Black List: A Thriller

Brad Thor

Jul 2012 · The Scot Harvath Series Book 11 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor returns with his most explosive thriller ever.

Somewhere deep inside the United States government is a closely guarded list. Members of Congress never get to see it—only the President and a secret team of advisors. Once your name is on the list, it doesn’t come off…until you’re dead.

Someone has just added counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath’s name.

Somehow Harvath must evade the teams dispatched to kill him long enough to untangle who has targeted him and why they want him out of the way.

Somehow, somewhere, someone can put all the pieces together. The only question is, will Harvath get to that person before the United States suffers the most withering terrorist attack ever conceived?

Ratings and reviews

Summary: A cast of characters that seem to be built out of every stereotype of action movies is assembled into a series of events that can loosely be called a plot. I would recommend you AVOID this title at all costs. I was excited to read this novel after hearing about its comparison to Tom Clancy's work. However, the first thing I realized was that this was not the prose of a careful author interested in depicting a realistic and believable story based on deep research. Instead it seems as if it were a set of gunfight sequences strung together with what can only loosely be considered a plot. The fact that the Black List (the actual title of the book) is mentioned in passing and never really the central focus bothered me. But maybe it's fine that the title gives away little of the plot. Maybe I just prefer a style. The fact that the actual plot involved a threat that was never explained also angered me. I can't give spoilers because there was nothing there. The author did well in showing how total and powerful surveillance is, now, but didn't connect that to an actual threat. Besides the primary enemy all characters were established as cliche or not at all.

Solid book, until the end, when they just completely leave you hanging. Wow, way to ensure you sell more copies of your next "page turner." Complete frustration with how this novel ended.

Every American should read this book, you are going to be blown away with the technology described in this book. Brad hits the reader hard with harsh reality with fictional characters. My favorite author and my favorite book!

About the author

Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three thrillers, including Dead Fall, Black Ice (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), Near Dark (one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year), Backlash (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), Spymaster (named “One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), The Last Patriot (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association), and Blowback (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR). Visit his website at BradThor.com and follow him on Facebook @BradThorOfficial, on Instagram @RealBradThor, and on X @BradThor.