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Book Review of The Lion's Game (John Corey, Bk 2)

The Lion's Game (John Corey, Bk 2)
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* * * . Let me begin by saying: THIS BOOK IS NOT BAD. I enjoyed it; I was turning the pages feverishly.

The plot was good; the dialogue was captivating, especially the interaction between agencies. John Corey's character was very funny. This is not my first Demille novel, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I picked up this book. The joke about the CIA, FBI and NYPD still makes me laugh when I think about it. Even the terrorist Asid Kalil was intriguing as far as his motivation, mindset and intelligence were concerned.

What spoiled the book for me was that between one exciting or interesting moment and the next one, there was, unfortunately, an unnecessary amount of nothing; situations that didn't really move the plot forward. I was often tempted to skip paragraphs because I could anticipate what should happen next but I felt like I was at a stoplight and the light was red for just a little too long.

And often time "John Corey" would digress from a thought and clumsily seque back with "Well, anyway, back to ___". First time was ha, ha cute . After the sixth or seventh time, it lost its humor. Those are my only gripes about the novel.

I found the book chlling at times. In this post 9/11 world we live in, reading sentences that were, at that time, considered fiction, and are now a reality, were definitely unsettling. In one scene "John Corey" writes: "...jetliners were little more than flying bombs ... sailing through space with the potential to take out a few city blocks." Hindsight is, indeed, 20/20.

Regarding the ending, I won't spoil it for those who haven't read the book yet, but we've seen this type of ending in other books and movies too. Obviously there were a number of ways Mr. DeMille could have finished his novel and he chose the non-traditional route thriller readers don't anticipate as they near a 900+ book.

I look forward to reading other DeMille novels. I only hope he cuts out the fat and gives us the lean meat.
Feverish page turner, good plot, captivating dialogue.