The Apostle: A Thriller (8) (The Scot Harvath Series) Mass Market Paperback – May 18, 2010

I saw no need to have a separate story line about president Alden’s issues of an affair or lying. Less than 20% of the book focused on this. The book was good without it.

Book Review - The Apostle - Brad ThorBrad Thor’s “The Apostle” grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn't let go...until the end! A new administration and a new approach to dealing with America's enemies have left covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath without a job. But when an American doctor is kidnapped in Afghanistan, the terms of her ransom leave the president with only one course of action, Scot Harvath! In a dangerous assignment that the United States government will deny any knowledge of, Harvath must secretly infiltrate a notorious prison in Kabul (Afghanistan) and free the man – an al-Qaeda mastermind that the kidnappers demand as ransom. But when Harvath arrives, he quickly learns that there is more to the kidnapping than what he was told. And as the plan/assignment is exposed, Harvath must examine if hunting down and killing terrorists is what he should be doing and whether he should help one of the world's worst extremists go free after uncovering the truth about this ‘government deniability assignment.’ This tale was one of Thor’s best. It was intriguing, suspenseful, and mesmerizing. From Harvath’s typical ‘badassery’ to the U.S. Secret Service’s side story, to the mega wealthy’s power grab, all culminating in one melodramatic ending...this was one invigorating novel! I couldn't stop reading it until the end...! This was Thor at his best, great plot, enchanting characters, and an explosive and gripping ending. Everything an action thriller should be. I really liked The Apostle! It’s one of my Brad Thor favorites…

THE APOSTLE, book 8 of the Scot Harvath series, by Brad Thor. After a popular president and one who special forces hero, Scot Harvath, worked with closely, left office and a rather naïve new president who campaigned on change swept into office, Scot Harvath decided to get out of the terrorist-chasing and killing business. He did not really trust the new president, Robert Alden, and he also wanted to do something different. But when Alden called upon him to undertake a mission to retrieve the daughter—a physician—of his biggest financial backer who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan, Harvath acquiesced but promised himself that this would be the last undertaking for the office of the chief executive. The terms of his rescue mission were as always—he would be on his own; there would be no government sanction or involvement. With the wealthy mother of the kidnapped daughter financing the operation, Harvath put together a small team made up of former combat-tested SEALS and Special Forces friends. The story has a two pronged plot. While Harvath and his anti-terrorist rescue team aggressively track the kidnapped doctor, a female Secret Service agent upset by a snippet of a conversation she overheard between President Alden and the mother of the kidnapped daughter threatening to expose the president and bring down his administration if he did not do as she asked. I believe the Secret Service part of the story was distracting and disconnected from the narrative—it seemed totally out of place. Although I enjoyed the story, The Apostle was not one of Thor’s best. I give the novel a 3 1/2-star rating.

Fast paced action, characters and their interactions were spot on, funny a d exactly what we've come to expect from a superior author like Brad Thor.I cannot wait to get my mitts on the. next Harvath saga.

I am a fan of Thor's novels and love this character. Thor may not be the greatest writer; he's definitely in need of some lessons in grammar and verb tense; but his books are enjoyable to read because of the timely plot and subject matter."The Apostle" is the 4th Harveth novel and as always, it's packed with action, plot twists, the most recent weaponry, equipment, and technology that's available on the battlefield. "The Apostle" presses so painfully on the open wound of today's unacceptable political environment and defensive posture. I really enjoyed how he nailed the President's character. I believe he really was describing Obama and the Obama administration, while thinly disguising the character as a "fictional" President. I found that for me, this made it much more contempary.As an Air Force "brat," I am well aware how unselfishly devoted and determined the men and women of our military and their associated agencies are to protect this great country of ours and its people. Unfortunately, these protectors of our freedom need intelligent and strong leadership from our commander-in-chief on down. Sadly, this is non-existent under our current administration.From his earlier novels, I know that Brad Thor has the ability to set and maintain a pace within his story lines, but much of that was missing in this novel. There's an implausible side plot about the Secret service agent that didn't really relate to the story. It's as if he did not have enough material for this story, so he added this unrealistic side plot. Hopefully his next novel will be better.Rating 3.4

I stumbled across Brad Thor in another author's review. I checked him out and was in two minds about reading his books because of the relatively low number of reviews. I'm so glad I took the plunge.Apart from a cringeworthy howler (The Athena Project and the Athena team who are really Charlie's Angels rehashed) and some novels which are OTT on the terrorist conspiracies [is there any part of the US that hasn't been bombed in the Harvath universe?], Mr Thor is a great storyteller. Even when his characters are extreme (e.g. The Dwarf), he makes them believable, and likeable.This is one of the best books I've read on black ops and PSCs in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan people and politics. I love the buddy banter and witty exchanges - that's what gives the Scot Harvath books such realism. Light moments balanced against the dark.I think what Mr Thor is trying to do is stretch himself with each book, by going all out, asking the question: "what if the worse were to happen", extrapolating the worse-case scenarios, writing his protagonist into tough spots, and getting him out. Mr Thor also pushes himself to explore controversial topics. And I admire that because it shows that he doesn't want to get stuck in a rut, but it can lead to books that are less than believable.

I felt this book was shorter than the previous ones but that does not take away from the excitement. I enjoy how as well as the action this book gave a bit of an insight into the lives of the people living in Afghanistan. In fact I have taken something away from every one of this series apart from the fight Scot pits up against terrorism. Well worth reading.

A great read and a great story. Plenty of action and intrigue, Harvath is quite some guy, now need to read a few more!!!

Very good story

Another great read from Brad. Pacy and un-put-downable, the story rockets through an intriguing plot with all the usual danger, charm and adventure you can expect from a Scot Harvath novel. Downloading number 9 as I type...