The First Commandment: A Thriller | 
| Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Pocket
List Price: $7.99
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Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 4270
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 496
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 1416543805
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416543800
ASIN: 1416543805
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
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Condition: Standard used condition.
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Product Description
A master assassin. A vendetta years in the making. And a counterterrorism operative who will risk everything -- even treason -- to keep the people he loves alive.Brad Thor, the New York Times bestselling author of Takedown, delivers an explosive international thriller featuring Navy SEAL turned Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath, who somewhere, somehow, has left the wrong person alive. "Thou shalt not negotiate with terrorists..." Six months ago: In the dead of the night, five of the most dangerous detainees in the war on terror are pulled from their isolation cells in Guantanamo Bay, held at gunpoint, and told to strip off their orange jumpsuits. Issued civilian clothes and driven to the base airfield, they are loaded aboard a Boeing 727 and set free. Present day: Covert counterterrorism agent Scot Harvath awakens to discover that his world has changed violently -- and forever. A sadistic assassin with a personal vendetta is wreaking havoc of biblical proportions. Unleashing nightmarish horrors on those closest to Harvath, the attacker thrusts everything Harvath holds dear -- including his life -- into absolute peril. Ordered by the president to stay out of the investigation, Harvath is forced to mount his own operation to uncover the conspiracy and to exact revenge. When he discovers a connection between the attacks and a group of prisoners secretly released from Guantanamo, Harvath must ask himself previously unthinkable questions about the organizations and the nation he has spent his life serving. A renegade from his own government, Harvath will place his life on the line as his search for the truth draws him into a showdown with one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth. Brad Thor roars through this nonstop adventure full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, and ultimate revenge.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...
 Harvath, alone and on the hunt! July 19, 2007
Richard Head (West Texas)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful
I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this book since I finished "Takedown: A Thriller" last year, and let me start by saying it is worth wait! The story picks up where the last one left off: Tracy Hastings is in deep coma and Scot Harvath is by her side anxiously praying for her recovery. At this same time five terrorist are being release from Gitmo as part of a hostage deal. One of these characters begins hunting down Haravath's friends but President Jack Rutledge wont let Scot go after the bad guy. Of course this does not stop our hero who is soon on the hunt while trying to avoid capture by his own government. Many of our old friends are back in this one, including Scot's old evil opponent the Troll. Thore knows how to pack more pulse pounding thrills into a single page then just about any thriller author out there. Don't miss this one!
Not to be Missed!!! August 30, 2007
John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States)
21 out of 24 found this review helpful
Brad Thor is one of the best. Right up there with Vince Flynn for writing topical thrillers that entertain and educate, this may be the most tightly written of his six novels that it has been my pleasure to read. The protagonist of these books is Scot Harvath a former Navy SEAL and Homeland Scurity operative.
This book picks up where the last one, "Takedown" leaves off. At the end of that book, Scot Harvath's girlfriend Tracy steps out on the porch of his home and is felled by an assassin's bullet which is just enough off target to spare her life, but serious enough to put her in a coma and on a ventilator.
Harvath does not realize it at the time, but that attack on Tracy is the first of several that are planned for people close to Harvath. Who is carrying out the attacks, who is planning them and why consumes not only Harvath, but the reader as events unfold. Someone appears bent on revenge, but for what?
It is a large onion that Harvath must peel his way through to get to the answers and telling you more than that could spoil the masterful writing effort that Thor has offered for our reading enjoyment.
Do not pass this one by.
 A contrarian view. October 31, 2007
JanSobieski (United States of America)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
Thor's "First Commandment" is strictly an average read. The premise stretches credulity to the breaking point and the story line snaps it (credulity) in two. The so called first commandment of dealing with terrorists is to never negotiate with them. Obviously this is not an inviolate rule as the context of every terrorist encounter has to be carefully considered before a decision is reached.
But suffice it to say, if one is not ordinarily inclined to negotiate with terrorists threatening our children is not likely to induce us to change this policy. I did not find the reason for releasing 5 savage terrorists from Club Gitmo at all credible. The terrorists simply threatened to target our school buses some time in the future if they were not released. Yeah, we're going to fold when so threatened thereby encouraging all future terrorists to target our children. Lame.
Secondly, our protagonist, Scot Harvath and the sundry villains are simply not particularly believable. The Troll, who I take has been in other of his novels, turns out to be an all warm and fuzzy sort of guy. Give me a break. I found myself sorely disappointed about 1/3 of the way through the book and that sense of disappointment only deepened as the novel wore on.
Another aggravating habit of Thor's is to break up the story into tiny chapters thereby simulating a longer novel. This is an entirely bogus way to create the illusion of length.
Scot Harvath's love interest, Tracy, was attacked early in the book for which Harvath feels responsible. She is basically pronounced brain dead by the doctors and her parents pull the plug only to have her miraculously recover (Terry Schiavo anyone?) once Harvath returns from saving the president's life.
I've not read any other of Thor's novels and am unlikely to do so. If you enjoy books of this genre, go read any of Vince Flynn's early Mitch Rapp novels. They blow the drawers off this novel.
A= Intertaining, but a bit ridiculous plot. September 19, 2007
Pequegnat (USA)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
First Commandment by Brad Thor, is a highly entertaining, fast paced, thrill ride story. Thor, has an interesting and likable cast (for the most part, bad guy's not so much), and he weaves an enjoyable story of quick action and amusing prose. Thor also has an accurate and insightful view to modern fascist Islamic reality, as well as the many threats to the survival of the United States and Western Civilization.
As entertaining and informative of a story as this is, once again as with Thor's other novel, the plot is wholly unbelievable, particularly with the motivations and actions of the US President, as well as the mastermind of the attacks.
*SPOILER*
The US would NEVER give into the release of five top terrorist, promise never to go after them, and them protect them forever from harm. Nor would the President order the assassination of a US agent, hero, and friend, to protect the released terrorist! WHAT?
The terrorist mastermind, he did this all because......... he wanted to get closer to his grandson? WHAT, are you kidding me?
And yet, this is a highly enjoyable read, if Thor ever writes a book with a believable plot, look out.
Brad Thor hits it out of the park with this thriller November 29, 2007
Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Okay, the plot is implausible. Many of the characters are stereotypes and the ones who aren't are not necessarily developed to any great depth. Further, those who believe that the world is really a place where evil exists only because the United States exists will find this novel reprehensible because the hero, Scot [sic] Harvath is a patriot who tries to protect the US. Worse yet, so do his friends.
Scot Harvath has nebulous job in the US government, ostensibly with the Department of Homeland Security. But he reports to the President, whom he also regularly saves from the plots of evildoers. (In other Thor novels, Harvath has rescued the kidnapped President and saved New York from an al-Queda attack.)
If you don't like overblown heroes and plots that go beyond plausibility, you probably won't like Brad Thor's work. For example, Mitch Rapp, the creation of Vince Flynn, is far more believable than Scot Harvath. And Fynn's plotting has more substance than Thor's.
But when it comes to rip-roaring, old-fashioned patriotism, Thor goes over the top - which adds to the entertainment value of "The First Commandment".
The story begins with five major terrorists being released from Guantanamo. There's a murky backstory behind the release of these five men which I will not reveal here. Suffice it to say that the backstory, as it is disclosed in the novel, has more holes than a Swiss Cheese. But that's not really important now or ever. What counts is President Rutledge telling his one-man army, Scot Harvath, to keep his nose out of the matter.
This, of course, offends Harvath who promptly disobeys the President because he and his girlfriend have been attacked by person or persons unknown. The girlfriend, Tracy, is in a coma as a result of an assasination attempt. Harvath sets out to find the shooter.
Harvath stops at nothing. Torture - which is meticulously described - is simply a tool to Harvath. Harvath's mother is attacked. Harvath gets angrier and more determined to find the attacker(s). He calls upon powerful friends with tremendous intelligence resources. He also calls upon the Troll, an unlikely dwarf (really) who has played a part in another novel. The Troll is a lonely dwarf who deals in information to anyone with a check that won't bounce. It is an unlikely pairing.
The key element in a Thor novel is action. Unremitting action in the name of America, truth, justice and good guys everywhere. Thor writes breast pounding heroic stuff. It is not for the weak or squeamish. It is for those who like their action two-fisted, unforgiving and patriotic.
Brad Thor treats plot and characters much as Clive Cussler does. Both are frequently unbelievable, but because both men are such phenomenal storytellers, the reader simply doesn't care.
This is just plain great thriller action.
I have one tiny bone to pick. I do wish Brad Thor and other authors would realize that some in their audience really do understand computer technology and when they try to fool the knowledgeable reader, it is immediately apparent. I'm not going to say where Thor makes a big mistake with the technology because only an expert would spot it. But it is jarring to those who recognize the error.
Aside from that, Brad Thor has written another powerhouse, page turner, rip-roaring "I Love America" thriller. For those who appreciate such qualities, it's a great book.
Jerry
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