King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: The Silent Man

author: Alex Berenson

genre: thriller/suspense

pages: 418

first line: A weaker man would have found Shamir Taghi's pain unbearable.

release date: February 10, 2009

rated: 4 out of 5

The last two years haven't been easy for John Wells. Missions in Afghanistan, China, and America have taken a heavy toll on his body, his psyche, and even his soul. Now he is living quietly in Washington, trying to gather his strength and build his relationship with his lover Jennifer Exley. But his past is about to reach out for him, and for Exley.


Meanwhile, almost 6,000 miles away, terrorists are trying to steal a nuclear weapon, hoping to use it to provoke an all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia. When the two plots come together, Wells will be faced with the most wrenching choice of his life -- and have the slimmest of chances to prevent Armageddon

CIA agent John Wells has made many enemies in his line of work, and one of those men holds a grudge against Agent Wells and will stop at nothing to get revenge. This Russian wants Wells and his girl dead. Wells is living with his fiancée and co-worker, Jennifer Exley. He and Exley are driving to work one day, when they are stopped in heavy traffic. In a moment, they are being shot at, Wells in uninjured but Exley is severely wounded. Wells finds out these assasins are sent by his old enemy Pierre Kowalski. While Exley is in the hospital recovering, he plans to head off to Russia to kill Kowalski.




Wells has to go undercover, so he gains weight and tans before leaving on his mission. He follows the killers to Russia, once there, his plan goes awry, his cover is blown and he returns to the States. Before he knows it, Kowalski contacts him, he knows Wells is after him and wants to set up a meeting.


Turns out Kowalski, an arms dealer, has a lead on a man who is buying the tools to create a nuclear bomb. He will give Wells the name, in return for a truce. He wants Wells to leave him alone. Wells agrees, and Kowalski gives him the terrorists name.

Wells wished he could be certain why Kowalski had come to him, wondered if there was some double or triple-cross he wasn't seeing. Most likely not. The simplest explanation was usually the best, and the simplest explanation here was that Kowalski feared he'd be sent straight to hell if a bomb went off and the United States found out that he had information that could have stopped it. So he'd decided to give Well's the name, get Well's off his back, two birds, one stone.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of The Silent Man . This book was fast paced and exciting. Once I read a few chapters, and got a feel for the characters and storyline, I was good and hooked. This is the type of book that you really need to pay attention to as you are reading. There are several characters involved and different things going on.


This would make a great film, it reminded me of the Bourne Identity movies. I know those were based on books too.







About the Author:

As a reporter for The New York Times, Alex Berenson has covered topics ranging from the occupation of Iraq to the flooding of New Orleans to the travails of the pharmaceutical industry. His novel The Faithful Spy won the 2007 Edgar Award for best first novel. A 1994 graduate of Yale University with degrees in history and Economics.