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| Plot Summary of The Negotiator |
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"With the Free World's supply of oil drying up, the West must turn to the Middle East for its needs. John Cormack, president of the United States, and Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the CPSU, believe a mutual reduction in arms expenditure will free the resources that they need to buy their oil. But billionaire Texas oil tycoon Cyrus V. Miller and Soviet Marshal Ivan Koslov are planning an invasion of the Middle East to grab the oil rather than concede to the Arabs. Together they plot to oust Cormack and destroy the Nantucket arms treaty.
The kidnapping of a young man attending Oxford University in England is the first step in this plan. Veteran hostage negotiator Quinn is asked to come out of retirment in Spain and bargain for the boy's life. While an ambitious senator campaigns against the Nantucket treaty and vice-president Michael Odell seeks to handle the crisis, Quinn and an attrractive FBI agent named Sam Somerville attempt to reason with the kidnappers, unaware that a ransom is not their objective.
This is, in my opinion, Frederick Forsyth's best novel. Forsyth takes the typical high-concept Hollywood premise of a high-profile kidnapping and then spins the story in unexpected directions. It contains all the usual ingredients of political conspiracy, espionage and special forces action. The story has the widest scope of any of his novels, moving from Washington D.C. to London, from the cities of Europe to the snowy landscape of Canada, and though the story takes place in the early nineties, its as relevant today as it was prophetic then. A guarenteed unputdownable page-turner."
Scott Crawford, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Negotiator |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- kidnap/rescue
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
- evil corporation/billionaire
Search for technology?
- power source
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- deluded
- mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- big business leader(s)
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Canada
City?
Yes
City:
- London
- Washington D.C.
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
A lot of techno jargon?
Yes
Kind of jargon?
- military technology
Unusual forms of death
- dropped from large heights
- perforation--bullets
- exploded into bits
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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