The Talbot Odyssey

I read the first 1/3 and was bored, so I put it down at the end of my vacation. 9 months later (ok I forgot about it) I picked it back up and couldn't put it down again. The first 1/3 sets up the story and the characters, and then the rest is non-stop action. It had an incredible ending. In fact I read the last 80 pages nonstop until 2am because I couldn't stop myself! If you imagine the setting (back during the cold war) you'll really enjoy it.

I have read every DeMille novel and enjoyed them for their entertainment value. Unfortunately, "The Talbot Odyssey," while certainly not boring, was totally implausible from start to finish. How is it that as the USSR prepares to destroy the US (and no reason is really given for this), only a group of retired fogey OSS types, a former NYPD cop, some shadowy British commandos, and a mid-level NSA analyst save the day? Neither the US intelligence agencies nor the armed forces make an appearance in this ludicrous plot. And the characterization is so hackneyed, it is virtual comic book writing. The Russians are pure evil, the US traitors are so traitorous, except it's not clear what these 70-year old geezers did between their defection to the Soviets at the end of WWII and the 1980s to earn their filthy rubles. Moreover, the identity of the so-called third Talbot is so obvious as to be a ho-hummer. DeMille has written some superb novels, "The Gold Coast" and "Word of Honor." In contrast, his cold warrior stuff such as Talbot and Charm School suffer from a cliched and steretypical mindset about the Soviet Union. Another reason to be thankful the cold war is over.

This story about the Russian plot to knock out all electronic
communications in the US and thereby take over with their own President
makes another unique story and realistic reading. DeMille continues to
provide great dialog, emotionally interesting characters and suspense
throughout the book. Can't put the book down. The reappearance of one
of the main characters after a so-called parachuting accident is a
good twist. Also the flashbacks and the reappearance of intelligence
officers after 30 years is a good plot line. Which of them are the bad
guys is not answered until the very end with some great surprises!
is impressive throughout the book.
I wish Nelson Demille could write as fast as I can read.
He is among the FEW authors whose books I keep to read
again later.
My second read will be right before the movie comes out.
Enjoy this book!

I had very high hopes for this book after reading The Charm School, and unfortunately this one didn't quite measure up. However, if you enjoy the spy-thriller genre, this book is a good investment of your time and money. You won't walk away saying it's the best you've ever read, but it will hold your attention and provide some good excitement along the way.

I have read almost every book that Nelson DeMille has written and am now reading his earlier works. This must have been a really early work because it wasn't as good as his more recent books but it was still possible to see the genius that DeMille would become. I love all of his books and even found this one good but found it confusing, implausible and out of date. The story took place in the 1980s when the enemy was the Soviet Union who was planning a destruction of the United States through an electromagnetic attack rendering the U.S. helpless and unable to communicate with anyone else on the planet. The first third of the book was boring to the point that I considered putting it down so I read the reviews that others had written about the book to see if the problem was with me or perhaps with the book. Another reviewer commented that he found the first third of the book boring to the point that he stopped reading it and didn't complete the book for several months. His review assured others, like me, that the book did indeed get better so I continued to read. Yes, the action picked up and the book became a page turner. The characters were likable though it was sometimes hard to keep their roles straight (who were the good guys and who were the bad?) Will I read it again, no. Am I glad that I read it, yes. I am happy to see the development of a great talent like Nelson DeMille. Keep writing, Mr. DeMille your fans are waiting for the next book!

I'm a big DeMille fan, ever since "The Charm School". Okay, "Spencerville" was awfully disturbing, "The General's Daughter" was just twisted, and "Plum Island" was a bit too formulaic, but even a bad DeMille is better than most Grisham or Clancy.
"The Talbot Odyssey" better parallels the charms of "Charm School" and "The Gold Coast," even "Cathedral". Above all, DeMille's humor delights consistently. The plot is consistently engaging. This is an easy, pleasant read.

I've read many of DeMille's books. And like all of them, this is is fast-paced, with excellent character development.

Like another of his books, "Charm School," this story has cold war, spy theme. But one thing that is different is that the plot is based in New York, instead of Russia. And in this story there are double agents within CIA and KGB.

With any novel, I always set out placing myself in the drama. DeMille makes it easy to be there.

Your heart will race. You may even say a few, "Gotchas."

And you will really be there amongst the drama, the spy life and the historical context.

This book is comparable to DeMille's The Charm School, Plum Island, and The Gold Coast, which are his best. This novel kept me turning the pages and guessing who the antagonist and protagonist were. There were at least a half dozen super suspenseful scenes that I couldn't read fast enough.

I would recommend this book to any DeMille fan. It won't disappoint you.

This book is a good companion to Charm School, except this one is set on home turf (Long Island) and the threat is more imminent. The questions are what do the Russians have planned and who is on their side? DeMille has created a suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing til the last chapter. The book starts off a little slow, but once you get into it, you won't want to put it down. As always, DeMille takes a lot of time establsihing character. Pay attention to all the clues, and maybe you'll figure out who you can trust.
Other good DeMille titles: Plum Island, Lion's Game, Charm School - my favorite.

have read all of demille's books, this is perhaps the worst one ever written by him. so many holes, countless flaws...the whole book just read like a poorly and blindly patched quilt. in order to give some twists to the plot and scenario, demille had thrown in so many nuts and bolts but simply failed to make all of them match or connet together properly. when you have read something happened in the former scenes, he later seemed to totally forgot what he had already written and the same situations came out almost like nobody knew it had already happened. nearly a half century's mole hunt just turned out to be more ridiculous page after page. i just wish that demille could re-read what he had written in this book and would not turn a blind eye to what he did to this lousy work-maybe the only one-by facing himself in the mirror, slapping his both cheeks for what he had done and, so poorly done. any viewer who gave high praises need to enroll in the logic 101 class pronto.