I read this right after reading the first novel of the series, The Intern's Handbook That being said, I already had a good idea who John Lago was and I read this right after reading the first novel of the series, The Intern's Handbook That being said, I already had a good idea who John Lago was and what he did for a living. While I really enjoyed the first novel, this prequel was not as enjoyable.
This novella talked about Lago's very first mission as an assassin, disguised as an intern. It was fun to read about how he did in his first mission, but the mission itself was just okay for me. It wasn't as grand as the ones in the first novel, but this being a novella, it was okay I guess. The other characters in this novella weren't that interesting and likable, unlike Alice and some others in the first novel. I got this for free though, so I shouldn't really complain that much.
3.5/5 stars. I can't wait to read the sequel coming my way this 2015. John Lago is slowly starting to make it to my favorite characters. I'm just hoping that the sequel wouldn't flop....more
I read the first book, The Intern's Handbook, months ago, but I can still remember most of what happened in it. It was an amazing introduction to John Lago. JL is one of those fictional characters that stick with you, even after reading. He has a James Bond aura that I really like. James Bond is one of my favorite characters, and JL feels like his son.
This book continues where the first book left off. JL being a character I already like, this was an easy read for me. Alice was also really good in this novel. Both of them developed even more and the twists were really good too. While this novel focused on their relationship more than the action, I still found this book enjoyable. The writing of the author was great as usual, and the romance was not cheesy in any way possible. I'm really liking the JL-Alice team.
The only thing that didn't make me rate this a 5 would be the ending. The twist in the end was not good enough for me. I didn't see it coming, but it wasn't grand either. I was hoping for something more dramatic but I guess it wasn't that bad. The overall novel was amazing, and I can't wait for more JL adventures.
4/5 stars. The first book was still slightly better than this, but not by a lot. While the first one had a more appealing plot, this book was more character-centered. I like character-centered books but the first one had an amazing plot, so my expectations for this second one was a more plot oriented novel. I can't wait to read more of the series. The author replied to my tweet saying that there will be more books to come in the series. My only problem would be the unbearable waiting. Highly recommended....more
John Lago is an assassin disguised as an intern. Interns are invisible, and that makes it the best costume for an assassin. He has been doing this forJohn Lago is an assassin disguised as an intern. Interns are invisible, and that makes it the best costume for an assassin. He has been doing this for years now, and he's in his last mission. He's planning of retiring, and his last mission is not the easiest one of all.
This was a mixture of craziness and awesome action. It was really hard to like during the first part, but once I've grown to like the main character, the novel was very fast paced. In a way, it was a simple story, but there were a lot of plot twists near the end. Only one really struck me as a really good one, but most of them were really good nonetheless. I just didn't see those things happening. I was fixated on certain things happening, so when I didn't get what I was expecting, I realized how good this novel was. Most crime novels are predictable, but this one proved itself otherwise. Not the best crime novel I've read, but I can add it to one of my favorites in that genre.
Romance in this genre is very evident already, but it takes a good novel for the romance to feel real and not forced. John and Alice were a fun read. They reminded me of a lot of strong couples in movies who you know would work out in the end, no matter what.
As for the main plot, all I can say is that it delivered. It promised a handbook containing his last mission, and it really did. His life story was a short but fun read. Sometimes I wonder if I would make a good assassin or detective, because their field of work just interests me a lot. Don't worry though, I probably wouldn't end up as one. It also contained a lot of medical jargons that I enjoyed a lot. And the precision of how he killed the ones he was supposed to, and then explaining what would happen next was a great thing to read.
4.5/5 stars. The only thing that ruined this novel would be that terrible ending. If it weren't for that, this might have had made it to my favorites list. When I saw the book cover, and read the synopsis on the dust jacket while I was at my local bookstore, I knew I was going to enjoy this novel. It was a short but fast paced crime book. Highly recommended. I can't wait for the sequel to come out soon....more
A very weak novel by Koontz. it's like he was contradicting himself when he gave the book a title of "Velocity" when in reality it was slow as shit.
TA very weak novel by Koontz. it's like he was contradicting himself when he gave the book a title of "Velocity" when in reality it was slow as shit.
The main character was really likable at first, but he slowly became boring as the novel went by. I didn't seem to hold my interest because most of the book contained nothing but jibber jabber. A lot of useless stuff written just for the novel to be longer than it should be. The amount of useless things said over powered the little of action that the novel had.
The plot had huge potential, but the jibber jabber really destroyed it. A supposed suspenseful novel turned into a sleep inducing one. It took me forever to finish this (almost a month) and that means that I really wasn't interested. I finished it just for the sake of it, and because I really hate to DNF a book. I haven't really seen the truth in "If you like Stephen King, then try Dean Koontz" just yet, but maybe some of his other better novels would make me realize the implication.
1.5/5 stars. I'm sure that I didn't pick up the wrong Koontz novel based on the synopsis, because that shit was good and exciting. It's also not because I wasn't in the mood for such genre, because I was. The book was just terrible for me, let's leave it at that. Nothing works for everybody anyway. Once again, I'm still not giving up on Koontz, because his Odd Thomas novels were quite entertaining anyway(at least the ones I've currently read). Read at your own risk....more