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Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction | Tom Clancy returns

FRiction FRiday | Tom Clancy is Back | Dead or Alive

Wow, FRiction FRiday is here again? How did I get stuck with all of these tire stoppers anyway? Yeah, I know I got a break with Jack Higgins 18th Sean Dillon novel, The Judas Gate … always a quick but fun read … but before that, Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants was almost 1,000 pages … and now Dead or Alive is 850pp? How can I finish one of these every week, I mean, I’ve got to work for living … don’t I? Yes, Lary, you do!

I’m glad you’re here, though … and don’t worry if it seems like you landed on the wrong planet. Sword Tips is still about Building a Business and improving your leadership performance, productivity and success … but we also take a little time every FRiction FRiday to have a little fun and settle in for the weekend by uncovering a few more of our favorite Mystery-Thriller-Suspense novels.

[All names in Bold Italic … BLACK for authors, titles in GREEN, characters in ORANGE … except URL references in RED.]

By the way, make sure you sign up to get all of these and other updates sent directly to your inbox every week. Jump in to add your comments and questions, too, so we can share what we know and what we’d like to know. Remember, we don’t have to agree … I fully respect your right to be dead wrong! Just kidding … kind of. ;>)

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Dead or Alive? Usually, pretty dead!

I’m almost halfway through Tom Clancy’s Dead or Alive, his first novel in 10 years. It brings back Jack Ryan, now a retired U.S. President along with various members of Rainbow 6, the efficient but deadly special ops team formed many books ago. Dingo and Chavez and their brethren are in the same Sean Dillon strain of “take no prisoners”.

Once again, it’s refreshing to see how quickly conflicts get resolved without psychobabble and political mumbo-jumbo. Get er’ done and move on. We don’t get to do too much of that in real life, do we? … but it’s a delicious delicacy, isn’t it, to see how much gets done when you follow the straightest line between two points without fanfare, distraction or PC worship.

The “4 Corners of the Globe” Plotline

Speaking of the “shortest distance between two points”, (more…)

Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction | Would the real Sean Dillon please stand up?

FRiction FRiday | Jack Higgins | The Judas Gate

Wow, is it FRiction FRiday already? They sure seem to come up fast … even though some weeks are pretty long … so let’s kick up a few more rocks and talk some fiction about our favorite mystery-thriller-suspense novels. [All names in Bold Italic … BLACK for authors, titles in GREEN, characters in ORANGE … except URL references in RED.]

I’m glad you’re here, but don’t worry if it seems like you landed on the wrong planet. Sword Tips is still about Building a Business and improving your leadership performance and productivity … but we also take a little time every FRiction FRiday to have a little fun and prepare for the weekend by uncovering a few more of our favorite Mystery-Thriller-Suspense novels.

By the way, don’t forget to sign up to make sure you get all of these and other updates sent directly to your inbox every week. Make sure you add your comments and questions, too, so we can share what we know and what we’d like to know. Remember, we don’t have to agree … I fully respect your right to be dead wrong! Just kidding … kind of. ;>)

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Sean Dillon is finally back in action

What does a Walther PPK and a glass of Bushmills have in common? Sean Dillon. You’ll recall that Dillon, former IRA enforcer and now protecting the Queen’s realm, is one of our Top Ten Characters. Jack Higgins introduced Dillon in Eye of the Storm in 1992, and The Judas Gate is #18 in the series.

Higgins has created a powerful, “take no prisoners” character in Dillon and when you think about it, (more…)

FRiction FRiday | Great Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction | Ken Follett, Fall of Giants

Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants

If you’re any kind of a history buff … and enjoy fiction in this Mystery-Thriller-Suspense genre, you’re already familiar with Ken Follett, who we discussed briefly last week.

As usual, Follett delivers another great historical epic across the landscape of World War I. His characters are richly nuanced, the story sweeping across generations of 4 families including coal miners and aristocrats in England, factory grunts in Russia and a young American advisor to President Woodrow Wilson. All of the usual mischief … betrayal, espionage, adultery, conspiracy, scandal … is woven into the household and the battlefield.

Another great historical epic in Fall of Giants

For many of us, American history is full of fascinating character studies and monumental events that have shaped the modern world. There are many extraordinary periods in the last few centuries. One is the Revolutionary War era during the late 1700’s, if only for the rich personalities and history-making ideas that dominated the period leading up to and beyond the signing of the Constitution. The other period is from World War I, known then as the Great War, which began in the summer of 1914, through to the end of World War II in 1945.

Did you know that over 75 million people died in those two World Wars?

Think about what happened during this 30 year period. (more…)

Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction

FRiction FRiday | Great Mystery-Thriller-Suspense fiction | Ken Follett

Recently, we extolled the prodigious talent of James Lee Burke, a royal member of the mystery-thriller-suspense genre and last week identified the Edgar Award nominees for the Best Novel of the Year for 2011.

By the way, don’t forget to sign up to make sure you get all of these and other updates sent directly to your inbox every week.

[All names in Bold Italic … BLACK for authors, titles in GREEN, characters in ORANGE … except URL references in RED. No affiliate links except trial Amazon widget.]

Now Reading ….

I knew this was going to happen … which is I’m falling behind in my fictional pursuits, er, pursuits of fiction. Why? I’m still stuck about 3/4 finished with Ken Follett’s WWI novel, Fall of Giants, the first of a planned trilogy about 3 generations of families. This is another long one but I’ll finish it this weekend. He’s truly a great story teller, so if you haven’t read his most popular novel, Pillars of the Earth, it’s never too late to miss this phenomenal story.

When you see that it’s 1,000 pages in hardback, don’t start groaning.

(more…)

FRiction FRiday | Mystery-Thriller-Suspense | Edgar Awards

Last week we extolled the prodigious talent of James Lee Burke, a royal member of the mystery-thriller-suspense genre. I hope you’ve been privileged to pick up one of his books. When you do, it will only take a few pages for you to feel like you just moved to the Louisiana bayou. The richness of the sounds, smells and tastes of New Orleans, its Garden District and the French Quarter, feels like you’re ravishing a huge gumbo pot with Étouffée and jambalaya on the side.