After executing a hit on a fellow assassin in Algiers, Victor—the world's deadliest hit man—is contracted by the CIA for an assignment that will take him across Europe to the blood-stained streets of Rome...and straight into hell.
COUNTER MOVE.
Victor must pose as his previous—and very much dead—target to figure out who the killer’s next victim was going to be. But what was supposed to be a quick operation soon becomes much more complicated and treacherous.
FINAL MOVE.
Forced to work with a group of ruthless mercenaries, Victor will face a choice he would rather not make: do the right thing, or sacrifice the only thing in the world he truly cares about—his own life.
He is the author of the Victor series of 10 novels and 2 ebook novellas. Tom also wrote the standalone thriller A Knock at the Door under the pseudonym T W Ellis
Victor 10, TRAITOR, is out now in UK, IE, AS & NZ.
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Victor is being watched closely as he strolls the quiet streets of Vienna. Completely aware of a team of players following him, the group of watchers are about to meet the Assassin. With top skills in contract killing, he is known to many, and many want to hire or terminate him. After several tactics to lose the watchers, he corners the leader and demands answers. Not expecting a request for his services, Victor is offered a contract unaware the game he about to enter is not all it appears to be. This time he will be playing both sides; the CIA and a broker who hires killers. The broker is the more dangerous of the two as he never reveals the client or the target until all prerequisites have been met to his total satisfaction. If the broker is displeased, then any or all hired for the job will be eliminated. Victor has to prove beyond doubt he is the man for this mission.
With first class action, intelligent dialogue, excellent plot, The Game is one not to be missed and is highly recommended.
So many twist and turns. Victor does a job intended for the man he just killed in a case of mistaken identity. It leads to a bigger job and conspiracy and a brilliant ending.
I’ve not had the pleasure of reading Tom Wood’s previous two models - The Hunter and The Enemy – but after reading the third book in the Victor series I’ll be sure to check them out.
I really enjoyed this book, very well written with a flowing and descriptive narrative that kept the action and tension going from beginning to end. Full of tantalising scenarios the book moves along at a fast and furious place, Victor taking centre stage throughout.
Given the fact that our protagonist is a ruthless assassin I didn’t expect to like him but I did. There wasn’t a scene I didn’t enjoy and the more I discovered about Victor the more I liked. Just when you think he’s going soft, bam. He cranks it up a notch and kills someone unexpectedly.
One thing the author does it marry up the various sub plots, right down to the smallest of details, and that impressed me. I don’t want to say too much in this review but something that happens in Algiers plays a small but touching part towards the end of the book. I’d totally forgotten about it but the author certainly hadn’t!
Victor’s characterisation is well thought out and developed and even though this is the third instalment in the series I didn’t feel as if I’d missed out too much in his development and history. There were a couple of things I would have enjoyed learning from books one and two but that couldn’t be helped! Without question The Game works as a standalone and as I mentioned at the top of this review, it has made me want to learn more and find out what makes Victor tick.
An excellent storyline, great characters and a narrative flow to be envied, Tom Wood has succeeded in writing a terrific thriller. More please sir!
This is another series that I am loving at the minute and I am trying to read other books in between so I don’t finish all my new favourite series too soon! Victor the Assassin is probably one of the best characters I’ve read about. Ice cold killer yes, but there’s just something about him I just love. His actions in this book towards the end only made me like him even more.
The plot of The Game is hard to discuss (and the blurb I read beforehand was for another book in the series which I didn’t realise until halfway through!) Victor is tasked with killing a fellow assassin, before assuming his identity and travelling across the world to meet up with the person that has hired him for an extremely secretive job. We know Victor has multiple identities anyway, but it was such an exciting twist to see him actually having to pretend to be another assassin and it made for some hugely tense moments later in the book with one jaw-dropping development. I was trying to read this book at every opportunity and was so annoyed when I had to stop reading.
Once again it’s another action-packed read from start to finish. I’ve said before I can’t describe writing to save my life despite having an A-level in English Language but the way Tom Wood writes and how his stories flow is just so incredibly masterful that I get completely caught up in what I am reading. As thrillers go there’s are some of the best written ones that I have ever read. The plot is probably one of my favourites of the series so far. It was definitely different to the other two which means Tom will hopefully continue to mix things up as the series progresses, meaning the series won’t become stale or repetitive. Knowing there’s other books in the series meant I knew Victor would ultimately survive but there’s still lots of tense and scary moments in the book as we see him fighting for his life. There’s other characters I want to talk about but I won’t except to say that I very quickly get caught up in the lives of these characters and even though most of them are only with us for one book, they are memorable characters. It was interesting to see Victor having to live and work alongside other assassins after being a loner for so long.
As we neared the conclusion the tension and action was cranked up even further and another fantastic conclusion was delivered by Tom Wood. If you are yet to read this series then I cannot recommend it enough, and I can’t wait to continue with it and follow Victor on his next adventure. As characters go he really is one of the best I’ve ever read about.
This is the third book in Tom Wood's series about Victor the assassin. If you haven't read the previous books, it doesn't matter too much - although by all means you should read them because they're pretty good. Our "hero" Victor is an assassin who liked to operate as a lone wolf. He is inscrutable, ruthless, highly analytical and very, very good at what he does. After reading all three books in the series I still know next to nothing about him - not his real name, his nationality, how he came to do what he does. One of the things that I love about him is that he never lets his guard drop. You know he's not going to fall into bed with a seductive woman or let his emotions cloud his judgement. He's on high alert at all times.
The story kicks off with Victor in Algiers, on the tail of another assassin that he has been hired to kill. He completes that assignment, but then he is coerced into posing as the dead man to identify the client who had hired the assassin for his final job. Victor goes undercover but finds that events quickly start to spiral outside his control.
It's a fast moving book with lots of action but not so fast that it becomes silly. There are plenty of twists along the way, which keep the suspense up. And Victor is just such a cool character! There's so much thought that's gone into the way that he operates, so it never feels unrealistic as books in this genre often can.
There are a number of writers mining similar territory: Sam Cain, Mark Greaney, Vince Flynn - but I think Tom Wood beats them all.
Victor has "of late" been working exclusively for the CIA. he works for only one handler...it's the only way for an assassin to operate and survive.
But someone else has contacted him and they are determined to get Victor for this job.
I'll leave up to you to guess whether or not Victor takes said job and if it goes as planned...but we do have an exciting novel here and I can recommend it for it's action, it's plot, it's characters and just overall "draw you in readability".
This one is just a little different than the previous adventures/situations we've seen Victor in but that said it doesn't fail to give "satisfaction". You get a good plot, characters painted in bold colors along with gun fire, careening cars, evil antagonists... and possibly allies. All we've come to expect from our anti-hero Victor.
Book Review - This installment - “The Game” - of Tom Wood’s Victor the Assassin, is the best in the series! The characters are well developed, there is little or no filler and the story is riveting. There isn't the usual blood, non-stop fighting and killing but never-the-less a thrilling story with the right amount of fighting, danger and killing to keep the plot moving. Victor is everything an assassin should be. Unparalleled skills combined with just enough paranoia to make him the perfect weapon. This book and the rest of the series are must haves. The writing is excellent as Wood gets into the minds of the characters and takes the reader on a journey that leaves them wishing it would never end. I was never at a lost as to what was going on but the mystery still prevailed. In the end, the whole thing came together neatly without strings or questions unanswered. Once again, heart pumping action strung together with weight bearing plot and Clancy-like tech. Victor the Assassin's gotta' be today's new 007. No literary redeeming features here in this tale, but a plethora of testosterone that leaves powder burns all over the reader’s imagination. The Game is one of my favorites in the Victor series!
I do enjoy this sort of high speed action books, with tension, twists, great plots, nasty villains, a great hero, who just have to like, Victor the assassin.
Victor is a another action star to add to the great characters Jack Reacher, Joe Pike, Will Robie, John Puller.
British author Tom Wood keeps the pace and clever plot of this book at a rollercoaster ride speed, giving so many characters a definite image and the story comes to a very fast and action packed final last few chapters.
I now have to read the other three Tom Wood books, soon.
I highly recommend this book if you like David Baldacci, Lee Childs.
DECONSTRUCTION He has survived the CIA, SVR, a sociopathic SIS officer, arms dealers, Private Military Contractors and a Kidon Team from Mossad. But in “The Game”, the third book in Tom Wood’s “Victor The Assassin” series, the amoral main character has his work cut out for him in a job that has been specifically designed as a suicide mission for those involved. Now to the review, what happens when the perfect assassin is forced to play a game where nobody wins…..
The story starts in Algiers. Victor is tailing a Dutch contract killer on vacation who recently murdered a CIA NOC. Forced to break cover due to a pesky watch vendor giving him away, Victor chases his target and quietly shanks him. Before dying, the target asks Victor to do him a favour but bleeds out before he can explain further. Four weeks later, Victor undergoes some surgery in regards to an injury he sustained in “The Enemy” and as he leaves, notices a surveillance team. Performing counter surveillance, events escalate to the point when he’s jammed a Glock 19 into the forehead of Janice Muir, a CIA officer and one of NCS Associate Director Procter’s staffers. Informing him his boss is temporarily indisposed; Muir gives Victor some context on the Algiers job. With the client and assassin neutralised, she wants him to go after the intermediary who coordinated the killing by impersonating the dead assassin. Meeting the intermediary, the man offers Victor a job with an unknown target. Muir hires Victor to go undercover, find out the specifics and deconstruct the job from within before it can be conducted. Thus, events spiral out of control as Victor travels to Italy, is holed up in a farmhouse along with several other bloodthirsty killers who are constantly at each other’s throats and when the specifics of the job are revealed, is forced to improvise and kill like never before in order to survive and answer the underlying question. In a game with no rules, who is playing who?
In terms of plot, “The Game” is superb. Victor is thrust into a situation which starts simple and gets far more complex that for a moment; even he seems to be out of his depth. The action is dialled down a few notches compared to the previous books but Mr Wood knows when to make the bullets fly and does so plausibly but with style, a particular highlight being a dinner at a Japanese restaurant which turns bloody due to some uninvited guests. On the research front, “The Game” is very solid. The author still knows how to prevent the story from becoming a technical manual while at the same time; sprinkling all those interesting small details that will make the enthusiasts smile such as all the weapons, tactics and martial arts which Victor and the opposition use on each other which gives the story that extra bit of plausibility.
As for character development and interaction “The Game” excels compared to its predecessors and where the story gets most of its tension. Let’s start with Victor who once again gets a subtle, yet drastic amount of character development, being forced to risk his life for others who mean nothing to him. Nevertheless, he thankfully hasn’t developed a conscience or lost a step, at one point making an utter mockery of the female fatale cliché before silencing the woman in question. But the fun part in Victor’s storyline during “The Game” is to see him outwit and play off the group of killers just like him, mercilessly pressing psychological buttons with the skill of Francis Urquhart in order to make them underestimate him until it is too late. Next, there’s the gang of killers itself. It seems Mr Wood decided to deconstruct heist films and that old saying “honour among thieves”, because honour is certainly lacking amongst the men Victor meets. They could have been boring stock psychopaths, but Mr Wood gives them just enough depth and makes their interactions with each other like a dozen flash bang grenades going off in the Sistine Chapel. A particular highlight was Mr Leeson, the main antagonist. Styling himself like the Steve Jobs of contract killings, he’s the best villain Mr Wood has produced so far. Seemingly living a charmed life, Lesson happens to have a graveyard of skeletons in the closet and has a hidden side behind his façade. Finally, there’s Janice Muir, Victor’s interim handler. Despite being a rookie officer who gets off on the wrong foot with Victor with near lethal consequences, she learns quickly and at the end, comes away having lost some naivety and having won some respect from Victor.
Now for some criticism. I found the writing in this story to be less "taut" compared to the previous books. This may be due to the format (undercover operations do not have much shooting till the end) but there was less intensity in "The Game". Finally, in the aftermath of the Japanese restaurant scene, there is a bit of dialogue which might erode some suspension of disbelief among certain readers who have an understanding of the rudiments of tradecraft.
Entertaining, electrifying and excellent. These three words can sum up the series that Tom Wood has built. While a little more quiet, Mr Wood has demonstrated with “The Game” that he can do characterisation like a pro and is not a one trick pony with his mostly plausible but always stylish action scenes. The possibilities for Victor are endless with our anti-hero still a ghost and his enemies list is growing healthily with every book, whatever trouble the author is planning to throw Victor into; it’s definitely going to be interesting. WELL EXECUTED.
The Game is a magnificent action thriller written with a finesse only associated with a few authors in the genre today. Tom Wood is definitely one of those rare authors who elevate the action and the thrills in books to a whole another level of awesomeness.
The Game is the third book in the Victor the Assassin series, and starts off with a superb and heart pounding foot chase. Everything afterwards, is a chain of events started by the resolution of the chase. Victor is a cool headed, calculated, meticulous, and extremely deadly assassin who outthinks and outmaneuvers his foes in ways that leave readers in a state of astonishment and awe at the sheer brilliance of Victor.
Victor is not reminiscent of a typical hero in the genre. Victor is not the most empathetic of characters, focusing on eliminating his targets and achieving his goals first and foremost. His reasons for doing what readers would consider as “good” is most commonly based on calculated choices to achieve the best possible outcome rather than simply a desire to do good. However, this book does show the mostly hidden side of Victor, where he comprises the safest possible outcome in order to do what he feels is right, where he has the chance to opt for simple self-preservation but chooses to save helpless innocents in danger.
The action is, as always when it comes to Tom Wood’s novels, absolutely top-notch. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are written with a beautiful clarity to help readers visualize the brutal and unforgiving punches and kicks. The display of Victor’s tactical prowess is tremendously helped by the realistic and authentic weapon details and tactics employed by Victor. The author has a strong foundation of hand-to-hand combat skills and weapons combat.
The story is yet another brilliant aspect of The Game. There is an abundance of ingenious plot twists to augment the story further and keep readers guessing what would come next. Just when one thing is likely to happen, there is a sharp detour in the plot that leads to an unpredictable path. The antagonists are an interesting and unpredictable enigma and so is their nefarious plan through which Victor has to navigate through while trusting absolutely no one. The anxiety levels remain high throughout the book. Until the very last page, there is no telling of how the story will truly end.
The Game is an action thriller of the highest order of excellence, and it is one of the most addicting reads I have come across. The entire series is a must-read for all readers, especially those who love thrills and twists and fast-paced reads.
Very fast-paced with some twists and turns, and what appears at first to be a second plot. Victor has been hired by the CIA (not with his original broker though) to assassinate an assassin then to take the place of said assassin! Lots of travel across Europe, ending up in Italy for the most part. Victor is dealing with some really bad characters in this book and at times seems in the dark about the job. Love how this author writes from inside the assassin's head. Excellent read - gotta love Victor!
Thanks to following orders assassin Victor finds himself suffering from an identity crisis. Just kidding! Sort of ;-) Let's try this again... Actions have consequences and you'd do better to just deal with them, to face them head on instead of focusing on what could have been. That's the attitude Victor has to live by to survive his latest mission. With no intel to speak of and only minimal time to plan and assess, Victor has to pull out all the stops to get the job done...or undone, that is.
I was so very excited to read the newest Wood release, because he has yet to disappoint me; I had high hopes for #3. I loved The Game! However, there is a downside to my love. What is she talking about? I'm - again - pointing out the fact that I rated the author's previous releases 5 stars. Read them in order! At this point, my fellow thrill-seeking readaholics, you have two options: Believe me when I say I didn't find anything that would warrant a less than 5-star-rating or...don't. It's up to you. Enough with the ramblings and on to the review part of the review. Food for thought ahead!
At the risk of repeating myself, I must mention that, with the Victor books, it's all about expectations. I expected a well thought out plot with part gritty part visual writing, action, surprises along the way and realistic research-based scene descriptions...all thrown together with a splash of over-the-top. I got my money's worth and then some.
My fear was that it would at some point be hard to top the greatness. A lot of series lose exactly that - what makes them great - after a while. I would have hated for that to happen and was relieved to notice right away that Wood intentionally or unintentionally (do let me know) put a spin on things. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on what was different, but after thinking it over it became clear. Victor the main protagonist - in the most charming emotionally closed off doing the dirty work for that one three-letter-agency we shall not name kind of way - has been and continues to be a bit of a mystery, but in The Game one can see him interact with people on a whole new level.
I don't need his biography typed out when it's such a fabulous idea to let the reader observe Victor in a most unusual situation. "Observe" being the operative word here! He more or less willingly accepts an assignment just to be forced to operate under direct supervision. It's not the same as being on the run. The restrictions that come with eyes on you at all times created a tension that even I as the reader felt to the point of wild gesticulating and muttering to myself. One of my fave aspects was Victors almost compulsive need to assess every possible outcome and the various decisions to be made along the way. I immensely enjoyed reading about what could happen; at the same time getting more and more excited and curious to find out if Victors assessment would prove to be correct.
Obviously it's the main character who carries the plot. Victor didn't lose his killer edge, far from it, but another character was introduced I feel will play - has to play - an important role in the future. There will be another Victor book, right? This character managed to disrupt Victor's balance with such ease that it brought on the giggles. It was hilarious.
I would describe the first half of the book as the one that slowly connects the dots, without revealing too much, by building up the suspense step by step (not to say that there's no action to look forward to), while the second half is the explosion of the proverbial powder keg, the unravelling of it all.
Victor's moral compass! Oh, you will definitely learn a lot about his values or lack thereof - I won't tell. In my opinion at least two moments were essential to understanding whether or not Victor as the ruthless assassin believes in something...and if so what. No worries by the way...it IS still a thriller, but it just happens to be that this reviewer is a woman. The fight / action scenes rocked! Especially so because of what I mentioned about the beforehand-assessments; worst case and best case scenario. They seriously rocked, rocked, rocked.
I tried hard to find something I didn't like. If I were to nitpick the excessive use of "but" in the beginning would be the one aspect to criticize (Kindle location ~ 115-170). However, it's not enough of a let-down to even consider changing the rating. As with The Hunter, Bad Luck in Berlin and The Enemy, I had an action-filled fun time. "Thank you for the coffee [read]. It was delicious." 5 stars to The Game by Tom Wood.
Beware of Spoilers! A few of my favorite quotes for those of you who are interested: ° “...dragging along a dog with bulging eyeballs and so small even the pigeons showed no fear of it.” ° “Then I can only assume you trust me. - I trust that you understand the consequences of showing yourself to be untrustworthy. “ ° “...perfect planning prevents piss poor performance. - I thought you didn't swear. - I was quoting.” ° “...we've pushed our luck once already. - I don't subscribe to the concept.”
Another great read from Tom Wood. This novel is quite a bit different from the other two books in the series. Where the previous two are virtually non-stop action all the way through, this one departs from that style. This one concentrates on the the dynamics of the team. There is action, and the action is a good as the previous books. However there is less of it. However for the action-junkies dont let that put you off. This is still a great read.
There are a couple of twists in the book, as you now come to expect from Wood, and whilst not the biggest surprises, still are welcomed. Although Victors role in the 'job' was a surprise I didnt expect.
I like Victor, a lot, and he is just as good in this book as the previous two books. I really hope there are more books in the series to come. Although I did notice this book was around a 100 pages shorter than the previous two books.
If you liked the previous two books, you will also love this one, so would recommend it to anyone who has read the previous two. Also if you like this type of genre, give Tom Wood a go, you wont be disappointed.
This is the 3rd book in the victor series and this one is just as amazing and addictive as the others. Tom Wood has a writing style that captures the readers attention and makes you want to continuously go back too the book or not put the book down in the first place.
I will admit that I did pick reading the book over sleeping and occasionally eating but that just shows how good the book is. The story this time is in two different views for a part of the book until both stories join up. The characters in the story are complex , complicated well developed characters, he describes them in such a way that you can picture them in your mind and that you can play out the scenes in your mind like it was a film. I wont give anything away about the plot or characters as then it would ruin it, but anyone who enjoys reading thriller novels will without a doubt love this book, the books before it and love the author. I hope that Tom Wood never stops writing books in the Victor series!!!
Another episode in the exciting life of assassin Victor. Oh how I love these books. I really enjoyed the plot in this one and yet again - a cunning ending that had me on the edge of my seat. I still wish there was a little bit more about Victor though - I'd hoped for a drip feed of info about him through the books but unless I missed it, there was nothing. As I said in my other reviews of his books, by rights, I shouldn't like these so much - lots of violence, nasty villains, murder and mayhem - it sounds more like a guy's book (sorry if that sounds sexist) but there is something so compelling in the writing that I can hardly stand to put the book down once I've started it. Now I have to wait for the next one.
I am thankful that I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.
It is one of the better thrillers out there. I am an avid fan of Vince Flynn's series featuring his super hero Mitch Rapp. In comparison, Tom Wood's protagonist, Victor, is more of a free lancer who plays by one rule only - survival. Although he demonstrates a certain amount of compassion for the innocent, he allows no mercy for the guilty. His justice is swift and deadly. Tom Wood places Victor into seemingly impossible situations and devises logical and surprising escapes. This is really a fantastic thriller for fans of this particular genre.
Again the main character is an assassin, but the rules have changed again. Although the main character has now begun taking contracts for the CIA, this one is a little different. He is approached to impersonate his last assassination (another assassin) as the CIA wants to know what the job will be.
There is another storyline playing alongside this one, where a mother and her child are kidnapped.
I enjoy these books by Tom Wood. He keeps up the standard.
Third book in the Victor the assassin series and Wood has firmly established character and the series as one worth reading. The pacing could be better as the set up takes way too long. But the second half is fantastic including the ending. Victor is one bad dude. I am going right into the next book, a rarity for me.
The Game is book 3 in Tom Wood’s Victor the Assassin series. While it stands well on it’s own – there are some smaller storylines that run through the series that would make these best enjoyed in order.
This is another fantastic addition to the series. I really enjoy Wood’s writing not only from a character development and pacing aspect – but his ability to keep me on my toes guessing what will happen next. It’s unpredictable, yet still consistent with previous facts and Victor’s established personality.
Two seemingly separate storylines converge, antagonists that you love to hate, and several minor action packed scenes culminate into an operation that proceeds with all the finesse and cunning I’ve come to expect from Victor.
My only complaint is that it’s SO HARD to find a stopping place in these books when it’s time to shift gears for sleep. My solution is to just ignore the world and listen in two days. But then… there’s the next book.
Narration: Rob Shapiro was perfect again. There are even more characters & accents here which he handles consistently. The combination of Shapiro’s narration with Wood’s writing makes these easy to binge.
Soon after taking out another assassin in Algiers, Victor is tracked down by a CIA operative with a new job for him: She needs him to impersonate his latest target to figure out who he's meant to kill next and on whose behalf. Neither of them fully anticipates just how dangerous a situation Victor is about to walk into - and just how difficult it'll be to walk out again in one piece.
These are just getting better with every book. Twists and action galore, and I just really, really like this guy - next installment please, thx.
Another great Victor the Assassin listen, twists in storylines and characters necks, action, suspense, shots fired, good characters full of evil and some not quite as much.
Victor the assassin is back; the first antihero protagonist. The Game starts off simple enough with Victor tasked by CIA to take out another of his brethren from his profession. Victor being the apex predator that he is completes his assignment with elan in spite of some of his plan gone awry.
Thinking on his feet is a Victor trait - we see some of the highly rated situational awareness shown by Victor when he sniffs out people on his tail, a highly professional tailing unit of 8 people. Being in the most dangerous profession and being the apex predator of that profession for more than 10 years is a hallmark of a person who is relentless in his pursuit of observing life around him just so that he can wake up the next day. Not as glamorous as envisioned eh?
Sabotaging his stakeout, Victor is given a new assignment by the boss leading his failed stakeout - the mission to audition for the role of his last contract to infiltrate and foil the latest plot. Post his audition Victor shifts base to Iceland, identifying a new base to lay low and modifying it to be a bunker above ground. Victor wins his audition and then meets his team - a psychopath he encountered in Belgium, a sniper, a remorseless killer, a broker and his moll. The plan is for Victor to blow himself for kingdom to come to assassinate the SVR chief. A plan Victor has a problem with as it involves Victor being dead. An idea Victor staunchly opposes.
Victor being his resourceful self finds a way out of the mess and proceeds to rain hell on all those who conspired to bring forth his destruction in true Victor style.
Our antihero also shows a small albeit significant glimpse of his humanity when he sets forth to save/rescue innocents trapped into this plot due to Victor masquerading as someone else.
My respect for Tom Wood as a writer is growing by leaps and bounds. What started off as an experimentation with the antihero genre is now a successful franchise with each book coming out better than the past and each dealing out a small morsel of information about our favorite antihero.
The plots are good, the suspense is good enough and the action is the best, every action and reaction given by Victor is thought about and his ability to think on his feet is explained. I would rate this one a solid 5 star. There are not many imperfections in this story and what there are can be explained as a flaw of being human
REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; MAY 21, 2016 Narrator: Rob Shapiro
An eventful, fast-paced thriller that I enjoyed thoroughly! I did not take to the series in the first 2 installments and the 2nd book, I dnf'd but will now go back and relisten. Victor, having grown on me at the first half of this book and burrowed deep under my skin by the 2nd, I'm sure I will now enjoy Book 2.
Since I struggled with Book 1, dnf'd Book 2, I can't compare The Game with them. I only know that I took to Victor immensely here and was rooting for him all the way. I love the confidence he has in his abilities without coming off as arrogant and there's a quiet sexiness about him. At first, I was a little irritated by the seemingly unconnected subplots - "seemingly" because I knew the author would link them up with the main plot, he was just taking awhile to do so and I'm not a patient reader. It's worse when I'm listening since I can't scan & skim. Patience did pay off very well but I still have some niggles about how Victor extricated himsel from a seemingly inextricable situation: it sounded like he had a plan how to do so when he and Francesca were at the Russian embassy yet when Victor got to where Leeson, Hart and gang were, the way Victor resolved things was based more on lucky breaks than something he had planned in advance. I guess I could view this book as how Lady Luck saved Victor at the end of the day (because there really seemed no way out for him!) in which case, I'd be happy to give it 5 stars. But I'll hold on to 1 star because I felt as if I was led to believe I'd won 1st Prize but received 2nd instead.
Still, I'm very happy with this installment and looking forward to retrying Book 2.
Tom Wood is the author of The Game. Other books from Mr. Wood are The Hunter (aka The Killer) and The Enemy.
Victor is an assassin. He is so good at his job that he is hired to take out another assassin (Mr. Kooi) when the need arises. After Victor completes this job he is contacted by the CIA, they would like Victor’s help. They need to know who Kooi’s next target is and they want Victor to be the one who figures it out. How is Victor going to find out this information? Easy…he is going to become Mr. Kooi. Victor immerses himself in Kooi’s world and quickly finds himself surrounded by a ruthless team of men, each with their own part to play and none willing to share what exactly Kooi’s part is going to be. Once Victor is finally informed of the nefarious plot it should be easy enough for him to walk away. Unfortunately, there is one more surprise that Victor wasn’t counting on.
Reading this book is like watching a Jason Bourne movie and being able to hear everything that Bourne is thinking during his action packed adventures. Not just watching him take out a room full of bad guys but knowing his exact thoughts as to how he is going to do it and why. The Game is extremely entertaining and hard to put down once you get started. Even though Victor is an assassin he immediately becomes likable and the more you read the more you realize he is truly one of the best “bad guys” out there. This is the first “Victor” book I have read and I intend to quickly get copies of the others and catch up on more Victor filled adventures.
I received the book, The Game, for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This is another great thriller with Victor, the assassin with no problems when it comes to killing. Although if you have read The hunter then that first hotel scene really sets how victor is, but he's mellowed and less of a shoot now think later kind of assassin. Now he's trying to save the lives of others and for a good cause too, which totally throws his reputation for being a cold calculating assassin straight out the window. Shame really cause i liked him when he was bad ass.
I've still gave the story 5 stars because it is a total thrill ride from beginning to end. Let's see some back story for victor and maybe get a little prequel going so we can get some real insight into how victor became who he is. I'd like to know more about his earlier years, the mistakes he's made. I want to know his story and the story to his scars.
If you like your thrillers fast, action packed and intelligent then Victor is the man to follow!!
This is the 3rd book about Victor the assassin . Victor is sent to executes a fellow assassin, but than gets a call from CIA to play the part of the person he had just killed. He meets up with the person that is in charge of the murdered assassin next job. A lady and her son are kidnapped but you find out later in the book why they have been kidnapped. Victor has to take the leader of the team out for a meal in Rome which ends up in a blood bath. You find out what the job is 3/4 of the way in the book and you will not put the book down tell you find out how Victor does the job