What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gambit
Ripped straight from today's headlines, Iran is on the verge of achieving their nuclear ambitions. Diplomacy has failed. Economic sanctions have failed. Now, Israel learns that Iran will have a nuclear bomb in just a few months - and they take a more aggressive stance, thoroughly destroying Iran's major nuclear facilities in a daring raid. What follows from Iran surprises no one, what no one realizes, though, is that this is simply Iran's opening move. . . .
316 pages, Paperback
First published January 24, 2017
53 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 26, 2017
This is a military science fiction book. By that I mean that most of it doesn’t make any sense. I hate books where you have a character in a low position mingle with head of states and military, becoming the main decision maker on global scale, It makes it so ridicules and un believable that wouldn’t let you finish the book.
If you like a very detailed global war story, you may like this book. I did not.
If you like a very detailed global war story, you may like this book. I did not.
June 30, 2017
Title – The Gambit
Author – Brad Carlson
Genre – Military, Political, Suspense, Thriller
316 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5 Posted 6/30/17
No.45 - 2017
My impressions: thought provoking, possible, scary, terrorists.
Main Characters:
Colonel Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson – special forces - CIA
Danielle 'Dani' Yaniv – Mossad agent and nuclear engineer.
There are many characters in The Gambit', but only Stonewall and Dani impact the plot throughout. The story moves between Israel, Iran and the United States with characters from the armies and intelligence agencies of all three world powers. It's hard to describe the story with out including spoilers, but I'll try to limit them.
Israeli intelligence learns Iran is only weeks from fielding an atomic bomb. Air strikes by Israel with support from US air craft carrier battle groups decimate Iran's nuclear facilities.
But Iran has anticipated these attacks that will slow their nuclear ambition for several years; conversely, they have been preparing to implement a bold plan that will bring the Great Satan, as thy call the US, to their knees for decades
The story switches to characters from all three countries as Iran moves to implement their attack and to Israeli and US agencies trying to uncover the plot and determine its scope and timeline.
The plot is thrilling, suspenseful and fast paced.
Now the bad news. I actually wanted to rate The Gambit six stars out of five, but I can't justify more than a four.
The editing is good but with word related exceptions.
Sentence structure and character development are fine.
Details and research are evident in the depth of information provided pertaining to the various military units and equipment.
The plot is fast paced, scary and intense
The writing style is where the story breaks down. It is extremely wordy with weak words like pretty, about and some being so abundant they make statements weak and ambiguous. And the writing is so repetitive with the same words and phrases being used multiple times in the same sentence or paragraph.
Negative words like can't and haven't are used where can and have make more sense than the negatives implied.
Many scenes run together without a blank line to warn the reader of scene changes.
In spite of the above errors, I strongly recommend The Gambit for a thrilling read of a very possible world struggle.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
Author – Brad Carlson
Genre – Military, Political, Suspense, Thriller
316 Amazon Pages
Rating 4 stars out of 5 Posted 6/30/17
No.45 - 2017
My impressions: thought provoking, possible, scary, terrorists.
Main Characters:
Colonel Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson – special forces - CIA
Danielle 'Dani' Yaniv – Mossad agent and nuclear engineer.
There are many characters in The Gambit', but only Stonewall and Dani impact the plot throughout. The story moves between Israel, Iran and the United States with characters from the armies and intelligence agencies of all three world powers. It's hard to describe the story with out including spoilers, but I'll try to limit them.
Israeli intelligence learns Iran is only weeks from fielding an atomic bomb. Air strikes by Israel with support from US air craft carrier battle groups decimate Iran's nuclear facilities.
But Iran has anticipated these attacks that will slow their nuclear ambition for several years; conversely, they have been preparing to implement a bold plan that will bring the Great Satan, as thy call the US, to their knees for decades
The story switches to characters from all three countries as Iran moves to implement their attack and to Israeli and US agencies trying to uncover the plot and determine its scope and timeline.
The plot is thrilling, suspenseful and fast paced.
Now the bad news. I actually wanted to rate The Gambit six stars out of five, but I can't justify more than a four.
The editing is good but with word related exceptions.
Sentence structure and character development are fine.
Details and research are evident in the depth of information provided pertaining to the various military units and equipment.
The plot is fast paced, scary and intense
The writing style is where the story breaks down. It is extremely wordy with weak words like pretty, about and some being so abundant they make statements weak and ambiguous. And the writing is so repetitive with the same words and phrases being used multiple times in the same sentence or paragraph.
Negative words like can't and haven't are used where can and have make more sense than the negatives implied.
Many scenes run together without a blank line to warn the reader of scene changes.
In spite of the above errors, I strongly recommend The Gambit for a thrilling read of a very possible world struggle.
This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.
September 8, 2020
Full of high action, gritty drama, and insightful observations, the two installments in this compelling series from Carlson feature larger-than-life characters and intimidating villains.
In the first installment, Israeli Intelligence, after learning that Iran is only weeks away from becoming a fully-fledged nuclear nation seeks America’s help in destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities. But in the face of America’s lax approach (slapping economic sanctions and relying on diplomacy), the trigger-happy Israeli government decides to take a more aggressive tactical approach to protect itself.
A brutal terrorist attack on four major sporting events, killing thousands of Americans draws USA into the perpetual Middle East conflicts once again in the second installment. Hezbollah, a small terrorist group, is found responsible for the attack. The stakes rise after a dangerous conspiracy of global consequences is found at the root of Hezbollah’s plan.
Carlson relies on conspiracies, diplomacy, technology, political intrigue, and military muscle to propel his plots forward. He compellingly offers a chilling scenario for a massive attack on America’s infrastructure and plays out the conflict at a lightning fast pace. The fans of fast-paced military thrillers will revel in Carlson’s mastery at action writing; the narrative that shifts between different characters from several countries, never loses the momentum.
Jackson is an endearing hero who can single-handedly take out whole teams of bad guys. The fierce, unafraid Dani makes for a relatable protagonist. Carlson’s background in diplomatic history and international relations provides authenticity to his details of the quasi-military technobabble and the gadgets, and he seamlessly weaves together various plot threads to bring out the heart stopping conclusions.
Fans of fast-paced military thrillers will look forward to Carlson’s future work.
In the first installment, Israeli Intelligence, after learning that Iran is only weeks away from becoming a fully-fledged nuclear nation seeks America’s help in destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities. But in the face of America’s lax approach (slapping economic sanctions and relying on diplomacy), the trigger-happy Israeli government decides to take a more aggressive tactical approach to protect itself.
A brutal terrorist attack on four major sporting events, killing thousands of Americans draws USA into the perpetual Middle East conflicts once again in the second installment. Hezbollah, a small terrorist group, is found responsible for the attack. The stakes rise after a dangerous conspiracy of global consequences is found at the root of Hezbollah’s plan.
Carlson relies on conspiracies, diplomacy, technology, political intrigue, and military muscle to propel his plots forward. He compellingly offers a chilling scenario for a massive attack on America’s infrastructure and plays out the conflict at a lightning fast pace. The fans of fast-paced military thrillers will revel in Carlson’s mastery at action writing; the narrative that shifts between different characters from several countries, never loses the momentum.
Jackson is an endearing hero who can single-handedly take out whole teams of bad guys. The fierce, unafraid Dani makes for a relatable protagonist. Carlson’s background in diplomatic history and international relations provides authenticity to his details of the quasi-military technobabble and the gadgets, and he seamlessly weaves together various plot threads to bring out the heart stopping conclusions.
Fans of fast-paced military thrillers will look forward to Carlson’s future work.
June 19, 2018
Meh.
I don't know. The story was paced well but it really lacked the depth I was expecting. Could have been twice as long and twice as good with more detailed battle sequences and more political stuff. Plus the anti-liberal stuff leaked in at the end and was a bit much. The Israeli General watched Fox News to get the truth...really?
I don't know. The story was paced well but it really lacked the depth I was expecting. Could have been twice as long and twice as good with more detailed battle sequences and more political stuff. Plus the anti-liberal stuff leaked in at the end and was a bit much. The Israeli General watched Fox News to get the truth...really?
June 28, 2018
Great story from first time author
Great story line,very fast paced book. Scary to ponder if this could happen. A few editing type faults in kindle version, but they don't detract from the book. Excellent first book. I expect the next to be even better.
Great story line,very fast paced book. Scary to ponder if this could happen. A few editing type faults in kindle version, but they don't detract from the book. Excellent first book. I expect the next to be even better.
May 12, 2020
Good Read
Enjoyed the book, not my normal type book. Learned about guns and war strategies. Enjoyed the characters, women in power, good job.
Enjoyed the book, not my normal type book. Learned about guns and war strategies. Enjoyed the characters, women in power, good job.
July 21, 2017
Carlson's plot in "The Gambit" could not be more plausible with what's currently happening in our world today. It's an on the edge page turner all the way through! Cant wait for the sequel! This new author is on his way up there with the best of them. It's a Tom Clancy style read!
March 7, 2018
I'm not a big reader of modern political or militaristic novels. Really, this was my first but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hooked from the start. solid characters, great detail of events and high stakes. completely recomend.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews