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Той е на 47 години, в страхотна форма. Всяка сутрин целува жена си и бяга за здраве по улиците на Манхатън до своя офис. Но днес няма да е обикновен ден. Днес всеки, с когото Дейв се среща, ще се опита да го убие.
С нарастващ ужас Дейв Елиът открива, че колегите, приятелите и дори членовете на семейството му желаят неговата смърт. Изобщо не може да си обясни защо.
Някога Дейв е бил войник - специалист по мръсните задачи. Въпреки че са изминали 25 години оттогава, старите му инстинкти се събуждат. И няма намерение да умре тихо. Нито пък сам.
С нарастващ ужас Дейв Елиът открива, че колегите, приятелите и дори членовете на семейството му желаят неговата смърт. Изобщо не може да си обясни защо.
Някога Дейв е бил войник - специалист по мръсните задачи. Въпреки че са изминали 25 години оттогава, старите му инстинкти се събуждат. И няма намерение да умре тихо. Нито пък сам.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Joseph R. Garber
8 books21 followersJoseph R. Garber was an American author, best known for his 1995 thriller Vertical Run and for the articles he wrote on technology for Forbes magazine.
Garber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moving often as an army brat. He attended the University of Virginia, but quit to join the U.S. Army himself, eventually graduating from East Tennessee State University in 1968 with a philosophy degree.
Garber worked for AT&T as a business long-distance consultant and a writer for the AT&T in-house magazine. He then worked as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton for a decade, writing fiction and non-fiction freelance in his spare time. After a prolonged flu, he quit his job and moved to Woodside, California, where he wrote for Forbes magazine and as a consultant in Redwood City, California until he was laid off.
Garber had written a manuscript, In Search of Shabbiness, as a response to the Tom Peters best-seller, In Search of Excellence. On the advice of literary agents, he rewrote it as the novel Rascal Money.
In 1995, his second novel Vertical Run, a corporate thriller, became an international best-seller. The book's setting is 200 Park Avenue, the address of Booz Allen. It was bought by a Hollywood studio in the 1990s only to be shelved in pre-production. His third novel, In a Perfect State, was published in 1999. His fourth novel, Whirlwind, with a retired CIA agent as protagonist, was published in 2004.
Garber died of a heart attack on May 27, 2005
Garber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moving often as an army brat. He attended the University of Virginia, but quit to join the U.S. Army himself, eventually graduating from East Tennessee State University in 1968 with a philosophy degree.
Garber worked for AT&T as a business long-distance consultant and a writer for the AT&T in-house magazine. He then worked as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton for a decade, writing fiction and non-fiction freelance in his spare time. After a prolonged flu, he quit his job and moved to Woodside, California, where he wrote for Forbes magazine and as a consultant in Redwood City, California until he was laid off.
Garber had written a manuscript, In Search of Shabbiness, as a response to the Tom Peters best-seller, In Search of Excellence. On the advice of literary agents, he rewrote it as the novel Rascal Money.
In 1995, his second novel Vertical Run, a corporate thriller, became an international best-seller. The book's setting is 200 Park Avenue, the address of Booz Allen. It was bought by a Hollywood studio in the 1990s only to be shelved in pre-production. His third novel, In a Perfect State, was published in 1999. His fourth novel, Whirlwind, with a retired CIA agent as protagonist, was published in 2004.
Garber died of a heart attack on May 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews
September 19, 2019
"As arrogant as a nigger with a knife?" This reader doesn't deal with such trash of any kind. 0 of 10 stars!
July 22, 2017
Okay.
Bought and started to read it more than year ago, but couldn't finish it. Great author and story. Got confused at the start, because story keeps going back to his Vietnam stories when he was in the service. Sad, gruesome happenings in there. They want Dave Elliot dead, for what he knows and carries in his blood.
Bought and started to read it more than year ago, but couldn't finish it. Great author and story. Got confused at the start, because story keeps going back to his Vietnam stories when he was in the service. Sad, gruesome happenings in there. They want Dave Elliot dead, for what he knows and carries in his blood.
December 10, 2018
Trans gangs, deadly viruses, and Vietnam flashbacks. Vertical Run has it all. But as we’ve learned from Universal Soldier 2 and Jane Eeyre alike, guns and trans gangs aren’t always enough to fill that plot-shaped hole. And this is holier than the Swiss cheese the pope used to hit Jews with back in his youth.
The basic story goes like this: Dave Elliot goes into work. It’s just an average day until his boss tries to shoot him in the back of the head and a group of goons tries over and over to kill him while he plays hide and seek in his office building. So pretty much like Die Hard, right?
No, not right. Not right at all.
For example, let’s just play the imagination game for a second. Imagine that you’re a mercenary, a hired thug who has braved the jungles of Da Nang and the deserts of somewhere else Asian that we hated. Now, imagine that your job is to kill an ex-special forces dude who works in a functioning and fully-staffed office building. Your principle advantage is that he has no idea that anyone is out to kill him. You have the full authority of the government behind you and all of its resources.
Take 30 seconds and come up with a plan to kill Mr. Elliot.
…
What did you decide? To get a cop uniform and take him out of the building and shoot him in an alley? To have an agent dress as a hobo and knife him on his morning jog? Or did you decide, like Ransome, the principle bad guy, to hand the job over to Elliot’s elderly boss? If you did, you’re fired from Imaginary Government.
All of this aside, let’s take a moment to compare a key Die Hard element. If you recall, Bruce Willis, when he has the chance to make a quick quip to the baddie, came up with the simple yet effective “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!” What is Elliot’s version? “Up your poop with an ice cream scoop.” Yeah, for real.
And what about characters? The female lead is Marge. Her real name is Marigold Fields, but she prefers Marge. Let’s demonstrate her first encounter with Elliot from her point of view, as imagined by Yours Truly:
“I was in this computer room with my boss. He’s a jerk and he was hitting on me, saying that sleeping with him was the only way I was getting anywhere in the company. He was persistent, but I was holding my own. Then, this psycho comes out from the floor and beats the holy hell out of him. I guess I was supposed to be happy about that. He kept staring into my eyes, like he was in love or something. He managed to convince me that he was in trouble and needed help, so I agreed to help him out with his needlessly complicated plan. Once I agreed, he said I would need an alibi and then punched me in the face and knocked me out. What an ass.”
After that Dave makes his ek-scape from the building. Marge goes home, but shortly thereafter a visitor comes knocking on her door.
For some reason, the bad guys come to her house. And for some reason, they are dressed as cops (NOW you figure it out?). And for some reason, they try to convince her that she was raped while she was out cold. And for some reason, even though she turns it down, for some reason they give her a forced gynecological exam of some kind. And for some reason, even though this would surely be the most horrifying experience of most womens’ lives, for some reason she is awfully sexually inviting to Elliot when he comes back to her house after knocking her out. Oh, and stealing the cash from her wallet for some reason (really!).
I know this is getting very blow-by-blow, but bear with me. It’s worth it, I promise you.
Out in the streets of New York, Elliot changes his appearance by bleaching his hair and combing it forward, a change that inexplicably makes everyone assume that he is gay. SUPER gay. In the span of five pages he is called Cupcake, Fruit, Pixie, and Three Dollar Bill. He appears so gay, in fact, that a trans prostitute refuses to believe that he doesn’t want her services. Things escalate quickly and Elliot soon finds himself surrounded by a gang of trans folks trying to kill him.
I’m going to stop here for a second. This should be the best book ever. I don’t know why someone isn’t attacked by a gang of trans prostitutes in every book, but it’s just not the world we live in. But if you found a way to weasel it in, don’t let me down. Don’t you let me down. This isn’t a plot device you can toy with, this isn’t a magic stone or some kind of elf or a wacky neighbor. This is a trans gang with straight razors. Get it together.
The most frustrating part of this book, besides everything, is that it was so full of missed opportunities. There was a brief period where Elliot is unsure whether he is experiencing things realistically or just having flashbacks, an interesting idea that is trashed right away. There is the idea of companies and government in bed together, an idea that would have been very ahead of its time, but they never bother with that either. And, of course, there is a violent trans mob. I'm sorry, I'm just not over it yet.
That’s most of what I want to say about the book. Oh, except for it seemed like it was redeeming itself in the last 20 pages or so only to completely screw itself over again. Not as bad as “It was all a dream,” but about as close as you care to get.
Overall, Vertical Run was a lot like the onion that fell behind my microwave: Never really great in its own right, signifying potential, and only worse as it aged.
The basic story goes like this: Dave Elliot goes into work. It’s just an average day until his boss tries to shoot him in the back of the head and a group of goons tries over and over to kill him while he plays hide and seek in his office building. So pretty much like Die Hard, right?
No, not right. Not right at all.
For example, let’s just play the imagination game for a second. Imagine that you’re a mercenary, a hired thug who has braved the jungles of Da Nang and the deserts of somewhere else Asian that we hated. Now, imagine that your job is to kill an ex-special forces dude who works in a functioning and fully-staffed office building. Your principle advantage is that he has no idea that anyone is out to kill him. You have the full authority of the government behind you and all of its resources.
Take 30 seconds and come up with a plan to kill Mr. Elliot.
…
What did you decide? To get a cop uniform and take him out of the building and shoot him in an alley? To have an agent dress as a hobo and knife him on his morning jog? Or did you decide, like Ransome, the principle bad guy, to hand the job over to Elliot’s elderly boss? If you did, you’re fired from Imaginary Government.
All of this aside, let’s take a moment to compare a key Die Hard element. If you recall, Bruce Willis, when he has the chance to make a quick quip to the baddie, came up with the simple yet effective “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!” What is Elliot’s version? “Up your poop with an ice cream scoop.” Yeah, for real.
And what about characters? The female lead is Marge. Her real name is Marigold Fields, but she prefers Marge. Let’s demonstrate her first encounter with Elliot from her point of view, as imagined by Yours Truly:
“I was in this computer room with my boss. He’s a jerk and he was hitting on me, saying that sleeping with him was the only way I was getting anywhere in the company. He was persistent, but I was holding my own. Then, this psycho comes out from the floor and beats the holy hell out of him. I guess I was supposed to be happy about that. He kept staring into my eyes, like he was in love or something. He managed to convince me that he was in trouble and needed help, so I agreed to help him out with his needlessly complicated plan. Once I agreed, he said I would need an alibi and then punched me in the face and knocked me out. What an ass.”
After that Dave makes his ek-scape from the building. Marge goes home, but shortly thereafter a visitor comes knocking on her door.
For some reason, the bad guys come to her house. And for some reason, they are dressed as cops (NOW you figure it out?). And for some reason, they try to convince her that she was raped while she was out cold. And for some reason, even though she turns it down, for some reason they give her a forced gynecological exam of some kind. And for some reason, even though this would surely be the most horrifying experience of most womens’ lives, for some reason she is awfully sexually inviting to Elliot when he comes back to her house after knocking her out. Oh, and stealing the cash from her wallet for some reason (really!).
I know this is getting very blow-by-blow, but bear with me. It’s worth it, I promise you.
Out in the streets of New York, Elliot changes his appearance by bleaching his hair and combing it forward, a change that inexplicably makes everyone assume that he is gay. SUPER gay. In the span of five pages he is called Cupcake, Fruit, Pixie, and Three Dollar Bill. He appears so gay, in fact, that a trans prostitute refuses to believe that he doesn’t want her services. Things escalate quickly and Elliot soon finds himself surrounded by a gang of trans folks trying to kill him.
I’m going to stop here for a second. This should be the best book ever. I don’t know why someone isn’t attacked by a gang of trans prostitutes in every book, but it’s just not the world we live in. But if you found a way to weasel it in, don’t let me down. Don’t you let me down. This isn’t a plot device you can toy with, this isn’t a magic stone or some kind of elf or a wacky neighbor. This is a trans gang with straight razors. Get it together.
The most frustrating part of this book, besides everything, is that it was so full of missed opportunities. There was a brief period where Elliot is unsure whether he is experiencing things realistically or just having flashbacks, an interesting idea that is trashed right away. There is the idea of companies and government in bed together, an idea that would have been very ahead of its time, but they never bother with that either. And, of course, there is a violent trans mob. I'm sorry, I'm just not over it yet.
That’s most of what I want to say about the book. Oh, except for it seemed like it was redeeming itself in the last 20 pages or so only to completely screw itself over again. Not as bad as “It was all a dream,” but about as close as you care to get.
Overall, Vertical Run was a lot like the onion that fell behind my microwave: Never really great in its own right, signifying potential, and only worse as it aged.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2024
Добър трилър, Джо Гарбър е гледал в бъдещето!
Цитат:
"Не мога да се чувствам добре, че съм жена, ако ти не се чувстваш зле, че си мъж.
Не мога да се гордея, че съм чернокож, ако ти не се срамуваш, че си бял.
Не мога да се уважавам, че съм хомосексуалист, ако ти не си притеснен, че си нормален.
Толерантността е отживелица, тя е нещо старомодно и ние не я искаме."
Равенството също — то е снизхождение в най-добрия случай, а всъщност е изнамерено, за да те унижава.
Цитат:
"Не мога да се чувствам добре, че съм жена, ако ти не се чувстваш зле, че си мъж.
Не мога да се гордея, че съм чернокож, ако ти не се срамуваш, че си бял.
Не мога да се уважавам, че съм хомосексуалист, ако ти не си притеснен, че си нормален.
Толерантността е отживелица, тя е нещо старомодно и ние не я искаме."
Равенството също — то е снизхождение в най-добрия случай, а всъщност е изнамерено, за да те унижава.
July 24, 2010
My brother forced me to read this book. It's his favorite novel of all time. I didn't want to read it, especially after seeing the nasty, yellow-stained, warped paperback copy he brought over for me to borrow. It looks like he dropped it in the toilet or something. Disgusting. It took me about a year to work up the nerve to touch it, and then I had to read it with my shirt pulled over my hands and a thick coating of hand sanitizer on. Anyway, it goes to show how good the book is that I was willing to hold a pee-stained copy, so desperate was I to find out what was gonna happen. It's a real fast-paced page-turner. It's about 15 years old, so some of the references and electronics were outdated, but not distractingly so. There was some graphic violence and a healthy dose of cursing, but it wasn't gratuitous.
Is it the best book of all time? No. That's the Hunger Games. But Vertical Run was pretty darn good, I admit grudgingly.
Is it the best book of all time? No. That's the Hunger Games. But Vertical Run was pretty darn good, I admit grudgingly.
May 25, 2021
বইটি দুইটি খন্ডে বিভক্ত-
১ম খন্ডের নাম: অফিসের একটি বাজে দিন
২য় খন্ডের নাম: দেজা ভু
আসলেই একটি বাজে দিন ছিল। ধরুন, আপনি খুশি মনে জগিং শেষে অফিসে গেলেন, বহুতল ভবনের ৪৫ তলায়। তারপর হঠাৎ খেয়াল করলেন বস এসে আপনার দিকে পিস্তল তাক করে আছে। এইলোককে কোনো রকমে পার করে বাইরে গেলেন ওখানেও দু'জন আপনাকে মারতে মরিয়া। তারপর এক বন্ধুর কাছে গেলেন, সেও পাগলের মতো আপনাকে মারতে চাচ্ছে। অফিস থেকে পালাতে চাইলেন দেখলেন আপনার প্রিয়তমা স্ত্রী খুনিদেরকে আপনার পেছনে লেলিয়ে দিচ্ছে! চল্লিশোর্ধ্ব একটু বয়স্ক তরুণ ডেভিড এলিয়টের জন্য এটি অবশ্যই একটি বাজে দিন। পুনশ্চঃ মি. এলিয়ট একজন প্রাক্তন সেনা সদস্য এবং নিজের ট্রেনিং ভুলে যান নি।
এই অপারেশন যে পরিচালনা করছে সে ডেভের পরিচিত, সামরিক বিভাগের সাথে জড়িত। তবে কি অতীত নিয়ে কোনো ঝামেলা পাকানো হয়েছে!?
এরপরেই শুরু হয় দেজা ভু।
ভাবলাম সত্যিকারের দেজা ভু শুরু হয়ে যায় নাকি! না আসলে এখানেই প্যাঁচ খুলতে শুরু করে শেষের দিকে। ডেভিড এলিয়ট জানতে পারে পেছনের ঘটনা এবং কাহিনী তারপরেই সমাপ্তি।
অনুবাদ সাবলীল, পড়ে যেতে সমস্যা হয় নি পুরো বই জুড়ে প্রচুর একশন সিন আছে, একশন প্যাকড থ্রিলার; সিনেমায় বেশ মানাতো। একটু পরপরই এরকম একশন সিনের জন্য বেশ বোরিং লাগছে। কেমন যেন মনে হচ্ছিল একটু বেশিই একশন🐸 যদিও বইয়ের পৃষ্ঠা সংখ্যা মাত্র ২০৮ কিন্তু মনে হচ্ছিল আমি অনন্তকাল ধরে পড়তেছি, আসলেই বোরিং লাগছে :/
~২৫ মে, ২০২১
১ম খন্ডের নাম: অফিসের একটি বাজে দিন
২য় খন্ডের নাম: দেজা ভু
আসলেই একটি বাজে দিন ছিল। ধরুন, আপনি খুশি মনে জগিং শেষে অফিসে গেলেন, বহুতল ভবনের ৪৫ তলায়। তারপর হঠাৎ খেয়াল করলেন বস এসে আপনার দিকে পিস্তল তাক করে আছে। এইলোককে কোনো রকমে পার করে বাইরে গেলেন ওখানেও দু'জন আপনাকে মারতে মরিয়া। তারপর এক বন্ধুর কাছে গেলেন, সেও পাগলের মতো আপনাকে মারতে চাচ্ছে। অফিস থেকে পালাতে চাইলেন দেখলেন আপনার প্রিয়তমা স্ত্রী খুনিদেরকে আপনার পেছনে লেলিয়ে দিচ্ছে! চল্লিশোর্ধ্ব একটু বয়স্ক তরুণ ডেভিড এলিয়টের জন্য এটি অবশ্যই একটি বাজে দিন। পুনশ্চঃ মি. এলিয়ট একজন প্রাক্তন সেনা সদস্য এবং নিজের ট্রেনিং ভুলে যান নি।
এই অপারেশন যে পরিচালনা করছে সে ডেভের পরিচিত, সামরিক বিভাগের সাথে জড়িত। তবে কি অতীত নিয়ে কোনো ঝামেলা পাকানো হয়েছে!?
এরপরেই শুরু হয় দেজা ভু।
ভাবলাম সত্যিকারের দেজা ভু শুরু হয়ে যায় নাকি! না আসলে এখানেই প্যাঁচ খুলতে শুরু করে শেষের দিকে। ডেভিড এলিয়ট জানতে পারে পেছনের ঘটনা এবং কাহিনী তারপরেই সমাপ্তি।
অনুবাদ সাবলীল, পড়ে যেতে সমস্যা হয় নি পুরো বই জুড়ে প্রচুর একশন সিন আছে, একশন প্যাকড থ্রিলার; সিনেমায় বেশ মানাতো। একটু পরপরই এরকম একশন সিনের জন্য বেশ বোরিং লাগছে। কেমন যেন মনে হচ্ছিল একটু বেশিই একশন🐸 যদিও বইয়ের পৃষ্ঠা সংখ্যা মাত্র ২০৮ কিন্তু মনে হচ্ছিল আমি অনন্তকাল ধরে পড়তেছি, আসলেই বোরিং লাগছে :/
~২৫ মে, ২০২১
March 31, 2013
One of the best fast paced action books I've ever read. Die Hard before the movie. I re-read it every year!
April 1, 2014
When the novel Vertical Run is over, Dave Elliot is a changed person. Through excruciating circumstances and several moral decisions David becomes a person that understands who he is, and what he has to do to save himself and those he loves.
Early on in the story Dave’s boss walks in his office with a gun and tries to shoot him. After managing to knock out his boss Dave walks out of his office only to be shot at again -- this time by mercenaries that know what they are doing. Also about this time you find out that Dave has a cynical voice in his head that he converses with. After eliminating them and listening to radio chatter Dave realizes that he is trapped near the top of his office building with massive amounts of troops below him.
About this time Dave starts to become his former self again -- something he apparently doesn’t want to be. Old habits like shooting a gun, and preservative thinking start to kick in, such as on page 27 “(You must think. Thinking is the only way out.)” Also, on page 29 Dave starts counting bullets, a tactic that would only be used by a trained army combatant. This is a change that Dave resents though. He has spent a lot of his life trying to be normal after his military career and being forced out of that normalness is not something he enjoys. Dave portrays this well on page 18-19 by saying “For 25 years I have devoted myself to ordinariness… It is how I define the word ‘good’.”
Quite a ways into the book Dave does manage to MacGyver his way out of the building and into the streets of New York. When he does step into the streets of New York though, he is a changed man. Gone is the normal corporate executive. Dave Elliot is officially deadly… and out for revenge.
Early on in the story Dave’s boss walks in his office with a gun and tries to shoot him. After managing to knock out his boss Dave walks out of his office only to be shot at again -- this time by mercenaries that know what they are doing. Also about this time you find out that Dave has a cynical voice in his head that he converses with. After eliminating them and listening to radio chatter Dave realizes that he is trapped near the top of his office building with massive amounts of troops below him.
About this time Dave starts to become his former self again -- something he apparently doesn’t want to be. Old habits like shooting a gun, and preservative thinking start to kick in, such as on page 27 “(You must think. Thinking is the only way out.)” Also, on page 29 Dave starts counting bullets, a tactic that would only be used by a trained army combatant. This is a change that Dave resents though. He has spent a lot of his life trying to be normal after his military career and being forced out of that normalness is not something he enjoys. Dave portrays this well on page 18-19 by saying “For 25 years I have devoted myself to ordinariness… It is how I define the word ‘good’.”
Quite a ways into the book Dave does manage to MacGyver his way out of the building and into the streets of New York. When he does step into the streets of New York though, he is a changed man. Gone is the normal corporate executive. Dave Elliot is officially deadly… and out for revenge.
January 30, 2009
This book was an unexpected treat for me. I really did not think I'd enjoy when a friend reccomended it to me. After the constant nagging from said friend I decided to crack it open. Within what seemed like such a short amount of time I returned the book and proceded to give great thanks. This is still one of the best thrillers I've ever read. Readers will raise an eyebrow here, and there, and then finish with an expression of WTF?
February 15, 2016
Everyone has (or should have) that one book that you read over and over again, always getting the utmost satisfaction from the experience. For me, that book remains Vertical Run, by the regrettably late Joseph R. Garber. This book called out my name from a spinning book display in a corner store while I was on a mini weekend getaway in the Quebec Laurentian mountains when I was 18 or 19. And from the very first read, it rocked my imagination, and took me on a wild adventure, that I have repeated over 20 times since, always with a whirlwind (ha!) of satisfaction. Last week I decided to go on that adventure again, and finally write a review for this action packed gem that I long ago gave 5 stars to but had never written a review for. Is this book a litterary masterpiece? Of course not. It was never meant to be. However, good luck finding a better paced and addictive page-turner. To this day I still shake my head at Hollywood for not turning this into a major blockbuster movie. They were supposed to back in Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford's peak years (they had both been rumored for the lead role in the Warner Bros. big screen adaptation). The first massmarket paperback version of the book I bought had the inscription "Soon to be a major motion picture by Warner Bros" written on the cover. That combined with the cover illustration of a man seemingly swinging outside an office building, with the title Vertical Run are what started my never-ending love story with this book. This book has long been deleted from print (sadly) but is available as an e-book. It was the very first e-book I ever bought on my first iPhone, so that I would always have it with me! Also, I always buy every used copy I come upon in used book sales so that I can gift them to friends and acquaintances. To my knowledge, Garber had only penned 4 novels before passing away suddenly of a heart attack: Rascal Money (his first novel), Vertical Run, In A Perfect State (for some reason only published abroad, but thanks to international used book sites I have been able to purchase a copy), and Whirlwind (published just before his untimely death).
April 17, 2014
I'm probably giving this too many stars, but hear me out. Before this, I read Private L.A., a Patterson book. That book was pretty bad. REading Garber's book immediately after gave me such appreciation for what can be done with a thriller. There can be really interesting back stories, and chapters can be longer than 3 pages, and characters can have some development and quirks, and I can actually care about the characters. Not to mention, in the hands of a good author, I can actually be surprised, and even the ending can be twisty. Well done, Mr. Garber. You died too soon.
I should also mention that I stayed up late to read this book. If it weren't for the necessity of teaching and taking care of my animals, it would have been a one sitting book.
I should also mention that I stayed up late to read this book. If it weren't for the necessity of teaching and taking care of my animals, it would have been a one sitting book.
January 23, 2016
This reminded me of why I like to read. Yes, it was far-fetched. At times it seemed to throw logic out the window. But it was damned fun.
December 26, 2020
Скоростен трилър, който незнайно защо (незаслужено) стоеше непрочетен дълго време в библиотеката ми.
December 5, 2018
Vertical Run is one of those books that stays on my bookshelf and gets read over again every year or so. It's also a book that could easily be made into a movie but then I would be comparing it with the first of the Die Hard saga. The story flows and starts with David Elliot in his mid town New York office tower well before anyone else, as normal. The twist happens right away when his boss comes in a few minutes later and tries to shoot him down. That, plus the two other gunsels waiting in the cubical area set the stage for the book.
The story grabs the reader from the first few pages and keeps you wanting to read all three hundred of them in one go. A terrific, fast-paced thriller that you won't be sorry for having read.
The story grabs the reader from the first few pages and keeps you wanting to read all three hundred of them in one go. A terrific, fast-paced thriller that you won't be sorry for having read.
October 18, 2014
Most interesting story about a former special ops soldier turned businessman for 25 years. He goes to work one morning, as usual, and is confronted by his boss who wants to kill him. He manages to disarm his boss only to discover that there is an entire posse of black ops characters out to kill him as well.
Over the course of 36 hours, he manages to elude the traps as his old training kicks in and this gives him time to figure out why someone wants him dead.
The language is appropriate, the suspense builds nicely and the end brings an interesting twist to the whole thing.
I quite enjoyed it and finished it in one day.
Over the course of 36 hours, he manages to elude the traps as his old training kicks in and this gives him time to figure out why someone wants him dead.
The language is appropriate, the suspense builds nicely and the end brings an interesting twist to the whole thing.
I quite enjoyed it and finished it in one day.
February 27, 2010
What a great book! One of the best thrillers I've read so far. It's really intense and does a wonderful job at keeping you hooked and dying to know what happens next.
Both the main plot and the whole background story about the main character are very believable. Dave is a striking character, I sympathized with him and was pulling for the story to work out in his favour. I loved as well that the author included Dave's reasoning and planning of his actions and the traps he'd set.
I'm looking forward to read more of Garber's books.
Both the main plot and the whole background story about the main character are very believable. Dave is a striking character, I sympathized with him and was pulling for the story to work out in his favour. I loved as well that the author included Dave's reasoning and planning of his actions and the traps he'd set.
I'm looking forward to read more of Garber's books.
March 31, 2012
I absolutely love this book. Just read it for the 3rd or 4th time. I skimmed a good amount because I also read it just a few months ago (for the first time in years) but it's one of those books I can just pick up and really get into all over again. It owes a bit to Die Hard but beyond some of the premise and a couple details it's wholly original. Great action and a satisfying conclusion, which is one place that books like this sometimes come up short. It's really too bad that Mr. Garber died so early--I would have loved the chance to read lots more by him.
July 14, 2016
This was a great page turner. There were times when I felt like the flashbacks got in the way, a bit. But it was mostly very well written and revealed just enough to keep me wanting to find out what happened next. I liked the ending, as well.
The premise is that normal business exec goes to work one day and his boss tries to kill him. He then finds out that pretty much everyone else he knows wants him dead, as well.
I originally was going to give it five stars, which I do not do very often. I would give it 4.5, if I could. Very good escapist material.
The premise is that normal business exec goes to work one day and his boss tries to kill him. He then finds out that pretty much everyone else he knows wants him dead, as well.
I originally was going to give it five stars, which I do not do very often. I would give it 4.5, if I could. Very good escapist material.
September 9, 2021
Oof. This is a standard cat and mouse action novel. It's loaded with testosterone, which basically means there are lots of guns and ammo, careful descriptions of illegal/psychotic/bloody actions from everyone, and women who either need rescuing or are ball busters.
It's got some racial slurs (apparently to demonstrate the badness of the bad guys, but that's doable without being a racist so...).
There are some redeeming scenes - mostly the cat and mouse stuff inside the building. It's too little of the book to warrant more than 2 stars though.
It's got some racial slurs (apparently to demonstrate the badness of the bad guys, but that's doable without being a racist so...).
There are some redeeming scenes - mostly the cat and mouse stuff inside the building. It's too little of the book to warrant more than 2 stars though.
May 24, 2010
Dave comes in early to the office and his boss tries to kill him. A real thrill ride.
I really like the character. It turns out Dave is not only good at turning the hunters into the hunted, but he gets a real charge out of it.
I would give it 5 stars but there is some stuff about torture, heads on poles, and some bad stuff from his Vietnam days, and the ending had some odd spots, but it is still one of my favorite books.
I really like the character. It turns out Dave is not only good at turning the hunters into the hunted, but he gets a real charge out of it.
I would give it 5 stars but there is some stuff about torture, heads on poles, and some bad stuff from his Vietnam days, and the ending had some odd spots, but it is still one of my favorite books.
January 21, 2015
If you have ever wondered what Die Hard might have looked like as a script then you may finally have your answer. Vertical Run is that and much more. It delivers everything the AV medium cannot and more. The lead protagonist is beautifully constructed and his inner voice is so well done you almost don't realize there is no real conversations during the course of the book. Super fast and super fun. Don't forget it for your next short trip.
February 22, 2009
Not the most complex book, but if I had to categorize it, Vertical Run would be one of those summer blockbuster movies. Fast paced action, sometimes over the top action, decent enough characters and a fascinating grabber that keeps you turning the pages.
July 28, 2011
You will LOVE this book. Action, action, action as well as being put in the shoes of the main character trying to figure out why everyone is trying to kill him.
January 5, 2015
One of the most exciting books I have ever read.
August 24, 2017
This book has been on the back of my mental to read list for twenty years. I remember seeing on a rack in a drug store. It looked like a Die Hard novel and that was enough to keep me thinking about it for twenty years apparently. Now I have started using Goodreads for the forces of good by using the want to read lists it got my reading priorities straight.
Going into it I was expecting Die Hard but in a novel and that's what you see but luckily that is just a setting similarity. Like the movie, it does have a good amount of humor in the first 2/3 thirds, less when it gets to end. The main character is a ex super soldier instead of a cop, which is a bit of an easy out for his situation but it does lead to several good storylines related to his time in Nam. There is a mystery aspect and psychological aspects to the story that keep in interesting. It's a different kind of action thriller that I'd rather read than any Reacher style novel though it does have a basically a superman as the lead character-at least he's funny.
There are a couple of references to the 93 WTC attack, they make you wince just having even a fictional character remark on that not knowing what was to come and its referred to with a humorous tone which adds to the cognitive dissonance of it all. You want to shout at someone to warn them.
Going into it I was expecting Die Hard but in a novel and that's what you see but luckily that is just a setting similarity. Like the movie, it does have a good amount of humor in the first 2/3 thirds, less when it gets to end. The main character is a ex super soldier instead of a cop, which is a bit of an easy out for his situation but it does lead to several good storylines related to his time in Nam. There is a mystery aspect and psychological aspects to the story that keep in interesting. It's a different kind of action thriller that I'd rather read than any Reacher style novel though it does have a basically a superman as the lead character-at least he's funny.
There are a couple of references to the 93 WTC attack, they make you wince just having even a fictional character remark on that not knowing what was to come and its referred to with a humorous tone which adds to the cognitive dissonance of it all. You want to shout at someone to warn them.
June 28, 2023
2.5
Das Konzept des Buches ist sehr basic:
Ein typ wird verfolgt und er versucht seinen Verfolgern zu entkommen.
Natürlich gibt es auch eine Vorgeschichte wie es zu all dem kam, aber im Buch wird die erst gegen Ende erläutert.
Das Buch hatte zwar Spannung aber nicht genug um mich um mich interessiert zu halten.
Ausserdem wird das Buch in die Kategorie thriller eingestuft, was ich sehr unpassend finde, weil ,, der Schacht " keine guten thriller Eigenschaften .
Natürlich gibt es auch positive Aspekte im buch, zum einen fand ich die inneren Monologe des Protagonisten sehr interessant. Zudem gab es auch durchaus interessante stellen im Buch, jedoch leider nicht genügende.
Zusammen fassend kann man feststellen, dass das Buch sowohl positive als auch negative Aspekte hat und die negativen Aspekte leider dominater sind und eher hervorstechen als die positiven Aspekte .
Aus all den oben genannten Gründen gebe ich dem buch 2.5 von 5 Sternen.
Das Konzept des Buches ist sehr basic:
Ein typ wird verfolgt und er versucht seinen Verfolgern zu entkommen.
Natürlich gibt es auch eine Vorgeschichte wie es zu all dem kam, aber im Buch wird die erst gegen Ende erläutert.
Das Buch hatte zwar Spannung aber nicht genug um mich um mich interessiert zu halten.
Ausserdem wird das Buch in die Kategorie thriller eingestuft, was ich sehr unpassend finde, weil ,, der Schacht " keine guten thriller Eigenschaften .
Natürlich gibt es auch positive Aspekte im buch, zum einen fand ich die inneren Monologe des Protagonisten sehr interessant. Zudem gab es auch durchaus interessante stellen im Buch, jedoch leider nicht genügende.
Zusammen fassend kann man feststellen, dass das Buch sowohl positive als auch negative Aspekte hat und die negativen Aspekte leider dominater sind und eher hervorstechen als die positiven Aspekte .
Aus all den oben genannten Gründen gebe ich dem buch 2.5 von 5 Sternen.
August 2, 2017
As I got into this book, I realized I'd read it years ago; however, I'd forgotten how it ended, so that was a good thing. This is a fast, easy adventure novel, totally unrealistic, yet an entertaining "popcorn" story with lots of action and adventure.
February 14, 2021
Entertaining read. Unusual writing style. Always fun to read an old book (1996) and get glimpses of how things used to be.
July 9, 2015
This was one of the best thrillers I have ever read! It was a real page turner. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I can't say that about a lot of "thrillers" I read. And to think I got it for only a nickel at a used bookstore.
One morning, Dave Elliot is in his office and his boss, the company president, walks in. With a gun. To shoot Dave. Dave's old (he's 47) special forces training kicks in and he knocks out the man and takes his gun. What is happening? He leaves his office only to run into a couple of bulky men with obvious shoulder holsters under their jackets. A shootout ensues. Dave escapes. He goes up several floors from his 45th floor office in New York City to see his best friend and lawyer, who tries to kill him. He escapes. What the hell is going on? The next thing you know Dave is running for his life from all kinds of burly men with guns and a psychopath leader of the group who communicates to Dave via a radio of some sort that Dave has taken from one of the men he took out. He decides to call a TV station to call in a bomb threat so the cops will come and everyone will evacuate the building. He'll escape in the chaos. He reaches the first floor and there are lots of men with guns down there. All of a sudden he hears someone scream that they see him, go get him. He turns and sees his wife standing with these men. It's crazy! Dave does eventually get out, and goes to a lab he had gone to the day before for a tour where something odd had happened. When he gets there, the building is empty. He decides to return to the office tower -- where the men with guns are -- to look at this company's file in his boss's desk. He has to know what's going on and why. He gets back in the building and finds dozens of men waiting for him. What he does next is genius. What he finds out is shocking. The twist at the end of the book is brilliant. The last couple of pages provide a good climax to the story. It's a very satisfying book and I'll probably reread it several times. Definitely recommended.
One morning, Dave Elliot is in his office and his boss, the company president, walks in. With a gun. To shoot Dave. Dave's old (he's 47) special forces training kicks in and he knocks out the man and takes his gun. What is happening? He leaves his office only to run into a couple of bulky men with obvious shoulder holsters under their jackets. A shootout ensues. Dave escapes. He goes up several floors from his 45th floor office in New York City to see his best friend and lawyer, who tries to kill him. He escapes. What the hell is going on? The next thing you know Dave is running for his life from all kinds of burly men with guns and a psychopath leader of the group who communicates to Dave via a radio of some sort that Dave has taken from one of the men he took out. He decides to call a TV station to call in a bomb threat so the cops will come and everyone will evacuate the building. He'll escape in the chaos. He reaches the first floor and there are lots of men with guns down there. All of a sudden he hears someone scream that they see him, go get him. He turns and sees his wife standing with these men. It's crazy! Dave does eventually get out, and goes to a lab he had gone to the day before for a tour where something odd had happened. When he gets there, the building is empty. He decides to return to the office tower -- where the men with guns are -- to look at this company's file in his boss's desk. He has to know what's going on and why. He gets back in the building and finds dozens of men waiting for him. What he does next is genius. What he finds out is shocking. The twist at the end of the book is brilliant. The last couple of pages provide a good climax to the story. It's a very satisfying book and I'll probably reread it several times. Definitely recommended.
April 26, 2020
When the novel Vertical Run is over, Dave Elliot is a changed person. Through excruciating circumstances and several moral decisions David becomes a person that understands who he is, and what he has to do to save himself and those he loves.
Early on in the story Dave’s boss walks in his office with a gun and tries to shoot him. After managing to knock out his boss Dave walks out of his office only to be shot at again -- this time by mercenaries that know what they are doing. Also about this time you find out that Dave has a cynical voice in his head that he converses with. After eliminating them and listening to radio chatter Dave realizes that he is trapped near the top of his office building with massive amounts of troops below him.
About this time Dave starts to become his former self again -- something he apparently doesn’t want to be. Old habits like shooting a gun, and preservative thinking start to kick in, such as on page 27 “(You must think. Thinking is the only way out.)” Also, on page 29 Dave starts counting bullets, a tactic that would only be used by a trained army combatant. This is a change that Dave resents though. He has spent a lot of his life trying to be normal after his military career and being forced out of that normalness is not something he enjoys. Dave portrays this well on page 18-19 by saying “For 25 years I have devoted myself to ordinariness… It is how I define the word ‘good’.”
Quite a ways into the book Dave does manage to MacGyver his way out of the building and into the streets of New York. When he does step into the streets of New York though, he is a changed man. Gone is the normal corporate executive. Dave Elliot is officially deadly… and out for revenge.
Early on in the story Dave’s boss walks in his office with a gun and tries to shoot him. After managing to knock out his boss Dave walks out of his office only to be shot at again -- this time by mercenaries that know what they are doing. Also about this time you find out that Dave has a cynical voice in his head that he converses with. After eliminating them and listening to radio chatter Dave realizes that he is trapped near the top of his office building with massive amounts of troops below him.
About this time Dave starts to become his former self again -- something he apparently doesn’t want to be. Old habits like shooting a gun, and preservative thinking start to kick in, such as on page 27 “(You must think. Thinking is the only way out.)” Also, on page 29 Dave starts counting bullets, a tactic that would only be used by a trained army combatant. This is a change that Dave resents though. He has spent a lot of his life trying to be normal after his military career and being forced out of that normalness is not something he enjoys. Dave portrays this well on page 18-19 by saying “For 25 years I have devoted myself to ordinariness… It is how I define the word ‘good’.”
Quite a ways into the book Dave does manage to MacGyver his way out of the building and into the streets of New York. When he does step into the streets of New York though, he is a changed man. Gone is the normal corporate executive. Dave Elliot is officially deadly… and out for revenge.
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