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Absolute Power

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3 Sterne:		(5)
2 Sterne:		(2)
1 Sterne:		(3)

 

 

A David Baldacci novel is a great companion for a summer vacation, and Absolute Power is no exception. At the end of each chapter, I would convince myself that I could read "just one more chapter." It cost me some sleep but I was able to go through large chunks of the book in a sitting. Although not as good as Total Control, which I think was Baldacci's best effort, Absolute Power was still a page turner. Having seen the movie years ago, I was a bit skeptical to pick up the book but I am glad that I did. Although Baldacci has obviously tightened up his writing skills with his subsequent novels, Absolute Power is still packed with action, suspense, plot twists and good character development. I quickly found myself rooting for Luther Whitney, who although a career thief also has an abundance of courage, integrity and personal fortitude. If you are a Baldacci fan but have not yet read his first work, I strongly recommend picking up Absolute Power.

The movie did not do much justice to the book. The book kept me on the edge till the last page.

The crude reality portrayed in the book.. which is the vulnerability of the President of United States and the advantages he tries to take being in such high position..

Does that ring a bell?

A great suspense thriller.

I really enjoyed this first rate, suspense-filled novel, with its unusual plot and interesting characters. It grabbed my attention from the very first sentence all the way to its exciting end. I love political fiction, and this book is well up to the standards of my current favorite, "The President's Astrologer" by Barbara Shafferman.

This is the second David Baldacci book I have read-and it won't be the last. The plot seems improbable at first, but you quickly get caught up in the suspense. Jack Graham is an appealing hero, but his romantic interest, Kate Whitney, never quite seems believable. The other characters, notably Gloria Russell and Bill Burton, add nicely to the spine-tingling anticipation of wanting to know what happens next. I really enjoyed this book, to the point I will buy my own copy when I can (the one I read was from the library). David Baldacci has a new fan! One criticism, albeit minor: I would recommend that Mr. Baldacci study the work of Robert Ludlum to see how to improve his characterizations and narrative detail. Regardless, I intend to read everything he writes from now on. I am thrilled to encounter such a major new talent!

After reading The Winner by Baldacci I wanted to read more of his works. I remembered seeing the movie 'Absolute Power' and was wondering how they compare. The book was a real page turner and I enjoyed it much more than the movie. The book confused me so much that I rented the video to clear up a few things. The screen writer should be ashamed of butchering a great book. Not even the hero is the same. I did learn an important lesson...not all books will play well on screen. The Grisham books may be the exception. I hope Baldacci was payed well for the movie title and part of a story.

Den Film zum Buch kannte ich schon. Und es wie so oft - das Buch ist einfach besser.
Die Geschichte ist wahnsinnig spannend und man kommt immer wieder in die Situation,
in der man denkt, die Geschichte sei real. Typisch Baldacci. Manche Szenen sind einfach nur schockierend und das Buch wird seinem Titel gerecht. Die forensischen Begriffe und Erläuterungen sind für mich als Nichtengländer/amerikaner etwas schwierig, daher ist ein dictionary manchmal empfehlenswert. Ist aber kein Kritikpunkt, schliesslich kann man das Buch auch in deutscher Sprache kaufen.
Für mich mit etwas Abstand der beste Baldacci. WEiter so!

Hi there, I ordered "Absolute Power" a while back because I enjoyed Baldacci's
"Camel Club" Series (although those books also got exponentially worse) and
I wanted to see if his other books were up to par.

In my opinion, "Absolute Power" is a true waste of time. It's an utterly boring
and frustrating book. Here are a few reasons:

- The whole story could be covered in about 20-40 pages. It's utterly shallow.
Some authors might be able to make this work, but Baldacci fails horribly
in this book.
- The book really reads as if Baldacci first wrote up the main story points
in 20-40 pages and then started to add unnecessary details and fluff to
boast the book to 500+ pages. At one point I mistakenly bookmarked the book
at the wrong page to take a call. When I started reading again I had skipped
12(!) pages in the middle of the book, which I only realized another 20 pages
in. It did NOT take away from the story AT ALL. I could have finished the book
without ever having read these pages and it wouldn't have influenced my
overall reading "experience" of the book. "No word wasted" really doesn't
apply to Baldacci at all.
- The interesting parts are very condensed and can only be found sporadically
throughout the book. I have never put down a book as often as I have this
one. I usually get through one in a few sessions. This one took me more than
a dozen.
- ALL characters in the book are hopelessly clumsy and trusting. Nobody suspects
a thing, assassins and gunmen keep missing their targets and running into doors.
Parts of the "more action-oriented" passages read like slapstick-comedy-scripts.
- ALL characters in the book are retarded when it comes to decision meeting.
Neither the good guys, nor the bad guys nor the wannabe-bad guys (the lawyers)
make good decisions. It's like they asked a 6-year old to make decisions for them
and they either had to be a) the first thing that popped into the kid's head or
b) the thing that the kid would never ever think one should do in that situation.
-Did I mention that the book is LONG? I'm no stranger to reading 500+ - 750+ pages
but this one felt like it had 2000+ pages.

In conclusion, I bought the book because it had a good rating. I regret buying the
book. Don't buy the book, it's a waste of time and money.

Sincerely, a [confirmed buyer] ;)

Mein erster Krimi von Baldacci, da ich eigentlich Frauen-Krimis vorziehe. Aber diese Geschichte aus dem "Rattennest" Washington gefällt mir. 1996 veröffentlicht, ebenso aktuell für den heutigen Leser, was die Machenschaften im Weißen Haus betrifft und was man sich eh denken kann.

Ein Profi-Einbrecher, Luther, dringt nach dreimonatiger Vorbereitung in das verlassene riesige Wohnhaus eines steinreichen alten Mannes in der Nähe von Washington ein. Er weiß, im Schlafzimmer befindet sich hinter einer Spiegelwand ein Raum, in dem Millionen in Cash liegen. Es soll sein letzter großer Coup werden.

Die Spiegelwand ist von diesem Tresorraum aus gesehen ein so genannter One-Way-Mirror und dient dem 80-jährigen Hausbesitzer dazu, seiner blutjungen Frau und deren Sex-Partnern zuzusehen.

Während Luther das Geld einpackt, hört er, wie Menschen das Haus betreten. Unglaublich: Die junge Ehefrau kommt mit dem Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten und dessen Sicherheitspersonal, um im Ehebett eine Liebesnacht mit dem mächtigsten Mann der Welt zu verbringen. Während dem gewaltsamen Liebesakt stirbt die Frau. Das Sicherheitspersonal vernichtet alle Spuren und lässt die Leiche liegen. Nachdem sie das Haus verlassen haben, flieht auch Luther, wird aber von dem Washington-Pack auf der Flucht beobachtet. Und nun beginnt das Katz- und Maus-Spiel, das wirklich sehr spannend ist.

Baldacci erzählt in drei, eigentlich vier Strängen. Das ist einmal der Versuch von Luther, dem Secret Service zu entkommen, dann die Pläne der Menschen um den Präsidenten, die den Augenzeugen liquidieren wollen und letztlich natürlich die ambitionierte Arbeit der Polizei, die einen Mord aufklären soll, ihrerseits vom Secret Service infiltriert ist, um die Verhaftung und damit die Wahrheit zu verhindern. Drei Stränge, die nie überladen sind oder sich gegenseitig stören, sondern logisch und spannend verbinden. Warum müssen immer die "good guys" dran glauben? Der vierte Strang ist dann eine Liebesgeschichte, die mit schluchz und schnief wunderbar endet. Sehr empfehlenswerter Krimi.

Ich habe den Film nicht gesehen, aber es hat mich nicht gestört, Clint Eastwood als Luther und Gene Hackman als Präsidenten vor dem geistigen Auge zu haben.

Baldacci's first novel is an entertaining story, but could use a good editor. It's hard-boiled suspense results in a real page turner. Good character development (something Clint Eastwood's film version is lacking) adds to the sometimes rambling story. A good first effort and a good read.

Twists and turns in this suspenseful thriller made it a joy to read. The reader wants desperately for the arrogance of the Highest Office to come tumbling down. Suffice it to say Baldacci does not disappoint in this, his first and in my opinion, best story. Also, as usual the book far exceeds the movie for drama, excitement and entertainment.