Hostile Intent

by Michael Walsh and Michael Walsh

Book Overview

It starts with the unthinkable--the most horrific act of violence ever committed on American soil. Only one man can stop them. Hostile Intent Code named Devlin, he exists in the blackest shadows of the United States government--operating off the grid as the NSA's top agent. He's their most lethal weapon. . .and their most secret. But someone is trying to draw him out into the open by putting America's citizens in the crosshairs--and they will continue...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786020423
• ISBN13: 9780786020423
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 407 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Swing and a miss...

The plot is laughable. The characters are stiff and predictable, the dialogue is stunningly bad. The author does have a deep grasp of technology and NSA’s clandestine infrastructure. The storyline failed to hold my interest and I could not finish the book, a rare event. But then I’m a fan of Deighton, Berenson and Furst.

A Full-Throttle, Energy-Packed Thriller

Michael Walsh is an amazing gentleman and a wordsmith in several disciplines who has achieved critical and commercial acclaim for everything from music criticism to successful screenplays to novels. The latter, which Walsh writes all too infrequently, are memorable and unusual, each a bit different from the other. His latest novel, HOSTILE INTENT, is in a class all by itself: a full-throttle, energy-packed thriller that slices across espionage and politics with enough explosions, fisticuffs and firepower to fill five books with a bit left over for the next. The book begins about three seconds from now with a school hostage crisis in the middle of the heartland. Attempting to deal with the situation is Jeb Tyler, the hapless, inexperienced President of the United States --- elected after one term in the Senate --- and events are coming at him with a rapidity that do not permit the on-the-job training that he or his next-to-worthless Cabinet requires. Fortunately, there is still the Army or, more specifically, General Armond "Army" Seelye, who has a secret weapon at the ready. The weapon is "Tom Powers" (not his real name), code-named Devlin (not his real name, either). Seelye, the reader learns, is Devlin's stepfather (and perhaps more), and has groomed him since childhood to be the go-to, last-resort weapon for the United States when all else fails, particularly the government itself. The hostage situation, as it turns out, is devised by Emanuel Skorzeny, an enigmatic, brilliant and extremely dangerous billionaire with the power to topple governments or influence their elections by manipulating markets and controlling the media. Skorzeny employs a number of elements to draw the deadly Devlin out of his all-but-undetectable electronic cocoon, but his major tool is Milverton, a soldier of fortune who is Devlin's equal in every way. Devlin and Milverton have fought each other to a deadly standstill before, and the temptation of settling the unfinished business between them is too much for Devlin to resist. Holding a young girl as a hostage in a dangerous game where the fate of the nation hangs in the balance, Devlin follows a deadly and complex trail to a date with destiny with Milverton, despite the obstacles thrown into his path by both Skorzeny and his own government. In a cataclysmic conclusion where Devlin has to face both Milverton and Skorzeny, our protagonist must defeat not only his adversaries but also the ghosts that haunt his own past if he is to know any peace. As fast-moving and action-packed as HOSTILE INTENT may be, the real jewel of the narrative is Walsh's backdrop presentation of the socio-political forces that have held sway over the latter half of the 20th century, resulting in the chickens that have come to roost (and rule) in the 21st. Walsh is as uncompromising and clear-eyed an observer as you are likely to find, and the book is a no-nonsense presentation of how things are, not how one might wish them to be. And he is by

The New Tom Clancy

I found this book riveting, and couldn't put it down. The central character - Devlin - is a wonderful creation. A real American hero. The kind of guy that Jack Nicholson was talking about in A Few Good Men when he said "You want me on that wall." I find some of the comments here - both political and technical - widely off the mark. If you believe that all our problems are going to disappear by singing kumbaya, then this isn't a book for you. But guys like Devlin will protect you anyway. And so far as the questions concerning the Large Hadron Collider go, well... I'm in this business. And he's right: Like the SETI project (the search for extra-terrestrial life software that you can download onto your computer) Hadon is networked in a way to both use - and allow for - massively linked supercomputing. Walsh's writing is smart, interesting, and incisive. He's not aiming for the New York Review of Books here. But he does provide you with the kind of storytelling and subject matter that Hollywood refuses to provide these days. And in this regard, he scores a bulls eye.

Thrills and Chills

Walsh has a talent for drawing the reader in through craftily woven plot lines and psychologically complex, three-dimensional characters. One reviewer said the story is "not politically correct." Fortunately, the book's "political incorrectness" is one of its main strengths. Walsh's cool-handed versatility with hot-button political topics chills the reader at unsuspecting moments. This is scary stuff handled artfully by Walsh, a writer who obviously has a fiendish mind for this type of storytelling. "Hostile Intent" was a thrill to read.

Absolutely loved it!!

I loved this book!!! I could not believe it was free, and as I read it, I kept thinking that it was as good or better than most of the spy/thriller that I had purchased for 9.99 or more. The action is fast paced, and it hooked me almost inmediately. I am puzzled by some of the reviews that state that the author used intricate vocabulary. I only read the reviews after finishing the book, and I can honestly say that I did NOT find the language contrived or anything different from other fast paced Action/Thrillers. If you love and wait patiently for the newest Thrillers, get this book. You have nothing to lose (its free), and will be on the edge of your seat for the whole ride. I looked up the author, and was willing to buy full price, but it seems that this is his first (and only) novel of this genre.

Fast-Paced and Well-Written

Hostile Intent is an excellent book that grabbed my attention from the first few pages and didn't let go. Oftentimes in this genre, the author attempts to introduce a legion of characters and settings in such a whirlwind of activity that I have trouble keeping everything straight. In this instance, while the book maintains the convention of several key characters and simultaneous scenes, I found the organization coherent enough to keep track and maintain my interest in each of the various plot lines. The pace was exciting enough to keep me reading well into the wee hours of the morning. This book is well worth the price (free as of this review) and, more importantly, worth the time it takes to read it. In the current political environment, I wouldn't say this book is politically correct, but it is a page turner.