The Target

When David Baldacci released what I consider his magnum opus, The Innocent, out into the wild; it did more than turn me into a huge fan of his writing. It single-handedly redefined my perception of the modern-day technothriller genre as a whole through its sublime combination of quality, nearly flawless pacing and unforgettable characters amalgamated into a plot that was so brilliantly constructed that it always kept me on my toes wondering what would happen next. In one stroke, the book went on to become one of my all-time favorite books of any genre and would serve as the genesis for what I’ve come to love and expect from Baldacci as a writer. Which is why I was disappointed when the follow-up, The Hit, failed to live up to its predecessor’s greatness. It was by no means a bad book; in fact it still was cut above the rest in the genre. Yet as a sequel to one of my all-time favorite novels, I feel it didn’t quite measure up to the same level of quality. Fortunately, all is forgiven in Baldacci’s latest novel in the series, The Target.As a writer, Baldacci is at his absolute best when he constructs a narrative that nails the balancing act of illustrating both the high-stakes political intrigue that occurs behind closed doors in places of power, particularly in factual government agencies and officials of the sort, while complementing this substantially with memorable characters that serve to give Baldacci’s writing its humanity, something I feel many authors of technothrillers don’t always succeed at doing. In this regard, Baldacci is spot on, for in The Target, the characters are portrayed as far more than mere tools of their respective governments tasked with performing their country’s classified dirty work. While these characters certainly bare the cold demeanor and inner-discipline one would reasonably expect from someone of the profession, they also come off feeling believably human and in some regards, dare I say genuinely relatable. These aren’t superheroes; they’re humans with real personal issues and problems. Seeing how they persevere and overcome them, as well as how they inspire others plays a large part of the book’s appeal.Will Robie’s character is at its best when he’s interacting with other characters. After all, possessing a predominantly stoic demeanor doesn’t always guarantee that the protagonist clicks with the reader. Baldacci circumvents this issue by illustrating some exceptionally entertaining dialogue between Robie and the supporting characters, particularly Jessica Reel who despite having the same profession and training as Robie doesn’t share the same jaded personality. Reel’s snarky retorts to government bureaucracy in juxtaposition with Robie’s controlled stoicism is great, and the back-and-forth banter between the two assassins greatly exacerbates both their presence as equally nuanced characters, and as one formidable duo. Along with tangible moments of guilt and vulnerability, the relationship between Robie and Reel is substantially reinforced from the last book and I’m very excited to see where Baldacci takes in it in the next sequel.Of course the greatest villains in fiction are the ones with flashes of humanity or feelings of doubt and internal angst. Where Baldacci succeeds in developing Robie and Reel, he absolutely nails it out of the park with the new antagonist Chung-cha, their North Korean counterpart. Having an horrific, and at times tear-jerking upbringing in one of North Korea’s most infamous prison camp and then being forced into the service of a thankless totalitarian regime, it’s easy to become attached to Chung-cha as she struggles to find her own semblance of self-worth and identity in what is a predominantly patriarchal society run by fascist dictators. With Chung-cha’s story arc, Baldacci once again showcases one of his greatest talents as a writer: his ability to connect the reader to the sufferings of real-life people living far less fortunate lives in different countries around the world. Whether this is the middle-east or some other third-world country, he makes us question everything we take for granted while opening our eyes towards the misery of those less fortunate who weren’t born in a country that exercises the same rights and liberties that we often nonchalantly take for granted. You can’t help but feel sorry for Chung-cha and the actual people who she serves as a surrogate for. Everything she and the real-life people she is meant to represent were made into what they are by their twisted government. I won’t spoil anything, yet I’d almost go as far to say that Chung-cha’s story nearly steals the show from Robie and Reel. So much so that I feel it was almost a missed opportunity that she wasn’t the star of her own novel.In contrast to the sympathy the reader is meant to exude for Chung-cha; Evan Tucker is an antagonist who we’re meant to despise, and in that regard he’s another success. He’s a typical bureaucratic weasel with a misguided vendetta against Reel after the stunt she pulled in The Target. Between his desire to bury Reel and anyone who assists her, along with the insurmountable odds facing the two assassins from outside forces; it creates a palpable amount of anxiety which gives the book’s premise a lot of necessary tension. The characters are always unsure of who to trust and whether their demise could come from their opposition, or from the select few within their own government who want them dead. Top that off with the possibility of all-out nuclear war if they fail their mission and Robie and Reel have a lot to on their plate.While I was unsure of the direction the series was taking after The Hit, this latest offering from Baldacci has completely eradicated any lingering doubts. Like The Innocent before it, The Target lays the blueprint for how to craft an exciting, emotionally-engaging technothriller that feels grounded in the realms of plausibility. The characters are better than ever, the plot is sublime and Chung-cha’s story arc alone is enough for the price of admission.

Most of Baldacci's novels are comparable: same length, same number of sub-plots, etc. I'm okay with that as long as it is well-written. And, for the most part 'all' are.However, in THE TARGET, I have two problems. First, anyone who studies geo-politics or history, etc. beyond the US knows the entire scenario that covers North Korea is pure garbage. Not improbable; it's impossible! Read "The Girl with Seven Names" to understand the extent of security in N. Korea and the unlikelihood of leaving, much less getting 'rescued!'The other is the sub-plot concerning Reel's biological father. Huh? I guess Baldacci was short on the number of pages as this is so unnecessary and unlikely. Just tell the main story and any subplots (such as the Korean assassin) that are adjunct to the plot... and be on with it.Well, I guess I have a third. Robie and Reel have been very close for a long..... time. But, never intimate and neither has had a 'mate.' Really stretching believability.

I'm surprised I liked this one so much. Robie and Reel go through some truly difficult situations. Many things in their pasts are reveled and their relationship grows underfire. That and a young girl comes into their lives.

With a surprise ending that left this guy reader in tears. Your going toLove it….Love Love Love it it

Was surprised at the different stories that were in this book but the other kept you interested and wrapped them all up by the end. Looking forward to the next one in the series!

Once again David Baldacci has written an intense multi-layered book with side by side stories happening that peels back some of the layers of Reel and Robie. Suddenly they are actually human in their feelings. Enjoyable to see this.

Normally, I would give 4-5 stars on just about any Baldacci novel.First, the good - this is still Baldacci's writing. So when the plot to a story is advancing, it is engaging and keeps you reading. I read at night, so when a book can keep me fighting against sleep, it's a good read. While I was able to put down the book twice, it still took a while to get to those points, so there's plenty of good writing inside.Now, the bad...There are two main problems with this book - the "main" villain and the split-up story.THE MAIN VILLAIN:This one felt (to me) like he wasn't 100% comfortable with the main villain's story or identity and the book suffered for it. It was as if he struggled with figuring out whether he wanted to end the main story line with redemption or an epic battle, like he wanted to try something new for a change, and was experimenting on how to do it.The result was a LOT of pages spent on that person's backstory. Every 4th chapter or so seems 90% devoted to this backstory, with 10% of plot advancement. After a few of these interruptions, the backstory begins to REALLY get in the way. Even though the backstory is designed to make you feel sorry for the character (which it does, initially), I ended up feeling frustrated and began skimming instead of reading just to get past those sections. Both times I ended up putting down the book to go to sleep were during these backstory chapters.Ultimately, it felt like Baldacci was struggling to come up with reasons why the person acted in a certain way. It's like someone pausing an action movie and turning to explain to you why they just blew up that building. Actions speak louder than words and that's how I want to discover those explanations - by watching actions, not by listening to a narrator's monologue of a flashback. The latter is passive and feels like a huge speed bump.SPLIT-UP STORY:I don't know if this is due to the problems with the main villain, but it felt (to me) like the primary story line was too short, so they threw in a completely different, completely-independent story line (which, ironically, is what the first chapter is about).Strangely enough, the secondary story line was MORE engaging than the primary one. It brought in more of the characters you knew from previous Will Robie books, and ended WAY too quickly. After the second story was finished, I ended up wishing that the book had just been one larger book about the secondary-but-better story.Still, if you like Baldacci's other books, you'll probably still enjoy this one. There's a good dose of the typical Will-Robie-series ingredients, so it's still a lot of fun to read. Not his best, by far, but it's nice to be able to enjoy an author even when he's not at the top of his game.

It's a political crime story. I liked most the description of both US special agents und especially the one of the North Korean agent.

Excellent book

In the previous book I had commented that the ending was a bit off but now I know why the suit did what he did.The characters, the storytelling and the attention to detail was just simply outstanding.Can’t wait to read the next one in this series.

me encanta la narrativa del autor, capta el interes desde el primer capitulo

Hard to put down. Several sub-plots that could have been full fledged stories in themselves. I always thought that Baldacci's books would all make great action movies and this was no exception.