I racconti di Derrick Storm

Derrick Storm #0.25-0.75

by Richard Castle, Giuseppe Marano (Translator)

Ancor prima della serie di successo dei romanzi che hanno come protagonista Nikki Heat, l'autore di bestseller Richard Castle ha firmato la serie di Derrick Storm, il cui personaggio principale è noto ai lettori per essere comparso brevemente all'inizio della serie TV di Castle e per essere poi stato ucciso dal suo creatore.
L'ex agente della CIA torna qui nella mischia della criminalità organizzata e nella rete dei più potenti terroristi internazionali.
Quando è stato costretto a lasciare la CIA, Derrick Storm non ha potuto semplicemente andare in pensione. Ha dovuto inscenare la propria stessa morte, e sparire dalla circolazione. Così quando Jedidiah Jones, il vecchio capo al quale è legato da un gravoso debito e a cui non può negarsi, lo richiama per indagare su un rapimento avvenuto tra i piani alti della politica, Storm sa già che in ballo dev'esserci molto di più della vita del figlio di un senatore. Con lui opera l'agente dell'FBI April Showers, una donna tanto scontrosa quanto attraente. I due faranno a gara per portare chiarezza nel vortice che lega minacciose richieste di riscatto e oscuri rapporti personali, transazioni finanziarie e intrighi internazionali. Tra Washington, Londra, Mosca e remote regioni dell'Asia Centrale si muove una trama dal ritmo serrato, in cui azione e tensione sessuale sono gli ingredienti principali di una lettura di grande intrattenimento.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Amazon, Adventure

312 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Richard Castle is the author of numerous bestsellers, including the critically acclaimed Derrick Storm series. His first novel, In a Hail of Bullets, published while he was still in college, received the Nom DePlume Society's prestigious Tom Straw Award for Mystery Literature. Castle currently lives in Manhattan with his daughter and mother, both of whom infuse his life with humor and inspiration.

Note: Richard Castle is a fictional character from the ABC television show, Castle, played by Nathan Fillion. The biography is of this character. His name is being used as a pseudonym for tie-in novels to the TV show.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooooooo... I actually read the first of the three novellas as an ebook years ago. I hated it. And yet for some reason, I picked up the omnibus paperback at a book sale.

I started it last night and had to force myself to put the book down at 1 a.m. rather than finish it.

In some respects, my reaction didn't change - I just reread my earlier review and my feeling that "Derrick Storm is a pig" was still accurate. He ogles women's bodies and constantly makes crude sexual comments (I think maybe with much less frequency as the story goes on). The characters in this book have ridiculous names, especially the women - I mean....April Showers? SAMANTHA TOPPERS? Uggghhhhhh. (However, I did notice that at least Storm did not have any issue with or question about the women around him being skilled and good at their jobs.)

Weirdly enough, this time, the book just took off and I could easily have read it in one sitting. It's ridiculous, it's almost a parody of the genre, and the plot is pretty predictable..... and yet I couldn't put it down. So I feel like I have to give it four stars because it was so compelling. I have the first full-length Derrick Storm novel as well, and I'm going to give it a try (before this I was just gonna ditch it).

[Janet Blowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though this was three books in one, it took me three times as long to read each of them than the original Castle books. These should have been one book and although I liked some of the characters, I really didn't care what happened to them. They just seemed distant and the writing lacked any sort of attention holding attributes.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

È il Derrick Storm che immaginavo, va di pari passo col personaggio di Castle nelle prime stagioni della serie tv. Il libro si può leggere se si è fan della serie, altrimenti è chiaro che c'è di meglio. Va bene per passare qualche ora tranquilla. Se riuscirò a recuperare almeno il primo libro di Nikki Heat ovviamente leggerò anche quello.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derrick Storm....a character created by Richard Castle before he created the ever-loving famous Nikki Heat. Storm, trying to retire from the CIA, fakes his own death and goes off the grid. Four years later though, he's pulled right back in by his old handler and CIA boss Jedidiah Jones. What seems like a routine kidnapping turns into so much more and eventually gives Storm a chance to find out just what happened during the disastrous mission that led him to faking his death all those years earlier.

If you like the Nikki Heat books you are almost sure to enjoy Derrick Storm as well. And while, in my opinion, not as great Nikki Heat, these books do have a charm all their own. Storm is definitely a parody of the typical CIA agent of old spy novels. He's flirty, kind of womanizing and a bit ludicrous but also great at what he does and kind of a cool guy. Add female characters with names like April Showers and Samantha Toppers and over the top bad guys (Russians in this case) and you've got a classic James Bond style adventure.

Adventure is exactly what this book is. From Washington D.C. to London to the mountains of Uzbekistan all in search of an extremely large amount of (a shiny currency). It's a thrill ride a minute and a lot of fun to read. There are some weird typos and grammatical issues that very noticeable and surprising for a book professionally published but they don't take away from the book so I am able to overlook them...but I did want to at least mention them.

I definitely recommend reading the book and I will be reading the next books in the Derrick Storm series (they're sitting on my bookcase with my other couple hundred books I am trying to get to)

[Victoria]

These three books are actually ONE book, broken into three parts. It's okay, but Books 4 & 5 are better. These serve as a prologue for the character. Derrick Storm is the first alter-ego for fictional character Richard Castle (as seen in the TV series Castle). This is the character that he "killed off" (much to the chagrin of his "fans") when he met Kate Beckett and started the Nikki Heat series.

It's a great premise... a work of fiction, written by a fictional character!

I missed the Castle series, and discovered (after the fact) that the books that Castle wrote were actually available in the "real world". So I sought out the Nikki Heat audiobooks and started to listen. It was an enjoyable ride! The last Nikki Heat (at the time, there appears to be a new one coming out next year, yay!) brought back Derrick Storm and they worked together. Derrick was funnier than I expected, so when it was over, I moved on to these 3, which are the beginning of his series.

Derrick Storm is just like the name suggests. A tongue-in-cheek action hero. A little bit James Bond, a little bit mercenary (with a heart), working on the outer fringe... (because who can you trust?) with a good father/son relationship (where he got his heart). I liked his books better starting with Book 4. I wish there were more after Book 5!

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little bit odd... in so far as I read it and thought it was okay but I was also a little bit disappointed by it. I have read the Nikki Heat series and granted they are not exactly Pulitzer prize winners either but they are not bad. This book was simply underwhelming.

The characters were literally something out of a very bad imitation of a Bond film and the very not stereotypical at all Russian villain and hilariously I am sure to an American named FBI agent stretched credulity a little bit. Nevermind the Duke of somewhere or others estate where the Russians could carry guns because of some old English law...

By the end of the novel I felt that I simply did not care about the ultimate fates of the characters.

The writing was okay but the storyline was predictable. Not the best in the "Castle" series. Bit like watching a very bad spoof spy movie.

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the show Castle, so was curious to read these novellas. I listened to them on audiobook and whilst the narrator did a good job, I was a bit disappointed that the job wasn't done by Nathan Fillion. Oh well.

There is lots of action in these books, and little character development. Perhaps the 2 stars I gave it just reflects on my lack of enthusiasm for espionage fiction. Mystery, thriller, general adventure genres can be good, if done right (avoid Matthew Reilly!)but spy fiction...? It just gets convoluted and I end up not really feeling intrigued or caring about any of the characters.
I doubt I will bother with the next novella in this series.

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action packed introduction to the infamous Derrick Storm.

A fast paced mystery that runs through three short stories compiled in this one omnibus. Each individual mystery tying into each other and offering opertuities for back story flash backs.

Now if I had read each story separately I may have snarled in frustration as I hit the end of the first two books and their taunting cliffhangers. But thankfully I didn't have to wait.

The omnibus version is definitely the way to go if you want to start at the beginning, if not the fictional beginning hinted at in the TV series Castle than at least at this new beginning, of the Derick Storm series.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three books in one should've been a bonus however the three are short stories brought together to form one main and to be honest, it feels like a very disjointed read in total. I felt that the witty sarcasm and banter that is usually a given with Derek Storm has been lost due to having to navigate around the join of the stories.
Overall, a good storyline but felt rushed and incomplete due to a lack of dialogue.

Grammatical error on page 154.
"Barkovsky waved his hand threw the air, dismissing it." Should read : Barkovsky waved his hand through the air, dismissing it.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. While I find the Nikki Heat series entertaining, these 3 short stories fell completely flat. The plot was all predictable for the most part, the writing was corny, there was no character buildup. Do I think this is a nice book to have for an emergency like when you’re stuck at an airport or a train station? Definitely. Would I recommend these to someone who wants to enjoy their read? Nope. If I wasn’t such a fan of the Castle TV show, I would be donating this book because it’s such a snore.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of action to keep the pages turning. I might have gone to 4 stars if the editing had been better.

At one point a character's name changes within a paragraph, tons of misspellings, lots of wrong words. Spell check would have helped a little, but an actual editor would be a huge improvement. So many mistakes made the reading slow down. The first novella was actually pretty good, the next two had the most problems.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read for any fan of the tv series Castle, despite the fact that it was pretty predictable. The thing that bothered me the most is that there were quite a few spelling/conversion/name errors in this edition. (For example at one point one of the main characters’ names changes from Showers to Flowers and then back to Showers.) I particularly enjoyed the last of the 3 books in this volume. Looking forward to the next Derek Storm book.

[Phoebes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un romanzo la cui attrattiva maggiore è quella di essere uno pseudobiblion, si dimostra comunque un thriller decente, abbastanza intrigante (e intricato) da farmi desiderare di proseguire. Derrik Storm, sebbene l’abbia trovato spesso odioso, ha comunque stuzzicato la mia curiosità, e mi farà piacere vederlo di nuovo all’opera!

http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodilegg...

[Jeroen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Billed as an omnibus of three short stories, it actually is three stories that form one whole. As such it wasn't really what I expected, but it was a fun TV show tie-in that might appeal to people that enjoyed the TV show castle. However, the Nikki heat series is probably more reminiscent of the show itself. Still, well written and an entertaining story to pass the time, so three stars.

[Chiara Nontalini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non male, azione e spionaggio, personaggi ben delineati, ma senza esagerare con la psicologia spicciola che, nei romanzi di azione, mi infastidisce parecchio. La vicenda in realtà è breve, credo che avrebbero potuto far uscire un solo libro contenente tutta la trilogia, ma la suspence c'è. Qualcuno sa chi è l'autore dei libri di Castle? E' vero che è James Patterson?

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three Derek Storm shorts, gathered in one volume. I was glad I had them all together, because each one really picked up where the last left off.
This is Castle's other character from his TV show, before he started writing the Nikki Heat books.

[Shaft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my introduction to the infamous Derrick Storm, I think we can see that this is some of Castle's earlier work. I only gave this a three but I would definitely be willing to try more books about him.

[Seawood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, if short, Andy McNabb-esque stories - cheesy spy stuff. Definitely not something to take seriously, and nowhere near as good as the Nikki Heat novels spun off from Castle. Still, if you want action brain candy and your head will let you see and hear Nathan Fillion, it's time well-idled.

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald · Rating 1 out of 5]

An omnibus of the Derrick Storm action/mystery novels supposedly written by the fictional character Richard Castle. The Nikki Heat series hasn't been too bad, but this was dreadful. Cardboard characters, clunky dialogue and no concept of when to italicise internal speech.

[Jeannie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7. It's definitely not the best of the Castle books, but it's not all that bad either. This is a three book that should be one book. The mystery was good. The second book should've had less background information.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tongue in cheek but quick easy read, three short stories in one book. You have to know the Castle series to know this is a bit of take on the typical spy novels with over the top characters - some referred to in Castle. Plot is easy to follow as I picked this up and down easily enough.

[Jukebook_juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nachdem Derrick Storm sich hat „umbringen“ lassen und er als tot gilt, kommt er nun inkognito für 3 Novellen zurück.
Spannende und kurzweilige Geschichten mit einem Storm, der es immer noch kann.
Nicht nur für Castle Fans absolut zu empfehlen :-)

[Karen A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed - A bit predictable. Characters were a bit cliche. It had a few twists but sadly not the most enjoyable book I have read. But everyone is different so I am sure others may love it.
Way too many typos as well which irritated me !

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book... it was enjoyable.

[Fayd Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potrebbe essere la trama della prima puntata di un eventuale serial TV. Piacevole, ben scrito e veloce. Chissà che un giorno ne facciano veramente uno spinoff di Caslte.

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of short stories.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a compilation of 3 books I realized I had read already. But as it was an audio version I went ahead and gave it a listen anyway.
I adore Richard Castle's writing!

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy cheesy spy, action novels. It's no early Tom Clancy or Clive Cussler, but still entertaining. A little predictable, with cardboard characters, but that's pretty much what I was looking for.

[Manuela Menna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bah!!!
Per quanto io adori il telefilm, il libro è stato molto deludente....

[Ardeen Flanagan lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 shorts stories that run together to make one novel. It was a good read.