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Matarese Dynasty #2
The Matarese Countdown
CIA case officer Cameron Pryce thought he'd crushed the deadly cabal of powerbrokers and assassins. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Matarese dynasty is back. Now the countdown begins -- and Pryce is already running out of time. "The Matarese Circle, " Robert Ludlum's multimillion-copy spellbinder, introduced a treacherous international cabal of powerbrokers and their hired assassins. More than 20 years ago, the top CIA and KGB agents joined together to insure that, in an explosive act, the Matarese conspiracy went up in flames. But now Robert Ludlum, the unsurpassed master of suspense, returns with a stunning thriller for the 21st century. . .Secret deals are in the making, massive mysterious transactions steeped in corruption and murder. The players stand at the highest pinnacles of global finance and government. It is an unprecedented consolidation of money, power, and ruthlessness. Their ultimate aim: worldwide economic domination and all it entails. . . by whatever means necessary. The Matarese dynasty is back in all its glory and evil. And the one man with enough knowledge to stop it, CIA case officer Cameron Pryce, may not have enough time. The Matarese countdown has begun and Pryce's only chance to cut it off is to follow the trail of blood money and stone-cold killers to the heart of this deadliest conspiracy.
From the Hamptons to Monte Carlo to London's Belgrave Square, Matarese assassins have already struck with brutal efficiency, eliminating all who stand in their way. But on Spain's Costa del Sol, one victim survived long enough to breathe these dying words: '"Find Beowulf Agate' --words that reverberate all the way to CIA headquarters in Langley,Virginia. Beowulf Agate is the code name for legendary retired agent Brandon Scofield, the only man ever to penetrate the Matarese and survive. Now Cameron Pryce has to draw Scofield and his wife, Antonia, out of their Caribbean paradise hideaway and back to a place they thought they'd never have to go again -- back into the Matarese circle of death. For from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf to the boardrooms of Manhattan, from the hills of Corsica to the halls of power in Washington, the circle is closing, the noose is tightening, the panic is spreading. And Pryce has made a chilling discovery: the Matarese have broken new ground. . . deep inside the CIA. "The Matarese Countdown" is Robert Ludlum at his best, as he delivers a terrifying and persuasive vision of worldwide financial mastery that could only happen today.
From the Hamptons to Monte Carlo to London's Belgrave Square, Matarese assassins have already struck with brutal efficiency, eliminating all who stand in their way. But on Spain's Costa del Sol, one victim survived long enough to breathe these dying words: '"Find Beowulf Agate' --words that reverberate all the way to CIA headquarters in Langley,Virginia. Beowulf Agate is the code name for legendary retired agent Brandon Scofield, the only man ever to penetrate the Matarese and survive. Now Cameron Pryce has to draw Scofield and his wife, Antonia, out of their Caribbean paradise hideaway and back to a place they thought they'd never have to go again -- back into the Matarese circle of death. For from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf to the boardrooms of Manhattan, from the hills of Corsica to the halls of power in Washington, the circle is closing, the noose is tightening, the panic is spreading. And Pryce has made a chilling discovery: the Matarese have broken new ground. . . deep inside the CIA. "The Matarese Countdown" is Robert Ludlum at his best, as he delivers a terrifying and persuasive vision of worldwide financial mastery that could only happen today.
576 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 1997
253 people are currently reading
3703 people want to read
About the author
Robert Ludlum
629 books5,264 followersRobert Ludlum was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 210 million of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He is the author of The Scarlatti Inheritance, The Chancellor Manuscript, and the Jason Bourne series--The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum--among others. Mr. Ludlum passed away in March, 2001. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.
Some of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and mini-series, including The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant, The Apocalypse Watch, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. A non-Ludlum book supposedly inspired by his unused notes, Covert One: The Hades Factor, has also been made into a mini-series. The Bourne movies, starring Matt Damon in the title role, have been commercially and critically successful (The Bourne Ultimatum won three Academy Awards in 2008), although the story lines depart significantly from the source material.
Some of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and mini-series, including The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant, The Apocalypse Watch, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. A non-Ludlum book supposedly inspired by his unused notes, Covert One: The Hades Factor, has also been made into a mini-series. The Bourne movies, starring Matt Damon in the title role, have been commercially and critically successful (The Bourne Ultimatum won three Academy Awards in 2008), although the story lines depart significantly from the source material.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
August 27, 2015
This was disappointing. I had hopes for this story, given the reputation of the author. How did he get such a great reputation. His writing is stilted, bordering on purple, with such lines as, "Oh, I see what you mean," said the tall, attractive, and formidable Antonia,...," and, "Our?...Taleniekov is dead. He's gone!" "Not in my head, Cameron Pryce. He never will be."
This last leads me to another point, his character identification. Cameron Pryce is sometimes Cam or Cameron or Pryce or Cameron Pryce. The old master-spook, Brandon Scofield is sometimes Brandon, Bram, Scofield, Brandon Scofield, or his code name Beowolf Agate. The names change sometimes in the same conversation. And italics are thrown around like rose pedals at a wedding, with no regard for their place in the sense of the dialogue.
Speaking of which, Ludlum's dialogue is stiff with endless conversations that, seem to bring the characters themselves to scream, "Get to the point!"
In his favor, I was attracted to the idea of an aging CIA spook, years past his prime, revisiting an old enemy. There were so many possibilities for this book, but Ludlum seems to have taken the road most traveled and written a trite, simplistic yarn that could have had so much more tension.
This last leads me to another point, his character identification. Cameron Pryce is sometimes Cam or Cameron or Pryce or Cameron Pryce. The old master-spook, Brandon Scofield is sometimes Brandon, Bram, Scofield, Brandon Scofield, or his code name Beowolf Agate. The names change sometimes in the same conversation. And italics are thrown around like rose pedals at a wedding, with no regard for their place in the sense of the dialogue.
Speaking of which, Ludlum's dialogue is stiff with endless conversations that, seem to bring the characters themselves to scream, "Get to the point!"
In his favor, I was attracted to the idea of an aging CIA spook, years past his prime, revisiting an old enemy. There were so many possibilities for this book, but Ludlum seems to have taken the road most traveled and written a trite, simplistic yarn that could have had so much more tension.
December 20, 2010
I was somehow disappointed which is uncommon for Ludlum's books... This one took a little longer to read and didn't necessarily keep me interested the whole way through... There were times I had to really force myself to keep going.
If you are picking up a Ludlum book for the first time, don't choose this one! Also if you have not read 'The Matarese Circle', which is book number '1' in this series, don't attempt this one. There is a lot of prior assumed knowledge and character development and plot development in the first book that this one lacks.
It was also extremely slow the action happened in the last 10 pages. Generally speaking Ludlum's books are packed with action.
Overall dissapointing.
If you are picking up a Ludlum book for the first time, don't choose this one! Also if you have not read 'The Matarese Circle', which is book number '1' in this series, don't attempt this one. There is a lot of prior assumed knowledge and character development and plot development in the first book that this one lacks.
It was also extremely slow the action happened in the last 10 pages. Generally speaking Ludlum's books are packed with action.
Overall dissapointing.
September 14, 2009
Wow. This was cheese. Other reviewers have probably said it better but this was way off the mark for the work of Robert Ludlum. A number of years ago I read almost all of Tom Clancy's books back-to-back during one summer of reading. This may have disguised what I later noticed to be a "dumbing" down of his work. Campy dialogue, impossibly perfect characters, and useless repetition of important plot lines became the norm in Clancy's work (maybe it was there all along, but Rainbow Six was the major turning point for me). This Robert Ludlum book seemed to be heavily influenced by the later Clancy novels as though some sort of reverse mentor-apprentice relationship had formed between the older Ludlum and the younger Clancy.
Either way, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have nothing else to read.
Either way, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have nothing else to read.
January 22, 2021
I almost hate to give this review since Ludlum has written so many books that I really like, but I'm not going to lie or avoid it. I'm not sure if it is me or this novel but I just hated it. All the characters were boring and spoke exactly the same; it was impossible for me to tell who was who from their speech. Plus everyone would interrupt themselves with useless comments; the following is a quick example. "Let me ask you something - not that you have to answer but I do deserve it since I was being shot at also even though you were the only one hit." And this would be in the middle of a gun fight! Plus every situation is over explained to the point of nausea, especially if it means that the characters get to explain how rich and brilliant and powerful they are. I tried and I tried to get in to it but I just couldn't. So after 150 pages, I gave up; something that I don't like doing but I couldn't make myself go any further. It was too painful.
August 15, 2016
I got this book out of a box of free books sitting in front of a bookstore, and I guess you'd say that I paid the right price. I was fairly generous in my (three star) review of the Matarese Circle, which was a goofy and cliched piece of writing, but was at least a fun beach read. This sequel, however, should never have seen the light of day.
In the Matarese Countdown, the shadowy and inscrutable Matarese group are back at it again. What exactly are they back at? Pretty hard to tell. Something about buying up a bunch of corporate conglomerates, tanking their businesses, and throwing the world economy into chaos. To what ends do they wish to do this? Let's put it this way: if questions of why a character is motivated to do something in a book matters to you, then perhaps you are not the ideal reader of this book. The Matarese are one of the groups of bad guys that appear to have no ideology, are incredibly secretive, and yet also have hundreds (or thousands?) of people in their employ and limitless financial resources and access to military grade weaponry.
Our hero from the previous book, Brandon Scofield, and his now wife Toni are back, along with a new super spy, Cameron Pryce and a paper thin love interest for him. I dare you to find one salient difference, besides their age, between Scofield and Pryce. For story purposes, they are functionally interchangeable.
Pretty much all 550 pages are taken up by macho shouting, which is the main form of communication. If you like reading sentences like "What do you mean by that?!" and "You better tell him to get his ass down here!" then there will plenty for you to like about the Matarese Countdown. If you like characters with inner lives, any hint of mature humor, or a plot capable of surprise, then no.
My favorite asinine conversation was held by some anonymous bad guys who are trying to schedule a meeting to discuss their evil plans. Already, you can tell this is some scintillating writing. Two of the characters wish to meet in a half hour. One of the other characters wishes to meet in an hour. The original two characters carry on a lengthy conversation about how mad they are about the one hour meeting time vs. the originally proposed half hour. This is a thriller that is as exciting as a conference call at the office.
I've read some bad novels in my time, including huge chunks of Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy that were, I thought, unsurpassable in terms of dreadfulness in popular fiction. Ludlum is giving them a real run for their money here, and making a bid to enter the pantheon of the worst of the worst.
In the Matarese Countdown, the shadowy and inscrutable Matarese group are back at it again. What exactly are they back at? Pretty hard to tell. Something about buying up a bunch of corporate conglomerates, tanking their businesses, and throwing the world economy into chaos. To what ends do they wish to do this? Let's put it this way: if questions of why a character is motivated to do something in a book matters to you, then perhaps you are not the ideal reader of this book. The Matarese are one of the groups of bad guys that appear to have no ideology, are incredibly secretive, and yet also have hundreds (or thousands?) of people in their employ and limitless financial resources and access to military grade weaponry.
Our hero from the previous book, Brandon Scofield, and his now wife Toni are back, along with a new super spy, Cameron Pryce and a paper thin love interest for him. I dare you to find one salient difference, besides their age, between Scofield and Pryce. For story purposes, they are functionally interchangeable.
Pretty much all 550 pages are taken up by macho shouting, which is the main form of communication. If you like reading sentences like "What do you mean by that?!" and "You better tell him to get his ass down here!" then there will plenty for you to like about the Matarese Countdown. If you like characters with inner lives, any hint of mature humor, or a plot capable of surprise, then no.
My favorite asinine conversation was held by some anonymous bad guys who are trying to schedule a meeting to discuss their evil plans. Already, you can tell this is some scintillating writing. Two of the characters wish to meet in a half hour. One of the other characters wishes to meet in an hour. The original two characters carry on a lengthy conversation about how mad they are about the one hour meeting time vs. the originally proposed half hour. This is a thriller that is as exciting as a conference call at the office.
I've read some bad novels in my time, including huge chunks of Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy that were, I thought, unsurpassable in terms of dreadfulness in popular fiction. Ludlum is giving them a real run for their money here, and making a bid to enter the pantheon of the worst of the worst.
December 17, 2023
Pirms aptuveni 25 gadiem nu jau atvaļinātais CIP aģents Brandon Scofield ar segvārdu Beowulf Agate vai sava ienaidnieka dusmās saukts par pasaules cūku jau vienreiz apturēja šīs leģendārās un baiļu ieviesošās organizācijas grandiozos plānus par dominanci pār pasaules ekonomiku. Bet četru ietekmīgu biznesmeņu slepkavības dažādās valstīs, bet tuvu viena otrai to pastrādāšanas brīdī, kalpo kā pirmais pavediens Deputy Direktoram Frank Shield, ka senais drauds atkal paversīs save neglīto galvu.
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/202...
June 8, 2015
After an absence of twenty-four years the Matarese are back with their plans for world domination. A CIA agent and a military intelligence office work to prevent that takeover with the help of a retired CIA agent who destroyed the group two decades previously. This work is fast paced with bodies dropping all over the place. Vintage Ludlum by the man himself not someone else using his characters.
March 4, 2017
Not as action=packed as the first Matarese story (something I find with a few Ludlum sequels, Bourne Supremacy being the exception). The theme of a global takeover reminded me of my favourite Ludlum novel, Aquitaine Progression, but the manner of the takeover is different.
May 18, 2022
eponymous-ey sentence:
p19: "We have a schedule, a countdown, if you like...."
tech:
p74: "Good Lord, such a decision!" said Scofield, lowering his MAC-10 automatic rifle against the rocks, his left hand pensively shading his eyes but still on the intruder.
cement:
p88: "Capable of lifting off from a patch of cement or a small backyard."
p111: "...Blocks of high-density cement layered to conform to the configuration of the road."
p174: "This old thing is as safe as a cement whale."
"A cement whale would sink, buddy."
p551: He had barely two minutes left, not that the time was written in cement, but time spans were important and he did not want Scofield and Considine to think that something had gone wrong and do something foolish like rushing in to search for him.
redundancy, terminology:
p136: Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Montrose withdrew a small portable phone from her tunic, dialed a series of thirteen numbers, and raised the instrument to her right ear.
grammar:
p408: "...If he's there, I want him to myself."
p536: "If this were night," whispered Scofield, "we'd take them both and find out who's inside."
This fell a little short of my expectations midway--just a tad--but that ending is at least satisfying.
p19: "We have a schedule, a countdown, if you like...."
tech:
p74: "Good Lord, such a decision!" said Scofield, lowering his MAC-10 automatic rifle against the rocks, his left hand pensively shading his eyes but still on the intruder.
cement:
p88: "Capable of lifting off from a patch of cement or a small backyard."
p111: "...Blocks of high-density cement layered to conform to the configuration of the road."
p174: "This old thing is as safe as a cement whale."
"A cement whale would sink, buddy."
p551: He had barely two minutes left, not that the time was written in cement, but time spans were important and he did not want Scofield and Considine to think that something had gone wrong and do something foolish like rushing in to search for him.
redundancy, terminology:
p136: Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Montrose withdrew a small portable phone from her tunic, dialed a series of thirteen numbers, and raised the instrument to her right ear.
grammar:
p408: "...If he's there, I want him to myself."
p536: "If this were night," whispered Scofield, "we'd take them both and find out who's inside."
This fell a little short of my expectations midway--just a tad--but that ending is at least satisfying.
July 29, 2013
Not quite as fun as the original, but to be fair I got interrupted in my reading of this one by a binge of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire. That aside, I think what dampened the effect of this one a bit is that you're already well aware of the scope and depth of the Matarese conspiracy. Ludlum seemed to know this, however, so the attention in this one is more on the interplay and banter between Brandon Scofield, the old spook, and Cameron Pryce, the young one. However, this friendship lacks the depth and interest of that between Taleniekov and Scofield in the last one. There aren't layers to it; there isn't a deep and dramatic past like we had with the Russian and the American. Also, the Cold War backdrop to both characters made their relationship all the more interesting. Scofield and Pryce have that comical interplay of the old cop and the young cop, but since the young cop is pretty much just as talented and disciplined as the old one, you don't even have the traditional buddy cop interplay to enjoy. The humor is situational and surface-level and unfortunately undercuts the suspense. We also have the romance between Pryce and Montrose that again seems to be lip service--you have to have a new romance because Scofield and Antonia are old hat. I make it sound like I didn't like this one very much when, to tell the truth, I did. I just can't help but look at it in light of The Matarese Circle, which was incredible, Ludlum as good as I've ever seen him. This one is a diverting beach read. It goes down easily, which is good when you've been doing too much serious reading lately. It won't change your life or end up being particularly memorable, but I was glad to revisit Scofield and Antonia after what all they had been through in the first one. You read this for the characters, for your love of them, sort of like watching a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie to see Jack Sparrow.
June 24, 2011
His butler did it.
March 19, 2014
Awesome!
January 23, 2022
At first the storyline got was interesting, but the campy, oversimplified dialogue and far fetched plotlines became too much. I finished because I was invested but it wasn't great.
September 30, 2019
Definitely worth the read. I believe I either enjoy Ludlum's books are I don't care for them at all. So far 2 out of the 3 I have read I have enjoyed. The characters in this book are more loving and easy to like. The book is scary in that could it ever happen. Economic disaster around the world.
March 8, 2016
Circolo Matarese: conto alla rovescia, in originale "The Matarese Countdown" è un romanzo di spionaggio scritto da Robert Ludlum e pubblicato nel 1997. E' il sequel de "Il circolo Matarese".
Robert Ludlum, come già detto molte volte nelle mie precedenti recensioni è un maestro indiscusso del genere spy-story, tanto da meritarsi l'appellativo di "Mr. Plot" -signor complotto-. Ha scritto 27 romanzi thriller. Il numero di copie dei suoi libri in stampa è stimato tra 290 milioni e 500 milioni. I suoi libri sono stati pubblicati in 33 lingue e 40 paesi. Ludlum ha anche pubblicato romanzi sotto gli pseudonimi di Jonathan Ryder e Michael Shepherd.
È diventato celebre per la serie di romanzi "The Bourne Identity" ai quali sono stati vagamente ispirati tre film.
La trama di questo romanzo: come la mitica fenice, il Circolo Materese stanno rinascendo dalle ceneri e stanno riguadagnando la loro antica potenza. Il nuovo leader del Matarese è una figura enigmatica di nome Jan van der Meer Matareisen: secondo lui l'unico nipote legittimo del barone Guillaume de Matarese, il fondatore del gruppo Matarese. Con l'aiuto di un'altra figura oscura nota come Julian Guiderone alias "figlio del pastorello," che sembra essere sopravvissuto agli eventi narrati ne il "Circolo Matarese" quasi venti anni fa, pianificano un nuovo e diabolico complotto per far precipitare il mondo civilizzato nel caos totale. Solo un uomo come Brandon Scofield alias Beowulf li può fermare, anche se ormai si è ritirato da quasi venti anni. Brandon Scofield tornerà ancora una volta in campo insieme ad un altro uomo della CIA, Cameron Pryce, ma questa volta il nemico è più pericoloso.
Come da tradizione: spionaggio, intrighi internazionali, finanza, economia, politica mondiale e corruzione. Colpi di scena e tradimenti, un po' di humour e di sentimenti. Non manca niente.
Lo consiglio a chi volesse trascorrere qualche ora di tensione e suspance. Anche se, personalmente, se volessi apprezzare da subito l'autore partirei con la Trilogia di Bourne.
Robert Ludlum, come già detto molte volte nelle mie precedenti recensioni è un maestro indiscusso del genere spy-story, tanto da meritarsi l'appellativo di "Mr. Plot" -signor complotto-. Ha scritto 27 romanzi thriller. Il numero di copie dei suoi libri in stampa è stimato tra 290 milioni e 500 milioni. I suoi libri sono stati pubblicati in 33 lingue e 40 paesi. Ludlum ha anche pubblicato romanzi sotto gli pseudonimi di Jonathan Ryder e Michael Shepherd.
È diventato celebre per la serie di romanzi "The Bourne Identity" ai quali sono stati vagamente ispirati tre film.
La trama di questo romanzo: come la mitica fenice, il Circolo Materese stanno rinascendo dalle ceneri e stanno riguadagnando la loro antica potenza. Il nuovo leader del Matarese è una figura enigmatica di nome Jan van der Meer Matareisen: secondo lui l'unico nipote legittimo del barone Guillaume de Matarese, il fondatore del gruppo Matarese. Con l'aiuto di un'altra figura oscura nota come Julian Guiderone alias "figlio del pastorello," che sembra essere sopravvissuto agli eventi narrati ne il "Circolo Matarese" quasi venti anni fa, pianificano un nuovo e diabolico complotto per far precipitare il mondo civilizzato nel caos totale. Solo un uomo come Brandon Scofield alias Beowulf li può fermare, anche se ormai si è ritirato da quasi venti anni. Brandon Scofield tornerà ancora una volta in campo insieme ad un altro uomo della CIA, Cameron Pryce, ma questa volta il nemico è più pericoloso.
Come da tradizione: spionaggio, intrighi internazionali, finanza, economia, politica mondiale e corruzione. Colpi di scena e tradimenti, un po' di humour e di sentimenti. Non manca niente.
Lo consiglio a chi volesse trascorrere qualche ora di tensione e suspance. Anche se, personalmente, se volessi apprezzare da subito l'autore partirei con la Trilogia di Bourne.
April 10, 2009
This was left behind in my hotel room by a previous guest and I picked it up when I ran through my own books. It's a spy novel from the late '80s and feels like a straight to DVD spy movie. Computers and technology we take for granted are almost magical devices that can do almost anything. If it weren't for the authors need to explain how wonderful these things were it wouldn't have been so distracting. I've read many spy/thriller type novels set before the ubiquity of computers that dealt with them much more rationally. Also the Matarese are like a Bond villain with unlimited resources and access to military hardware and technology that you wouldn't expect to find in the real world. The main characters read like action heroes from a bygone era where men are men and women are sex toys.
I had read the Bourne novels about 20 years ago and remember liking them at the time, so I found this to be of a let down.
I had read the Bourne novels about 20 years ago and remember liking them at the time, so I found this to be of a let down.
August 17, 2010
I don't know what happened here. I've read a lot of Ludlum books before but when I started this one, there was just something off about it that I can't put my finger on. I wondered why. It bugged me for days on end. A few years ago I saw this again while cleaning my dad's bookshelf and decided to do some research.
Well the general consensus was this doesn't look like Robert Ludlum's work. Was disappointed at that, although I really have no way of knowing if it was true. Probably a ghostwriter? His editor struggling with an unfinished manuscript but wanting to put out something for the fans?
It was a big letdown. But I have abandoned the book a long time ago, so I guess I'm really not surprised at all.
Well the general consensus was this doesn't look like Robert Ludlum's work. Was disappointed at that, although I really have no way of knowing if it was true. Probably a ghostwriter? His editor struggling with an unfinished manuscript but wanting to put out something for the fans?
It was a big letdown. But I have abandoned the book a long time ago, so I guess I'm really not surprised at all.
July 14, 2011
Robert Ludlum never fails to disappoint. I didn't realize that this is a sequel to the Matarese Circle, but that didn't seem to matter too much - it was easy to keep up with past events. However, the format of the book seems to follow the Bourne series closely, sometimes it seems that only the character names are changed.
The plot involves current and former CIA agents trying to stop a secret organization (the Matarese) from dominating the world's economy for their own personal financial gain. I thought the plot was interesting, but trying to follow the plans of the Matarese was sometimes difficult.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who regularly reads the genre.
The plot involves current and former CIA agents trying to stop a secret organization (the Matarese) from dominating the world's economy for their own personal financial gain. I thought the plot was interesting, but trying to follow the plans of the Matarese was sometimes difficult.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who regularly reads the genre.
August 17, 2012
In Ludlum's follow-up The Matarese Countdown, a much slower (tedious) book published in 1999, Brandon Scofield is dragged out of self-imposed exile on some Caribbean island to once again foil the rising phoenix of the Matarese inheritance. As I've said, I was rather disappointed with the narrative events of this sequel. Circle was fraught with narrative dead ends and 'how can he survive this' while Countdown just happened, scripting by numbers. It was the all-too-smooth routing of the remaining members of the Shepherd's family, the tying off of any tattered arteries the earlier book might have left.
May 29, 2016
The Matarese Countdown is the sequel to the Matarese Circle. Scofield and Toni barely escaped with their lives after believing that the son of the Shepard Boy had been killed and thus the Matarese has been killed. They go off the grid on and island and live an enjoyable life away for the spy world......UNTIL.... the US and the world needs their talents... the Matarese is back.
This time the circle is made up of the descendants of the the Count of Matarese who started it all. They are intent on controlling the world and have have spies in all the governments. Despite being in his 60's, Scofield has to bring his A game.
Good and worth reading but not as good as the Matarese Circle.
This time the circle is made up of the descendants of the the Count of Matarese who started it all. They are intent on controlling the world and have have spies in all the governments. Despite being in his 60's, Scofield has to bring his A game.
Good and worth reading but not as good as the Matarese Circle.
October 8, 2019
"No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the general public."
I didn't expect much, given the genre, but even so, this was a disappointing read. A paint-by-numbers plot devoid of any specifics (all-legal corporate mergers take months, if not years, to execute, not days/weeks, lol), discordant dialogue and descriptions (far too many uses of unnecessary exposition and italics), and poor editing throughout (not just poor syntax, but the countless repetition of things we were already told).
I really can't understand how books like these have sold in the hundreds of millions globally.
I didn't expect much, given the genre, but even so, this was a disappointing read. A paint-by-numbers plot devoid of any specifics (all-legal corporate mergers take months, if not years, to execute, not days/weeks, lol), discordant dialogue and descriptions (far too many uses of unnecessary exposition and italics), and poor editing throughout (not just poor syntax, but the countless repetition of things we were already told).
I really can't understand how books like these have sold in the hundreds of millions globally.
April 18, 2020
The author at one point describes the main character, Brandon Scofield, as an overgrown, spoiled adolescencent. It fits. He is quick to anger, is petulant and has a superiority complex. The younger agent who is sent to work with him is in the same mold. They are not likable. And Ludlum has slipped back into his over the top romantic dialog. He should leave the romance out of it. The books would be much better. One more "darling" and I may lose my lunch.
Removing that, the story was good, reading about the planned economic collapse fo the world as we sit in COVID 19 quarentine and millions of jobs are being lost was a little to close to home.
Removing that, the story was good, reading about the planned economic collapse fo the world as we sit in COVID 19 quarentine and millions of jobs are being lost was a little to close to home.
August 4, 2011
Not Ludlum's best, but not his worst either. Formulaic like Ludlum's other books, however this is set 30 years after the Matarese Circle, with some of the worst characteristics of Ludlum's worst novels, and only glimpses so far of his best work. Ludlum is the master of the chase and action sequences and tangled webs of anti-government conspiracies, and while this novel is chock full of the latter there sure isn't much action so far. There is just a ton of buildup, with shocking (not) revelations that are right in line with his other works.
October 16, 2012
This sequel to 'The Matarese Circle' doesn't quite match the original story in intensity nor conflict. It comes off as Ludlum by the numbers. Put protagonists in harm's way, let protagonist avoid harm, and then wash, rinse, and repeat for 500+ pages. There is too much of the 'charming, almost over the hill' operative. The first book thrived on the solid premise of sworn enemies working together for something greater than themselves, but the threat of Ludlum's revived Matarese comes off as cliche and I was literally waiting for them to trip over themselves. Not Ludlum's best.
February 10, 2016
To be honest, the ending was a bit of a let-down. It was a good sequel, but it didn't deliver the same sense of suspense or urgency found throughout Martarese Circle. We have a lot more visibility into the workings of the bad guys this time, and it results in them feeling a little inept, especially toward the end. We went from the beginning of the first book, where these mysterious bad guys can literally find you anywhere, to the end of the second book where we can apparently sneak right into their house without them knowing.
March 23, 2024
Terrific Thriller after a long time from the master of thrillers.
Totally loved it from the word go as it turns out to be a cat and mouse chase games between bad guys and good guys. With good guy(s) and hot girls go to any length to uncover the bad guys across the nations.
Ludlum at this best I must say.
Now looking forward to read more from the same series.
Totally loved it from the word go as it turns out to be a cat and mouse chase games between bad guys and good guys. With good guy(s) and hot girls go to any length to uncover the bad guys across the nations.
Ludlum at this best I must say.
Now looking forward to read more from the same series.
December 29, 2013
I have my doubts that Ludlum actually wrote this work; it reads more like one of the Van Lustbader-Ludlum franchise works. Maybe it was a tryout for the future to keep the Ludlum franchise bringing in the cash. Thin and lightweight in comparison to Ludlum in his heyday.
August 6, 2011
Just okay. A bit of a disappointment considering how much I enjoyed the Matarese Circle.
November 29, 2017
Best political thriller ever. Period.
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