The First Commandment: A Thriller | 
| Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $4.05
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Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 387
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 496
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 1416543805
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416543800
ASIN: 1416543805
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
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Product Description
A master assassin. A vendetta years in the making. And a counterterrorism operative who will risk everything -- even treason -- to keep the people he loves alive.Brad Thor, the New York Times bestselling author of Takedown, delivers an explosive international thriller featuring Navy SEAL turned Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath, who somewhere, somehow, has left the wrong person alive. "Thou shalt not negotiate with terrorists..." Six months ago: In the dead of the night, five of the most dangerous detainees in the war on terror are pulled from their isolation cells in Guantanamo Bay, held at gunpoint, and told to strip off their orange jumpsuits. Issued civilian clothes and driven to the base airfield, they are loaded aboard a Boeing 727 and set free. Present day: Covert counterterrorism agent Scot Harvath awakens to discover that his world has changed violently -- and forever. A sadistic assassin with a personal vendetta is wreaking havoc of biblical proportions. Unleashing nightmarish horrors on those closest to Harvath, the attacker thrusts everything Harvath holds dear -- including his life -- into absolute peril. Ordered by the president to stay out of the investigation, Harvath is forced to mount his own operation to uncover the conspiracy and to exact revenge. When he discovers a connection between the attacks and a group of prisoners secretly released from Guantanamo, Harvath must ask himself previously unthinkable questions about the organizations and the nation he has spent his life serving. A renegade from his own government, Harvath will place his life on the line as his search for the truth draws him into a showdown with one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth. Brad Thor roars through this nonstop adventure full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, and ultimate revenge.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
 Friction fiction July 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Unblievable storyline, over the top characters, and a writing style that is burdened with unecessary attention to extraneous detail, creating a sense of labored, overly structured writing. Even so it's readable and at times enjoyable if you can overlook the flaws. This Side of the Gate
 Rip-roaring action but too "over the top" and with unsympathetic heroes. July 3, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The First Commandment: A Thriller
Brad Thor's thriller is well-written with a great eye for action and related dialogue. Therefore it's a shame that his hero is little more than a psychopath and the opinion expressed through the actions and words of this hero is that it's OK to be a sadistic murderer and torturer if you're waving Old Glory and quoting the (correct) scriptures. It's that attitude that has got us into lots of trouble today and my opinion is that we don't need to glorify it. The story line is good and the characters are well drawn. A pity that the protagonists on the "good guys" side are no better ethically and morally than those on the other side - or perhaps that's the unfortunate reality of today. A good read but somewhat unsettling.
 Vince Flynn Rip Off April 29, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
Brad Thor's characters and general premise completely parallel those of Vince Flynn and the Mitch Rapp character. After reading the Vince Flynn novels, this pales in comparison. I was disgusted by the absolute similarities between the two book lines. From the "super agent" to the 1 on 1 meetings with the president to the rip off of the Seal Team 6 Scott Coleman character, Brad Thor has essentially stolen Flynn's ideas. Add to this the fundamental Islamic radicals and I thought I was reading a back story to the Mitch Rapp series. Thoroughly disappointing. In addition, the writing of Brad Thor is labored and painful to read.
If this genre interests you, order the books by Vince Flynn instead.
 THE FIRST COMMANDMENT April 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thought provoking fiction. A wake up call for many who might have their heads in the sand.
A Commanding Read April 3, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Takedown raised the bar for political-thrillers, left readers in a state of shock and had critics wondering if Thor could possibly write another novel of equal quality. Well, he satisfied readers beyond their wildest dreams and silenced the critics with "The First Commandment." The foreword is comprised of a single sentence: "Do not wish ill for the enemy, plan it." With less than ten words the author set the tone, constructed the stage and prepared the audience for an adrenaline infused novel, fully loaded with international intrigue, brilliant prose and thought provoking scenarios so real they could easily be reported on the six o'clock news.
Homeland Security agent, Scot Harvath is a born leader, selfless, strong, dedicated and intelligent- willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friends, family and country...not necessarily in that order. With his extensive resources, both in and outside the government, elite special forces training and having saved the country and the president, on more than one occasion, he is the embodiment of a modern-day patriot. So, it is only natural when his family and friends begin being systematically targeted, the assaults mimicking the biblical plagues, that Harvath turns to those in power for assistance. Refusing to be dismissed by a third party, Harvath meets with the President face to face, demanding an explanation. Within a few minutes it becomes clear the only answers he will be privy to, are those he discovers on his own, he is officially out of the loop.
Why would the best counter-terrorism agent be ordered to stand down? Harvath found himself in an unfamiliar role, that of spectator and he felt helpless. Now, sitting by his girlfriend Tracy's bed, he was truly helpless...unable to rescue her from the coma that held her captive. He knew what he had to do and understood the ramifications of his actions.
By disobeying a direct executive order from President Rutledge, Harvath, is not only being hunted by one of the most dangerous men on earth, he's been catapulted into the cross-hairs of the very government he vowed to protect. It doesn't take long for the former Navy Seal to unearth a secret so disturbing, that questions and scenarios which had once been unthinkable, were now plausible. Six months ago, America's "First Commandment" was broken, when the President, persuaded by his advisers that the use of isotope technology gave them the ability to track the men, authorized the release of five, high value Guantanamo detainees. Lulled into a false sense of security, the government was ill-prepared and caught off guard, again.
The First Commandment is a brilliantly woven web of excitement, in which Brad Thor leaves no terrorist stone unturned, capturing the reader with a single sentence, he delivers his most electrifying and realistically frightening novel to date. Thor's pen is firing on all cylinders and I eagerly anticipate his next novel.
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