The Camel Club

Product Details

Bestselling Baldacci

Last Man Standing	The Winner	Total Control
The Simple Truth	Absolute Power	Saving Faith

Product Reviews

(3 stars) - slow as a camel
This is my first book by the author; I don't know how fast I will be to read another--maybe as fast as the plot in this book, which is as slow as a plodding camel. The book was not bad after it picked up, but getting there was a struggle. There are endless characters and subplots and trying to keep all of them straight through all the drawn out activity was tough. I also balked at the anti American political commentary. At first i was put off by the anti-heroes in the book but eventually came to like them, unrealistic as they are.

However, once past the first couple hundred pages and I learned to suspend reality, the plot picks up and becomes enjoyable, making it worth the initial struggle. The many characters and subplots start to gel and the book becomes exciting. Exciting but not believable.

(5 stars) - another great adventue
As always I enjoyed the latest adventure of the Camel Club. Many great twists and turns that keep one guessing. I found it hard to put down this book. I look forward to yet another new Camel Club adventure.

(1 stars) - Is this the new Baldacci?
What's going on here? Let me start off by saying that I am a long time fan of Baldacci...but I couldn't finish this book. That is a first for me with this author.
1) It seemed like it was going no where and taking a long time to do it.
2) The characters were a mish mash of unbelievable people.
3) The underlying preachiness detracted from the story.

The author introduces a lot of characters in this book but makes them too fantastic - at least too fantastic to have all in the same story. Any lawyer reading this book would find the idea of a DOJ lawyer working nights as a bartender laughable - assuming they had time to read fiction at all. Now you couple that character with our conspiracy theorists, one of whom is independantly wealthy with a photographic memory, his own multi-million dollar company, ON TOP OF mental issues? And Baldacci piles them on. The idea of a lawyer working nights as a bartender could be a story in and of itself but when you add more and more farfetched characters it just gets to be too much of a stretch.

And there was this constant underlying feeling of sermonizing or proselytizing from the beginning to where I quit. To be completely honest I never did figure out which way he was leaning (left or right) but it was clear he had an agenda and clear that the agenda was driving the story. I hate it when authors do that - regardless of how their political, social, or environmental leanings match up to my own. I don't mind a little political (or whatever) commentary just don't allow it to detract from the story.

I've found Baldacci to be entertaining and readable in the past. His work varies in quality but usually not by very much. This book marked a disturbing departure from that level of readability.

(5 stars) - masterful piece of story telling
Synopsis

It exists at the fringes of Washington, D.C., has no power, and consists solely of four eccentric and downtrodden members whom society has forgotten. Their simple goal is to find the "truth" behind their country's actions.

One man leads this aging, ragtag crew. He has no known past and has taken on the name "Oliver Stone." Day and night, Stone and his friends study wild conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government hoping to discover some truth that will hold America's leaders accountable to its citizens. But never in Stone's wildest nightmares could he imagine the conspiracy the Camel Club is about to uncover...

After witnessing a shocking murder, the Club is slammed head first into a plot that threatens the very security of the nation, full of stunning twists, high-stakes intrigue and global gamesmanship rocketing to the Oval Office and beyond. Soon the Club must join forces with veteran Secret Service agent Alex Ford, who becomes an unwilling participant in one of the most chilling spectacles to ever take place on American soil. It's an event that may well be the catalyst for the long-threatened Armageddon between two different worlds, and all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.

My Two Cents Worth

I am a big Baldacci fan because he always fulfills the basic contract with the reader: to tell a great story. His multiple story lines are complex, and he presents a rather large cast of characters, but he is certainly talented enough to keep you in the book and turning pages. I prefer to make appointments to get the most out of his novels - that is to set aside at least an hour at a time to get the most out of the plot. This is surprisingly easy to do as the story unfolds and you lose yourself in the continuous action and brisk pace. This is not one you can follow reading ten minutes at a time.

I have read some reviews that are critical of the characters or the action that occasionally defies reality, but I have never found this to be obtrusive at all; it is a well presented work of fiction that is wonderfully entertaining and satisfying.

Hardcover
436 Pages
4 hours

(1 stars) - Still waiting
It is now a week and a half after the estimated delivery date and I have not received my book nor have I heard from the seller. Apparently I am not alone in getting this lousy service from this seller. I should have listened to the other reviews before placing my order. Shame on me.

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