Book Bound: Zero Day by David Baldacci

Zero Day

Author: David Baldacci

Now, I must confess that I am relatively new to David Baldacci, especially when compared to Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham, but I simply cannot draw a parallel since each of them is in a league of their own, and rightly so.

This is my second David Baldacci book, after Absolute Power which was one of his first books over 15 years ago.

David Baldacci, has struck gold with Zero Day and this is mostly because of Special Agent John Puller. John Puller is a war hero, a special agent with the Military CID and he is among the best at what he does.

In Zero Day, Agent Puller is sent into a struggling rural American coal town to investigate the mysterious murder of a Colonel with the DIA and his family. Agent Puller teams up with a local police Sergeant, Samantha Cole in his quest to get to the bottom of these murders.

As the investigation proceeds, more and more bodies start piling up, but the entire equation behind their deaths doesn’t. Agent Puller gets thrown into the investigation all alone, with the top brass keeping a close eye on the progress. John Puller keeps digging and nearly gets blown up on two occasions.

Agent Puller is the younger son of Army Legend, Lt. General John Puller Sr., now an old man with Alzheimer’s.  His older brother is serving a prison sentence for treason, the reasons of which were not explained. John Puller is portrayed as the perfect American soldier – Tall, Fit, Strong, Technically sound and knows how to follow orders. Puller’s exploits in Afghanistan have earned him several accolades, but he has still not come to terms with losing his 

entire team at war.

What caught my attention the most is Puller’s inept ability to assess situations, being prepared for the worst and the skill to read between the lines.  

His pairing with Sergeant Cole and the development of their dynamic was interesting but largely predictable. The involvement of her entire family created an added complexity, especially with her brother – in – law playing a pivotal role.

David Baldacci has wonderfully weaved in the hazards of surface mining and their impact on the environment. The inclusion of nuclear bombs and technology, while being at the center of the plot, somehow only serves the role of giving the story an explosive ending, where it could have done a lot more.

I will rate Zero Day a 3.5/5. Whenever the book lacks in certain areas, John Puller more than makes up for it. Baldacci has created a memorable character in Puller, a character who we should get to read more about. As far as I am concerned, the book has only just scratched the surface of John Puller.  

Screen Struck: Review of 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Promises were made that this will be the EPIC conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman. And EPIC was what was delivered.

Set eight years after Batman took the fall for Two Face Harvey Dent's crimes, all with the hope of making Gotham crime free. Batman's sacrifice has paid off, until terrorist Bane threatens to wipe Gotham City off the map permanently. 

The Dark Knight Rises had the uphill task of living up to the standards set by The Dark Knight in 2008 and Christopher Nolan, with the success of Inception under his belt, has put together and made great great use of a stellar cast all working together like a well oiled machine. 

Every character, developed beautifully, each telling their own story, some torn apart by their loyalties and some driven by their vengeance.

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred, Joseph Gordon - Levitt as Blake and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox all play key roles in Bruce's journey to finding himself and the Batman again. 

Anne Hathaway as Selina, the catty thief whose only priority is herself, treads the fine line between good and bad, responsible and ruthless perfectly well, adding that needed dose of glamour and oomph into the story. 

Marion Cotillard essays the role of Miranda, a wealthy philanthropist with a twisted past. Despite being so pivotal to the entire plot line, the development of this character is somehow lacking and though a very powerful climax is delivered, a lot is left to the imagination and one can only imagine the impact of a more powerful character could have had on the entire movie. 

Tom Hardy, the Bane of this movie, delivers a role that is powerful and strong. To fill in the boots of Heath Ledger's JOKER is virtually impossible, and Tom Hardy does his bit to become Batman's worst nightmare. Nolan successfully takes Batman to his breaking point with great delivery and orchestration from Bane. But despite the brute force, Bane never holds you the way The Joker did, but thats being way too hard on any body, even though he is the central negative character of the entire movie. 

The Dark Knight in 2008, was purely about the JOKER, the evil and the madness, and the The Dark Knight Rises is only about Batman. Christian Bale does an excellent job of portraying the struggles of a fallen hero. The conflict in him to protect his city at any cost or to live a comfortable life and a sprawling business empire. He takes on a journey of determination and belief, of failures and successes, of transcending beyond a broken body, making sacrifices and protecting what you love the most. For me Christian Bale is Batman. Period. 

Despite its fairly long run time, the movie keeps you engaged and waiting for what is to happen next. The production quality is impeccable and true. It is not a run of the mill superhero movie with action sequences one after the other, Nolan has taken the time and effort to create a story, to incorporate the drama and fiction which make this film stand apart and stand leagues ahead of what I have seen in recent times. 

The downsides? 

Bane, with his mask, was difficult to understand at times. The plethora of characters has resulted in lack of development of certain key characters. The romance between Bruce and Miranda, seemed out of place and unnecessary. 

The biggest downside though, was the lack of 'Batman' time. I surely could have done with more time of him in his cape. 

These few downsides do not undermine the magnitude of this movie at all. I came out a pretty satisfied customer and could not hide my joy for quite a while. 

I'd give The Dark Knight Rises a 4.5 out of 5. 

Till next time. 

The Trail : Prologue

She stood there in utter disbelief, shocked and confused about what just happened. The world as she knew it suddenly ceased to exist. She saw the blood but couldn’t feel the pain. There was a whirlwind of action around her, chaos and mayhem, action and chatter. But she was completely cut away.

She still stood there, unaware, even when all the noise around her subsided. A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. An officer, probably from the local police department was saying something to her. She could see him talking, but couldn’t hear him. All she could do was stare.

It was only when she finally saw that serious face that she so very well recognized, that she cracked, tears pouring from her eyes, trying to make sense of all the mayhem that she might have just caused. She braced herself for what she was about to hear. He made his way to her, face full of disappointment and said “Rita, I hope you fully understand the implications of what just happened here.”


To be continued......

PS: The Trail, is simply a working title for all posts to follow under this.

Book Bound: Review of Only Time Will Tell

Only Time Will Tell

The Clifton Chronicles: Volume One

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Only Time Will Tell is the first installment of ‘The Clifton Chronicles’ touted to be Archer’s most ambitious undertaking yet.

Only Time Will Tell - set in post World War I Bristol, England takes us through the riveting beginning of Harry Clifton’s journey.

Born to a War Hero, Arthur Clifton, who Harry believed died in the war. It is a very long journey after which Harry actually learns how his father died, and which in turn throws up the question of whether Arthur was even his father or not.

In the backdrop of the First World War and the inevitability of the Second World War, Harry meets with incredible characters, all who play a pivotal role in helping him achieve his potential.  

Harry’s mother, Maisie Clifton, widowed by the greed of enterprise, is the perfect mother, making every sacrifice after the tragic death of her husband to ensure that Harry gets everything he ever needed. An extraordinary and smart woman, Maisie is constantly faced with difficult choices, some which could even demean her character. She perseveres through it all to ensure that her son sees through school, high school and finds a place at Oxford.

As a young boy, Harry would accompany his uncle, Stan to the docks where he would work. Here Harry meets Old Jack Tar, a brilliant man with a troubled past. Old Jack Tar sparks the inquisitiveness for knowledge in Harry and coaxes him to attend school. It is at school that Harry discovers his exceptional vocal skills and wins a choral scholarship to a prestigious school in Bristol.

At school, Harry makes his first friends after Old Jack Tar, Deakins and Giles. The three boys form a bond for their entire life, which continues into High School and even at Oxford.  Giles is the son of Hugo Barrington, the owner of the docks that Harry’s father used to work. As the boys grow, their friendship strengthens and with that, Mr. Hugo Barrington’s hatred toward Harry grew as well, something that puzzled Giles and his mother. Mr. Hugo’s indifferent behavior was never clearly understood by Harry either.

Over time, Harry falls deeply in love with Giles’s sister, Emma. Mr. Barrington’s rage at this discovery brings his family to the brink of falling apart. It is at this time that he admits he may have been responsible for the death of Arthur Clifton.  Somehow, Harry overlooks this with the hope of being with Emma. Without much ado, Harry proposes to Emma, who willingly accepts. In the middle of this, Harry gets accepted in Oxford and also makes a shocking discovery about his mother.

Just before the wedding, Harry is introduced to the fact that Mr. Barrington might actually be his father. With this discovery and on understanding the potential implications, Harry stops attending classes at Oxford and decides to join the Navy. Harry hops aboard a cargo ship sailing towards America to learn the ropes of sailing. The unexpected announcement of war and a split second decision by Harry, and the serious implications that they might have will impact the course of the books to follow.

Jeffrey Archer’s style of narration is surely the highlight of the book, where each pivotal character progresses the story from their point of view. It is amazing to read the book in such a manner as it does not getting boring and key holes in the story get filled up along the way.

At the end of the book, many interesting questions get thrown up in the mind: Will Harry, now a completely different person be able to get out of the mess he has got himself into? Will he succeed Mr. Hugo Barrington for his entire Empire? Will Emma and Harry ever be able to be together?  

I would rate the book a 4/5 thanks to some great characters, the flow of the book and the fact that it leaves you hanging at a point where you just cant wait for the next one. It makes for a quick and enjoyable read. The narration style comes out on the top and makes me look forward to reading The Sins of the Father, the second installment of the Clifton Chronicles.