The Valhalla Testament

by Jon Land

"With a relentless pace that builds to an intensely charged resolution, this thriller succeeds even though Land repeats the same tricks he's employed in earlier works like The Gamma Option . Jamie Skylar is baffled by his sister Beth, who is living with Jose Riaz, a former Sandinista executioner; but when she begs Jamie for help, he's off to Nicaragua. When Riaz and Jamie are away for the day, assassins (apparently Contras) slaughter Beth and the rest of the household. Riaz pursues vengeance by directing a terrorist attack within the U.S.; Jamie, imprisoned by local authorities, escapes with the aid of Chimera, an enigmatic woman sent to kill him. Jamie learns that Beth was with the CIA and that her death is tied to an unexplained explosion at an Australian weapons plant. With his own life still in danger, Jamie flees to safety in the U.S. and Chimera follows the mystery to Australia"

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Jon Land is an American author of thriller novels and a screenwriter. He graduated from Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude. He often bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research as well as a twenty-five year career in martial arts. He is an associate member of the US Special Forces and is an emeritus board member the International Thriller Writers. John currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Tanuj Solanki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a reading-writing exercise for me. It isn't too difficult to write like this, I suppose.

The plot is okay, the action regularly skip-worthy. The first third, in Nicaragua, was strongest. The second third, in Australia, was stupid. And Land lost his grip in the finale. He is more comfortable in the middle, when his characters are on the run, when the elements of the equation are still not completely settled. Once the battle-lines are drawn, Land seems to lose interest himself.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Land does write an action packed books and this one is no exception. Our lead character was surprisingly well written and interesting, unfortunately everybody else took a big step backwards in interest and in dialogue.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down

I'm really glad I found this author and I can't wait to get his next one. Realistic, believable characters. Action packed.

[Julia :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring! Even though the ideo of the story itself was not bad, I kept falling asleep. I wanted this to be a good book but unfortunately it wasn't.