Formulaic, but entertaining novel (The Apocalypse Watch - Robert Ludlum)

Member Name: mintyiscrazy

Product:	The Apocalypse Watch - Robert Ludlum
Date:	02/09/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting style, and pretty gripping

Disadvantages: Long, formulaic and at times predictable

Having read a fair few of Ludlum's novels, though by no means all, I bought this as an enjoyable summer read. While the plot is fairly standard Ludlum, the suspense and intensity which is present within all of Ludlum's work remains intact. In the novel Harry Latham, an American agent, has uncovered a neo-Nazi base with a grip upon the political centres of the world. Having disappeared, his younger brother, Drew Latham, also an American agent, is desperate to discover the fate of his brother. Having eventually uncovered his brother, Drew becomes embroiled is a struggle to discover whether his brother's evidence is accurate and the depth of the infiltration of the neo-Nazi organisation. Amidst this he becomes involved in a love affair with the beautiful and enigmatic Karin de Vries, and together desperately attempt to save the free world from the depravity of the neo-Nazi organisation. Throughout the book there is plenty of excitement and enough grippingly described action to keep you turning the page; which is fortunate as this 800 page epic is not exactly on the short side. The book is certainly too long for most people, me included, and I began to feel as though it would never end. Many of the twists and turns in the plot are predictable, even if you have not read much Ludlum previously, and certainly if you have they can be spotted about a hundred pages before they happen. Despite this Ludlum's thrilling way of describing action sequences save this otherwise formulaic novel. The book feels as though it has been written as a screenplay, evidenced by the fact that just two years after its publication in 1995, it was made into a fairly unsuccessful film. If you are new to Ludlum try The Bourne Identity or The Matarese Circle as introductions to his work.

Summary: Average plot, which is saved by Ludlum's gripping description of the many action sequences