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Noah Wolf #1
Code Name Camelot
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0798TJ385
After witnessing the murder-suicide of his parents as a child, Noah suffers from a form of PTSD that has left him without emotion, without a conscience and without the ability to function as a normal human being. With the help of childhood friends, he learns to watch others around him and mimic their behaviors, in order to conceal the fact that his mind operates more like a computer that he has spent years programming. That program is what allows Noah to pass himself off as normal, by establishing parameters of right and wrong that are completely inviolable to him.
As a young adult, Noah finds structure in the U.S. Army, and becomes an excellent and exemplary soldier, but when his self-imposed programming is put to the test by the murderous acts of the superior officer, Noah finds himself quickly made expendable, charged with crimes he did not commit and facing the possibility of execution. Without any reasonable hope for a reprieve, Noah's logic-based mind accepts his fate.
Sometimes, though, things are not all as they seem to be, and Noah is offered one chance to save himself. It was his disability, his lack of emotion, that made him the soldier he had become. Now, an ultrasecret organization known as E & E wants Noah's talents, offering him a chance to survive…
As the most deadly assassin the world has ever known.
After witnessing the murder-suicide of his parents as a child, Noah suffers from a form of PTSD that has left him without emotion, without a conscience and without the ability to function as a normal human being. With the help of childhood friends, he learns to watch others around him and mimic their behaviors, in order to conceal the fact that his mind operates more like a computer that he has spent years programming. That program is what allows Noah to pass himself off as normal, by establishing parameters of right and wrong that are completely inviolable to him.
As a young adult, Noah finds structure in the U.S. Army, and becomes an excellent and exemplary soldier, but when his self-imposed programming is put to the test by the murderous acts of the superior officer, Noah finds himself quickly made expendable, charged with crimes he did not commit and facing the possibility of execution. Without any reasonable hope for a reprieve, Noah's logic-based mind accepts his fate.
Sometimes, though, things are not all as they seem to be, and Noah is offered one chance to save himself. It was his disability, his lack of emotion, that made him the soldier he had become. Now, an ultrasecret organization known as E & E wants Noah's talents, offering him a chance to survive…
As the most deadly assassin the world has ever known.
234 pages, ebook
First published January 23, 2018
20797 people are currently reading
2902 people want to read
About the author
David Archer
192 books505 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
David Archer was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. He is a fiction author and novelist, writing in the mysteries and thrillers genre. His approach to writing is to hit deep, keep you entertained, and leave you wanting MORE with every turn of the page. He writes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels, all of which are primed to get your heart pumping.
David Archer was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. He is a fiction author and novelist, writing in the mysteries and thrillers genre. His approach to writing is to hit deep, keep you entertained, and leave you wanting MORE with every turn of the page. He writes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels, all of which are primed to get your heart pumping.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 643 reviews
February 19, 2017
I thought the premise sounded interesting, but basic writing flaws derailed the read for me. Lots of repetition when the character interacted with different people. We know that already, so no need to do the verbatim repeats. But what killed the book for me was that there was no conflict. You'd think in a book billed as a thriller, there would be excitement, challenges, danger. Nope. Everything Noah was sent to do, he did without mishap. Yes, he was diagnosed with a condition that left him without emotions, but for this to be a story instead of a blow by blow relating of events, there has to be trouble.
(I'd also like a nickel for every time the author had a character "grin")
Not going to read the rest of this series.
(I'd also like a nickel for every time the author had a character "grin")
Not going to read the rest of this series.
November 8, 2018
One author that has been on my radar for a while, I knew I had a few of his books on my kindle, time to read in order the Noah Wolfe books.
An AMAZON #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR • ONE OF THE BEST NEW VOICES IN THE ACTION THRILLER GENRE !!
David Archer is back with a vengeance with his newest hero, Noah Wolf. After fans raved about his debut series, The Sam Prichard Novels, Archer now is about to back even harder. People are already throwing out names like Mitch Rapp and Alex Cross, but don't take my word for it. See what all the fuss is about before Archer becomes a household name!
After witnessing the murder-suicide of his parents as a child, Noah suffers from a form of PTSD that has left him without emotion, without a conscience and without the ability to function as a normal human being. With the help of childhood friends, he learns to watch others around him and mimic their behaviour, in order to conceal the fact that his mind operates more like a computer that he has spent years programming. That program is what allows Noah to pass himself off as normal, by establishing parameters of right and wrong that are completely inviolable to him.
As a young adult, Noah finds structure in the U.S. Army, and becomes an excellent and exemplary soldier, but when his self-imposed programming is put to the test by the murderous acts of the superior officer, Noah finds himself quickly made expendable, charged with crimes he did not commit and facing the possibility of execution. Without any reasonable hope for a reprieve, Noah's logic-based mind accepts his fate.
Sometimes, though, things are not all as they seem to be, and Noah is offered one chance to save himself. It was his disability, his lack of emotion, that made him the soldier he had become. Now, an ultra-secret organisation known as E & E wants Noah's talents, offering him a chance to survive... And become the most deadly assassin the world has ever known.
An entertaining thriller, and also important to mention this is the start of a series, David Archer has to introduce a new character, a new template for a new group of characters, the team.
David Archer puts together a team, with Noah Wolfe as the leader of a team, all trained to a very high standard in their different strengths and build their relationships.
The real action coming later in the book. A good start, a 3.5/4 book as I am sure all the characters gain more personalities in the following books.
A different kind of lead character, and team, I am sure they will be some fun as well as action to follow.
An AMAZON #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR • ONE OF THE BEST NEW VOICES IN THE ACTION THRILLER GENRE !!
David Archer is back with a vengeance with his newest hero, Noah Wolf. After fans raved about his debut series, The Sam Prichard Novels, Archer now is about to back even harder. People are already throwing out names like Mitch Rapp and Alex Cross, but don't take my word for it. See what all the fuss is about before Archer becomes a household name!
After witnessing the murder-suicide of his parents as a child, Noah suffers from a form of PTSD that has left him without emotion, without a conscience and without the ability to function as a normal human being. With the help of childhood friends, he learns to watch others around him and mimic their behaviour, in order to conceal the fact that his mind operates more like a computer that he has spent years programming. That program is what allows Noah to pass himself off as normal, by establishing parameters of right and wrong that are completely inviolable to him.
As a young adult, Noah finds structure in the U.S. Army, and becomes an excellent and exemplary soldier, but when his self-imposed programming is put to the test by the murderous acts of the superior officer, Noah finds himself quickly made expendable, charged with crimes he did not commit and facing the possibility of execution. Without any reasonable hope for a reprieve, Noah's logic-based mind accepts his fate.
Sometimes, though, things are not all as they seem to be, and Noah is offered one chance to save himself. It was his disability, his lack of emotion, that made him the soldier he had become. Now, an ultra-secret organisation known as E & E wants Noah's talents, offering him a chance to survive... And become the most deadly assassin the world has ever known.
An entertaining thriller, and also important to mention this is the start of a series, David Archer has to introduce a new character, a new template for a new group of characters, the team.
David Archer puts together a team, with Noah Wolfe as the leader of a team, all trained to a very high standard in their different strengths and build their relationships.
The real action coming later in the book. A good start, a 3.5/4 book as I am sure all the characters gain more personalities in the following books.
A different kind of lead character, and team, I am sure they will be some fun as well as action to follow.
September 12, 2016
Almost 4 stars..
Noah was an unusual hero! He had no feelings, no emotions, no nothing that made him seem human. But you couldn’t help but like him. He was in the military and killed 3 or 4 of his fellow soldiers and was found guilty and sentenced to death. AND he was OK with that. It made perfect sense to him. Even though he didn’t “murder” them as he was accused of doing. I mean, he had his reasons (you’ll have to read the book to find out what those reasons were.)
Anyway, the Dragon Lady (Allison) came to his rescue and he became part of a group called E&E (Elimination and Eradication.)
My problem with this is where all these people came from: a hacker, a car thief, a kid that killed 7 people at once, when he was 16, a guy that decked his commanding officer, and yet, the language was just unreal. Damn was used 7 times, shit was used 4 times and hell was used 5 times? That’s not how those kinds of people swear. If you’re going to be that unbelievably unreal you might as well use dang or durn or darn or heck or shoot. I like to read about fantastic stories that could happen but I like to read how real people talk, not like a religious person who wouldn’t say shit if they had a mouthful.
Another thing that disturbs me is that you don’t know what anyone looks like, except the waitress that’s platinum blonde and 200 pounds. Really? No idea what Noah looks like or Allison or Moose or Neil or Sarah, but you want to say that about a server?
This was a good story but it was kind of drawn out. I mean: He walked to his car, opened the door, slid in, put the key in, started the engine, and eased out into traffic. That was necessary? Just over and over again we had that kind of ridiculous description of what and how things were done.
I think this book was mostly to introduce you to Noah and his team, and to go through his training, until the last 25% when they went out on a mission. I have bought another book by this author, The Grave Man, and I’m hoping it’s a little better than this one.
There was not a thing sexy about this book. Noah pushed Sarah down on the bed then it was the next morning. And the swearing was just stupid.
As to the narrator: He was alright. I think he laughed one time when the book called for it, and he might have sighed one time, too. Other than that there was not much emotion. He did the women’s voices OK but he made every man with a different voice, gruff (Moose,) mellow (Noah,) high pitched (Neil,) German accent (Daniel,) whatever was needed. So, there was that! He wasn’t horrible but he wasn’t great either.
Noah was an unusual hero! He had no feelings, no emotions, no nothing that made him seem human. But you couldn’t help but like him. He was in the military and killed 3 or 4 of his fellow soldiers and was found guilty and sentenced to death. AND he was OK with that. It made perfect sense to him. Even though he didn’t “murder” them as he was accused of doing. I mean, he had his reasons (you’ll have to read the book to find out what those reasons were.)
Anyway, the Dragon Lady (Allison) came to his rescue and he became part of a group called E&E (Elimination and Eradication.)
My problem with this is where all these people came from: a hacker, a car thief, a kid that killed 7 people at once, when he was 16, a guy that decked his commanding officer, and yet, the language was just unreal. Damn was used 7 times, shit was used 4 times and hell was used 5 times? That’s not how those kinds of people swear. If you’re going to be that unbelievably unreal you might as well use dang or durn or darn or heck or shoot. I like to read about fantastic stories that could happen but I like to read how real people talk, not like a religious person who wouldn’t say shit if they had a mouthful.
Another thing that disturbs me is that you don’t know what anyone looks like, except the waitress that’s platinum blonde and 200 pounds. Really? No idea what Noah looks like or Allison or Moose or Neil or Sarah, but you want to say that about a server?
This was a good story but it was kind of drawn out. I mean: He walked to his car, opened the door, slid in, put the key in, started the engine, and eased out into traffic. That was necessary? Just over and over again we had that kind of ridiculous description of what and how things were done.
I think this book was mostly to introduce you to Noah and his team, and to go through his training, until the last 25% when they went out on a mission. I have bought another book by this author, The Grave Man, and I’m hoping it’s a little better than this one.
There was not a thing sexy about this book. Noah pushed Sarah down on the bed then it was the next morning. And the swearing was just stupid.
As to the narrator: He was alright. I think he laughed one time when the book called for it, and he might have sighed one time, too. Other than that there was not much emotion. He did the women’s voices OK but he made every man with a different voice, gruff (Moose,) mellow (Noah,) high pitched (Neil,) German accent (Daniel,) whatever was needed. So, there was that! He wasn’t horrible but he wasn’t great either.
February 22, 2017
Do you ever get lost in thought thinking about what you would do if you had super-human abilities and then go off on a daydream tangent thinking about the logistics of how your life would go if you had the perfect job, car, house, girlfriend, and assistants just handed to you? That's what I feel like this book is. The problem is, it's all so perfect so there's no point. I'm speaking of the situations when I say it's all too perfect. The book is not perfect. There are mistakes leftover (which are obviously) from previous drafts such as the lawyer calling him Sergeant Wolf when she should be calling him Sergeant Foster (as though he was originally written as Noah Wolf before the author realized he wouldn't be able to keep the name once his life changed). Several plot holes (which would require spoilers for me to explain) have me feeling like there's no point in following the story because aside from the super-human fiction aspect, it's too unbelievable as a story. Reading this book is like having a moronic boyfriend who always has the fantastical one-upper story to tell but never remembers which version he's already told. I think we have to break up.
And seriously, why do we need all this side story about his lawyer working hard for justice and transferring to the US to work on his appeals if she's completely inconsequential to the story and disappears before the book is even one-third over?
Also, there's way too much explanation for mundane activities. If Noah is going to see someone in their office, we don't need to know that he walked to the door, opened it, walked through the now open doorway, and then closed said door behind him. We also don't need to know how Noah makes potato salad or who is bringing the macaroni and cheese since this book is not called "Noah and Friends Make Dinner"
Anyway, this book is not a thriller. Perhaps it's an introduction to possibly thrilling future missions, but I don't have the patience or interest to find out.
And seriously, why do we need all this side story about his lawyer working hard for justice and transferring to the US to work on his appeals if she's completely inconsequential to the story and disappears before the book is even one-third over?
Also, there's way too much explanation for mundane activities. If Noah is going to see someone in their office, we don't need to know that he walked to the door, opened it, walked through the now open doorway, and then closed said door behind him. We also don't need to know how Noah makes potato salad or who is bringing the macaroni and cheese since this book is not called "Noah and Friends Make Dinner"
Anyway, this book is not a thriller. Perhaps it's an introduction to possibly thrilling future missions, but I don't have the patience or interest to find out.
June 1, 2017
This book had an interesting premise that soon left the page and was never found again. The main protagonist, Noah, was not well researched by the author, so he waffled around without much focus, not sure of what he was supposed to be, other than a person with a deadpan face managed by a puppeteer, with no emotions and a lack of caring. The author thought he suffered from PTSD caused by a childhood trauma, instead of Asperger's Syndrome, which is what I thought he had, but that would have entailed no trauma. Noah's only talent is being a tactician and sharpshooter for the military, in addition to having a strong sense of right and wrong, which got him court marshaled and sentenced to death in the first place. After several pages, I was bored by the whole concept, and reading became a drudgery, as I felt I was in the midst of the author's rather juvenile daydream that I no longer had any desire to partake of.
September 25, 2020
I've been waiting to read this book for quite some time and it was worth waiting for. Noah has had a rough life, it has effect how he processes emotions but it works towards his benefit because it makes him good at what he does. I am so hooked and will be onto the next book soon.
March 25, 2023
DNF@11% (spoilers below)
I’m beginning to think that other authors have ruined me because what is this ?!😅, already you get introduced to a whining hopeless lawyer who somehow wants her client Noah to carry her guilt for not being able to help him and when he comes up with a solution she refuses to take it 🙄
“Sergeant, I'm trying everything I can think of, but the truth is that I've already been informed there's no possible way I can win. In fact, my CO told me this morning that if I continue to try, all I'm going to do is ruin my own career.” She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again and let them bore into his. “I've tried to decide what to do, and I—I just can't figure it out. A part of me says I need to do everything possible to keep you from getting the death penalty, or at least to make it feasible for us to try the appeal route we discussed the other day, but another part tells me to run from you as fast as I can. Like I said, though, I can't decide, so I'm going to leave this up to you. You tell me what to do, right now, and I'll do it. Do I keep trying, or do I just go through the motions and let them convict you?” 😑
And when he responds with … “Your CO is right,” he said. “If you keep trying to help me, this whole thing is going to blow up in your face and ruin your life, just the way it's ruining mine. There's no point in both of us going down. Give me whatever it is I need to file in order to fire you, so we can get you out of this mess.” I just can’t read this anymore
She refuses and continues whining my goodness I’m actually pissed
I’m beginning to think that other authors have ruined me because what is this ?!😅, already you get introduced to a whining hopeless lawyer who somehow wants her client Noah to carry her guilt for not being able to help him and when he comes up with a solution she refuses to take it 🙄
“Sergeant, I'm trying everything I can think of, but the truth is that I've already been informed there's no possible way I can win. In fact, my CO told me this morning that if I continue to try, all I'm going to do is ruin my own career.” She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again and let them bore into his. “I've tried to decide what to do, and I—I just can't figure it out. A part of me says I need to do everything possible to keep you from getting the death penalty, or at least to make it feasible for us to try the appeal route we discussed the other day, but another part tells me to run from you as fast as I can. Like I said, though, I can't decide, so I'm going to leave this up to you. You tell me what to do, right now, and I'll do it. Do I keep trying, or do I just go through the motions and let them convict you?” 😑
And when he responds with … “Your CO is right,” he said. “If you keep trying to help me, this whole thing is going to blow up in your face and ruin your life, just the way it's ruining mine. There's no point in both of us going down. Give me whatever it is I need to file in order to fire you, so we can get you out of this mess.” I just can’t read this anymore
She refuses and continues whining my goodness I’m actually pissed
April 8, 2020
TITLE: Code Name Camelot
AUTHOR: David Archer
GENRE: Thriller
PAGES: 264
FORMAT: E-book
If you are looking for a thriller that is fast paced and easy to follow? Then look no further than David Archer’s Code Name Camelot.
Sgt. Noah Foster is a man without emotions…really. A trauma in his childhood has left him without emotions, and he has learned how to fake his way through life as though he has them. His world is made up of right and wrong. When his squad engages in the rape and murder of civilian women while on patrol, Noah takes matters into his own hands and executes his squad, and then files a report. The problem is his commanding officer was the son of a senator who is on his way to becoming the next President of the United States. His court martial is fast tracked and he finds himself on death row. There, he is visited by a woman who gives him a way off of death row, join her organization and become an assassin. All he has to do is fake his death and turn his back on anyone in his life.
Noah takes the deal. He finds himself as leader of his own three person squad, Camelot. The squad consists of muscle, a driver, and a computer geek. All he has to do is make them gel together and become an unstoppable team. Easy, right? Not so much. There is initial distrust that must be overcome, and then their first assignment to take out a Mexican cartel member that funnels arms, etc to terrorists, or moves said arms and terrorists to the United States.
Now, this book moves fast. Wicked fast. I could have knocked it out in a day, but actually took two. There is a bit of repetition, but in most cases it is necessary. There were also a couple of typos and mistakes (At one point, Noah Foster is referred to as Noah Wolf before he is given the last name of Wolf), but these are easy to look over for the overall enjoyment of the book.
The biggest “ding” I would give this book is that when it comes to the assassination mission, things go a little too perfectly. So perfectly that I felt like Noah could have phoned it in. There was an ever so slight bump in the road, but it was so slight that it was quickly overcome.
There are nineteen books in the series, and yes, I will be reading them. Code Name Camelot is worth the time to read. It is some really good escape fiction, especially if you are house bound due to current situations.
Overall, I give it 4 bookmarks out of 5.
AUTHOR: David Archer
GENRE: Thriller
PAGES: 264
FORMAT: E-book
If you are looking for a thriller that is fast paced and easy to follow? Then look no further than David Archer’s Code Name Camelot.
Sgt. Noah Foster is a man without emotions…really. A trauma in his childhood has left him without emotions, and he has learned how to fake his way through life as though he has them. His world is made up of right and wrong. When his squad engages in the rape and murder of civilian women while on patrol, Noah takes matters into his own hands and executes his squad, and then files a report. The problem is his commanding officer was the son of a senator who is on his way to becoming the next President of the United States. His court martial is fast tracked and he finds himself on death row. There, he is visited by a woman who gives him a way off of death row, join her organization and become an assassin. All he has to do is fake his death and turn his back on anyone in his life.
Noah takes the deal. He finds himself as leader of his own three person squad, Camelot. The squad consists of muscle, a driver, and a computer geek. All he has to do is make them gel together and become an unstoppable team. Easy, right? Not so much. There is initial distrust that must be overcome, and then their first assignment to take out a Mexican cartel member that funnels arms, etc to terrorists, or moves said arms and terrorists to the United States.
Now, this book moves fast. Wicked fast. I could have knocked it out in a day, but actually took two. There is a bit of repetition, but in most cases it is necessary. There were also a couple of typos and mistakes (At one point, Noah Foster is referred to as Noah Wolf before he is given the last name of Wolf), but these are easy to look over for the overall enjoyment of the book.
The biggest “ding” I would give this book is that when it comes to the assassination mission, things go a little too perfectly. So perfectly that I felt like Noah could have phoned it in. There was an ever so slight bump in the road, but it was so slight that it was quickly overcome.
There are nineteen books in the series, and yes, I will be reading them. Code Name Camelot is worth the time to read. It is some really good escape fiction, especially if you are house bound due to current situations.
Overall, I give it 4 bookmarks out of 5.
July 2, 2017
Actual Rating: 2.75
This was an okay read. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the way the book turned out. The premise of the story showed potential, but the writing style did not live up to it. The characters were not as exciting as they were in the being. I thought Noah was okay character. I thought it was a bit confusing. There are some parts that were boring, while other parts were intriguing. The ending was good, but I was also a bit confused. Overall, an alright read.
This was an okay read. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the way the book turned out. The premise of the story showed potential, but the writing style did not live up to it. The characters were not as exciting as they were in the being. I thought Noah was okay character. I thought it was a bit confusing. There are some parts that were boring, while other parts were intriguing. The ending was good, but I was also a bit confused. Overall, an alright read.
June 22, 2017
I have just finished this book and it was the first David Archer book I have read. I did read some of the negative reviews but still read it to make my own mind up. For me it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. For the start of a series it was refreshing to get some background to the characters and see what training they had. I look forward to reading more.
January 15, 2017
Made it to 40% and then gave up. I couldn't relate to a main character who is nothing more than a robot in human skin. Didn't work for me.
February 8, 2017
Entertaining read (listen).
Kept me awake so I could see what would happen next. Interesting start, has potential to be a good start to more in the series.
Kept me awake so I could see what would happen next. Interesting start, has potential to be a good start to more in the series.
July 14, 2017
I gave the prequel to this series 4 stars, in spite of the completely pedestrian writing style, which I excused because it was supposed to be written in the first person by a soldier with no emotions. I liked the basic idea of a super skilled tough guy, recruited to be an assassin to serve his country.
Unfortunately, the terrible writing persists here, despite a traditional third person narrative. It's like a school report by a 12 year old. Everything Noah does is described in detail, from what he has for breakfast to how he showers or puts his bag in the car, but there is nothing on what characters look or sound like, where they are, or what they think about what they're up to.
The whole set up is completely implausible - an untested recruit is left to design his own mission with unlimited resources and no comeback (apart for the threat of death if he fails, of course.) Noah is an automatic master of all that he attempts, from martial arts to cookery to shagging, and everybody likes him immediately despite his supposed lack of emotion? Even the new team mates who swear they'll never be friends with him are suddenly his best pal/bed mate within 24 hours!
For a so-called action thriller, there was no action, and no suspense - the terribly dangerous mission goes off without a hitch.
The worst thing about this book, though, was the constant grinning (Noah), chuckling (Moose and the bar man), smiling (Alison) and giggling/pouting (Sarah.) It's on every single page, incredibly irritating/distracting, and totally redundant. I don't think I could bear to read another book by this author.
Unfortunately, the terrible writing persists here, despite a traditional third person narrative. It's like a school report by a 12 year old. Everything Noah does is described in detail, from what he has for breakfast to how he showers or puts his bag in the car, but there is nothing on what characters look or sound like, where they are, or what they think about what they're up to.
The whole set up is completely implausible - an untested recruit is left to design his own mission with unlimited resources and no comeback (apart for the threat of death if he fails, of course.) Noah is an automatic master of all that he attempts, from martial arts to cookery to shagging, and everybody likes him immediately despite his supposed lack of emotion? Even the new team mates who swear they'll never be friends with him are suddenly his best pal/bed mate within 24 hours!
For a so-called action thriller, there was no action, and no suspense - the terribly dangerous mission goes off without a hitch.
The worst thing about this book, though, was the constant grinning (Noah), chuckling (Moose and the bar man), smiling (Alison) and giggling/pouting (Sarah.) It's on every single page, incredibly irritating/distracting, and totally redundant. I don't think I could bear to read another book by this author.
May 25, 2017
This was a different book. It was hard to get into, and the introduction to the main character took a long time, but it laid the ground work for the series. Once I got into the book and all the different things among the other characters, I liked it. A group is sent to eliminate a threat to the US in a covert operation. The main character does not show any emotion, so he fakes everything. This is a good book and I liked it so much, I downloaded the second in the series, just to see where everything is going.
January 26, 2017
a good read a little simple could use good editing
March 2, 2017
not bad,,,not great,,,short (and easy read, no surprises,
July 31, 2021
PopSugar 2021: The book on your TBR with the ugliest cover
There’s a lot of grinning that happens in this book. A LOT. So much so that I started rolling my eyes every time someone grinned. And there are 18 more books?! Really? Nothing happens at all in the book! Just lots of training and you find out that Noah is perfect and is able to do everything and he is the best. I don’t care. I like to see some flaws in characters.
There’s a lot of grinning that happens in this book. A LOT. So much so that I started rolling my eyes every time someone grinned. And there are 18 more books?! Really? Nothing happens at all in the book! Just lots of training and you find out that Noah is perfect and is able to do everything and he is the best. I don’t care. I like to see some flaws in characters.
May 3, 2020
Only made it about 20% through this e-book. It just wasn't holding my attention.
February 7, 2024
Extremely disappointing. I picked up this book after being intrigued by the storyline. But it missed the mark on every level.
First, the redundant comments about how Noah Wolf cannot feel emotion became so tiresome to the point of frustration. Yet Wolf frequently grins, smiles, and even laughs. Sometimes Archer (the author) seems to catch the “error” and slides in an explanation that Wolf was pretending or faking. Other times Archer just leaves the show of emotion hanging, as though developing the character consistently was beyond his abilities to maintain due to inattention.
Speaking of character development, all the characters are shallow, straight from “central casting.”: the hot-headed ex- (almost) SEAL; the skinny, smarmy computer nerd w/ a lewd sense of humor; the sullen female gear-head w/ serious daddy issues, who can’t stand a person one minute, and then jumps in bed w/ him the next; and the female head of agency who is above any abuse of her unrestricted power, always making the right decision like some modern day oracle. The main character falls victim to the same “super-hero” persona that afflicts so many characters in this genre: he never misses, never makes a bad decision, is the best at anything he undertakes (even on a parkour course that he’s never run before, scorching all competition by more than 20 minutes — despite having never done parkour at all before, while his fellow students have been doing the course multiple times). This annoying superiority makes it virtually impossible for readers to relate to the character. Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp suffer from this same unrealistic ability to excel at everything they attempt. (I’ve never understood the appeal of those series either.) But Archer’s Wolf is even less believable.
Archer seems to have a fixation w/ the ‘80’s and ‘90’s: the characters’ vehicles are the envy of that time: Corvette, Mustang, Hummer. The frequent comparisons of Wolf to Spock and to Mr. Data. I felt like I was in a time-warp.
The dialogue and “banter” was juvenile at best. The interaction of Wolf w/ the detractors on his team was resolved in a way that would make sense to a 13-year-old, but not to anyone w/ any life experience.
Then the more disturbing elements of the story: Wolf becomes sexually involved w/ a prostitute — an underaged prostitute, we later learn — in order to save her from her predatory pimp. (And of course his colleagues listen in w/ rapt amazement at his obvious prowess in bed. Gimme a break!) Regardless of the motivation, I found it repulsive and almost stopped reading. The reveal comes almost at the end, so I finished the book, skipping over this portion. Even so, I’m not at all sure it was the right decision. I was disgusted that Archer depicted this incident in this way. As lame as the premise was, he could have at least made her above the age of legal consent.
Finally, the way Wolf’s undercover assignment develops, progresses, and culminates is utterly naive. Having worked undercover myself, as well as being on cover teams for undercover operators, I can say w/ utmost certainty that Wolf’s strategy and behavior would have gotten him killed w/i the first 24 hours of his arriving in Mexico. By trundling along in this fantasyland narrative, w/ the hero negotiating multi-kilo deals and the acquisition of a terrorist weapon, all within a couple weeks’ of meeting the target unannounced, unsolicited, and w/o introduction, the plot clearly shows just how uninformed Archer is and how poorly researched this book was.
In summary, the characters are one-dimensional. The dialogue is juvenile. There is a complete lack of morality among the characters (reflecting poorly on the author). And the plot is preposterous.
With the plethora of books over-populating this genre of gov’t assassins, this book falls way toward the bottom of the stack. I won’t be trying any more books in this series to see if later stories improve. There are other authors who do a much better job.
First, the redundant comments about how Noah Wolf cannot feel emotion became so tiresome to the point of frustration. Yet Wolf frequently grins, smiles, and even laughs. Sometimes Archer (the author) seems to catch the “error” and slides in an explanation that Wolf was pretending or faking. Other times Archer just leaves the show of emotion hanging, as though developing the character consistently was beyond his abilities to maintain due to inattention.
Speaking of character development, all the characters are shallow, straight from “central casting.”: the hot-headed ex- (almost) SEAL; the skinny, smarmy computer nerd w/ a lewd sense of humor; the sullen female gear-head w/ serious daddy issues, who can’t stand a person one minute, and then jumps in bed w/ him the next; and the female head of agency who is above any abuse of her unrestricted power, always making the right decision like some modern day oracle. The main character falls victim to the same “super-hero” persona that afflicts so many characters in this genre: he never misses, never makes a bad decision, is the best at anything he undertakes (even on a parkour course that he’s never run before, scorching all competition by more than 20 minutes — despite having never done parkour at all before, while his fellow students have been doing the course multiple times). This annoying superiority makes it virtually impossible for readers to relate to the character. Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp suffer from this same unrealistic ability to excel at everything they attempt. (I’ve never understood the appeal of those series either.) But Archer’s Wolf is even less believable.
Archer seems to have a fixation w/ the ‘80’s and ‘90’s: the characters’ vehicles are the envy of that time: Corvette, Mustang, Hummer. The frequent comparisons of Wolf to Spock and to Mr. Data. I felt like I was in a time-warp.
The dialogue and “banter” was juvenile at best. The interaction of Wolf w/ the detractors on his team was resolved in a way that would make sense to a 13-year-old, but not to anyone w/ any life experience.
Then the more disturbing elements of the story: Wolf becomes sexually involved w/ a prostitute — an underaged prostitute, we later learn — in order to save her from her predatory pimp. (And of course his colleagues listen in w/ rapt amazement at his obvious prowess in bed. Gimme a break!) Regardless of the motivation, I found it repulsive and almost stopped reading. The reveal comes almost at the end, so I finished the book, skipping over this portion. Even so, I’m not at all sure it was the right decision. I was disgusted that Archer depicted this incident in this way. As lame as the premise was, he could have at least made her above the age of legal consent.
Finally, the way Wolf’s undercover assignment develops, progresses, and culminates is utterly naive. Having worked undercover myself, as well as being on cover teams for undercover operators, I can say w/ utmost certainty that Wolf’s strategy and behavior would have gotten him killed w/i the first 24 hours of his arriving in Mexico. By trundling along in this fantasyland narrative, w/ the hero negotiating multi-kilo deals and the acquisition of a terrorist weapon, all within a couple weeks’ of meeting the target unannounced, unsolicited, and w/o introduction, the plot clearly shows just how uninformed Archer is and how poorly researched this book was.
In summary, the characters are one-dimensional. The dialogue is juvenile. There is a complete lack of morality among the characters (reflecting poorly on the author). And the plot is preposterous.
With the plethora of books over-populating this genre of gov’t assassins, this book falls way toward the bottom of the stack. I won’t be trying any more books in this series to see if later stories improve. There are other authors who do a much better job.
June 13, 2018
Absolute garbage. I trudged through it waiting for something...anything. The only conflict for 90% of the book was the author's under-researched condition for his main character. The PTSD-related emotional detachment was a poor screen through which to pour the volume of mundane but remarkably unbelievable detail of his escapades with a non-existent US black operation with unlimited funds.
What a juvenile, poorly researched, tell-don't-show, atrociously written novel. Just a waste of my 4 hours that I invested in reading it. I want my time back, Mr. Archer. Full of trite sayings (he actually repeated the oft-said refrain "baddest s.o.b in the valley."), mundane details like what they are eating on a constant basis, and EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE behavior that is blithely skimmed over from a moral and ethical standpoint--the main character, under guise of cover, has sex with a presumably 15 year old prostitute--I cannot recommend this book. When the main character expresses that he wants to help the girl get out of her situation, we are supposed to feel that the character is doing something GOOD, but just a dozen pages earlier he beds her repeatedly in order to keep up his cover as a buyer of elicit drugs. The odd juxtaposition of good/evil in this story boggles my mind in that some moral absolutes are lauded while others are just handled with nonchalance and disregard. He justifies his decision to help her due to the potential of her becoming an addict, the shortening of her lifespan as a prostitute, and the loss of her parents at a young age. Then, to top it off, one of his fellow agents is jealous because she has feelings for him and when they discuss the situation, she makes reference to his "little Mexican girlfriend." Ugh! Just TRASH! I should have stopped reading right there. No. Sooner. Then I would never have had to read this drivel.
And to think: this is a long series of books, and it continues to get good ratings. I am stunned.
What a juvenile, poorly researched, tell-don't-show, atrociously written novel. Just a waste of my 4 hours that I invested in reading it. I want my time back, Mr. Archer. Full of trite sayings (he actually repeated the oft-said refrain "baddest s.o.b in the valley."), mundane details like what they are eating on a constant basis, and EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE behavior that is blithely skimmed over from a moral and ethical standpoint--the main character, under guise of cover, has sex with a presumably 15 year old prostitute--I cannot recommend this book. When the main character expresses that he wants to help the girl get out of her situation, we are supposed to feel that the character is doing something GOOD, but just a dozen pages earlier he beds her repeatedly in order to keep up his cover as a buyer of elicit drugs. The odd juxtaposition of good/evil in this story boggles my mind in that some moral absolutes are lauded while others are just handled with nonchalance and disregard. He justifies his decision to help her due to the potential of her becoming an addict, the shortening of her lifespan as a prostitute, and the loss of her parents at a young age. Then, to top it off, one of his fellow agents is jealous because she has feelings for him and when they discuss the situation, she makes reference to his "little Mexican girlfriend." Ugh! Just TRASH! I should have stopped reading right there. No. Sooner. Then I would never have had to read this drivel.
And to think: this is a long series of books, and it continues to get good ratings. I am stunned.
October 29, 2020
I wanted to like this book more. On the surface the premise is classic Le Femme Nikita, ex Special Forces operator without the capacity for emotions gets sentenced to death unjustly. He is then rescued by a black ops government agency in order to become their next assassin. He’s given a new team—a tech guy, a brawler, and a wheelwoman—and handed his first mission. It’s the A-Team mixed with Dexter.
The trouble is the writing itself. It’s woefully mediocre and often focuses down on mundane details while not selling what little action scenes there are. The characters are okay, but none of them are giving all that much to do aside from Noah. It’s like he’s given the team from Ocean’s Eleven, but then tells them that it’s okay, he’s got this. He then basically completes 90% of the mission That’s not only bad plotting; that’s boring as hell too.
Sarah, the cars gal, especially is left with nothing but chauffeuring him around. There isn’t one car chase, one extended sequence where they have to tail someone, or even a chance to put her expertise to use by identifying a vehicle or getting to pick out transportation. At least Neil and Moose, the other members of the team, get to earn their paycheck.
I had hoped to get into the series but the first books was all just so inane that it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. The writing just isn’t there.
The trouble is the writing itself. It’s woefully mediocre and often focuses down on mundane details while not selling what little action scenes there are. The characters are okay, but none of them are giving all that much to do aside from Noah. It’s like he’s given the team from Ocean’s Eleven, but then tells them that it’s okay, he’s got this. He then basically completes 90% of the mission That’s not only bad plotting; that’s boring as hell too.
Sarah, the cars gal, especially is left with nothing but chauffeuring him around. There isn’t one car chase, one extended sequence where they have to tail someone, or even a chance to put her expertise to use by identifying a vehicle or getting to pick out transportation. At least Neil and Moose, the other members of the team, get to earn their paycheck.
I had hoped to get into the series but the first books was all just so inane that it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. The writing just isn’t there.
January 17, 2019
Code Name Camelot (Noah Wolf, #1) by David Archer
The blurb about this book caught my eye and I am always on the look out for new to me authors that can write interesting and entertaining stories. It started out ok and then it went into a description of events that read like an adventure story for teenage boys. I did finish it and gave it 2 stars. There are a lot of books in this series but I can not be bothered to read the rest of them. By the end of this book I was done.
The blurb about this book caught my eye and I am always on the look out for new to me authors that can write interesting and entertaining stories. It started out ok and then it went into a description of events that read like an adventure story for teenage boys. I did finish it and gave it 2 stars. There are a lot of books in this series but I can not be bothered to read the rest of them. By the end of this book I was done.
April 2, 2017
A disappointment. The story idea, an ex army sniper, without any emotions, turned assassin, was a different concept. The book soon turned to the run of the mill novel. Very little action and a lot of needless interaction between the assassin and his support team. Too much emotion shown by the protagonist, given he did not have any feelings, supposedly.
January 26, 2021
Does anyone else feel like there was no suspense, no twist, “not a whisper of a thrill” here? I thought surely something would go terribly wrong and Noah’s group would have to dodge a few catastrophes. But no. Very plodding and slow despite an interesting premise. I don’t think I’ll stick around to see if these get any better in the sequels.
March 6, 2017
Fantastic
Love the new characters and story line. Couldn't put it down and I will do that to each story. Keep up the good work, David.
Love the new characters and story line. Couldn't put it down and I will do that to each story. Keep up the good work, David.
February 12, 2019
Code Name Camelot is the first in the Noah Wolf series and is advertised as an action thriller.
No emotions. Having suffered from blunted affectation disorder since he saw his dad killing his mom and then killing himself, Noah lives his life by logic only. When he kills the members of his platoon for raping and murdering civilians his logic dictates that he was doing the right thing. The court disagrees, however, and sentences him to death. Just before his execution, he is approached by the leader of a secret military organisation; one who can use people like him. People who are ruled by their heads and not their hearts. Noah is about to enter the world of approved assassins.
An assassin ruled by rational logic? The blurb definitely caught my attention but the action thriller I was promised fell short. Even a lack of emotion would not automatically make Noah better than everyone else, yet time and time again he bested others on training courses and in tests. Everything seemed to happen too easily for him: from his team hating him to believing he is better than sliced bread, to infiltrating and organising the drug busts in a matter of weeks, to ‘rescuing’ the prostitute. In fact, the whole part of the story with the underage prostitute was borderline dodgy, especially when the team listens in to him having sex with her and the woman that he was sleeping with just shrugging and saying that the prostitute was part of the job and then carrying on having sex with him. The team also seems superfluous to requirement. They played a tiny contribution and the majority of the mission seemed to be about Noah.
The writing itself was rather flat. I know Noah’s name was supposed to be changed when he joined the organisation but his lawyer kept alternating between the names in the beginning when she should not have known them. There was a lot of description of actions that could have been summarised as a movement starting at A and ending at B instead of A.1 and A.2 and A.3 etc. At the end of the book, I felt dissatisfied. I don’t enjoy huge cliffhangers, but this book was like a story with an ending and the lead into the next book was basically to say that the same characters would be used in an entirely different story. There was not enough of a teaser left for me to want to continue with the series.
I give this book an average rating as there are no good or bad reasons for me to remember it. If you are on the beach and want a book where you don’t have to concentrate or you can put it down and pick it up much later then this one’s for you.
No emotions. Having suffered from blunted affectation disorder since he saw his dad killing his mom and then killing himself, Noah lives his life by logic only. When he kills the members of his platoon for raping and murdering civilians his logic dictates that he was doing the right thing. The court disagrees, however, and sentences him to death. Just before his execution, he is approached by the leader of a secret military organisation; one who can use people like him. People who are ruled by their heads and not their hearts. Noah is about to enter the world of approved assassins.
An assassin ruled by rational logic? The blurb definitely caught my attention but the action thriller I was promised fell short. Even a lack of emotion would not automatically make Noah better than everyone else, yet time and time again he bested others on training courses and in tests. Everything seemed to happen too easily for him: from his team hating him to believing he is better than sliced bread, to infiltrating and organising the drug busts in a matter of weeks, to ‘rescuing’ the prostitute. In fact, the whole part of the story with the underage prostitute was borderline dodgy, especially when the team listens in to him having sex with her and the woman that he was sleeping with just shrugging and saying that the prostitute was part of the job and then carrying on having sex with him. The team also seems superfluous to requirement. They played a tiny contribution and the majority of the mission seemed to be about Noah.
The writing itself was rather flat. I know Noah’s name was supposed to be changed when he joined the organisation but his lawyer kept alternating between the names in the beginning when she should not have known them. There was a lot of description of actions that could have been summarised as a movement starting at A and ending at B instead of A.1 and A.2 and A.3 etc. At the end of the book, I felt dissatisfied. I don’t enjoy huge cliffhangers, but this book was like a story with an ending and the lead into the next book was basically to say that the same characters would be used in an entirely different story. There was not enough of a teaser left for me to want to continue with the series.
I give this book an average rating as there are no good or bad reasons for me to remember it. If you are on the beach and want a book where you don’t have to concentrate or you can put it down and pick it up much later then this one’s for you.
May 7, 2020
Couldn't finish
I can't remember when I didn't finish a book. I'm a prolific reader and only slogged my way through half of this novel. I was surprised and confused because there had been so many excellent reviews.
I found the conversation stilted and ideas like Noah's PTSD and resulting emotionless mental state to be stated and restated ad nauseam. I get it - Noah is an automaton who cannot build a relationship to save his life. Unfortunately, I had no relationship with Noah either. If you don't care about the main character (or any other) you won't care where the story goes and I did not. The whole plot point of gathering crews of criminals to be elite teams for the government was unbelievable. Don't waste your time.
I can't remember when I didn't finish a book. I'm a prolific reader and only slogged my way through half of this novel. I was surprised and confused because there had been so many excellent reviews.
I found the conversation stilted and ideas like Noah's PTSD and resulting emotionless mental state to be stated and restated ad nauseam. I get it - Noah is an automaton who cannot build a relationship to save his life. Unfortunately, I had no relationship with Noah either. If you don't care about the main character (or any other) you won't care where the story goes and I did not. The whole plot point of gathering crews of criminals to be elite teams for the government was unbelievable. Don't waste your time.
May 6, 2022
DNF @ page 50. The writing is not good, but I really know a writer isn’t for me when I’m too aware of what the characters' eyebrows are doing. They were raised, went up a quarter inch, shot up, crunched (?), etc, and this: “She found her eyebrows lowering and gathering together in the center, as she leaned her head to the right.” Nope. Buh-bye.
*review is for self-published paperback
*review is for self-published paperback
April 9, 2017
garbage
March 14, 2021
I don’t want to be negative because of Lent. So let me just say: This sure has a nice cover.
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