I was pretty excited to go back to the beginning of this particular franchise, but alas, this one doesn't get off to the most auspicious start. This is Thor's first novel and you can tell this is the case by a lot of factors.
The plot itself is very stock, "the president's been kidnapped, is Scot Harvath a bad enough dude to rescue him?" Spoiler alert, the answer is yes.
This flaw is augmented by simple prose which spends a lot of time telling us more than it shows us. The narration references character traits that aren't really seen and, in particular, the book has a habit of explaining dialogue. Now, this is helpful when characters are using military jargon, but it still feels clunky. The worst example is when a character references people getting fired over a debacle by saying that "Henry the VIII would be taking new wives" i.e. heads are going to roll. The line itself would have been fine, but the book stops to explain the historical reference even though it's pretty common knowledge.
I also rolled my eyes at all the scenes where Harvath is chewed out by his superior for being a loose cannon who isn't following protocol and that he's being taken off the case. It's something we've seen a thousand times and it's done with no sense of irony or self awareness.
Speaking of Harvath, the introduction for the character itself is a bit on the rocky side. I liked his rapport with the First Daughter. It was only showcased in the early chapters, but it was one of the highlights of the book. Later on, though, he kind of turns into a tool. I've read other Harvath books and never really suffered that problem, so it caught me off guard in all honesty. They try to chalk it up to the fact that he has a concussion, but it doesn't really endear you to the character.
Thankfully, both Harvath and the book get better in the second half. You can tell that Thor is finding his groove, as the latter half features more of the action and fast pace that you would expect from the author. Harvath himself also becomes far more likable, making it that much easier to keep reading.
Having Harvath get implicated in the nefarious misdeeds also works to the book's benefit. It changes up the narrative a bit and escalates the tension. Not only does the time frame shrink, but it renders Harvath without the resources he would have had a few chapters prior.
Oddly enough, this book took me a while to get through. Other Thor books were much breezier reads. Now, part of this might just be due to me having a busy schedule, but I still think that his later books have a much stronger pull to them.
On the plus side, this book is devoid of the flaws that would plague Thor's later books. There aren't entire chapters dedicated to a character pontificating on a current event issue. Harvath is also depicted more realistically and less of the "Gary Stu" that he is often described as later on in the saga. He does some impressive things here and there, but it doesn't come off as unbelievable. He also suffers lasting consequences from physical injuries, which subverts most action hero depictions.
Will this book have you hooked? Well, it has others, but it didn't really have that effect on me. I'm still going to follow through and read the remaining books in Thor's library, but if this were my first exposure to the author, I don't think I'd be all that impressed. I didn't hate it by any stretch, but it wasn't the most mind-blowing opening to a franchise.
I think you're better off reading a couple of Thor's later books and then coming back and reading this. The introduction to Harvath is more interesting if you know about a couple of his later exploits, as you can see where it all started. Going into this blind might not end up working. The book does have its strong points, but the flaws are also quite easily noticed.
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