The Acolyte

by David Compton

Book Overview

Demoralized by the arrest of his candidate for the Senate, brilliant political tactician Greer Whitaker gets involved in a sensitive national security operation with the CIA, an operation with deadly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684804301
• ISBN13: 9780684804309
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

great vacation read

Working in DC I can see where Compton has spent a great deal of time researching or either knows first-hand about how the CIA and other US government agencies really operate. Admittedly I was reading this from an "insider's" perspective, but I'm a real fan of how he put together the intricate spy plot. Some others have pooh-poohed the book, but I'd say they just don't have an appreciation for a story that's a cut well above a Grisham thriller. A great read.

Twisted minds....you'll love this book

Written for the tired executive with a long flight ahead, or for the husband who is involved in a clandestine affaire with a woman who is slated for promotion sooner than he....this book will captivate you with a twisted mind's version of his ultimate sexual and career fantasty. Will be a favorite of all political wannabes.

acceptable first effort

I started this book three times before I was able to get past the first 100 pages. If a book does not captivate me in the first 25 pages I rarely bother. For some reason I hung on to this one forced myself past the beginning and I am glad I did. Compton did an acceptable job overall, but to me it was tad bit too predictable. I think Compton was inspired by Frederick Forsyth, but Forsyth makes for a more interesting read with a much simpler plot. The Acolyte's plot is a bit overdone and this would have been a better book had he kept it simpler and developed the conflicts better. I never really "felt" Greers danger and fear, they all happened too fast and resolved way too easily. I recommend this book, and feel that Compton will improve with practice. To D.C.: re-read some more Forsyth books.

Take a chance on Comptons first book

Very captivating after a brief slow start. If you read The Firm with passion, pick up this one. Ever since I've tried to find another book I've read so feverishly.

Fast moving CIA thriller - Loved it!

It was easy to immerse oneself into the characters of the Acolyte. A fast moving thriller in the Crichton/Grisham/Stuart Woods genre, this book rarely lept into stories too far-fetched, but kept the excitement building throughout. Well thought out and apparently thoroughly research story makes for an exciting, pleasurable read! I can't wait for the next one