| | |  | Contemporary | Home » » » » The Lion | | | | | | | Description: | | In this eagerly awaited follow-up to The Lion's Game, John Corey, former NYPD Homicide detective and special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is back. And, unfortunately for Corey, so is Asad Khalil, the notorious Libyan terrorist otherwise known as "The Lion." Last we heard from him, Khali had claimed to be defecting to the US only to unleash the most horrific reign of terrorism ever to occur on American soil. While Corey and his partner, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, chased him across the country, Khalil methodically eliminated his victims one by one and then disappeared without a trace.
Now, years later, Khalil has returned to America to make good on his threats and take care of unfinished business. "The Lion" is a killing machine once again loose in America with a mission of revenge, and John Corey will stop at nothing to achieve his own goal -- to find and kill Khahil. | | | Product Details: | | | Average Customer Rating:
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Average Customer Review:
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164 of 172 found the following review helpful:
 DeMille in good form!Jun 08, 2010
By Philly gal
"phillygal"
No spoilers here. John Corey, the ex NYPD homicide detective who now works for the Federal anti terrorism task force is the main character. This is DeMille's fifth John Corey novel (Plum Island, Lion's Game, Night Fall and Wild Fire). You do not have to read these novels to enjoy this one although DeMille does make references to events in those earlier books.
This story is set in NYC thirteen months post the 9/11 attacks. Corey is working alongside his wife Kate Mayfield an FBI agent. In a terrifying, suspenseful scene involving a skydiving trip, they encounter the Libyan terrorist Asad Khalil. DeMille presents the motivations of both Corey and Khalil; unusual for this type of thriller you can actually understand the roots of Khalil's terrorism. Events move along quickly following the initial meeting. The action is centered in the metro New York area and exploits the difficulties the federal/state/local agencies have had cooperating and sharing intelligence information. Corey stands above the bureaucracy and has a singular focus on bringing down the terrorist. The characters in this novel are engaging, funny and sharply drawn. Corey is non-stop with the wisecracks, I find them funny and occasionally laugh out loud funny but I can see how some readers might be annoyed by the frequency of these comments. I think you either like the Corey character or you don't.
This is a top-notch action thriller. Differing from some of DeMille's earlier novels, this one is tight and well edited coming in at around 400 pages. The novel gathers in the reader with a strong opening, the plot is well organized and believable, the ending a little abrupt. I think DeMille fans will be pleased with this installment in the John Corey series and no doubt staying up late to finish this thriller.
49 of 53 found the following review helpful:
He's back -- and on game!Jun 08, 2010
By litaddiction
And by "he" I mean both John Corey (former NYPD and current loose-cannon agent on the federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force), *and* Nelson DeMille (author extraordinaire of political suspense and hilarity, whose last couple of books started to worry me about the extraordinaire part).
DeMille's 16th book (the fifth in his John Corey series) is a post-9/11 sequel to The Lion's Game. Here it's 2003 New York City and Asad Khalil is back to finish his revenge against the 1986 U.S. military attack on Libya that killed his mother and siblings. And to finish John Corey.
But that's enough said about the plot ... which, whether it's terrorism, conspiracy, or the KGB, isn't really why I read DeMille. I read him for his smart-a**, alpha-male-with-tender-underbelly protagonists. And while a few sections here are by necessity in the third-person perspective of other characters, they thankfully aren't like the long stretches in Wild Fire. Instead, the majority is first-person Corey -- narrating more of a police procedural than rollicking thriller, a slower pace that immerses us in Corey's amusing persona. Also making their usual appearances are Corey's love interest (wife Kate Mayfield), the good guys of New York's Finest, the bungling FBI, and the evil CIA. Though readers new to DeMille might more logically begin with Plum Island (the first in this series and still the best), DeMille gives enough background here for anyone to enjoy this work. (With a caution: there are several brief scenes of graphic violence.)
The novel's pacing is good, its length is great (not bloated like The Gate House) -- and its final four sentences are perfection.
(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)
42 of 50 found the following review helpful:
 Needs a better editorJul 20, 2010
By Mark D. Mestel
"bjj geezer"
As a Nelson DeMille fan I hoped that this novel would be better than his last. Alas, it seems that his success has inflated his ego to the point where his writing has suffered. This book is awful. The hero, John Corey, comes across as Bruce Willis in a poorly scripted and totally unedited action film. The book is hundreds of pages too long. Sections which may be entertaining on first reading become tedious as they are repeated and repeated. When you get to be a famous author do you abandon editors or do the editors simply become sycophants helping to stroke your ego? The plot is predictable and not worth the read. Perhaps if Mr. DeMille pays attention to the readers' reviews he will take a critical look at how his writing has deteriorated. Once an excellent author he should strive to regain that position.
33 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Bitterly Disappointed in"The Lion"Jun 30, 2010
By D. M. Read
"Author of Layoffs"
Having enjoyed the smooth professionalism of "The Charm School," I couldn't wait to read more about the Lion, introduced in an earlier book, "The Lion's Game."
But gad, what a disappointment! First of all, let me ask: did Nelson Demille's pool boy write this, with Nelson supplying the plot? Because the quality of the writing was ABYSMAL! I couldn't believe it, as I kept turning page after page. Rank amateurs who write fiction are obsessed with "he said" and "she said"--professionals know that you save your drama for the action, not how the character "said" it. I just couldn't believe it! I did wonder if Nelson let a fan write this particular book: I've read fan-written novels before (the second time was inadvertent), and they were awful. The difference between the original author and the "fan" writer was so enormous as to be almost palpable.
With regard to the plot, I found myself bored with the way the villain of the piece cut a swath, never encountering any opposition at all, never arousing suspicion, never running into a problem. Real life isn't like that.
And I agree with the reader who was fed up with John Corey's unremitting sarcasm. Normally, I quite like Demille's smart-alec protagonists, but in this book Corey's mouth got on my nerves as well, as did his extreme vulgarity. Realism is one thing, but vulgar remarks about what goes on in the bedroom between husband and wife are inappropriate. They don't advance the plot and since we know Corey quite well from earlier books, the vulgar remarks don't even have the excuse of characterizing the speaker.
Demille has provided some rattling good reads in the past, but believe me, next time he puts out a new book, I'm going to read the entire first chapter right in the bookstore to see whether his pool boy wrote it. Horrible writing!
21 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 Not Up to the Usual StandardJun 29, 2010
By Ms Winston
I agree with the several reviewers who stated that John Corey's character is becoming less and less appealing as the series goes on. The John Corey of "Plum Island," whose politically incorrect humor was so spot on, has become over the last few books a predictable bore. The sarcastic remarks were beginning to wear thin in "Wild Fire," where Corey took great delight in insulting ordinary people (waitresses, airport employees) who were going to great lengths to assist him.
The level of violence in this book was way over the top in my opinion, and just plain revolting at some points. But I reserve my biggest criticism for the preposterious romance between the almost 50 year old Corey and the much younger Kate. I didn't buy it in "The Lion's Game," a much superior book to this one, and if I didn't buy it there I'm not going to buy it here. DeMille has somewhere along the line become mired in predictable plot lines and characters who are starting to become very similiar: John Corey is not much different than the protagonist of "The Gate House," a book that struggled to get even two stars from me. And the women are pretty much clones as well. It is a shame, as DeMille's earlier works are great favorites of mime.
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