Barry Eisler Spotlight, Part III: Review of Inside Out.

Conspiracy-theory buffs are in for a treat. Inside Out features the return of Ben Treven—an American Black-Ops soldier. In this sequel to Fault Line, Treven isn’t on the run, but doing the hunting instead. A rogue Black-Ops soldier, Daniel Larison, has stolen ninety-two CIA interrogation tapes and has blackmailed the US Government . Treven—who was imprisoned after a bar fight he was in resulted in the death of one of his attackers—is released from jail with the aid of his former commander, Colonel Scott Horton. Treven’s release comes at a price: He must track down and eliminate Larison. Along the way, he is joined by Paula Lanier—a sexy FBI agent with an attitude—who is not only an annoyance to Treven, but later becomes an ally. What complicates matters further for Treven is that other hit squads have been dispatched to hunt for Larison, leaving Treven to suspect that he may be a pawn in a bigger picture.

Inside Out contains some well-paced action, martial arts, and a believable conspiracy that will leave the reader wondering if all of it is really fiction. FBI agent Lanier brings about an excellent balance to complement Treven’s character. This is illustrated by her naivety in handling certain situations that risk exposing them. At times, I had a chuckle picturing how pissed off Treven must have been every time she made a gaff. What I also enjoyed was that Eisler allowed readers to enter into the minds of both Treven and his target, Larison, illustrating his first-hand knowledge of surveillance and reconnaissance techniques. The fight scenes were very believable, and the hand-on-hand combat scenes were meticulously well done.

In addition, readers will learn why it’s not a good idea to read important documents—electronic or hard copy—or have a private conversation while you’re traveling in first class. Conspiracy fiction fans will love the subject matter of the CIA’s interrogation tapes that was top news several months ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if discussions about this have been given a boost, due to Eisler’s interpretation of what could’ve really happened to the CIA interrogation tapes.
Oh yeah, if you’ve ever wondered whatever became of Japanese-American assassin, John Rain, from Eisler’s previous novels, you’re in for a treat.

3 1/2 Stars.

Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Available Now.

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• Barry Eisler: The Overton Window: More Poodle Than Panther (huffingtonpost.com)


• Barry Eisler - The Ministry of Truth (disquietreservations.blogspot.com)


• Barry Eisler: Fictional Politics (huffingtonpost.com)


• Barry Eisler: How to Argue (huffingtonpost.com)


• Barry Eisler: This is Your Brain On War (huffingtonpost.com)


• Barry Eisler: The Ministry of Truth (huffingtonpost.com)


• The Weeklies #156 (rudecactus.com)


• No charges over destruction of CIA interrogation tapes - The Guardian (news.google.com)


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• Update (jennydavidson.blogspot.com)
  
  
  

SPOTLIGHT: Barry Eisler. Part II The Russell Show featuring Fault Line.

Image via Wikipedia This week I continue with my spotlight of former CIA operative and bestselling thriller author, Barry Eisler, where I do a dramatic excerpt from Fault Line on The Russell Show. (Excerpt chosen by Barry Eisler and done with his permission).

Book Blurb: Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.



Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession, available now.

SPOTLIGHT: Author Barry Eisler. Part I Review: Fault Line.

Fans that were hoping to see Japanese-American assassin, John Rain, in a followup to Eisler’s bestselling series will be in for something slightly different in Eisler’s first stand-alone thriller, Fault Line. The first paragraph opens up with a hook that will lock in Eisler’s fans and many more. Readers unfamiliar with Eisler’s work will be instantly drawn into a page-turning experience.


The story focuses on a young patent lawyer, Alex Treven, who expects to strike oil when his latest client, Richard Hilzoy, presents him with a revolutionary technology called Obsidian. Alex anticipates being the talk of Silicon Valley and becoming partner in the firm. However, Hilzoy is murdered in an apparent drug deal, the patent examiner dies, and Alex barely escapes with his own life after an alleged burglary in his own home. When the police offer little assistance, Alex turns to his estranged brother, Ben—a special-ops soldier—for help. Ben rushes to Alex’s aid and forces Alex’s Iranian-American associate, Sarah Hosseini to go underground with them because of her knowledge of Obsidian. Ben distrusts Sarah and believes that she is working for clandestine powers that are bent at stealing Obsidian. As a result, Alex is thrown head first into Ben’s world and must follow his brother’s rules in hopes of surviving further attempts on his life by the forces they hope to expose.


Ben’s paranoia and methods of survival are reflected in Eisler’s experience as a covert operative. Eisler has mastered the art of creating situational tension while weaving in character tensions. Ben’s main objective of keeping Alex and Sarah safe is complicated by unresolved family issues that led to Ben’s estrangement. Further complications also result from the animosity Ben and Sarah have towards each other. There is excellent character development that is not overdrawn. There are also interesting plot twists which make Fault Line a gripping and easy read.

Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Now available through Amazon.com, Amazon UK, BarnesandNoble.com and www.RussellParkway.com.

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• Barry Eisler: Fictional Politics (huffingtonpost.com)
• Barry Eisler: How to Argue (huffingtonpost.com)
• Barry Eisler: The Ministry of Truth (huffingtonpost.com)
• Update (jennydavidson.blogspot.com)
• Barry Eisler - The Ministry of Truth (disquietreservations.blogspot.com)
• Barry Eisler: The Definition of Insanity (huffingtonpost.com)

Winners of the STOP THE SUCCESSION virtual book tour.

Hello, Everyone.

It's been a long and fun three weeks of my first ever virtual book tour for my debut action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Thanks to everyone that participited by leaving their emails in the body of their comments. You will all receive an autographed ebook cover shortly. Now for the moment that you've all been waiting for, the winners of the STOP THE SUCCESSION virtual book tour.

October 26 Mini-Contest.

In this mini-contest, commenters were asked to guess the identity of the actress that was the inspiration for Ares defector, Sveta Stechina. Everyone got the right answer. However the award goes to the first person to get the answer right. So you've all guessed it. The actress is none other than...











Myriam D'Abo. The former Bond Girl in the James Bond epic, The Living Daylights.

Congratulations to Tiffany Laurie who was the first to guess the answer correctly. Tiffany will receive a copy of the sample graphic novel version of Pandora's Succession that I once queried.



Winners of the autographed ebook.

I was a bit late asking my neighbor to wear a sexy dress and draw the winners at random, so I had Clinton the Cat draw the names instead. The winners are chosen and announced in the following episode of The Russell Show.



So there you have it. Congrats to all the winners. I had a great time participating in the vitual book tour. Thanks again to all of the book bloggers that hosted me, and the book reviewers that helped me out by posting their reviews to their blogs, Amazon, Goodreads, and other forums. It is much appreciated. And also thanks to those that have read and spread the word about Pandora's Succession.



Best,



Russell Brooks

Pandora's Succession is now available as an ebook, here and here(UK)

"Stop the Succession." The Virtual Book Tour.

Stop the Succession

The Virtual Book Tour

From October 24 to November 14, 2010

Participate in the virtual book tour.

Visit www.russellparkway.com for contest details.

The Russell Show: Featuring Lancelot's Lady, by Cherish D'Angelo.

I'm honored to be hosting Romance/Suspense novelist, Cherish D'Angelo, author of Lancelot's Lady. This is the first time that I am hosting an author on a blog tour. When I was approached by Ms D'Angelo to host her on her Cherish the Romance book tour, I was originally supposed to do what other book bloggers do—either interview or allow them to do a guest blog. I decided to do something different: recite an excerpt from Lancelot's Lady.

Enjoy!

Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help Cherish celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."

You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherishdangelo.com/ and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com/. Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes.

What do you think about this video?

Leave a comment at below, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You're guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you'll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.

Thank you!
Cherish

Russell Brooks is the author of the soon-to-be-released action/thriller, Pandora's Succession.

I'll be joining you later to sniff coke. I won't be long, it's only a DWI.

DWI victims spun in their graves this week when former WHAM! singer, George Michael, was only sentenced to eight weeks in jail for driving under the influence of drugs. The remaining fourteen weeks will be spent under the supervision of the probation service. Considering that he has a prior offence for lewd behaviour and a laundry list of other drug-related offences (The List), one must again wonder whether judges are too lenient on some people when they commit serious offenses—especially when they are repeat offenders.

Paris Hilton is one of the best examples of a repeat offender. The spoiled heiress to the Hilton hotel chain and renowned sex-video superstar, was arrested in September 2006 for a DWI. She was sentenced to 36 months probation and fined $1500. Since her blood alcohol level was 0.08%, she was left with a suspended licence. As though that wasn’t enough to teach her a lesson, less than a year later in January 2007, she was pulled over for driving with a suspended licence, and yet again a month later for driving 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. Oh yeah, did I mention that she still had a suspended licence? Her sentence was forty five days in jail. However due to a "Phantom" medical conditImage via Wikipediaion she was released two days later. She was then re-sentenced to 40 days home confinement with an electronic monitoring device (2).

Here we are in 2010 and her ass has been arrested again. The charge: cocaine possession. Her defence? “It’s not my purse.” The latest report is that she’s been offered the chance of a plea bargain. Although specifics were not disclosed, a spokeswoman for the Clarke County District Attorney’s Office said: “Possession of a controlled substance is a felony punishable by a minimum term of one year and a maximum of four years. (Hilton) may be fined up to $5000. This charge is probationable so the court could sentence her to a term of probation, rather than prison time.” (3).

Both Michael and Hilton displayed inexcusable behaviour where the consequences could have ended with in serious injury or even death—either to themselves or to others. The fact that Hilton`s in trouble with the law again illustrates that she did not learn from her previous arrests. Maybe if she’d get off her high horse and start doing some real work for a change—likeImage by ballookey via Flickr the rest of us normal taxpayers—she’d be too busy being productive that she wouldn’t have time to be so stupid.

As for Michael’s eight-week prison term, it’s both a joke and an insult. It was reported recently that he’s being kept in solitary confinement since he’s in the same unit as pedophiles and rapists. However a snitch disclosed that George is being treated like a king and that his cell is dubbed The Ritz. This is because his cell comes complete with duvets, cushions, and even its own digital TV box (4). I could hear the gnashing of teeth from the fine citizens of the UK, as they learn where some of their tax dollars are being spent. This ought to leave one to wonder whether reports of George Michael crying like a bitch is nothing more than an act to make us feel sorry for him, thus tricking the judge into reducing his sentence.

Guess what, George? I’m not falling for it. Your DWI is no less a crime than the DWIs that ruin scores of lives every year—even scarring the lives such as that of my friend, whose girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver a few years ago. As long as the courts keep going easy on drunk drivers, one day judges will only have themselves to blame if the next victim of an impaired driver is one of their loved ones. On a positive note, a real prison term for George Michael would do him some good. Give him a few pens and a lot of paper so he could write music, which is what many of us have grown to love him for. By the same token, he’d be taking responsibility for his actions. After all, isn’t that one of the characteristics of being a Father Figure?

Russell Brooks is the author of the action/thriller, Pandora's Succession. Available Fall 2010.

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