The Asset

Lance Spector #1

by Saul Herzog

Montana, USA
When Lance Spector quit the CIA, he swore he was out for good. One more government lie and he would go off the deep end. They could find someone else to do their dirty work. As far as he was concerned, Washington, Langley, the Pentagon could all go to hell.

Yekaterinburg, Russia
A secret Russian expedition returns with a devastating new pathogen, harvested from the frozen corpses of mammoths. It's the biological super weapon they've been looking for, an apocalypse-level pathogen, a virus more deadly than anything ever to come out of a Russian lab. Something that will stop NATO and the Americans in their tracks.
A Biological Chernobyl.

Washington DC, USA
A mysterious vial, sealed in a titanium case, arrives at CIA headquarters. They have no idea who sent it, but it comes with a note.
"I will only speak to Lance Spector."

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Action

564 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2020

Reviews

[Kathi Defranc]

So, a new author to follow with a great new character in Lance Spector!! An author I enjoy recommended this book, and I am so happy I read it!! A well-developed spy thriller, with action, intrigue and intelligence that can lead to several targets, with many twists and double-crossing on the way. I truly enjoy this genre and happily add this series to my list. Human frailty, star crossed relationships, with the addition of bio-weapons and a little romance thrown in, a story that hooked me from the start.

[Tim]

Several better than average action stories here.

[Dave McGhee]

Hmm, the author really built up my expectations with the forward he wrote. He's poured his heart and soul in to this book. The book he always wanted to write. Well, if he's a 13 year old buzzed on mountain dew and writing at 2am on a school night under his duvet then he's achieved his goal.

I got as far as chapter 77. About 30 past where I should have left. This is a ridiculous story! He's gone to the standard pulp fiction store for his ideas.

Mentally challenged hero with a stupid name CHECK
Dodgy CIA boss not trusted by agents CHECK
All female agents super sexy CHECK
Super evil bad guy organisation CHECK
Super evil bad guy who is very short in stature CHECK
Super evil plan to destroy the world CHECK

Here comes the spoiler. Read on if you don'twant to waste any of your life:

A female agent gets shot twice in the chest. She is drugged and transported to Super evil guys. She then spends 24 hours being tortured. She then totally goes beyond physics, engineers an escape plan, kill a massive and uninjured torturer, escape outside naked in a snow storm, kill an armed agent, steal a car, crash car, gets rescued, gets 12 hours sleep, then scales the walls of the kremlin, swings across massive gaps and sneaks into the kremlin and catch the Super evil bad guy. 36/48 hrs before she was shot twice in the chest.

I don't know what happened next because I was truly disappointed with the book.

I could go on and on pulling apart every chapter. Don't waste your time or money

[Jim A]

Another thriller featuring a bigger than life government agent. This one involves Russia and new bio weapon development.

[Jefrois]

This “Asset,” called, “Lance,” is really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really GOOD!!!!!!

He’s so good that “Levi” (a Hebrew name), wants him BACK in the CIA, execpt he never kind of actually departed it seems.

ANYWAYS!!! He is really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really GOOD!!!!!

AND LANCE KNOWS JUST HOW TO PULL THAT TRIGGER better than well jeez, just ANYbody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He pulls that trigger GREAT!!!!!!

PLUS!!!!! He sometimes says witty, humorous, and wise things….

And “Levi” (Hebrew-Jewish name) will do and say ANYTHING to get Lance “back” into the CIA!!!!!!

Because he is also a fairly good shot, and can hit a guy the size of a paper target s000000OOOOOOooooooooOOOooooo0000000000oooo fcking good, it makes Levi (Hebraic name) want a dozen baked hamentaschen with jimmies on them !!!

And that’s the entire book.

With some fcking and scking thrown in….

WOW this “Herzog” is a STUNNER!! I am stunned!!!

WOWZERS!!!!!!!

Cool, right? 😃

“Wowzers, and cool” am I correct? 🤔

YOW!

OH…and this writer has not made me CARE about ANY of these characters enough to make me want to read this any further, so I QUIT THIS POS at 53%.

I am DONE WASTING MY TIME, when I could be watching reruns from the 1950s, or something.!!!!

(I wish I could give this crapolla less than one star.)
.

[Frankie Winchester]

Why didn't I read this author sooner? I don't usually read books about the CIA or International intrigue and I suppose that is how I missed Saul Herzog. This was an exciting book that didn't really catch me until 50 pages or so but after that it was a wild ride. There were times when I had to suspend disbelief and that is why I gave it four rather than five stars. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[AWolf]

3 stars, Barely! Probably should be 2 stars, but I gave it 3 because it is better than at least 80% of the absolute crap of this genre by "self-published" authors [and wannabes?] on Kindle.
The author handles history and location pretty well, but any real writing style or ability [experience?] ends there. I'll probably read book 2 just to see if he's learned anything - but only because it's free.

[Samuel murphy]

Good storyline.

Good storyline with multiple characters all involved in the dirty game of spying, murder, torture and intelligence on both the Russian and American political arena. An arena that tested people’s resolve to do the right thing when faced by circumstances that would result in the death of millions through a war fought using a virus that had no vaccine cure.

[Richard Haynes]

Fast paced and real good.

[Bodo Pfündl]

A high stakes spy war leads to an unforgettable debut thriller

Meet „retired“ CIA asset Lance Spector - a man with an endearing sense of humor and a very particular set of deadly skills. When we first encounter him, he is in a remarkable situation that immediately forges an emotional connection between him and the reader.

With such a great introduction, Saul Herzog sets the bar pretty high from the start and doesn’t let go til the very end.
The characters are among the most fully realized that I came across in this genre in quite a while. The story is deftly plotted, and Herzog pulls together the many threads of the complex narrative masterfully at the end.

The pacing is also very good and the thrill-factor of the many shocking twists is amplified by the pulse-pounding action scenes, which have an alluring cinematic touch to them.

THE ASSET is a truly stunning debut and I can’t wait to see how the story continues in THE RUSSIAN!

[Carole]

21 % read and I cannot go another page. Worthless

[Ankit Jain]

DNF @ 51%.

I do not like to claim books as read here if I did not finish. I will make an exception for this however. Just so I never forget I read this waste of time and oh the amount of time I wasted on this. I just wish I could get it back.

This is not a small book by any standard and I got to half of it. I can say with absolute honesty nothing happened. It was like seeing a game of chess but except for pawns being moved nothing happened.

The hero is made out to be some kind of superhero and people are just begging for him to be back. The entire first half is just waiting for the hero to get back in action.

In the first half, he got in a bar fight. Roughed up 2 guys in the back of a car. Lastly he killed a man who was already shot by someone else. That's it, it is alluded throughout the first half that he is some crazy super spy who is best at what he does. Alas I did not witness any of that.

I did get to witness a lot of brooding, over confidence and just a lot of talking, no action sadly. I would not recommend it if it was the last book on earth.

[Robert Troudt]

Good but not great. I found the character development shallow and their interactions often less than believable. I did not like the the “unfinished” ending that requires you to read the next book in the series to find out what happened. Disappointed after the overall rating this book previously received.

[Lowell Davis]

This is the first book that I didn't finish in a very long time. I always finish books. It's like a point of pride or something. This one though? I happened to be reading it while my father-in-law is in the last days of hospice care which reminds me life is short. Too short for this shit so I stopped at 55%.

[William Loder]

Bad and long.

Preposterous. Felt like a made up kids camp fire saga. I understand fiction but it needs some level of authenticity and reality. This was just blustery amateurism. This wouldn’t qualify for a bad screen play. not recommended.

[Emily]

I did not finish this book. I got about 30% through and the characters were too melodramatic and machismo.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader)]

Sofia Ivanova and Tatyana Aleksandrova, the doctor and the assassin, respectively, risk everything to get word to an American for help. Help before Russia unleashes a biological super-weapon. An American named Lance Spector. Little did the women realize he was no longer in that world – the clandestine world of the CIA. Lance only has one goal in mind to save the daughter of the man that saved him.

Saul Herzog is a pen name of an undisclosed author of thrillers. I was captivated by the characters. As the setting fluctuated between Montana, Russia, and Washington, D.C., the intrigue and suspense elevated interest. The author tells a story defining countries as either a fox or a hedgehog. It is not a children’s story about these animals but points to the differences in the ways of men’s thinking and which one clings to the promise of peace.

The last line leaves the reader dangling in wonder, gravitating toward Book 2.

[Betsy]

Just what I needed to read right now! No emotion except fear; no sentimental slop; no tear-jerking claptrap; just a fast, old fashioned rip-roaring spy story. Bad Russia has secret labs working on the ultimate Armageddon-type virus to destroy the west. Maybe not the best thing to read coming up to Year 3 of our own personal plague, but not that far-fetched, is it? Thankfully Lance Spector, the ultimate secret spy, is on the case.
The only negative is that the story doesn’t really end in Book 1. If you get involved, you will need to read Book 2.

[Christopher Williams]

Well executed spy story with action in the US and Russia. Predictable at times but all very readable with a solid narrative drive that keeps you going. Quite a bit left unresolved at the end no doubt to continue in the next in this series.

[Shravya Kadur]

I would say this book can't be rated fairly without reading what follows in the sequel. By itself, it would likely be a 3.5.

[Ipek]

Resembles the TV series 24. Not very realistic how characters escape certain situations, but easily read to pass the time.

[Brooke Leigh]

Great Book

I was hooked from the very first chapter. This was well written and a great book all around!! You won't regret picking this one up.

[Rebecca]

WOW!
Outstanding introduction to Lance and his world! He is such a badass!

This series is everything I didnt know I needed
Spy Thriller! need more immediately!

[Mia Bacon]

Disappointing

Not that impressed. Pretty far fetched…

I was pretty hopeful and disappointed. I am not sure I will read another.

[sue.u]

Harassed, sexy and (neverasecondwhentheyrenotdiscriminated) female agents, broody (eyeroll), apparently wise lead character and heaps of egotistic and power-lusty villains. Your typical, cliched American spy book. 😀

Firstly I would like to say that I put a lot of expectation and hope into this book, only to have it crushed like gun powder.
Secondly, this book was not at all what I expected. The prose seemed limited and at times, perhaps rushed. I had trouble keeping up with the storyline and characters, mostly because of the pov switch which left me dismantled about the character connections and relationships. However I must confess that I also purposely skimmed through pages that seemed useless to me, as the words did not offer meaning or strong connection, leaving me grumpy. In a sentence, this book did not offer enough. It did not offer deeper meanings or reasons for why I should care. Which is also the reason to why I had to force myself to pick the book up again to read, more times than one. Also, it would be a waste of money.

Just like how Tatyana finally executed her superior and did not feel awashed with relief, much to her subtle surprise, I too feel underwhelmed. Just like every other book I read that do not quench my expectations. Instead I feel... unsatisfied and grumpy.

Apparently this story was continued from the authors childhood, to this I say, *no wonder*...

(Do NOT ever write books spinned by ideas you excogitated as a youngster, for the good of your pride and ego)

I supposed I did like the lines where the author transcribed a line about the ego of his sex. Which somehow allured me in a poetical sense.

"The force that really made the world go round was the delicate, tender, all-too-easily-wounded snowflake that was the male ego. That was what brought nations to war, what brought soldiers to the battlefield, and what brought men to women's beds."

Moral to be learnt: do not disrespect your women.

[Ron Welton]

One doesn't expect literature when ordering kindle unlimited novels, so it wasn't a disappointment when Saul Herzog's The Asset proved not to be of the quality of Graham Greene. It was, though, readable, and amusingly campy, although I doubt that Herzog planned that.
Lance Spector is the asset, a "special breed" of CIA assassin. Laurel Everlane is his handler and Roth is the head of the CIA who recruited them. Herzog doesn't define them well and their dialogs are clunky. His Russian characters, among them Sofia Ivanovna and Tatyana Aleksandrova, are more believable and more interesting and their dialog is at least acceptable.
The Russians have reached into the Siberian permafrost and isolated an ancient virus strain "more lethal than anything the labs could ever come up with." The virus is in the possession of the Dead Hand, a GRU directorate directly linked to the Russian President. It is the mission of the CIA to destroy the virus before it is released. The mission is hampered by a mole in the agency and Spector is the only asset who has not yet been killed. The Russians are working on that, though.
Since Herzog has left Spector and Aleksandrova wounded and left behind by the CIA in Moscow at the end of the novel, I will grit my teeth and download The Russian Herzog/s follow up novel.

[Steve Goulding]

BS abrupt end which is nothing but a money grab

Why bother to write half of a decent story ?
The so called ending in the hotel room is not a story ending, by any literary measure.

What it is, is LAZY WRITING, a blatant money grab, a marketing manipulation. Like a soap opera, targeted at getting the consumer to buy into the next installment.
Why are you so DISHONEST?
Call it for what it is, you will get less kick back from angry readers.
Based on the fraudulent use if the word "novel" you a score of 1.
Additionally there are many errors I the book, you continually refer to the wrong person.
Perhaps you should also consider changing your editor.
Could have a 4 out if 5.
Pity.

[J.C. Ceron]

Spy novels, like their cinematic counterparts, require the liberal suspension of belief. Most if the time that comes easy, but sometimes it requires effort. That’s the best way to describe this novel. I had to coax myself to believe things that I knew were impossible or at best highly improbable for the sake of the story. The writing runs the gamut from cliche to astute (the author makes several astute geopolitical observations). A couple of gems are sprinkled throughout the book that make you stop and think. Overall, the book is bloated and shrewdly, from a marketing perspective, ends with no ending, forcing the reader to continue with book two. But the author succeeds in entertaining the reader and keeping the pages turning. Which is what this genre is all about.

[Kathy]

The best characters in the book were the Russians. Lance and Tatyana should stay dead and go live someplace warm. The Laurel character is pretty bad in my opinion. She has daddy issues so has sex with older men to punish herself. She puts up with her boss grabbing her ass because she so desperately wants to be an asset handler (which she thinks is a cool job serving her country even if it means sleeping with her asset to keep him mentally pliable). As another reviewer detailed, she gets shot, tortured and yet can escape naked through a Russian winter and after a day recovering in a hotel room she can swing from a rope to break into a fortress, steal a helicopter and survive its crash. I liked the plot about extracting Ice Age diseases and weaponizing them.