Review: Bring on the High-Tech Weapons & Gadgets!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2011
I thought Crescent Rising was a very good action thriller.  I found it to be thrilling, full of action and yes, a little over the top with some of the characters.  But I expected this!  I wanted to see a "James Bond" kick-ass type of guy and I got that in Ryan Black.  But, Black is not a solo act, and has a great support team and some futuristic gadgets that would make Bond jealous.  Yes, I liked all the high-tech weapons and spy gadgets.  They fit in perfectly with the story.Several reviewers have mentioned that Zach Hamric has the potential to be a great action/thriller writer along the Brad Thor, Jon Land, Jack De Brul, Clive Cussler, Jeremy Robinson, & James Rollins line of writers, and I fully agree.  I realize that Crescent Rising is Zach's first book.  Is it the best action novel of all-time? No, but it is certainly not a 1 star or 2 star story.  For a first time effort I would have rated it 3  stars, but since we can't rate in  star increments, I rounded up my review to 4 stars based on the fact that I really ENJOYED reading this thriller.  I actually wanted a little more time spent on just Ryan Black himself.  But as the first book in the series, Zach had to establish everyone's roles in the world of Ryan Black.  For only $2.99 I am very satisfied with this story and I will for sure get the 2nd book in this series when it comes out.  I already have Blank Slate on my Kindle and will read that in the next couple of weeks.To show you that great minds (and authors) think alike: early on in the story, the terrorists steal some nuclear material from abandoned lighthouses in northern Russia.  This was played out very similar to the storyline in Tom Clancy's new thriller: Dead or Alive.  I e-mailed Zach and he said he wrote Crescent Rising 2 years ago, so this just shows that Zach is thinking along the line of a great author like Tom Clancy, or that Tom is thinking along the lines of a young author like Zach.All I know is for this price you cannot go wrong if you are looking for a fun action thriller!  High-tech weapons/gadgets, plenty of action, a rugged kick-butt leading man, bullets, babes, & a slew of villains, Crescent Rising is more than all right!