White Out

by Robert Marcum

The noise set the snow above them into motion. Turning, Raif attempted to run, but the snowshoes were cumbersome. Cascading down the mountain like a monstrous wave, the snow was suddenly upon him. He felt himself tossed, twisted, and pummeled by the sea of snow as it rolled along, carrying hm toward the bottom of the ravine. Finally, the movement stopped and darkness engulfed him . . .

Genres: Fiction, Lds Fiction, Lds

370 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jennifer Mugrage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly decent international thriller.

The back cover blurb made it sound like this book was primarily a survival story about a man getting caught in an avalanche (especially so when taken with the book's title). It's not. About 3/4 of it takes place in and around Jackson, Wyoming, but we also get to go to Turkey. The author has traveled extensively and knows his stuff. The plot has enough twists and different new dangers emerging from chapter to chapter that this could be a movie. (I'm still not 100% sure why the head terrorist had to steal a truck full of logs at the end in order to transport his missiles. I guess you could argue that his operation had fallen apart and it was a desperation move, but in the rest of the book he has shown himself to be far more clever, patient, and subtle than that, so I tend to think it was more so that the author could set up the cinematic final scene. And it is spectacular!)

The plot revolves around Islamic terrorists (in this case from Iran) who are planning something big in retaliation for the foiled World Trade Center attack. What's really interesting is that this book was published in 2000, before Sept. 11, 2001. The author knows the Islamic world and knows how terrorists think well enough that this book anticipates issues that, after Sept. 11 2001, were uppermost in everyone's mind for a while. The book goes out of its way to point out that moderate Muslims exist, for example. The main character was raised by Iranian-American Muslims. His stepbrother runs away to support an Iranian cleric, and ... well, it's complicated, and this is primarily a thriller not a family saga, but let's just say that the book attempts to explore the reasons that people might become terrorists, in a redemptive way. You have to love that the main character is a Muslim ... cowboy ... who loves to take horses and go hunting in the Wyoming/Idaho backcountry ... and speaks enough Arabic to get by in Turkey. That's my kind of character. The book felt a little dated to me, because it seems it was written partly to give American readers the education about the vast diversity in the Muslim world that they have, indeed, been getting in the 20 years since its publication.

I also love that the female love interest is a hearty eater.

I'm giving this four stars because it's very professional but didn't rip my heart out.

[Lugene Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good clean adventure.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deputy Sheriff Raif Quanan takes part of his vacation time to guide a hunting party into the mountains near Jackson, Wyoming. The capable Robert Stevens and Robert's pretty New York lawyer daughter Terri are pleasant companions to this late-fall hunting expedition. Then Raif and Terri make a grisly discovery in the Wyoming high country and are hurled into a harrowing run for their lives. Raif's investigation leads them into the middle of a deadly international plot that shatters the peaceful beauty of Jackson Hole and the rugged mountains surrounding it. White Out is a highly recommended and entertaining novel of adventure, action, suspense and romance. Author Robert Marcum is skilled at keeping his characters moving at a dynamic, pulse-pounding pace that rivets the readers to the story from beginning to end.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time starting this book because the author's writing style is very rough. Almost as if it was his first book.
Then the action got really good and I found it hard to put the book down. Great characters and location. Interesting ideas. Lots of religious tie-ins. I'm sure a lot of the good reviews are from LDS people who are just really excited to see some realistic Mormon references in an action story.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would consider reading more by this author.

[Rene' Riddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this 10 or 11 years ago, around the time it was first published. While I remembered that I enjoyed it I couldn't remember a whole lot about the storyline. I liked the first half a lot, but found myself just wanting Marcum to wrap things up a little quicker in the end. There are a few slow spots in the dialogue where I think he was just using his characters to get on his own soap box which bored me a little. Overall a good suspense story though.

[Linda Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story line--for me, it was a page-turner; the area descriptions--it was great to get a feel for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, wouldn't mind seeing it someday; the characters--strong, moral fiber; the history--didn't know much about the middle-eastern culture, so it was of interest since those countries are in the news nowadays, the little love story--always nice to read.

[Benjamin Romney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is apparent that the author has studied the cultures involved. The way he treated the story development really pulled me along. I have spent time in similar places, so I could easily visualize the actions of the characters. This was a fun read. I want to read another book by Robert Marcum.

[Steven Kjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know that everything that went wrong in America was tied to Wyoming. I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised. It is a cold boring place to live. Fun story as long as you don't think too much about it.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Some of it seemed a little far fetched. It did have some high action parts and enjoyed the love interest. I skipped paragraphs because I felt they weren't necessary to the story, I enjoy learning about history but not from a fictional book I'm reading for enjoyment.

[T.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book reminded me so much of another that I almost stopped reading it, but I'm glad I didn't! It soon diversified into a very interesting and exciting plot. I even learned wilderness survival tips :) I look forward to reading more from this author!

[Mary Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not get into this book, and I'm not sure why. It wasn't bad, it just didn't grab my attention. After 3 weeks of coming back to it every few days, I decided to move on to something I wanted to read a little more.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of action as a hunting trip outside of Jackson Hole uncovers the sale of arms and an act of terrorism. Deputy Raif Qanun is like "superman"! I thought he was great and am hopeful that he and Terri Stevens will survive their major differences in religion.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I definitely was drawn in by the first location and idea, but then the book morphed into mostly cop lingo/story and then over to the Middle East. It felt disjointed at best, despite the underlying current tying it all loosely together.

[B]

Other than too much violence which I prefer to skim, this book was great until the last 15-20 pages at which point it all gets summed up really quickly and awkwardly. There was fun humor mixed throughout, and a lot of things you learn about the back country.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

LDS author, quite good

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. A little predictable, and not my favorite Robert Marcum book, but enjoyable anyway.

[Lauralee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first 100 pages, but it became a chore after that.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never would of picked up this book but I am glad that it was recommended to me. I would of given it 5 stars but I thought there needed to be more to the ending...

[Regan Hillstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite book of Mr Marcum.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. Simple, but not simplistic. It was almost written with a country/western twang. Definitely one I'll read again.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of excitement and intrigue for a while. The middle kind of slows down then another turn takes you on another adventure. It was a good book. Worth reading.

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

purchased as a 'discount' book and enjoyed the clean adventure and mystery.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading this one in the winter...I've read it many times and will keep reading it over and over because of the adventure...snow anyone.

[Karijean31 · Rating 5 out of 5]

very suspenseful right to the end. I really liked this one.

[Sam P · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

[Cami Checketts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book. Great pacing and characterization.