Early Warning

Devlin #2

by Michael Walsh

The NSA's most lethal weapon is back. Code-named Devlin, he operates in the darkest recesses of the US government. When international cyber-terrorists allow a deadly and cunning band of radical insurgents to breach the highest levels of national security, Devlin must take down an enemy bent on destroying America--an enemy more violent and ruthless than the world has ever known.

Genres: Political Thriller, Fiction, Thriller, Military Fiction

391 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Michael Walsh was for 16 years the classical music critic for Time Magazine and has also worked for the San Francisco Examiner and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. He is the author of eleven books, including five works of non-fiction as well as the novels Exchange Alley, As Time Goes By (the authorized sequel to the movie Casablanca), and And All the Saints, a winner of the 2004 American Book Awards for fiction. His novel, Hostile Intent, was published in September by Pinnacle Books and hit the New York Times bestseller lists and shot to No. 1 on Kindle. The sequel, Early Warning, was published in Sept., 2010. With Gail Parent, he is the co-writer of the hit Disney Channel 2002 Original Movie, Cadet Kelly, at the time the highest-rated show in the history of the network.

Reviews

[James Pepin · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent book, bad guy is a bit extreme therefore unbelievable.

[Pete · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been a moderately entertaining novel in the hero defeats terrorists genre in the hands of a different author. It seemed that every character here was simply a vehicle for Walsh to use to make social, political or religious commentary. It became annoying rather quickly. The book also makes numerous references to prior events (perhaps from the debut novel) so this also bogs the story down.

[Stuart Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good followup to the original Devlin Novel. Ripped from today's current political unrest and how a coordinated terrorist attack can cripple a city like New York. Well fleshed out character development and psychological insight into the minds of the attackers as well as the responders. No spoilers here, but there are enough hooks and unanswered questions to tie the story together to the next novel in the series. A taut-action packed thriller kept me turning pages.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

the makings of a good story and never quite put it together. Too much bouncing between minor characters.

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this book. The premise that 9/11 could be followed a few years latter by a disaster in Time Square was interesting. the book had too many sub-plots for me to really enjoy it.

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I found this book after I moved and it was water damaged and simply taking up space for other books. So I decided to read it to free up room and donate it afterward. Lo and behold, this is the second book in a series. I learned that you really need to read the first book to understand what is going on in the second book. Therefore, I truly did not understand what was going on and I did not like the characters very much because they kept referring to their actions in the first book. Not to mention this book ends on a major cliffhangar. MAJOR! When I finished it, I was on board a flight from MN to ORD. I left the book on on the airplane. Good riddance. May it at least fill the time for another air traveler.

[Opa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is it with authors, like Mr. Walsh, who can on the one hand draw intriguing pictures about history and events with his talent for words, then on the other hand boldly ruin the picture by not being able to communicate emotions without the superfluousness use of f-bombs? I would think that authors can be as smart and successful like Grisham and Cussler who really know how to wordsmith without swearing. It is a shame that many of these new authors are so ignorant in how to use their talents to build up their stories instead of appealing to the gutter instincts of readers.

[Elyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be another espionage thriller similar to Brad Thor or Vince Flynn. Not really.

Plot was OK, although I found the introduction of so many different characters really distracting at points. Not just distracting, but unnecessarily chaotic. Maybe that was the point of the literary technique?

I thought this tale would be mostly finished within this novel, but not so. Lots of dangling threads, some of them major. So I guess you have to read these as a series, but I think this may be my only venture with this author.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Walsh has found the pulse of the new political thriller. The intrigue, espionage, and the good old fashioned chase is no longer confined to what happens within the boarders of the United States. Divisions of nations and allegiances have become confluent. Get ahold of this political thriller for non-stop action.

Test your vocabulary from the book at http://www.associatedcontent.com/arti...

[LBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a sequel to Harsh Intent, this was not as good of a book as I had hoped. I still enjoyed the storyline and the characters, but I wasn't as enthralled by this book. Devlin is caught up in another adventure as terrorists attack New York City and no one is quite sure what terrorist group they are part of. I'm assuming there will be another book since Devlin's female counterpart has seemingly been kidnapped by Devlin's biggest enemy. I'm sure I'll pick it up anyway.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading a Devlin tale for the first time is difficult. You need to know the earlier stories to understand the relationship of other characters to and with Devlin. Once you get past this, the plot moves well. The destruction of Manhattan is an interesting premise and I really liked the character Frank Byrne.

[Rjames1999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but too wordy. Walsh seems to try to inject too many lessons into his writing. I found myself skipping paragraphs and not missing a part of the story. not as good as the first. Still, the characters are interesting and there obviously will be a third book. This one was just good enough for me to check out the next one when it comes out.

[Tim Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diasapointing is the kindest word that I can use to describe my thoughts about this book. From poor character development to the mind-numbing descriptions of the victims, I was tempted to scream, "Enough,already!" Additionally, I had a hard time discerning Walsh's voice. Fans of the genre may find this a good read. For me, Walsh has another book in this series to change my mind.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

An up-to-date story line but the book suffers from very poor technical editing, including missing words, etc.

Lots of characters, so many it is hard at times to keep them straight and to figure out their place in the book. Reads like a movie thriller, with religious mumbo jumbo tossed in.

Still, I read tot he end and it was a bit of a page turner.

[Chanel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

The only reason I gave up on this series was because of all the technical talk. Okay, I also gave it up because the characters were all multi-faceted. There were too many sides to all the characters that you couldn't find a single personality to like. There was action, sure, but it came with long explanations that detracted from it.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I hoped was a good read wasn't. I couldn't get into the story. I've enjoyed other political thrillers, but this one... nope. Maybe, because this was the second book in the series contributed to the disconnect.

[Carl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A compelling plot line, although at times I found it verbose with a lot of filler that didn't add much to the story. Frequent referrals to the previous book (forget the name at the moment), but it isn't essential to have read it first.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waaay slow. Not even close to his first novel.

[Vern Wolfley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, fast, fun, read but left me hanging in the end. It did not tie up the story ends.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book I've read, but not bad.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Soros-like villian Skorzeny threatens again...and Devlin, a Scott Harvath/Mitch Rapp-type character confronts tanother terrorist threat targeting NYC...right into my wheelhouse...fun read!!!

[Rex Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

He has several. I have read three and like them.

[Tom Kinney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice tech-speak, a little too wordy. The hero seemed almost too dark, and it was an unrewarding climax.

[James Curtin · Rating 2 out of 5]

read at ccp in late 2010

[Catherine K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate this one. Basically liked the character Devlin, also Byrne. Intrigued by the relationship with Maryam, would like more of Danny and Hope.
BUT (Spoilers).
The victim stories were too many and I thought that section was a little choppy.
The Angel of Death lets some punk kid get the drop on him in a NY sewer? Multiple times? He's supposed to be the deadliest man in the world.
And his soul mate, who would have to be equally impressive in her spy craft, just opens the door of her hotel room, assuming it's room service, knowing she's hunting her mortal enemy and he's in the city? Not very crafty.