My first Brad Thor novel. Enjoyable, but a bit long winded.
938929
The Apostle is the first Brad Thor novel that I have read. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best possible choice for an introduction to his writing. But overall I did enjoy reading it.
In The Apostle retired special forces operative Scott Harvath is lured back into service by newly-elected President Alden when one of Aldens biggest political supporters needs his expertise. Media tycoon Stephanie Gallo, who largely bankrolled the Alden campaign, finds out her globe-trotting daughter has been kidnapped in Afghanistan while trying to provide some much-needed medical services over there.
Harvath is soon back in a land dominated by the Taliban, ancient tribal customs, and warring factions of all sorts. And Harvath has to employ all his well-honed tactical and military skills to get Gallos daughter freed.
In a subplot, a Secret Service agent named Elise Campbell overhears sensitive information about a young woman who died after leaving a President Alden fundraiser. Fearing that Alden is guilty of a crime, Campbell starts prying into the life of the newly-elected president, which uncovers more and more wrongdoings.
The book goes into great details about how US military and special forces operate in countries like Afghanistan. It certainly made me appreciate even more how they have to balance being sensitive to local cultural customs while getting co-operation that is beneficial to Americans. I thought it was very realistic and interesting.
On the down side the plot gets rather bogged down in those same details. There are countless events that present challenges and difficulties for the US forces, and it seemed like the story would never end. Ultimately the paperback edition of The Apostle spans over 500 pages, making this a long read. And the subplot involving President Aldens unseemly behavior has a rather abrupt wrap-up which seemed to stretch believability.  In the end I did like The Apostle but hope to find another Brad Thor novel that is more concise.
4087279
This is the first superhero novel that I have read and I thought it was well written. It was definitely enjoyable and I plan on reading the sequel.

However, that being said I found some of the focus strange and was a bit disappointed at some of the things that were glossed over. The book spends little time on the details of Astra's training. Her interviews are mentioned only in passing. We don't see much of her "day to day" life as it were. These things are all things I was hoping to see. Given that she is being introduced to the world, I feel it would have been worthwhile.

I also found that some of the romance developed extremely quickly.

If anything I feel like this could have been split up into two books and more care and detail could have been put into all the events.

(However, perhaps my feelings on the pacing will change once I read the next book).
4165744
I liked it.  The interplay between two people each seeking the throne was interesting.  The education and redemption of Thor put a new slant on an old story.
1254171
For a first novel, this is not a bad effort.

In my opinion, it suffers from too much action at too fast of a pace, and would have been significantly better had the author spent more time on  world-building and character development.
296232
Not quite on the level of Brad Thor to me, but this is the first Peterson book I've read. I will definitely read the other Nathan McBride books.
1100872
I enjoyed reading "I Bring the Fire" but I had a bit of a problem with it.  A couple of days before I read the book I saw "Thor" on DVD.  When I read the book I found myself remembering parts of the movie where Loki appeared.  I finally put the book aside and read something else to clear my mind of Loki and Thor.  Later on I read "I Bring The Fire" and it was much more enjoyable.  I look forward to reading more from this author.
2492818
Another great novel by Brad Thor.  Took me less than a day to get it down and was intrigued as well as glued from the start.  Wish he could get to writing 2 a year!
2405457
Good read.  Typical for Neal, it's a bit long winded.
4365756
Ok read.  Seemed to drag on a little too much for me, but overall an enjoyable book.
2743835
I did enjoy this book though mid-way through I felt I was reading it more to finish it than actually expecting any surprises.  It started to drag on a bit.  I felt from it was a little strained for the author to fill out the characters for us but when it came to writing about the military and the actual jet, he seemed very knowledgeable and I think the era it's presented and his knowledge of it made for an interesting read.  The reasons behind the war, the background, is lacking but then again, in an engagement of this type how much news would there be out there and what would be accurate and what wouldn't? I liked the book, it's a bit outside my typical fighter-based military novel and so was fun to read from another perspective.
4112338
Good but slow in between the action sequences.  Almost put it down a time or two but glad I kept reading.
2070781
I'm a huge fan of Brad Thor.  This particular Scot Harvath series book, however, had a predictable ending with hard-to-appreciate characters.  I'm wondering if I've read too many of these books and they've all started to seem alike.  My other issue--there were two female characters in which Harvath felt "a jolt of electricity."  Really?  That just seemed lame for this guy.
2064584
For a first novel, Nights of Villjamur is 'OK'.

Here's my take on some pro's and con's:
- Good use of the English Language
- Relatively solid shifting of character perspectives (with the possible risk of having no primary character for whom the reader should 'immediately' meld onto)
- Highlight(s) were scenes in the underbelly
- The inspector & the 'murder investigation' and his wife.  VERY well actualized character.

Some downsides (or alternative upsides)
- Lack of dramatic tension (is the freeze the threat?  The cultists?  The crabs?  The treason against the empire?).  Lots of things going on, with zero depth afforded to most (reminded me of the TV Show 'Flash Forward')
- Author's prose is rich British modern vernacular.... right on down to the use of the word 'right' and 'cultist'  (Jim Jones must be lurking around somewhere offering kool-aid to drink)).

Is it worth a read?  Likely yes, especially in a paperback format, especially in a genre relatively devoid of depth recently.

Is it 5 '*' material in my estimation ?  No.  This isn't as good as a random Erikson novel, or even Patrick Rothfus' stellar 'Name of the Wind' debut.
1456781
I am hooked on Brad Thor books, and this one did not fail to keep me engrossed. I can hardly wait until his next novel is available.
362388
I liked the plot. The characters, not so much. I like my characters to be 3 dimensional, and the characters that made up the team could have been better developed. Without giving away spoilers, the Russian female should have played a bigger part. She was made for a more prominent role. Instead, she was relegated to the feminine role.

Sometimes, I felt like I was reading something from James Cameron's Alien movie-verse. Not a bad thing, but Foehammer needs to stand apart from Alien. Mr Campbell seems to have plans for 2 more Foehammer books. I hope he develops his characters more, distinguishes his universe from James Cameron's. Oh, and explain what happened to America.

The transition from the prologue to the first few chapters was jarring because Foehammer's America does not resemble today's America. After the first few chapters, Foehammer smoothed out a bit.

I like how the name of the book came about. It was pretty fitting. I confess I like how the word Foehammer rolls off the tongue.
658500
I'd rate this book 3 1/2 stars, because of the great beginning action and storyline, and the interesting lead up to the final action and ending. Unfortunately, the middle of the book contained filler that slowed down the action quite noticeably. I guess Ted will to continue writing 400+ page books, even if the storyline did not require telling a tale that long.
The plot was focused without straying into multiple sub-plots, and that kept it interesting.
The action was generally entertaining without being overly descriptive, and most of the characters were well portrayed. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but I think it felt that way due to the long, sometimes boring "middle " of the book. The first 100-150 pages move quickly, and once the reader gets to the last 100+ pages, the story picks up speed again.
With a slightly shorter "middle" , I would have given the book a 4 star or higher rating. But we have come to expect longer books from Ted Bell, and we should not be surprised by this formula.
If you have read others by him, you should like this one as well. If this is your first Ted Bell book, you will miss some context due to several references to action contained in prior books.  Start early in the series if you can.
ENJOY THE READ......
Jim
3027590
I did like this. But I thought it took it a while to really get started. Just as I was engaged it was the end. I will be reading the next volume because I am interested to learn more about this reincarnation of Thor and would like to see where it goes. So I will give it another volume or so. I was a bit disappointed in this one though. I really wanted to love it.