter against the Covid vaccine, saying it causes Covid, even though it show more doesn't contain any of the virus and so can't do that. But why let little things like logic get in the way of popularity with the anti-vaxxers. show less

This is another good book in the John Wells series by Alex Berenson. It's the third book. In the first two, CIA agent John Wells has pretty much saved the world, or at least the US, so it's hard to imagine the author being able to concoct another plot that would live up to the first two. But he does. The book opens with a Russian scientist at a nuclear facility who is pressured into helping to improbably steal two nuclear bombs for Muslim militants. They intend to detonate the bombs in Washington during the State of the Union address. The story of these militants and their travels with the bombs to North America is very interesting.

Meanwhile, one morning Wells and his fiance, Jennifer Exley, are on their way to work at the CIA when they show more are attacked by Russian assassins who are killed after killing some CIA agents and severely wounding Exley. In the previous book, Wells had seriously humiliated a powerful arms dealer who has, in turn, contracted with some Russians to get his revenge. Needless to say, after this attack, Wells is ticked. This doesn't bode well for the arms dealer. Wells flies to Russia to get at and kill the Russians behind the attack and does kill three of them, but has to fly out of the country as he is pursued by the KGB. The arms dealer is so frightened of a pissed off Wells coming for him, that he offers a truce -- information in exchange for letting him live. Wells agrees when he hears the information. It's about the nuclear bomb theft and all hell breaks loose after that. It's a great race to the finish and the finish is almost anticlimactic, but it's still satisfying, in my opinion.

However, one of my complaints about the book is Exley's very minor role. She's John's fiance and we barely see or hear anything from her. She's an afterthought. Additionally, in the first book, a lot was made of Wells and his conversion to Islam, but that's almost never broached in this book. I found that strange. Still, it was a good book, an exciting read, and the author has this unique knack of taking implausible sounding scenarios and making them seem entirely realistic. The only other thriller author I've read who does it that well is Forsyth. That's high praise, coming from me. I'd read these books in order, if possible, but it's not necessary -- it stands on its own. Good book. Recommended. show less

The Silent Man is a tale of international espionage and terrorism, which, if properly told, could have been spellbinding. The concept is good, and there's sufficient realism in the telling. However, to me, the story lacked one important thing. Action. Especially near the middle of the book, everything happens too slowly for words. The story drags on for at least 100 more pages than needed for an excellent novel.

While most of the characters are forgettable, I have to say, I do like the main pair; Wells and Exley have the chemistry between them. I liked the touch of romance thrown into the mix - just enough to suport the realism but nowhere near enough to eclipse the drama and suspense of a real thriller. This author is on the right show more track, but, in my opinion, not quite there yet... Some editing and revision could have greatly improved this novel.

Recommended for die-hard espionage fans only... not quite suitable for everyone. Reader discretion is advised. This review was previously published on Dragonviews. show less

Alex Berenson’s “The Silent Man” was a good read, although it was more similar in nature to many of the espionage/thrillers I’ve read over the last 10 years—a feeling Berenson’s previous two books didn’t give me.

This time, CIA agent John Wells and his boss/fiancée Jennifer Exley are targeted for assassination as a result of their involvement with an arms dealer in the previous book, “The Ghost War.” John then sets out to do what he didn’t earlier—take out the arms dealer. But things are never as easy as they seem. The dealer knows something he can use to bargain for his life—a partial trail to individuals who’ve stolen a Russian nuclear bomb and are bringing to the shores of the US.

Fans of Vince Flynn will show more certainly enjoy Berenson’s first three books, but I think they’ll find “The Silent Man” to be a little more flat, a little too predictable, and a little too clichéd than the earlier novels. show less

כרגיל, אבל קצת פחות טוב מכרגיל. העלילה לא הגיונית והאלימות מיותרת וקיצונית. אבל מותח