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The Last Scenario
I'm just a high school biology teacher in southern California. I wrote a paper on bio-toxins in college. Nine months ago the government asked me to be the 'ordinary citizen' on a seven-member panel. For three days we brainstormed potential homegrown terrorist scenarios. That was all.I thought. "We're the only two left," John Ryder said, no emotion in his voice. "The others have been assassinated. If you want to live, you'll have to come with me." Terrorists have adopted one of the team's scenarios, and if they're successful, it could claim a half-million lives. Samantha Waters and ex-Navy SEAL John Ryder are caught in the middle of a dark conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of power. They have to rely on each other to survive--and to somehow stop the nightmare scenario they imagined before it becomes a terrifying reality. Marcos Gabriel is an award-winning writer whose body of work includes novels, plays, screenplays, and television productions. Working in Los Angeles as the Creative Director of an entertainment advertising agency, he has crafted television commercials and theatrical trailers for many blockbuster and critically-acclaimed Hollywood films. Marcos lives in Southern California with his wife and two children. Marcos Gabriel is a member of the International Thriller Writers Association.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 29, 2014
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272 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 23, 2014
An excerpt from the Lone Book Club blog:
Marcos Gabriel's thriller novel The Last Scenario is impressive. I normally don't read conspiracy thrillers, so I was a bit apprehensive to pick it up and give it a shot. I often find the books (and films) cliche and predictable, with an easily sighted formula that leaves no surprises for the readers.
But Gabriel's ingenuity brings a freshness to the genre. The basic formula is there, but he has added enough twists and changes to keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat throughout his wild ride.
And this wild ride all starts with legally brainstorming a terrorist attack.
Read the full review here: http://www.lonebookclub.com/2014/05/b...
Marcos Gabriel's thriller novel The Last Scenario is impressive. I normally don't read conspiracy thrillers, so I was a bit apprehensive to pick it up and give it a shot. I often find the books (and films) cliche and predictable, with an easily sighted formula that leaves no surprises for the readers.
But Gabriel's ingenuity brings a freshness to the genre. The basic formula is there, but he has added enough twists and changes to keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat throughout his wild ride.
And this wild ride all starts with legally brainstorming a terrorist attack.
Read the full review here: http://www.lonebookclub.com/2014/05/b...
May 2, 2018
Exciting from page one till the end.
This was a thriller from beginning till the end. Action packed, with a great deal of thought and research throughout.
This was a thriller from beginning till the end. Action packed, with a great deal of thought and research throughout.
March 30, 2019
Not my typical genre, but I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading anything else he writes. I ended up reading this in a day- it very much held my interest.
May 24, 2014
I received a free copy of this book from net galley.com in exchange for an honest review of this title.
Marcos Gabriel's THE LAST SCENARIO is a terrific thriller. The set up begins with a group of ordinary citizens called in to brainstorm potential terrorist threats that the military might not have thought of--a way of bringing in new perspectives and fresh ideas to the anti-terrorist efforts. Three months later, one of those ordinary citizens, Samantha Waters, a divorced schoolteacher and mother of a little girl, realizes that of the 6 other people who were on that panel, 5 are dead, leaving only her and the mysterious John Ryder alive. And they're on the run to find out who's killing them off--and why. The obvious answer--the only thing that connected this diverse group--was that panel of scenarios. And the worst of the scenarios they had come up with, the one that could result in potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths, was the last scenario, the one Samantha had thought of.
This book is a little slow getting started, but it's worth sticking with the story because it posits a scenario that is truly frightening. And the ultimate "bad guys" are also far too possible. There are a number of things I particularly liked about this novel. First, there was no awkward or forced romantic relationship between Samantha and John. While ultimately they became friends as well as allies, that did not instantaneously translate into instant sexual attraction. That kept the story highly believable. The author also did a fabulous job of thinking through a plot that is complex, yet credible and one that you think might be pulled from tomorrow's headlines.
On the downside, and the reason this didn't get 5 stars, the writing is fairly clunky at times. (I'd give it 4½ stars if I could, but that's not an option.) Like many action thrillers, there's so much setup required to make the story understandable, that it takes a lot of time to get this story rolling. The necessary back story isn't always smoothly executed, but it's not there to excess. It's slow at the start, but the last half of the book is breathlessly entertaining and all but un-put-downable.
If you're an adrenaline junkie and like more than a few thrills and chills in your reading, this really is a superb choice. The threat is credible, complicated, and beautifully tied up at the end, with the denouement flowing naturally from the story, not at all "pasted on."
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
Marcos Gabriel's THE LAST SCENARIO is a terrific thriller. The set up begins with a group of ordinary citizens called in to brainstorm potential terrorist threats that the military might not have thought of--a way of bringing in new perspectives and fresh ideas to the anti-terrorist efforts. Three months later, one of those ordinary citizens, Samantha Waters, a divorced schoolteacher and mother of a little girl, realizes that of the 6 other people who were on that panel, 5 are dead, leaving only her and the mysterious John Ryder alive. And they're on the run to find out who's killing them off--and why. The obvious answer--the only thing that connected this diverse group--was that panel of scenarios. And the worst of the scenarios they had come up with, the one that could result in potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths, was the last scenario, the one Samantha had thought of.
This book is a little slow getting started, but it's worth sticking with the story because it posits a scenario that is truly frightening. And the ultimate "bad guys" are also far too possible. There are a number of things I particularly liked about this novel. First, there was no awkward or forced romantic relationship between Samantha and John. While ultimately they became friends as well as allies, that did not instantaneously translate into instant sexual attraction. That kept the story highly believable. The author also did a fabulous job of thinking through a plot that is complex, yet credible and one that you think might be pulled from tomorrow's headlines.
On the downside, and the reason this didn't get 5 stars, the writing is fairly clunky at times. (I'd give it 4½ stars if I could, but that's not an option.) Like many action thrillers, there's so much setup required to make the story understandable, that it takes a lot of time to get this story rolling. The necessary back story isn't always smoothly executed, but it's not there to excess. It's slow at the start, but the last half of the book is breathlessly entertaining and all but un-put-downable.
If you're an adrenaline junkie and like more than a few thrills and chills in your reading, this really is a superb choice. The threat is credible, complicated, and beautifully tied up at the end, with the denouement flowing naturally from the story, not at all "pasted on."
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
June 10, 2014
At first, I wasn't sure about this book. I'm not the biggest fan in the world of the first-person voice, and I found the writing a little clunky at the beginning (and even later on). And then ... the plot started moving, people started dying, and I couldn't stop reading this book.
There's a little budding romance between John and Sam, though that's very low-key and there's no HEA (romance-wise) that comes out of this book, though it looks like Sam wants there to be, tracking John down after the fact. But other than that, it's straight-up thriller with a very different idea for a plot.
Oh sure, you hear all about terrorist attacks, even our own government plotting against us, but to have the scenario that played out in this book (that Sam and John were both involved in creating the terrorist plot) was definitely a different take. I was thrilled to discovery how the people were chosen to take part in the scenario-planning exercises, and the possibility that something along these lines (the botulism plot, not necessarily the fact that our government, or at least a small portion of it) could happen in real life certainly gave me little chills.
I can't say enough positive things about this book. If not for the somewhat sloggy/murky beginning as we sorted through the initial events, I would definitely give this book 5 gargoyles. However, because of that, I'll give it 4.5 and call it good (okay, awesome).
Thanks so much for letting me read this book!
Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There's a little budding romance between John and Sam, though that's very low-key and there's no HEA (romance-wise) that comes out of this book, though it looks like Sam wants there to be, tracking John down after the fact. But other than that, it's straight-up thriller with a very different idea for a plot.
Oh sure, you hear all about terrorist attacks, even our own government plotting against us, but to have the scenario that played out in this book (that Sam and John were both involved in creating the terrorist plot) was definitely a different take. I was thrilled to discovery how the people were chosen to take part in the scenario-planning exercises, and the possibility that something along these lines (the botulism plot, not necessarily the fact that our government, or at least a small portion of it) could happen in real life certainly gave me little chills.
I can't say enough positive things about this book. If not for the somewhat sloggy/murky beginning as we sorted through the initial events, I would definitely give this book 5 gargoyles. However, because of that, I'll give it 4.5 and call it good (okay, awesome).
Thanks so much for letting me read this book!
Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 24, 2014
I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It was great from the beginning till the end. I never knew what was going to happen next. I would recommend this thriller to everyone. I received this book for an honest review.
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January 18, 2015An interesting plot and a good read
This thriller proposed an interesting plot and developed into a pretty good story. It move rather slow at times and was a bit tedious in places, but overall an entertaining novel.
This thriller proposed an interesting plot and developed into a pretty good story. It move rather slow at times and was a bit tedious in places, but overall an entertaining novel.
October 24, 2014
Really enjoyed it. A quick read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews