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John Wells #3
The Silent Man
A novel of international intrigue and catastrophic terrorism from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Ghost War and The Faithful Spy.
For CIA operative John Wells, the underworld has become more real than the real world. He's spent years in the close company of evil men. And he's paid the price in every possible way. Now, he's on the ragged edge of burnout. His nights are plagued by twisted dreams. He's beginning to doubt if he can ever live a normal life—and he's right to think so.
When a power adversary from Wells's past finds him, he must once again enter the fray. For his country. For his soul. For revenge....
For CIA operative John Wells, the underworld has become more real than the real world. He's spent years in the close company of evil men. And he's paid the price in every possible way. Now, he's on the ragged edge of burnout. His nights are plagued by twisted dreams. He's beginning to doubt if he can ever live a normal life—and he's right to think so.
When a power adversary from Wells's past finds him, he must once again enter the fray. For his country. For his soul. For revenge....
501 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 10, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
March 3, 2013
This is the third book by Alex Berenson to feature CIA agent John Wells, after The Faithful Spy and The Ghost War. In each of the first two books, Wells was forced to save the U.S. from incalculable damage, almost single-handedly and at great cost to his own personal well-being. After all he's been through, you'd think the poor guy would deserve a vacation, but no such luck.
As this book opens, Islamic jihadists manage to steal two nuclear weapons from a Russian arms depot. Not surprisingly, they intend to detonate the weapons in the U.S. This will not be easy because they do not have the codes necessary to explode the bombs in their current state. But the knowledge for building an atomic weapon is fairly easy to find; all you need are the proper ingredients. The plan is to disassemble the bombs and recombine the elements in a way that will create a significant nuclear explosion.
Meanwhile, John Wells is back in Washington D.C. One morning, he and his fiance, Jennifer Exley, are on their way to work at the CIA when they are attacked by a group of Russian assassins. Wells had earlier humiliated a powerful arms dealer who has, in turn, contracted with the Russians to get revenge. Exley is seriously wounded in the attack; several CIA agents in a vehicle trailing them are killed; and John Wells is mightily pissed. This will be very bad news for the arms dealer who initiated the attack.
As the story gathers momentum, all of these elements come together to produce another page-turner of a novel. To his credit, Berenson does not create cardboard-cutout bad guys. These characters are well-drawn, with believable motives that make sense to them, even though most Americans would obviously not agree with them. Berenson also describes the theft of the weapons and the terrorists' plans for using them in a way that sounds credible and that is extremely scary. And in the end, we can only hope that, once again, John Wells will be up to the task at hand.
One minor caveat: Earlier in his career, while in Afghanistan, Wells had converted to Islam, and the notion of an Islamic CIA agent battling Islamic terrorists was very intriguing. In the earlier books, his faith was an important part of Well's makeup but for some reason, in this book it is almost completely glossed over. There are a couple of references to Wells's faith but it certainly does not seem to be an animating factor in his behavior. I'm not sure why Berenson chose to downplay the character's religious faith in this book, but the effect is to make him a somewhat less interesting character and to transform him into a more routine action hero.
As this book opens, Islamic jihadists manage to steal two nuclear weapons from a Russian arms depot. Not surprisingly, they intend to detonate the weapons in the U.S. This will not be easy because they do not have the codes necessary to explode the bombs in their current state. But the knowledge for building an atomic weapon is fairly easy to find; all you need are the proper ingredients. The plan is to disassemble the bombs and recombine the elements in a way that will create a significant nuclear explosion.
Meanwhile, John Wells is back in Washington D.C. One morning, he and his fiance, Jennifer Exley, are on their way to work at the CIA when they are attacked by a group of Russian assassins. Wells had earlier humiliated a powerful arms dealer who has, in turn, contracted with the Russians to get revenge. Exley is seriously wounded in the attack; several CIA agents in a vehicle trailing them are killed; and John Wells is mightily pissed. This will be very bad news for the arms dealer who initiated the attack.
As the story gathers momentum, all of these elements come together to produce another page-turner of a novel. To his credit, Berenson does not create cardboard-cutout bad guys. These characters are well-drawn, with believable motives that make sense to them, even though most Americans would obviously not agree with them. Berenson also describes the theft of the weapons and the terrorists' plans for using them in a way that sounds credible and that is extremely scary. And in the end, we can only hope that, once again, John Wells will be up to the task at hand.
One minor caveat: Earlier in his career, while in Afghanistan, Wells had converted to Islam, and the notion of an Islamic CIA agent battling Islamic terrorists was very intriguing. In the earlier books, his faith was an important part of Well's makeup but for some reason, in this book it is almost completely glossed over. There are a couple of references to Wells's faith but it certainly does not seem to be an animating factor in his behavior. I'm not sure why Berenson chose to downplay the character's religious faith in this book, but the effect is to make him a somewhat less interesting character and to transform him into a more routine action hero.
March 11, 2011
This is the third of Berenson's spy thrillers starring John Wells that I've read... and I think it's the weakest thus far. I loved the first, THE FAITHFUL SPY, because of Wells' uniqueness: he was coming out from under 10 years of cover in the Taliban, where he'd converted to Islam, was deeply religious, and stoo as a real fish out of water when he returned to the Western world of America in order to save it. Interesting moral conundrums abounded, and it felt fresh. In THE GHOST WAR, Wells wasn't as fresh, his Islamic background didn't come much into play, but Berenson really wrote a helluva plot with a lot of great shock moments to push you along.
Well, in this one, he had neither character nor plot going for him. Wells has lost all sense of individuality; he's really turned into a generic cheap spy thriller hero. He's Mitch Rapp without the (simplistic) moral clarity and indignation. His connections to faith are gone, and the hardness that's replaced it isn't emotional, it's just generic. The side characters took a backseat, really just filling pages.
The bad guys had an interesting set-up: they've stolen nuclear material, but without the codes, have to remove the fissile material and build their own bomb. This could have been a great rising and falling plot with set-backs and obstacles... I was hoping they'd have so much stacked against them that in a sick way I'd end up rooting for them.... but no. It really fell into the hackneyed slog slow of the terrorists towards their destination, with our hero playing catch-up.
Really the best character in the book was the non-religious Russian scientist who helped them steal the material. Smart and skeptical of religion, he was great... until he was killed off a quarter of the way through the book.
This is also the third book in a row where Berenson's climax is the smallest set-piece of the novel. He really needs to ratchet it up if he wants to pay off the reader for his dedication.
This brings me to something I started thinking about while reading the novel: what sets Tom Clancy apart from so many of his modern-day imitators like Berenson is his ability to build an entire world. A world where the plots of his novels have continuing consequences. Where big things go wrong and have to be dealt with. In one of his books, the entire State of the Union is destroyed: President, Vice President, Congress, etc. It sucks you into an alternate history in a way that is intellectually engaging, even if it is just elevated cheap spy thriller stuff. Berenson and so many of the guys I've been trying recently really seem to have the goal of their books be to keep anything from happening to the world that would make it a place we don't recognize exactly as our own. And I think they're the weaker for it.
I'll give Berenson another shot with the 4th book in the series THE MIDNIGHT HOUSE. If that fails, he gets the axe.
Well, in this one, he had neither character nor plot going for him. Wells has lost all sense of individuality; he's really turned into a generic cheap spy thriller hero. He's Mitch Rapp without the (simplistic) moral clarity and indignation. His connections to faith are gone, and the hardness that's replaced it isn't emotional, it's just generic. The side characters took a backseat, really just filling pages.
The bad guys had an interesting set-up: they've stolen nuclear material, but without the codes, have to remove the fissile material and build their own bomb. This could have been a great rising and falling plot with set-backs and obstacles... I was hoping they'd have so much stacked against them that in a sick way I'd end up rooting for them.... but no. It really fell into the hackneyed slog slow of the terrorists towards their destination, with our hero playing catch-up.
Really the best character in the book was the non-religious Russian scientist who helped them steal the material. Smart and skeptical of religion, he was great... until he was killed off a quarter of the way through the book.
This is also the third book in a row where Berenson's climax is the smallest set-piece of the novel. He really needs to ratchet it up if he wants to pay off the reader for his dedication.
This brings me to something I started thinking about while reading the novel: what sets Tom Clancy apart from so many of his modern-day imitators like Berenson is his ability to build an entire world. A world where the plots of his novels have continuing consequences. Where big things go wrong and have to be dealt with. In one of his books, the entire State of the Union is destroyed: President, Vice President, Congress, etc. It sucks you into an alternate history in a way that is intellectually engaging, even if it is just elevated cheap spy thriller stuff. Berenson and so many of the guys I've been trying recently really seem to have the goal of their books be to keep anything from happening to the world that would make it a place we don't recognize exactly as our own. And I think they're the weaker for it.
I'll give Berenson another shot with the 4th book in the series THE MIDNIGHT HOUSE. If that fails, he gets the axe.
March 21, 2018
Our friend Wells, who we met after he infiltrated the Taliban for a decade, is on the trail of a global arms dealer. The only way to get the CIA shark off track is to throw out some other bait - Arab bad boys who want to build their own Hiroshima-type bomb.
I enjoy the Wells persona - a Dirty Harry spy. He's in a regimented, team universe who wants to wing it, shooting from the hip. His minders would rather he play by the rules. Is there a rebel among us who doesn't empathize with the man who loves what he does, even while hating the stupid tow-the-line, back stabbing, "let's think about our pension" atmosphere?
I enjoy the Wells persona - a Dirty Harry spy. He's in a regimented, team universe who wants to wing it, shooting from the hip. His minders would rather he play by the rules. Is there a rebel among us who doesn't empathize with the man who loves what he does, even while hating the stupid tow-the-line, back stabbing, "let's think about our pension" atmosphere?
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March 21, 2021I enjoyed this book, but not as much as some of the previous ones in the series. I think it may be getting too predictable - the renegade hero/cowboy who wants free reign for his personal grudges, but is never sure what he really wants. In this one, his girlfriend gets hurt as a result of his earlier poking of some enemy, so he decides to get even, even though his girlfriend and everyone else says not to do it. He goes ahead, and almost causes an international incident.
This, of course, doesn't stop him from continuing his maverick style, and as usual, he sort of wins in the end. I won't be reading more, especially after reading some of his fake news posts on Twitter against the Covid vaccine, saying it causes Covid, even though it doesn't contain any of the virus and so can't do that. But why let little things like logic get in the way of popularity with the anti-vaxxers.
This, of course, doesn't stop him from continuing his maverick style, and as usual, he sort of wins in the end. I won't be reading more, especially after reading some of his fake news posts on Twitter against the Covid vaccine, saying it causes Covid, even though it doesn't contain any of the virus and so can't do that. But why let little things like logic get in the way of popularity with the anti-vaxxers.
February 27, 2009
High quality thriller. Exquisite detail about nuclear terrorism. If you are tired of being scared s%#tless by the media about this topic, there is some ironically reassuring comfort in the revealed details that governments to to secure their nukes. Not to oversell its enducational value... Like Berenson's other John Wells books it's also just a great read.
June 9, 2013
John Wells Foils Islamic Nuclear Bomb Plans for DC. Rag heads shape frustration into hatred for the US and hatch a plot to explode a nuclear weapon in Washington. After stealing two small bombs from the Russian depot in Ozersk, they convey the weapons and other components needed to dismantle the existing weapon to overcome its failsafes and assemble a new bomb. Wells and Exley are targeted for assassination by arms dealer Pierre Kowalski, and Jenn is seriously wounded in the attempt. Wells secrets to Moscow to eliminate the assassination planner Markov, but only kills his best three Spetsnaz instead. Kowlaski, hoping to remain alive, barters with Wells by providing snitch intel on a plot participant seeking beryllium for the bomb. Wells, sacrificing his doomed love for Exley, serves as the US mediary with the plotter and is teamed with Delta Force for the take down at the New York farmhouse, only to chase the bomb to Pennsylvania where he minces the plotters into hamburger.
May 27, 2019
A great thriller, terrifying senecio, and compelling characters.
March 21, 2020
My Rating: 3 Russian Nukes
A decent read by Alex Berenson. Good narration.
A decent read by Alex Berenson. Good narration.
January 12, 2011
Book 3 in the John Wells series
The tale involves the theft of Russian made nuclear warheads to be used in an effort to trigger a U.S.-Russia conflict. Muslim terrorists calculate the ideal time and place would be Washington during the State of the Union address, payback for decades of Western domination and oppression.
The story is vividly told and plunges its readers into a scary minute-by- minute fictional account of how the militants steal two nuclear weapons, smuggle them into the U.S and on an isolated New York farm create a devise that will help bring them closer to the world they dream of.
Meanwhile, back in the States, an old nemesis from a previous encounter, Pierre Kowalski, mounts a deadly assault killing several people and severely injuring Exley, Wells' fiancé. This is sweet revenge; Wells had severely humiliated him in the previous novel, "The Ghost War". Wells has a strong suspicion as to who is behind the attack and due to personal interests and against the advice of his CIA superiors; he makes it his mission to bring the attackers and their mastermind to justice. Tracking them to Russia, he manages to kill several of the assassins but is unable to cut the head of the snake, his ultimate trophy. The cat and mouse game between himself and Kowalski rages on until Wells realises Kowalski has an important bargaining chip, information on the nuclear plot against the U.S.
This international intrigue is mildly enjoyable; I found the adventure lacks some of the rapid-fire pacing I like to experience in a thriller. However, it does provide some white-knuckle suspense and could be considered chillingly plausible. The plotting is very predictable for this day and age. John Wells, the main character, is still a complex blend of smarts and cynicism and Exley's role along with the romance between the two is weak and quite boring. The exploits of the secondary characters and those of the hero, in my opinion, place this novel in the class of a Jack Bauer "24 " series, very interesting at first but eventually loses its allure.
Needless to say my interest in this series is waning
The tale involves the theft of Russian made nuclear warheads to be used in an effort to trigger a U.S.-Russia conflict. Muslim terrorists calculate the ideal time and place would be Washington during the State of the Union address, payback for decades of Western domination and oppression.
The story is vividly told and plunges its readers into a scary minute-by- minute fictional account of how the militants steal two nuclear weapons, smuggle them into the U.S and on an isolated New York farm create a devise that will help bring them closer to the world they dream of.
Meanwhile, back in the States, an old nemesis from a previous encounter, Pierre Kowalski, mounts a deadly assault killing several people and severely injuring Exley, Wells' fiancé. This is sweet revenge; Wells had severely humiliated him in the previous novel, "The Ghost War". Wells has a strong suspicion as to who is behind the attack and due to personal interests and against the advice of his CIA superiors; he makes it his mission to bring the attackers and their mastermind to justice. Tracking them to Russia, he manages to kill several of the assassins but is unable to cut the head of the snake, his ultimate trophy. The cat and mouse game between himself and Kowalski rages on until Wells realises Kowalski has an important bargaining chip, information on the nuclear plot against the U.S.
This international intrigue is mildly enjoyable; I found the adventure lacks some of the rapid-fire pacing I like to experience in a thriller. However, it does provide some white-knuckle suspense and could be considered chillingly plausible. The plotting is very predictable for this day and age. John Wells, the main character, is still a complex blend of smarts and cynicism and Exley's role along with the romance between the two is weak and quite boring. The exploits of the secondary characters and those of the hero, in my opinion, place this novel in the class of a Jack Bauer "24 " series, very interesting at first but eventually loses its allure.
Needless to say my interest in this series is waning
April 16, 2013
Berenson, Alex (2009). The Silent Man. New York: Penguin/Jove.
John Wells, contract government tough guy, is back to fighting Islamic extremists, as he did in Berenson’s The Faithful Spy (2006). But the story begins as a revenge tale, when Russian bad guys from his past attack him and his fiancé. He shoots them all dead of course, but his woman takes a serious abdominal wound and is laid up for the rest of the novel. With CIA/NSA help, he tracks the source of the attack to Moscow. He gets on a plane and flies there to kill the chief baddie. Of course. Meanwhile, a group of Islamic extremists steals an atomic bomb from a Russian nuclear stockpile and unlikely as it might seem, even gets it out of the country, heading for Washington, DC. Wells learns of this when the bad guy he is after offers information in return for his life. So now the question is, can Wells single-handedly (as is his custom) prevent the bomb from going off at the State of the Union address? Take a wild guess.
The story is interesting in how it weaves together the revenge and bomb plots. Also, in this one, the hero doesn’t necessarily get the girl, as you would expect. She recovers from her injuries, but is angry and fed up with Wells’ immature macho antics. Also the revenge story is left open (for a sequel?) because he agreed to let the bad guy live. The best description is of the guys stealing and preparing the bomb. The least interesting is John Wells, who is a not-very-believable, immature, macho-Rambo tough guy, just as his woman says, despite repeatedly saving the world. The writing is kinetic and visual, and the scenes are designed so that the pages turn themselves. It’s not as good as The Faithful Spy, but still a respectable, if somewhat brain-dead, international thriller.
John Wells, contract government tough guy, is back to fighting Islamic extremists, as he did in Berenson’s The Faithful Spy (2006). But the story begins as a revenge tale, when Russian bad guys from his past attack him and his fiancé. He shoots them all dead of course, but his woman takes a serious abdominal wound and is laid up for the rest of the novel. With CIA/NSA help, he tracks the source of the attack to Moscow. He gets on a plane and flies there to kill the chief baddie. Of course. Meanwhile, a group of Islamic extremists steals an atomic bomb from a Russian nuclear stockpile and unlikely as it might seem, even gets it out of the country, heading for Washington, DC. Wells learns of this when the bad guy he is after offers information in return for his life. So now the question is, can Wells single-handedly (as is his custom) prevent the bomb from going off at the State of the Union address? Take a wild guess.
The story is interesting in how it weaves together the revenge and bomb plots. Also, in this one, the hero doesn’t necessarily get the girl, as you would expect. She recovers from her injuries, but is angry and fed up with Wells’ immature macho antics. Also the revenge story is left open (for a sequel?) because he agreed to let the bad guy live. The best description is of the guys stealing and preparing the bomb. The least interesting is John Wells, who is a not-very-believable, immature, macho-Rambo tough guy, just as his woman says, despite repeatedly saving the world. The writing is kinetic and visual, and the scenes are designed so that the pages turn themselves. It’s not as good as The Faithful Spy, but still a respectable, if somewhat brain-dead, international thriller.
November 20, 2012
Berenson is a former journalist who writes intelligently and knowledgeably about the war on terror, the context in which his novels are set. And he's developed an interesting but somewhat opaque lead character in CIA operative John Wells. Wells served undercover for many years in Afghanistan, during which time he converted (sincerely) to Islam. Now he's back home and his default situation seems to be that he keeps trying to quit the spy business but keeps getting lured back to the CIA to take part in "one last operation" that he can't seem to resist. The director of the CIA hates Wells but respects his unique ability to get inside the minds of Islamic terrorists.
This is the third John Wells novel I've read, and they all suffer to greater or lesser degrees from two flaws. Wells is not an especially engaging personality, and in any case he never appears in more than about half of each book. The other flaw is that the author is not especially adept at building tension. The novels provide interesting "behind-the-scenes" glimpses at the war on terror, but with few exceptions the plots don't quite thrill.
In the other two Wells novels I've read (The Faithful Spy and Midnight House), the positive factors (thoughtful stories, verisimilitude, and a ripped-from-the-headlines feel) outweighed the negative. But in this one, in addition to suffering from the negative factors noted above, the story isn't very interesting or original, and its conclusion is pretty much foregone. The only time it really felt like a page-turner was in the very last chapter.
This is the third John Wells novel I've read, and they all suffer to greater or lesser degrees from two flaws. Wells is not an especially engaging personality, and in any case he never appears in more than about half of each book. The other flaw is that the author is not especially adept at building tension. The novels provide interesting "behind-the-scenes" glimpses at the war on terror, but with few exceptions the plots don't quite thrill.
In the other two Wells novels I've read (The Faithful Spy and Midnight House), the positive factors (thoughtful stories, verisimilitude, and a ripped-from-the-headlines feel) outweighed the negative. But in this one, in addition to suffering from the negative factors noted above, the story isn't very interesting or original, and its conclusion is pretty much foregone. The only time it really felt like a page-turner was in the very last chapter.
September 19, 2015
This book started out great. Lots of action, adventure, and intrigue. Very much reminded me of a Robert Ludlum or Vince Flynn novel with John Wells as another super hero. About 3/4 of the way through the book it took a turn for the worse. The author bored me with vivid details in bomb-making. Quite possibly a hundred pages were devoted to Bashir and Nasiji's exploits as they prepare a bomb to be released at the State of the Union address in Washington. It got too technical and too detailed for me to enjoy. It read more like a scientific journal than a thriller. I was 100 pages shy from finishing the book and I couldn't press myself to continue no more. I'm assuming John Wells intercepted the beryllium shipment and prevented WWIII from occurring.
Sorry Alex Berenson. I was excited to have a new author on my shelf. But I was left disappointed. I won't rush out to try another of his book. Unless you like highly detailed novels of the likes of Tom Clancy, I wouldn't recommend this book.
Sorry Alex Berenson. I was excited to have a new author on my shelf. But I was left disappointed. I won't rush out to try another of his book. Unless you like highly detailed novels of the likes of Tom Clancy, I wouldn't recommend this book.
April 20, 2011
John Wells is the James Bond for the twenty-first century; grumpy rather than glib and frumpy rather than tailored but still with a “license to kill”-- at least in his own mind, and he definitely knows how to use it. Here, he pursues a group of Muslim fundamental extremists after they pull off a monumental theft that has the capability of plunging the world into a new and possibly final war. But his incredible feats of strength and extraordinary runs of luck seem to be more tempered this time around and his bouts of self-doubt and moral questioning make him a much more human character and enhances the plot. This world wide adventure of spy-craft and international intrigue leads to a spine tingling conclusion that makes you hope that there really are some people out there like him if we are to have any hope of survival.
February 18, 2014
Another thriller, Alex Berenson takes us to the brink of thermo nuclear destruction. Over 60 kilos of highly enriched uranium, HEU, have been stolen from Russia. We track the plot from the beginning; we see the commitment and dedication of our enemies. We see the commitment of those who serve to protect us from the hatred of all things American by Al Qaeda. We watch as the HEU travels to America and see the bomb assembled. And we see how small strands unravel to reveal what has happened and the search is on. The pace is awesome and John Wells continues to thrill us as he again saves us from disaster. This is another great read. If you are into spy craft thrillers, this book was written for you.
August 1, 2011
I keep giving these books three stars, but if you evaluated them only against other novels in the same genre, they'd be worth five. Sure, John Wells has a Forrest Gump-like knack for turning up wherever something important's going on (or he can talk someone into flying him there in a helicopter at government expense), and he can bounce back from gunshot wounds like I would from a papercut. But what makes these books rise above their genre is the portrayal of the bad guys and especially the well-meaning but flawed people who unwittingly play parts in the story. Berenson gives everyone a backstory, doubts, unwise impulses, aspirations, and fears.
February 7, 2013
I'm not quite sure why I didn't like this story better. The plot is certainly interesting and really horrifying: terrorists planning to explode an atomic bomb in the United States. I think part of the problem is the characterization of Mr. Wells. He seems rather generic in this book, interchangeable with any covert operative in the CIA.
One thing I really liked about this book: its lack of foul language. Midway through the book I realized that I hadn't heard "that word that starts with f" at all. I wish that were the case more often!
One thing I really liked about this book: its lack of foul language. Midway through the book I realized that I hadn't heard "that word that starts with f" at all. I wish that were the case more often!
August 29, 2017
Another excellent and very past-paced novel. On home turf, so to speak, Wells is dealing with the disappearance of Russian nuclear material as well as his own demons. He is torn between his addiction/attraction to his work and danger and maintaining a "normal" life with his fiancee, Exley. I would say this book and "Secret Soldier" are my favorites so far in the series, but all are recommended to fans of espionage and intelligent thrillers.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
June 21, 2014
I had to really force myself to finish this one. It was plodding and dragged boringly on in spite of the storyline being decent.
At times I wondered if the author was politically and/or religiously on the side of the fundamentalists.
There were some details and passages that showed lack of research. Can metal parts fit together with a tolerance of 1 mm after being cast in a mold? There is strangely no mention of a metal lathe or milling machine.
Do teams of special ops really say a prayer before a very time sensitive operation? Or anytime?
At times I wondered if the author was politically and/or religiously on the side of the fundamentalists.
There were some details and passages that showed lack of research. Can metal parts fit together with a tolerance of 1 mm after being cast in a mold? There is strangely no mention of a metal lathe or milling machine.
Do teams of special ops really say a prayer before a very time sensitive operation? Or anytime?
October 17, 2020
The third book in this series puts Wells on a quest for revenge after an arms dealer he pissed off arranges an attack on him and Exley that lands her critically injured in the hospital. Meanwhile, a small group of well-funded and ambitious terrorists are attempting to assemble a nuclear weapon to deploy within the US.
One of the things I like about this series is that it gives its villains some complexity, depicting them as actual human beings with personalities and understandable motivations. I also can't say I'm unhappy about where this book leaves Wells and Exley's relationship...
One of the things I like about this series is that it gives its villains some complexity, depicting them as actual human beings with personalities and understandable motivations. I also can't say I'm unhappy about where this book leaves Wells and Exley's relationship...
October 17, 2017
I do enjoy Berenson's John Wells series. They are a nice break from the constant barrage of police procedurals/serial killers. The stories are plausible, the protagonists intelligent and likable, and the bad guys are never two-dimensional. I look forward to the next installment.
February 21, 2018
six twenty-two ay em the morning of the 21st of february 2018...still dark...winter...just finished good read four stars kindle library loaner. intense. terrorists, a bomb, russia, the u.s.a., other places, the black sea, the atlantic, canada...been reading this in order and that makes a kind of sense considering the stories are chronological, but maybe one could read them out of sequence.
July 5, 2022
This is a good series, something on the order of a Vince Flynn style of writing. This book deals with the question of how our hero will prevent a nuclear bomb.
September 30, 2022
Islamic terrorists infiltrate a worker at a Russian nuclear site and manage to steal enough material to build a nuclear weapon with the plans to blow up an American city. I enjoy the author's precise conversational etiquette and his casual sense of humour. The Wells books are designed to read an hour at a time like a tv show episode. This one had the same format as the first two books although I found the ending to be somewhat on the lazy side.
March 28, 2020
Exciting book from a series I hadn’t read before. As exciting as a Clive Cussler book but without the misogyny or implausible scenarios.
April 5, 2025
In Alex Berenson's 'John Wells' novels, Wells is a CIA agent whose mission is to stop terrorists.
In this 3rd book in the series, Wells has had too much exposure in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, etc. to be 'undercover', and he's living outside Washington DC with his fiancée, fellow CIA agent Jennifer Exley.
Wells is on the 'enemies' list of many rogue countries, and his and Exley's residence is guarded 24/7.
Unfortunately, John and Jennifer are more vulnerable when they're out and about, and an attack when the duo are driving to work leaves Jennifer badly injured, facing a long hospitalization and painful rehab.
Wells learns the strike was ordered by Russian arms dealer Pierre Kowalski.....
.....and John sets out to track down and kill the Russian, probably in the most painful way possible.
Meanwhile, a catastrophic situation is brewing elsewhere. Middle Eastern terrorists have formed a cabal, and mean to destroy both the United States and Russia.
The fanatics manage to steal two nuclear bombs from a Russian armory (a feat that's described step-by-step in the book, in case you want to try it.)
The Middle Eastern zealots don't have the Russian nuclear codes, so they are going to extract the uranium from the purloined bombs and build their own device (this procedure is also described step-by-step).
The fanatics plan to bomb Washington DC during the State of the Union address, which will wipe out the entire U.S. government. If this doesn't work out, the bombers have alternate targets in mind.
To insure the biggest possible explosion, the terrorists need a good quantity of beryllium, which they hope to buy from Pierre Kowalski.
Thus we have all the players in place - John Wells, Pierre Kowalski, and the Middle Eastern zealots.
Of course this is the bare bones of the plot, which is intricate, suspenseful, and more or less realistic. (Terrorists should know detonating an enormous bomb would blow back on the Middle East, AT LEAST with the devastating fallout circling the world. The fanatics in this novel don't seem bothered about this, but it's fiction after all.)
All the major characters in the story - including the Americans, Russians, and Middle Easterners -are well-rounded, with motivations that make sense to themselves. The book is a page turner, and I was on tenterhooks to find out what would happen.
One thing is clear: it would be good to have John Wells around in an emergency.
Well-constructed story, recommended to fans of espionage thrillers.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
December 11, 2009
Two nuclear weapons are stolen from a Russian nuclear complex.
In Zurich, arms dealer Pierre Kowalski wants revenge for what John Wells did to him when he forced information from him in the past. Now Kowalski has paid a man named Markov, to kill Wells.
The plan is to strike when Wells travesl to his office.
Unaware of the sinister forces plotting his demise, Wells has been taking life easy after his last, life threatening activity. Now, he's driving to work with his fiancee, Jenifer Exley.
There's a traffic snarl. Being a CIA agent with well tuned self preservatin senses, Wells feels danger as one motorcycle passes him and another is approaching, weaving in and out of traffic. His quick reactions enables Wells to dispatch the assassins. However Jennifer is badly wounded.
In another part of this complex plot, near Ramadi, Iraq, Sayyed Nasiji plots with Sheik Ahmed Faisal. Their goal is to purchase the necessary materials and then to assemble a bomb in the United States. Nasiji wants to give the United States a taste of what Iraq has gone through.
Wells is mad with the need to take revenge for those who injured Jennifer and he knows who is responsible. However, events transpire that make Kowalski nervous. He seeks Wells out and promises to provide Wells with the info on the stolen weapons if Wells will agree to a truce with him.
The action continues with moving the bomb materials to where they can be assembled and create devistation.
If the goal of a thriller is to provide adventure and suspense, then, Alex Berenson has accomplished his goal.
The plot of this third John Wells adventure is original and Wells remains a heroic, brave and likable character. Kowalski was only a moderate success as an antagonist. He seemed to give in too easily. I did find the plot a bit too complex at times, but the action was there and the story vastly entertaining.
In Zurich, arms dealer Pierre Kowalski wants revenge for what John Wells did to him when he forced information from him in the past. Now Kowalski has paid a man named Markov, to kill Wells.
The plan is to strike when Wells travesl to his office.
Unaware of the sinister forces plotting his demise, Wells has been taking life easy after his last, life threatening activity. Now, he's driving to work with his fiancee, Jenifer Exley.
There's a traffic snarl. Being a CIA agent with well tuned self preservatin senses, Wells feels danger as one motorcycle passes him and another is approaching, weaving in and out of traffic. His quick reactions enables Wells to dispatch the assassins. However Jennifer is badly wounded.
In another part of this complex plot, near Ramadi, Iraq, Sayyed Nasiji plots with Sheik Ahmed Faisal. Their goal is to purchase the necessary materials and then to assemble a bomb in the United States. Nasiji wants to give the United States a taste of what Iraq has gone through.
Wells is mad with the need to take revenge for those who injured Jennifer and he knows who is responsible. However, events transpire that make Kowalski nervous. He seeks Wells out and promises to provide Wells with the info on the stolen weapons if Wells will agree to a truce with him.
The action continues with moving the bomb materials to where they can be assembled and create devistation.
If the goal of a thriller is to provide adventure and suspense, then, Alex Berenson has accomplished his goal.
The plot of this third John Wells adventure is original and Wells remains a heroic, brave and likable character. Kowalski was only a moderate success as an antagonist. He seemed to give in too easily. I did find the plot a bit too complex at times, but the action was there and the story vastly entertaining.
April 6, 2017
An Able Spy Story About Terrorism, Nuclear Weapons, and Russia on the Rise
When I read a spy story, I tend to look for credible characters and plausible plots as well as the usual fare offered up by the genre, such as suspense, exciting action, and (sometimes) exotic locales. In virtually all these ways, The Silent Man passes my litmus test as an excellent example of the craft — but one decision by the President of the United States, not even critical to the plot, struck me as so implausible and so dumb that it soured the final chapters.
However, there’s no denying that The Silent Man builds tension from its opening scenes inside Russia’s super-secret nuclear production complex to its conclusion in an utterly commonplace setting within the United States. The protagonist is soldier-spy John Wells, a former Ranger who spent a decade infiltrating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and went on to work for the CIA, where he now hangs his proverbial hat. The Silent Man — Wells himself, deeply troubled by his crumbling relationship with his partner and lover, Jennifer Exley — is the focus of much of the book, but through Alex Berenson’s pose as an omniscient narrator we roam through the minds of the Al Qaeda terrorists Wells is pursuing as well as his colleagues and rivals within the CIA and the hard-line officials at the top of Russia’s nuclear establishment. Every character in this book is portrayed with fine brush strokes, emerging as a fully rendered person who acts in understandable ways (with the sole exception of the aforementioned President).
The Silent Man is the third in Alex Berenson’s series about soldier-spy John Wells and his continuing efforts to keep the world safe for humanity.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
When I read a spy story, I tend to look for credible characters and plausible plots as well as the usual fare offered up by the genre, such as suspense, exciting action, and (sometimes) exotic locales. In virtually all these ways, The Silent Man passes my litmus test as an excellent example of the craft — but one decision by the President of the United States, not even critical to the plot, struck me as so implausible and so dumb that it soured the final chapters.
However, there’s no denying that The Silent Man builds tension from its opening scenes inside Russia’s super-secret nuclear production complex to its conclusion in an utterly commonplace setting within the United States. The protagonist is soldier-spy John Wells, a former Ranger who spent a decade infiltrating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and went on to work for the CIA, where he now hangs his proverbial hat. The Silent Man — Wells himself, deeply troubled by his crumbling relationship with his partner and lover, Jennifer Exley — is the focus of much of the book, but through Alex Berenson’s pose as an omniscient narrator we roam through the minds of the Al Qaeda terrorists Wells is pursuing as well as his colleagues and rivals within the CIA and the hard-line officials at the top of Russia’s nuclear establishment. Every character in this book is portrayed with fine brush strokes, emerging as a fully rendered person who acts in understandable ways (with the sole exception of the aforementioned President).
The Silent Man is the third in Alex Berenson’s series about soldier-spy John Wells and his continuing efforts to keep the world safe for humanity.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
April 1, 2016
This an another exciting entry in the John Wells series. A crackerjack of a spy story, even if the wrap up seemed to occur very rapidly and seemed to be almost based on coincidence then good spymanship.
Wells continues to be an interesting character. Sickened by killing, but always prepared to do it again. Further, his girlfriend is increasingly uncomfortable with Wells' willingness to get back to where the action is, even though the agency pretty much holds him on as tight of a leash as they can.
In this episode, an attempt on his life by Kowalski, an arms dealer that Wells humiliated in the second book, leads John to seek revenge. Instead, he stumbles on an even larger plot and the focus of the action changes to foil a terrorist plot.
The major focus of the novel is the terrorist plot. How they obtain the resources--how they obtain a place to launch their plot-- how they deal with those involved--- all of this is very interesting, but slows the pacing of the novel a bit, even as the author switches back to Wells' activity as he seeks vengeance.
This one isn't as good as the first two. The author likes to bring back returning bit players-- like the Captain of the Decauter from the last novel and a fellow John met in Afghanistan. In this case, he manages to do it in a realistic manner... but I think he will need to be careful in the future so as not to create overly coincidental activity in future novels.
This one was exciting, but not as well-paced as the first two.
Wells continues to be an interesting character. Sickened by killing, but always prepared to do it again. Further, his girlfriend is increasingly uncomfortable with Wells' willingness to get back to where the action is, even though the agency pretty much holds him on as tight of a leash as they can.
In this episode, an attempt on his life by Kowalski, an arms dealer that Wells humiliated in the second book, leads John to seek revenge. Instead, he stumbles on an even larger plot and the focus of the action changes to foil a terrorist plot.
The major focus of the novel is the terrorist plot. How they obtain the resources--how they obtain a place to launch their plot-- how they deal with those involved--- all of this is very interesting, but slows the pacing of the novel a bit, even as the author switches back to Wells' activity as he seeks vengeance.
This one isn't as good as the first two. The author likes to bring back returning bit players-- like the Captain of the Decauter from the last novel and a fellow John met in Afghanistan. In this case, he manages to do it in a realistic manner... but I think he will need to be careful in the future so as not to create overly coincidental activity in future novels.
This one was exciting, but not as well-paced as the first two.
November 21, 2010
The third in the series with the infamous John Wells. Ya gotta love this guy. Why? He likes motorcycles, that's why. Wells is on the case in another adventure that will put him face to face with evil, yet again, with edgy realism. Berenson is, no doubt, an intellectual, judging from the all-to-real detail of what's really going on in the world and the articulate narration and dialogue, however......the author also succeeds in keeping Wells, and the story, and all the players, including the guys and girls you love to hate - on an believable, earthy, gritty level. If you are a fan, and even if you're not, have a go at this genre, I really think Alex Berenson will make a believer out of you.
July 25, 2011
The Silent Man is another great book from Berenson that features the character John Wells. It is action-packed and suspenseful as the book is centered around the scare of a nuclear explosion. I really enjoy Alex Berenson's writing style, he has a way of keeping your interest throughout the entire book. Alex Berenson is the real deal, anyone who enjoys reading political thrillers should try his books. I will definitely be reading the next book from Alex Berenson.
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