Reign in Hell

Vail/Stampler #3

by William Diehl

Reign in Hell Paperback by William Diehl (Author) Martin Veil returns for his third book from Diehl. In this one, Martin wins a RICO case in small town America, then is offered a chance to be Asst. Attorney General of the U.S. to set up a RICO case against a hate group called The Sanctuary. The majority of the story is about the members of The Sactuary and how they got to be where they are. A lot of action filled robberies and military expeditions flavor this novel. And Aaron Stampler does return. This piece is written more in the style and research of Tom Clancy. A lot of politics and military aspects are covered. Diehl's back stories and flashbacks to flesh out the characters and their motivations is a strong point. The conclusion is sad , true and too frequently real. A different Diehl but a great book.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

William Diehl was an American novelist and photojournalist.

Diehl was fifty years old and already a successful photographer and journalist when he decided to begin a writing career. His first novel, Sharky's Machine, which became a movie by the same name was directed by and starred Burt Reynolds. Diehl saw the movie shot on location in and around his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Following the success of Sharky's Machine, Diehl relocated to St. Simons Island, GA in the early 80's where he lived for the next 15 years before going back to the Atlanta area. While living on St. Simons, he completed eight more novels, including Primal Fear, which also became a movie by the same name starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. Diehl died at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on November 24, 2006, of an aortic aneurism. He was a resident of Woodstock, Georgia at the time of his death and was working on his tenth novel.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Без малко да пропусна тази книга, не бях сигурен дали има смисъл да продължавам с поредицата.

А то да вземе да се окаже най-добрата от трите!

Авторът се е насочил към проблеми, които са назрели отдавна и сега, трийсетина години по късно реално даряват отровните си плодове на желаещите ги.

Християнският фундаментализъм, незаконните въоръжени формирования, проповядваните от адептите и лидерите им расизъм, фашизъм и насилие, съчетани с освободените от данъци мощни религиозни организации са проблем избуял неимоверно в последните десетилетия и това се видя ясно на 06.01.2020 година, когато престъпникът Д. Тръмп се опита да ги използва в преврата си срещу законната власт в страната. На него странно му се размина, все едно нищо не е било, та сега той завърнал се отново на президентския пост руши повече от успешно устоите на държавността и демокрацията в САЩ. Налага безпардонно диктатура, а опозицията му безсилно блее…

Не използва част от стотиците военизираните десни милиции описани в този роман - това му беше грешката тогава. Сега съм сигурен, че не би имал никакви скрупули да ги хвърли срещу различните и срещу политическите си противници.

Книгата върви по-стегнато от другите две и ми бе доста интересна, макар и в края ѝ да имаше малко нереални изпълнения.

Цитат:

"Никога хората не сторват зло с такава радост, както когато го правят от религиозни убеждения."

Паскал

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor sequel but a solid political thriller!

No doubt in my mind at all! PRIMAL FEAR and SHOW OF EVIL hold down two places in the pantheon of the finest, most frightening thrillers ever written. William Diehl should be proud that, as a starring villain, Aaron Stampler can hold his evil head high in a terrifying literary rogue's gallery that would include the likes of Hannibal Lecter, Voldemort, Lord Sauron, Count Fosco, Bill Sikes and Moriarty. But, as a sequel trying to stand up to that kind of advance billing, REIGN IN HELL falls flat on its face.

REIGN IN HELL is actually a very competently written political thriller but, for some reason, presumably some added suspense and chills, Diehl felt compelled to shoehorn a resurrected Aaron Stampler into the plot. And, sadly, it just doesn't fly! Stampler's appearance is artificial, clumsy, forced, predictable and entirely lacking in the kind of knee-knocking, teeth-chattering, bone-deep shivers that readers of the first two novels will have been looking for.

So if we set this rather pitiful effort around Aaron Stampler aside, what are we left with?

Martin Vail, former Chicago prosecuting attorney, has been appointed by the president to a pro tem posting as Assistant Attorney General. His near impossible mission under an unbelievably tight deadline is to put together a racketeering case under the RICO statutes against a number of ultra-right wing militia groups. Far from your run-of-the-mill collection of loudmouth skinheads, these groups with adherents now numbering well into the thousands, have recently stolen several truckloads of high-powered weapons, robbed banks to finance their efforts and clearly ratcheted their mobilization efforts into high gear towards an ultimate declaration of war against the US government. President Pennington is determined to bring these militia groups to heel through the courts and, at all costs, wants to avoid a face to face encounter such as the one that embarrassed the government in Waco, Texas, with David Koresh and the Branch Davidians.

REIGN IN HELL has got a lot to say for itself - plenty of great political discussion; some fairly heavy characterization and criticism of the US political and religious right-wing agendas; some truly exciting slam-bam military action in the final confrontation as the army and marines confront the militia group, completely boxed in inside their Montana mountain enclave; and, a satisfying climax that leaves a hint of suspense to come together with a predictably sour taste about the overall politics of the event.

Too bad, Diehl decided to clutter it up with Aaron Stampler. At least, Stampler lives on ... so perhaps his next appearance will be back up to the standard of terror that we didn't get here!

Paul Weiss

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I did it! I read all three Vail/Stamper series books: “Primal Fear”, “Show of Evil” and “Reign in Hell”! What a fantastic series. First is the big trial story like a action packed John Grisham thriller. That was also made into a great movie with Richard Gere (Vail) and Edward Norton (Stamper). Next was more of Vail and his team who are after Stamper and what appears to be the end of him. But no! It’s book three and it’s a much higher stakes game involving the president and a vast militia anti-government force. Ends with a huge thrilling block-buster ending! Is this the end of Vail? The end of the violent killer Stamper?

Highly recommended.

[Ashlei A.K.A Chyna Doll · Rating 2 out of 5]

DAMN IT!!!

I really wanted this to be as good as the others, I just could not get the story it was WAY OVER THE TOP. (I enjoy comic books, and this was to over the top. Lol) well this was the end of the Martian Vail series. And I'm not happy but glad it's over I don't think I'd be to thrilled to read 1 more after that mess...

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reign in Hell continues the story of Martin Vail and Aaron Stampler. Like Primal Fear and Show of Evil, you will be dressed in goosebumps as you read (and cringe). Diehl weaves together multiple plots and despicable characters that will make you happy this is in a novel and not reality. Well, maybe I can't make that reality statement...

Read these novels in order: Primal Fear, Show of Evil and Reign in Hell. Brush up on John Milton.

[SoulSurvivor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was between a 3 and a 4-star , but I gave it the higher rating because one of my favorite movies is ' Primal Fear ' . , based on Diehl's first book .

[Mike Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copyright in the 1990s, but right out of today's headlines.

[Nial · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great ending to the Vail series. Highly recommended!!!

[Ioan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ar fi putut sa fie atât de misto, dar m-a dezamăgit complet. In loc sa se îndrepte către religie si fascism cum a sugerat primul capitol, a mers către politica si armata si pe mine personal m a cam lăsat rece.

[Andie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing after the other 2.

[Lucia Cojocar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really fell in love with William Diehl's style of writing even from "Primal Fear" and I think he couldn't have done a better ending to Martin Vail/Aaron Stampler story. What I really enjoyed is the way he portraits Vail along the series. Even though the majority feels like this is not a great ending to the series, for me it felt like the perfect way of ending things.
The first part talks about this RICO case build by Vail against three major corporations accused of money laundering and violation of state laws on the environment. And this makes perfect sense, especially when we think about the case Vail lost at the beginning of his career as a Defense Attorney, the one against the corporations that transformed his hometown, Rainbow Flats, in an industrial area. There were political implications, everybody, from politicians, the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce to the judge was bribed, he lost the trail and those people lost their homes. That left a bitter aftertaste. In "Show of Evil" is this scene when Jane finds the picture of his hometown, poluted and destroyed by "progress". He says that he keeps it as a reminder of never being merciful. And now, he kinda gets his revenge by winning the RICO case. Besides that, he always cared about law and not at all about politics. After the case that kinda restored his inner peace, he got this new job as Assistant for the U.S Attorney General to build another RICO case, this time against a violent militia group. He loved a good challenge but, at the same time, he didn't want to get involved in politic matters and this was exactly what happened. Along the series we see him as this powerful wizard of the law, but at the end he realizes, that sadly as much as you fight for justice alone, politics will always be involved.
I'd say it's definitely worth reading, not only as a political thriller, but also as the end of a great novel focused on Martin Vail's growth.

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has it all: a group of survivalist terrorists, political drama, legal thriller, you name it. It starts by introducing the bad guys from their point of view, sets up the stakes, and then takes off. There is just enough technical jargon to keep the reader intrigued and turning pages. I enjoyed it very much until about 300 pages in when it started to bog down a bit for me. I really liked Vail, the main character, and at this point his importance in the story began to diminish. The ending was reasonably satisfying but seemed rushed. I didn’t think the motivation of Brother Transgressor was given enough attention, but going over some plots from previous books I understand why the writer handled it this way. Should have been a strong 4 star book for me based on the first 300 pages, but ended up 3 stars.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diabolical evil begets more diabolical evil, as Diehl's ultra-cool and besieged lawyer-hero Martin Vail encounters a white supremacist kingdom that dwarves modern corporate empires and the Trump administration alike. And there's not much difference between either force, except for some elaborate organization and firepower. Lots of action with maximum suspense, and Diehl is a master of fast vocabulary involving government bureaucracy and military jargon. The book's surprise super-villain is characterized like some supernatural force, and this makes the book read louder and bigger than it needs to. After all, there's enough supreme evil threatening to topple the country and the promise of an apocalyptic finale. Still, a good thriller with little pandering to the Chuck Norris crowd.

[Eve Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read some the reviews on goodreads before embarking on Reign in Hell. I actually read quite a few of them, at least in my standards, because I tend not to read too many reviews before reading the book so as not to spoil it.
So, I knew pretty much the idea in the story and that there would be a lot of stuff Diehl wanted to really write about - like war, different equipment used in war and tactics and such - so it really wasn't the Stampler vs. Vail experience I've grown to love.
But most importantly, I just didn't seem to get a grip on the story or the story just didn't hold my attention enough to really get into it and the whole reading experience really became tedious.

[Katia D. Ulysse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years before Coronavirus: You're at the doctor's office. There's a stack of paperbacks on a shelf. You pick up "Reign in Hell"; you read until the receptionist tells you the doctor is ready to see you now. You return the book to its proper place. On your way out, you decide to ask the receptionist to borrow the copy, but you feel so stupid that you keep your mouth shut. Your neighborhood store doesn't have a copy, so you order it online. You have to know how the story ends. And you're sort of glad you did.

[Friedrich Haas]

Ordinarily I avoid mainstream novels, I had to add a category for them on my lists, but this ended up in front of me and the premise was current. Totally caught me up, and a block buster ending. All reviews prefer the previous two books, but straight up murder doesn't interest me. The fantasy of a militia taking on the country, when in real life they took a bird sanctuary, forget to bring food, and begged the government to deliver it to them, only to get dildo's. So it's fantasy, but without the Elves.

[L 🐦‍⬛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Least fav book in this series, William Diehl was a great writer but I just did not enjoy this one as much as the others simply because the subject matter of government stuff and militia does not interest me much and also Aaron Stampler is like... BARELY in this book + it didn’t pick up till the last like 100 pages & it was only exciting the last like 10 pgs 💀 still good tho

[Abhijeeth Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the time, books start off really well and the quality goes down over the pages. If we are lucky, they pick up towards the ending to give a good sense of finality.
This one is opposite to that. The starting chapters don't hold much interest and the ending is tepid and rushed. But, everything in between is actually good and exceeds expectations.

[Vermillion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why are there always so many deceased spouses in this series? And what is it with this author and his predilection of sexualizing underage girls?Is this series his version of Epstein’s “Lolita Express”?This story became just a hot mess after awhile. I hate to have to say so, but compared to the first two books in the series, I thought this was terrible.

[Mary O'doylerules · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, and I'll definitely read more by this author. However, this did not feel like the ending of a trilogy AT ALL. The beginning with Stampler was great: very interesting to see what he became. I would have liked to read much more about him. His part of the ending felt rushed to me; just when I thought we'd get to start seeing him in action, it was suddenly over.

[Moe Kuhlmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty disappointing. absolutely loved the first two but this one really didn't do it for me, I just did not care about the storyline at all. barely referenced stampler and I wanted more of his story, and the most exciting thing about it for me was everything about Martin and Jane.

[Chasity Lopez]

Ph

[John Oldfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Vail OK

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved visiting these old friends. The pace quickens and almost seems rushed for the last third of the book. If you enjoyed the others, you should enjoy this one also.

[Bob Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 1997. Protagonist Martin Vail must stop an ultra right wing militia who have seized truckloads of volatile weapons. Exciting and suspenseful. One of my favorites that year.

[Kevin McLaughlin]

Another masterpiece from William Diehl!

[Lynn Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turning. Typical Diehl. Loved it.

[Gary Shortt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a while to lay out all the characters and their relationships but it sure got me hooked once that was done. Well done!

[Gareth Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit anti-climactic.

[Mike]

Sept-1998