Mr. Thor breaks the previously established "Star Trek" pattern by delivering a fifth entry that is actually quite solid in a lot of respects.
Once again, Harvath has to stop some Islamic terrorists. It's a little sad to see the same group take center stage, but what can you do? Oddly enough, there's no mention of the vampire virus, the intra-faith coup or the play for world domination from the previous book. This group has their own objective, and they are quite determined to carry it out.
The first order of business is to blow up all the bridges and tunnels leading in and out of Manhattan. This early portion of the book was where it really shined. Thor was in the zone here as the passages describing the ensuing chaos and fear were as gripping and intense as the situation needed them to be. Even though this is one of those rare sequels that de-escalates, it still felt fairly big in scope.
The fact that Harvath is brought together with a full team of former military soldiers to tackle the problem, rather than partnering up with just one capable female, also lends credence to the idea that this is a "big one" in the Harvath-verse.
Sadly, the book can't carry the momentum. There is a noticeable drop in steam once you get past those portions. It's not bad, but it doesn't have the same pop as what came before.
The characters themselves don't have too much opportunity to distinguish themselves. Harvath was having lunch with an old friend when things started to go down and their banter helps him a little. The female soldier also gets a memorable scene where she helps Harvath get off of a booby-trapped chair that was wired to explosives. The others just kind of blend into the background and tag along to provide extra firepower.
One thing that holds this book back is the politics. This is very "early war on terror" stuff and it does age it a bit. It was a bit of a problem in this book's predecessor, but it remains here. There is quite an emphasis on "enhanced interrogation".
While the book does largely hue towards the "these terrorists are evil, lives are in danger and we don't have time to beat around the bush to get the information we need" both in terms of character dialogue and even the prose itself, the book actually does what a lot of writers can't seem to do and allows the opposing perspective to make valid points. There's even one point where the terrorists themselves are aghast and disgusted by what one of the interrogators put the captive terrorist through after they find him. I don't know if it hits the level of "thought provoking", but it at least put in the effort.
This is also the book that introduces the popular recurring character known as "the Troll". He plays a bit part here, but he is given a clear motivation and he does leave an impression. At one point, it seems like the book is going to paint him as a future adversary to Harvath, which would have been interesting, though it was undercut by the fact that I've read later books and know that he lives and isn't an enemy. The book itself shows that the two are moving closer to better terms, so it's a brief concept.
This book also marks the first use of a legitimate cliffhanger ending. The book does a great job of making you drop your guard before it happens too. Harvath gets a house, finds new love, and even gets a puppy! Then bam! A thing happens. Won't spoil it, though the dog gets out OK from what I can tell, so that's good. We don't know who's behind it, but it says an assassin from Harvath's past. Now, it's quite possible that it's an assassin we've never seen before. This series has done that, but I do like the idea of a returning enemy from one of the previous books making a play for revenge. I guess I'll just have to dive into "The First Commandment" to see what all the hubbub is.
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