Checkmate

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell #3

by David Michaels (House Author), Tom Clancy (Series Creator)

HE OPERATES OUTSIDE OF EVERY LAW ... AND KILLS IN THE LINE OF DUTY.

Few know he exists. But when millions of American lives are at stake, Third Echelon special operative Sam Fisher is the man to depend on. He handles covert missions either too sensitive or too risky for even the CIA or FBI. And he operates alone.

Fisher is called off of a training exercise to intercept a cargo freighter loaded down with radioactive material and heading straight for the U.S. coast. He has minutes to disable the ship --- or die trying. While he races to beat the clock, another attack has hit its target. As the residents of a small town in New Mexico start dying of radiation poisoning, Fisher weaves through a tangled web of clues to find the mastermind behind the strikes: one of the greatest enemies of the free world ...

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Action, Military Fiction, Spy Thriller, Suspense

416 pages, ebook

Published November 7, 2006

Reviews

[هادی امینی · Rating 3 out of 5]

از جهاتی بهتر از کتاب‌های قبلی بود. ولی قسمت‌های اوول شخص حذف شده بودند که من دوستشون داشتم. داستانش هم بدکی نبود.

[Wesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have been better if I hadn't read the first two books first. In general this book pissed me off for the first 2/3 of it. The writer of this book made no attempt whatsoever to maintain continuity with the first two books. The main characters all acted different. Mention of old bad guys and events were non-existent. Heck the start of this book has the same disaster potential as what happened in the end of the last book and they acted like it never happened. The writing style, which was one of the most entertaining and unique styles I have read (The main character was in first person so you really got intimate with his thoughts), but they did the movements of the other characters in 3rd person, so there was no sacrifice of plot for that intimate first person view...my big pet peeve with 1st person....it was a great way to write a story).

In general, I think this book was poorly researched. He references the Hotel in Dubai and you can tell he just read a fact sheet and looked at some google pictures and considered it good. The tennis court he referenced WAS the heli-pad. He just googled the hotel and some famous pictures of tennis players playing on the heli-pad are some of the first to come up. Also, him pretending that Lambert...head of intelligence had never heard of this hotel is asinine. Just because the author didn't know and did lazy research, he thought it would be okay. This is nitpicky by itself, but it goes throughout the book.

By the end the plot was okay, the action was good and the story was decent...I just couldn't get over the changes in how everything worked and the personalities of the characters. This book should never have been allowed to be written that way.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chess references and print errors abound in Checkmate, the third book in the Splinter Cell series and the first by author Grant Blackwood, writing under the David Michaels pseudonym used for most of the books in this series. This one opens with a thrilling scene where a ship carrying radioactive material is heading on a collision course for an American shore, and NSA Third Echelon operative Sam Fisher is sent in to stop it.

Though he is able to, a second mass casualty attack even deadlier than 9/11 is successfully carried out in a small American town named Slipstone, leaving over 5,000 dead. The evidence quickly points to Iran as the culprit of these terror attacks, but is there more to this than meets the eye? And can Fisher and his team stop the perpetrators before they strike again?

This book was a big step down for the series. Many reviewers have already commented on this, but this is now the single worst-edited book I've ever read in my life, overtaking the dreadfully-edited novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong by Greg Keyes. I'm not exaggerating when I say there are at least three or four major mistakes on every single page of this book, and at over 400 pages that amounts to thousands of errors. It's actually so bad that I don't think this book was edited at all; I think they just took it directly from the author and published it as-is.

The story was also just kind of bland? It really reads like Blackwood just watched five minutes of gameplay from one of the video games or was given some brief notes on it, because the plot is almost a bad stereotype of a Splinter Cell game. Fisher is constantly switching his goggles on and off and between night vision and infrared modes, he repetitively goes from one place to another and checks out what is in the various rooms, etc. Except unlike the games, a lot of the places he goes in this book are just empty rooms, empty houses, etc, and so it was just boring? At least the games had more enemy NPCs he could shoot at.

It wasn't all bad though. Blackwood writes Sam Fisher's personality better than the author of the first two books in the series, Raymond Benson. In this entry, he is very terse, and his thoughts and speech are more professional and refined like they are in the games. Benson wrote Fisher like he was an immature idiot at times, with many of this thoughts and sentences worded in a very goofy or childish demeanor.

Overall, if you're looking to get into these books, skip this one. The editing, or rather complete lack thereof, is bad enough that it takes you out of the story at times, and there's no continuity between the previous two books (which were linked and part of one larger story) and this one, so you likely won't be missing anything, as I doubt there will be continuity between this entry and the next book, Fallout. I hope they actually edit that one, but in any case I probably won't get to it for a while. I'm a bit burned out on Splinter Cell books at the moment; three in a row was plenty enough for now.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is what I will do on vacation. I will read a book by not-Tom Clancy because it is there. I will enjoy the implausible plot and its invincible hero and the way it hops from to Dubai to West Virginia to Turkmenistan to Chernobyl faster than most people can get to the post office. And then I will come here to leave a record of it because one of these days l’ll think “what was that crazy book that went all Mission Impossible in a nuclear reactor?” and now Goodreads will be able to tell me.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This was probably the best of the Splinter Cell novel so far. Pretty much non-stop action as Sam Fisher jets around the globe in an attempt to stop a war between the US and Iran, which was really orchestrated by...well, that would be telling and I'll keep this review spoiler free.

This one had a really well thought out plot and also seemed so plausible it was scary. Just a really well done action/adventure novel. I'm looking forward to the new volume.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book because I used to play the video game regularly. If you keep in mind this is a book based on a video game, you won't be disappointed. For me, it was difficult to not hear the character's voices that are used in the game and imagine the action in the book as a video game, but to be fair, I was quite the Splinter Cell addict.

Unfortunately, reading about Sam Fisher's life wasn't that great, especially because the writing was awful. Whoever did the copy editing also did a terrible job and it was all that I could do to not get out my trusty red pen and correct the mistakes.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the video game just for the entertainment value. If you aren't familiar with the game, don't bother.

[AnonymousReaderPerson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who on Earth copy-edited this thing? Fire them now. Strike one.

Okay, it's an action novel, so you expect...well...action. And I can get behind a hero who's taking on daunting tasks, pushing their body and mind to the limits in pursuit of a noble goal - in this case, to avert a ballooning geopolitical crisis. But Fisher just moves around too much. They might as well have had an angle where he goes to Mars for a chapter before returning to Earth. It's like someone thought, "How many different places can I incorporate into this thing?," and then based the story around that. Strike two.

It's got Clancy's name on it, so you know there's bound to be some tactical military jargon. And boy, is there ever. I've only read one of Clancy's books (that he himself wrote, not that he just kindly stamped his name on to help a title sell), so perhaps my gauge for comparison is minimal. But I don't recall not being able to use both hands to count how many times a clever acronym appeared followed by an obligatory reveal of what it stood for. Strike three.

And while I send this thing away from the plate with its head starting down at its bat, I'm reminded of the ludicrous cover with Fisher wearing some getup more befitting something from Arthur C. Clarke. Maybe my facetious Mars angle wasn't that far off. Strike four.

Oh yeah, and the whole Chess metaphor thing that's reflected in the title...Could there be a more overused metaphor? Spoken from an aspiring author who has myself abused this metaphor in my failed attempts at fiction. Strike five.

I've got mad respect for the military, especially anyone in real life with half the moxie as Fisher. And while I'm sure David Michaels is far-better equipped than I to weave a compelling story in that arena, it just saddens me it could result in this output. Not that I'll ever write anything better. I'm just some schmuck who gets to read stuff that's actually published and criticize it on Goodreads. :-)

[Zachary Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Rainbow Six prior to this and honestly I felt like this was, by and large, a more enjoyable experience. It is far more action packed and I cared more for the characters involved. It's a short read, only 400 pages compared to 900, but it does what it needs to do. This is actually my second time through this book. I read it 10 years ago and enough time had passed for me to enjoy it a second time through. That says something as I don't do that often, and why it has 4 stars instead of 3.

It's not groundbreaking and the plot won't swerve you in any memorable ways. Nor will the characters, though I really like Sam, sink their fingers into you in ways you cannot imagine, but it could still happen. That said, it's still fun and I'd recommend it for fans of the game or looking for an action packed military/spy thriller piece of fiction or if you, like me, were left wanting by Rainbow Six.

[Salvatore Scalese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sicuramente il più figo letto finora. Zero sentimentalismi, zero storie esterne e zero inconvenienti. Solo Sam che viaggia da una parte all'altra del mondo infiltrandosi in zone ad alto rischio senza lasciare alcuna traccia. Il più rappresentativo della serie videoludica sia per stile che per immaginario. Peccato per il finale un po' debole, scontato e più "da film d'azione americano" rispetto agli altri.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the worst edited book I've ever read. There were myriad tense contradictions, disagreement between plural forms and their articles, missing articles, duplicate words, etc. I actually laughed out loud and yelled out "c'mon!" on multiple occasions-it sucked as an exercise in reading. The publisher clearly couldn't be bothered to actually read their own damn book before publishing to the masses.

I don't recommend this book-it was an awful read, and the actual story itself wasn't diverting enough to make up for it. This was a completely generic spy novel and truly should not have been published-the lowest bar and only way a book can get 1 star in my book.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weakest of the series. No personal life for Sam just straight action. And he has every gadget known to man so you never feel he is in danger. Still the main plot is interesting and the story does not pull punches.

[Grant Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the three Splinter Cell novels I’ve read, this one feels the most like a video game. Each setting I could imagine being different levels in a game. This is Grant Blackwood’s first Splinter Cell novel and he’s quite good at creating a plot that is very intricate but accessible to the reader. Is Checkmate as good as the first two novels in the series by author Raymon Benson? No. But there are very few espionage writers as good as Benson. With Benson’s two Splinter Cell novels, there tends to be more focus on Sam’s character and his relationship with different characters. While Blackwood focuses mainly on plot and pace. However, if I had one complaint about this book it would be its length. It could easily fit into 300 pages. Most James Bond novels are 250-300 pages long and if it’s good enough for Bond, it should be good enough for Mr. Fisher. Blackwood doesn’t continue with any continuation of the first two novels which is rather irksome. This I think is of course to make each novel more accessible to any reader. On the hole though I thoroughly enjoyed this Fisher yarn. Sam Fisher is alive and well in this many authored series. Long live Sam Fisher!

[Filip · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I full disclaimer, I have never played any Splinter Cell games (though I intend to).
As much as I imagine those games to be, this book reflects them pretty well. It consists of a chain of increasingly difficult missions which Sam Fisher has to complete using his wits and stealth (and more and more technologically advanced tools). At the end of each mission he gets a clue that points him in the direction of another mission, has a briefing and leaves for the assignment. As such, the book doesn't provide much character development for anyone, as well as very little in the way of inter-character dynamics. On the other hand, the book is well researched and somehow manages to get such things from games like HUD and using minimap sound interesting.

All in all, as far as books based on video games go (though it is not a novelization as such) this one wasn't so bad.

[J.B. Mathias · Rating 3 out of 5]

More so than the last two Splintercell books this one felt more true to the video games. Sam is less of a generic action hero and more in character. His missions are handled quietly and professionally and almost never end in high alerts and explosions. It was a decent spy thriller and I enjoyed reading it.

If you're someone who is annoyed by typos then avoid this one because there were alot. If you're not interested in a Splintercell book that's not true to the game series you could essentially start with this one because there's no mention of any events from the previous two books and is essentially a standalone story. It also does not relate to the games but I think chronologically it fits in somewhere after Chaos Theory...which makes sense because they advertise Double Agent at the back of the book which is the game that followed Chaos Theory.

[Mike Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

First two books were great. This one, not so much. I think my 2 main likes about the book were the normal heightened intensity while Sam is sneaking about and the fact that he traveled to many locations in this book. Everything else was poorly done. The fact that there was no mention of his old Krav Maga girlfriend or Carly St John really just plainly sucked. Those were major points in the last book, how are you just going to act as though they never happened? Also, no editing was done on this. Words were misspelled, periods left out, and some characters names had different letters in them (had an e where and a was supposed to be). Overall not too bad but 2nd book is still the best so far.
On to the 4th book!

[Monzenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another "all right" book. The Splinter Cell series would be if you took all the Jack Ryan Jr mission parts and just made that book. Checkmate continues with that tradition. Also the Splinter Cell book series is basically reading a series of video game levels. Granted it is based off the video game by book 3 so no surprises there, just makes me question the need for a book. Still the book is all right for what it is.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three most intriguing things about this book are the larger than usual typo errors, the subtle but misleading front cover, and the lack of any reviews of the book also suggesting subterfuge. That being said, if you bought the book (I didn't) you would have found a recipe structure. It moved quite well even though it was predictable.

[Todd R · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this one my usual 100 pages to impress me and keep me reading. I made it to 120...I didn't really expect a great book, but it was just to much like reading a video game script with no surprises. I guess I should have expected that, but I was hoping for a little more depth.

[Michael Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, but poorly edited.

This was a going read that only took a few days to complete. The tension of the book was marred by the many typos, duplicate words and grammatical errors.

[pleone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nulla a che vedere con i 2 precedenti.
Niente più operazioni invisibili, la figura a supporto è sparita, solo tanta azione che sembra un film con poco budget o la brutta copia di uno sparatutto anni 90.
Davvero un peccato, hanno rovinato il personaggio di Fisher.
Per me la saga termina qui!

[Jeffrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love Sam Fisher. Loved the Splinter cell games. Thought the first two books were pretty good. However they changed writers starting with this one and it was a change for the way worse. I may it 40% before I finally gave up.

May try the next one sometime in the future. It won’t be right away.

[Eric Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean it's a good book, but not earth-shattering either. It's a good read and I liked reading the story, and you can get immersed into the spy-who-saves-the-world story and it a good read. But given it's from a game doesn't detract from the writing, which is good.

[Mike Defoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do see similarities with the original Tom Clancy authored books. Lots of action, lots of dead people, good and bad. It did hold my interest, but all the spelling errors were very annoying and disruptive to the flow of my reading. I didn’t think this book was so old there wasn’t spellcheck yet.

[Jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story. Well written, but has its share of spelling and grammatical errors. Reads easy, and keeps you entertained. The plot develops well, and it's a fun spy novel!

[Kʜᴀɴ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good spy thriller ! It's my first Tom Clancy book and as the first I enjoyed it !

[Pablo Giambelluca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice action book that is a 'more of the same' deal that doesn't quite take Sam Fisher and company in a new direction. If you like the previous ones you'll get more of the same.

[Mike Boothe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing great, didn't finish it. Lost it somewhere. not interesting enough to buy again.

[Edward Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

only read this book if you're an avid fan of the video game series. it was half-decent at best. lots of spelling errors and lots of stuff that sam fisher and the splinter cell games isn't about.

[Geo Gosling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending was a little cheesy/disappointing and there were too many acronyms but... It was a good story and a good read.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This feels like reading a video game, with each new location Sam visited feeling like a new level. Action packed with short chapters; easy to read.