36 Righteous Men

I had to think for a few days as to what I would write for a review. Fantasy-thriller is a new genre for me. Plus it has christian end-times aspect. <br />Essentially a Jewish legend has a core belief that in any period of time there are 36 Righteous men in the world. They may not even know they are one of the Ones. If the 36 men do not exist - then it is the end if the world .<br />Steven Pressfield is now one of my new favourite authors.<br />Unputdownable

Gets off to a strong start, and I love the "Blade Runner"-type setting, with its flooded New York City and next-gen automotive and surveillance technologies. But then the whole "murder mystery" part gets basically solved by page 100, and the book left turns into a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger's "End of Days" and "Indiana Jones and the Gates of Hell." So, basically any of a dozen recent Nicolas Cage movies.<br /><br />Looking back, I realize this is my sixth Pressfield novel, although looks like that was all before I began writing reviews. So let me sum up here: his histories, including <b>Gates of Fire, Virtues of War, The Afghan Campaign</b> and the WWII-set <b>Killing Rommel</b> are all excellent - 4 or 5 stars every one. And I give him credit for spreading his wings with this book and his previous <b>The Profession,</b> also set some ten years in the future, (twenty at the time of writing). But a lot of other writers are doing this type of near-future dystopia; whereas NO ONE has as strong a record with military-based historical fiction. <br /><br />My unsolicited and thoroughly unprofessional advise: History goes back a <i>long</i> way, Mr. Pressfield - I'm sure there are an endless number of forgotten-yet-relevant stories in there just waiting for your unique voice to bring them to the light.<br /><br /><b>UPDATE:</b> And looks like someone was paying attention, because Pressfield just released "his first novel of the ancient world in thirteen years...a gripping saga of conquest and rebellion, bloodshed and faith." The book is about Roman legionnaires in Jerusalem and the Sinai circa A.D. 60, and I can hardly wait!

Steven Pressfield has put his own unique twist on the apocalypse/future that we are hurdling towards. Set in the not too distant future, Pressfield’s characters are not only dealing with a bloodthirsty killer, but also the natural elements that have evolved and are out of control.<br /><br /><i>36 Righteous Men</i> is a book of layers. It is a murder mystery slash thriller mixed up with futuristic environmental touches and a flash of religious fiction. I truly appreciated how Pressfield put all of these elements together without shoving the environmental aspect down my throat from a soapbox.<br /><br />The style of <i>36 Righteous Men</i> was innovative. Told from our protagonist’s perspective, it was almost as if she were recounting the story after the fact. The dialogue was minimal, almost treated as an aside from the story itself. This captivated my interest as it was new and different.<br /><br />Pressfield constructed an interesting, uniquely presented novel with some captivating characters. I enjoyed my time spent in this world.<br /><br />*I received a copy of the book from the publisher (via NetGalley).<br />

Όχι... ΌΧΙ... Αυτός δεν είναι ο Πρέσσφιλντ που ξέρουμε! Άσε που κατά πάσα πιθανότητα, όταν έγραφε το βιβλίο (αν το έγραψε όντως αυτός!) είχε πωρωθεί μάλλον με το Supernatural και το έβγαλε στο βιβλίο. ?<br />Τέλος πάντων...καλές μεν οι περιγραφές που μας μεταφέρουν σε ένα κάπως δυστοπικό (κοντινό) μέλλον, αλλά μέχρι εκεί! <br /><br />2.5* αστεράκια μόνο και μόνο γιατί σε βάζει αρκετά στο κλίμα.

A most unusual book; a propulsive thriller that takes place in the bleak future world of devastating climate change yet at the same time makes a very convincing case for the ancient beliefs of Judaica. I was completely hooked and raced through this book. The author does a good job of explaining all the future world things without taking you out of the story. The dialogue is realistic and reads almost like a movie script. I really enjoyed this one!

Βαθμολογία: 7/10<br /><br />Δεύτερο βιβλίο του Στίβεν Πρέσφιλντ που διαβάζω, μετά το "Ο επαγγελματίας" που διάβασα τον Αύγουστο του 2016. Μπορώ να πω ότι τούτο δω μου άρεσε λιγάκι παραπάνω από το προηγούμενο βιβλίο του, αν και στο τέλος ούτε αυτό με ξετρέλανε. Αν μη τι άλλο πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικά ευκολοδιάβαστο και εθιστικό θρίλερ, που έτσι όπως είναι γραμμένο δύσκολα το αφήνεις κάτω. Βέβαια, πολλοί αναγνώστες μπορεί να το αφήσουν μια και καλή κάτω μετά από λίγες σελίδες, επειδή η γραφή είναι κάπως επίπεδη και η αφήγηση μάλλον ψυχρή και αποστασιοποιημένη. Σίγουρα ο τρόπος γραφής και παρουσίασης της ιστορίας δεν είναι για όλα τα γούστα, πάντως κατά τη γνώμη μου κατάφερε να δημιουργήσει μια κάποια παράξενη ατμόσφαιρα που ταιριάζει σε εσχατολογικά μυθιστορήματα (γιατί ουσιαστικά τέτοιο είναι, με όλα όσα συμβαίνουν). Από κει και πέρα, οι χαρακτήρες είναι παντελώς μονοδιάστατοι και αδιάφοροι, δεν μαθαίνουμε πολλά γι' αυτούς και προσωπικά δεν με ενδιάφερε ποια θα είναι η κατάληξή τους. Νομίζω ότι ο συγγραφέας σίγουρα θα μπορούσε να δουλέψει λίγο παραπάνω τον χαρακτήρα του Μάνινγκ ή, έστω, αυτόν της αφηγήτριας, αλλά ίσως δεν ενδιαφέρεται και τόσο για τους χαρακτήρες του, όσο για τα θέματα που αγγίζει και τις ιδέες που παρουσιάζει. Όσον αφορά την πλοκή, μου κράτησε αμείωτη την προσοχή από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος, προσφέροντας λίγη ένταση και κάμποση ίντριγκα, αν και πολλά πραγματάκια δεν με έπεισαν και τόσο, ενώ δεν έλειπαν και κάποιες ασάφειες και ευκολίες. Γενικά, παρά τις χτυπητές αδυναμίες, πέρασα εξαιρετικά ευχάριστα την ώρα μου, ενώ κατάφερε να με ιντριγκάρει και λίγο.

Not a fan of first person novels.

36 Righteous Men was highly unique and not at all what I expected, but I think I liked it or at least enjoyed the ride! The format was odd and took some getting used to but the fast pace definitely drew me in. As another reviewer pointed out, the writing style reads like a movie script! I think some parts tended to drag out or even seem out of place, but overall it was an interesting concept that I hadn’t seen before. And I definitely put myself on the side of “I loved the ending” since it actually surprised me! This was a solid and quick three star read for me and definitely one of the most unusual books I’ve read this year! Thank you to W.W. Norton &amp; Company for my free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Release date 11/5/19<br />

This felt like it had the makings of a good story, but I felt like it never really developed. Sort of feels like it was a Minimal Viable Product that people who gush about his <i>War of Art</i> would recommend getting out to the world.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book. What a ride! Told in the form of reports and brief memos, this story is how Detective Manning, a dysfunctional cop and his grade 1 partner, Covina "Dewey" Duwai, struggle to figure out why Jewish men are dying and how it connects with the Jewish tale of 36 Righteous Men. These men are determined, by God, to know the answers to how to help the planet. As long as they live, God will not destroy Earth.<br /><br />The only thing that will bring the end of time is the dark angel, HaSatan. A young women will escort him into the world to destroy the 36 Righteous. However, The DivSix team (special unit to investigate high profile crimes) is focused on the Russian connection. Except for Detective Manning. He is first given a glimpse of a young woman who keeps presenting him with clues about what is happening. As Manning and Dewey follow their own investigation, they discover that more than lives are at stake.<br /><br />With more twists than a country road, this story will keep you enthralled. It is worth the price of admission to read this high paced thriller.