Book Review: The Athena Project by Brad Thor

The Athena Project by Brad Thor
Publisher: Atria Books
Release:November 23, 2010

Hardcover, 336 pages
Suspense/Thriller

My Review:

Why I read this: I think I received this from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.  I love the suspense/thriller genre and Brad Thor was an author I had not tried yet.  I'm not sure why I hadn't but I am glad I have  now.

How is the novel driven:  Since it's a thriller, it's plot, but there is some character development as well.  It seems that some of the characters are from earlier books, so I think I would know more about them if I had read the earlier books, but I was not at a loss in the storyline, there was just some history between the characters that was missing.


My Thoughts: This one is a thrill-ride from the first page.  I started it and next thing I knew I was about 80 pages in and this was during the end of my book slump, so that was saying something.  Both the characters and the plot just reached right out of the page and grabbed me.  The nice thing was is the tempo of the book never lagged, I enjoyed The Athena Project from the first page to the last.


I found the concept of the group of female covert operatives very interesting and plausible.  I'm sure there are certain circumstances where women would be more useful in the world of covert ops.  These four females are really interesting to me and I liked how they worked together, how they got along and how Brad Thor portrayed them.  They were a refreshing look at the world of covert ops.  Of course, there are men involved as well, these women aren't single-handedly saving the world or are they without their problems and weaknesses.  I think Mr. Thor handles the whole female operative thing well and realistically.   The characters are interesting and real to me so that aspect was very enjoyable.  Where the characters appear from other books in the series, there is always a little bit of history given.  Not enough to bore the seasoned readers of the series, but enough to refresh your memory if you have read the series or give you enough background if you have not (without spoiling the earlier books, I thought).


The suspense was paced perfectly.  As soon as the reader is given a clue to one part of the storyline, more questions are unleashed, and this keeps up right until the end.  I liked how it jumped from different people all involved in the same plot, but in different ways to give it a look from all the angles.  It was fascinating how Mr. Thor did this.



The only reason this book was not a 5.0 for me was the fact that I was slightly confused at time about which female operative was which.  It may have been more me and maybe I was distracted by my children, but they seemed interchangeable at times and a little confusing.  That said, it is still an immensely interesting read and it keeps you guessing right up until the last page. 


My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About the Book:

The world’s most elite counterterrorism unit has just taken its game to an entirely new level. And not a moment too soon . . .

 

From behind the rows of razor wire, a new breed of counterterrorism operator has emerged.
Just as skilled, just as fearsome, and just as deadly as their colleagues, Delta Force’s newest members have only one thing setting them apart—their gender. Part of a top-secret, all-female program codenamed The Athena Project, four of Delta’s best and brightest women are about to undertake one of the nation’s deadliest assignments.

When a terrorist attack in Rome kills more than twenty Americans, Athena Team members Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Megan Rhodes, and Alex Cooper are tasked with hunting down the Venetian arms dealer responsible for providing the explosives. But there is more to the story than anyone knows.

In the jungles of South America, a young U.S. intelligence officer has made a grisly discovery. Surrounded by monoliths covered with Runic symbols, one of America’s greatest fears appears to have come true. Simultaneously in Colorado, a foreign spy is close to penetrating the mysterious secret the U.S. government has hidden beneath Denver International Airport.

As Casey, Ericsson, Rhodes, and Cooper close in on their target, they will soon learn that another attack—one of unimaginable proportions—has already been set in motion, and the greatest threat they face may be the secrets kept by their own government.

About the Author:

Brad Thor, a graduate of the University of Southern California, has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell Program and is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, Blowback, Takedown, The First Commandment, The Last Patriot, and The Apostle.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.