The Takers

The Takers #1

by Jerry Ahern, Sharon Ahern

Josh Culhane and Mary Mulrooney risk their lives to gain possession of the valuable Gladstone Log before the evil Jeremiah Steiglitz finds it

Genres: Thriller, Adventure, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action, Ebooks

382 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Jerry Ahern (born Jerome Morrell Ahern) was a science fiction and action novel author best known for his post apocalyptic survivalist series The Survivalist. The books in this series are heavy with descriptions of the weapons the protagonists use to survive and prosecute a seemingly never-ending war amongst the remnants of the superpowers from pre-apocalypse times.

Ahern was also a firearms writer, who published numerous articles in magazines such as Guns & Ammo, Handguns and Gun World.

Jerry Ahern passed away on July 24, 2012 after a long struggle with cancer.

Ahern also released books under pseudonym Axel Kilgore.

Reviews

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost 400 pages of on again, off again action. Sometimes Mr. Ahern turns his books into gun and holster endorsements. Not to mention ammo clips, knifes and bags to put it all in. Now on to the book. Above the title, it proclaims "Compelling action in the spirit of Raiders Of The Lost Ark" A bold proclamation. We do have Nazis. Archaeologists. Pretty good amount of action. We also get a search for Atlantis. Alien beings and U.F.O.'s. We get of to a good start. Then we drag a bit. It picks up again. Then...Yes, drags a bit. When we get onto the submarine that takes them to Antarctica, look out unless you like nuclear subs.
I might be a bit to hard on this book, but sometimes all the gun talk gets to much. Then Mr. Ahern gets his digs into "Liberals" and others whom he disagrees with. I would not see eye to eye with the author, but I do like a lot of his work. The one main reason I like it is because it's fiction. I will be reading book two someday.

[Brandee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was OK and it was a fast-paced, fun adventure, but the writing was mediocre at best, high school level really. My biggest problem with it is that I really don't need a technical breakdown and operations lesson on every single gun, knife, holster and clip on the planet. I don't need a description of every moving part and every scratch on the handle. Had I known this fella was such a rabid gunbater, I would have left it on the shelf. This would be great masturbation fodder for the second amendment kooks and Trump shit eaters, unfortunately, most of them can't read. I hate to bail on a series, but not sure I can endure the gun drooling in #2.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jerry Ahern can write action as well as anyone. This was a good book, with some strange and intersting similarities to the fourth Indiana Jones movie, the "Crystal Skull." There's also an alien skull in this one, and spaceships, and something about interdimension portals. This was written in 1984, however.

I liked it alot, but the main character is very similar in many ways to John Rourke, the Survivalist, and I like Rourke better. This was supposed to be first in a series to be written with his wife, but I don't know if any other books were written in it or not.

[Dale Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story, reminded me of a cross between the X-Files and Indiana Jones.

[Joe Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been of a mixed mind about Jerry Ahern's writing. He wrote quite a few post-apocalyptic survivalist novels and some Men's Adventure action series, but nothing has ever really "clicked" with me. I suppose The Takers falls into that same category of good, but could be better.

The cover demands comparison with Raiders of the Lost Ark, but that's unfair. Mostly because this is an odd blend of Men's Adventure action with UFO mythology and a light dash of the paranormal. It was not what I was expecting, to say the least.

Our heroes are Josh Culhane--a stand-in for Ahern I must expect, as Josh is a wildly successful adventure novelist who is a crack-shot and martial artist--and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Mary Francis Mulrooney, also an author, but of the paranormal sort. We open when Josh's twin brother, who works for the CIA, is killed by a sadistic young lady seeking an old manuscript called the Gladstone Log.

This manuscript purportedly leads to Atlantis and our evil lady's father wants it very badly.

Soon it's a race to find the manuscript, with killers at their heels, and a number of untrustworthy allies offering help. All in all, you couldn't ask for a better plot for an adventure story. And Ahern is good at writing action sequences, with plenty of bullets flying and all kinds of typical adventure serial escapades, including that perennial favorite: quicksand!

I had a blast with the book up until the middle, when we hit a slog of endless exposition and loads of unnecessary detail involving a nuclear submarine. Now, I have an interest in subs and their operation, so I didn't mind this detour too much, but I can only imagine a lot of casual readers tuning out heavily during this chunk.

The end, in the ice fields of Antarctica, picks up once more and the final revelations beneath the ice are both epic and a tad underwhelming. Epic because of the sights, sounds, and majesty of what our heroes find buried there, but underwhelming because we get a fairly disappointing showdown with our baddies.

I think, for me, that could have made all the difference. Aside from a couple of scenes early on, we get almost no interaction with the book's villains. It's hard to hate someone evil when they only show up to make an appearance at the finale.

And yeah, I suppose I'd be happy to have about 100 pages cut from the book for pacing.

But overall, this is a fun adventure yarn. Especially if you've an interest in UFOs and aliens in your action novels!

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)

First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[John Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first knew of the Takers way back in 1984, when Josh and Fanny appeared in a Track book. At the time, the Takers series didn't really interest me, but over the years, people have raved about how good it was, so I finally decided to read the series.

Josh Culhane is a men's adventure novel writer. He travels the world researching his stories about his character, Sean Dodge. Fanny Mulrooney is also a writer, researching paranormal activity, and Josh's lover.

After his twin brother is murdered, Josh and Fanny set out to track down the Gladstone Log, a record of a British Navy expedition to find the city of Atlantis. As it turns out, what they discover is a base created some 40,000 years ago by a group of aliens, along with their thought controlled spaceships.

They have to defeat the man who murdered Josh's brother, and his psychopathic daughter, to prevent him from stealing the technology and taking over the world, which ultimately they manage to do.

It's a typical '80's 'Mens Adventure' novel, filled with descriptions of the guns being used, and lots of smoking of cigarettes, but if you can ignore these minor irritations, it's not a bad read.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the one hand, I'm always criticizing these adventure books for being too short to have anything to say, and on the other hand, when they're long enough to do something interesting, they so rarely do. The closest this book comes is by having the rugged protagonist be a writer who published a series of books also titled "The Takers." For that flourish and for the clear and serviceable prose style, I don't mind awarding a second star.

[Ronald Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great start but bad ending.

I am just not into paranormal activity. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Close Encounters type of literature.

[Rod · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this back around junior high or thereabouts, enjoyable enough action/adventure fare for a not-particularly-discriminating kid who devoured "men's adventure" series like Mack Bolan and Able Team like candy. On the cover it says, "Compelling action in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark," and I guess that says it all. I remember at the end there was some silly business about an ancient alien spaceship; so, full circle, huh?

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this even though it is over 30 years old. It is full of action, adventure and completely surprising twists to keep you guessing. I don't give details of the books I read so as not to spoil them for anyone but this one is so good I plan to put on my 'Read Again in 5 years' list. Hope you give it a try.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book the first time I read it about 20 years ago. I recently found out there was a third book in the series and decided to start from the beginning. I cannot remember what I thought was so great about it. I don't think I'll read the other two.

[Angus McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't enjoy this, well, ya got no sense of adventure. Cool car? Check-Trans Am. Detonics .45 pistols? Check.Witty banter? Check. Cool lead characters? Double check. Get a copy, get amongst it and you won't regret it.

[George Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed romancing the stone, this book is for you. First of three books as far as I know. Lots of action and fun.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pätevää ja vauhdikasta hölmöilyä sci-fi maustein. Ei huono, ei huono ollenkaan.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abundant action and adventure in an all around terrific book. Shifts gears to science fiction while retaining the action/adventure aspects.