The Judas Gate

This started off rather confusing to me where the characters were concerned. The author introduced sevral of them with various scenarios and for me,it became rather lost. I found it hard to follow which character he was focusing on at a given point, for maybe the first 100 pages.<br /><br />It did somewhat iron out during the middke and the end. The storyline of british agents hunting down an agent for alqueda agent was a nice idea but i found it lacked some sort of jazz to fully grip me. Id say this isnt a 2 but its not a 3 in no way. So a 2.5 would suffice. <br /><br />(Note: forgive me if this review seems a bit garbled, I'm writing this after having a rather hard night)

Judas Gate, by Jack Higgins, is one of the dullest, so-called action books I have read. What began as an intriguing, action-filled series staring Sean Dillon has deteriorated into little more than a tale of tedious plotting, endless talking, and almost constant drinking among characters who have lost their individuality. I wonder how the special unit headed by Ferguson can get anything right with all they drinking they do. I also wonder how Shamrock, the Irish-born villain, can plot anything with his constant drinking. Maybe it's the Irish way, according to Higgins; if so, it doesn't paint a very positive portrait of a warm and loving people.<br /><br />This is one is a disappointment, mostly because the characters keep behaving in unrealistic ways without motivations that make any sense, and because there's lots of cross-over and confusion about who's who among the supposed good guys.<br /><br />The behavior is the worst part. Supposedly very experienced spies, reformed terrorists, and special forces types blab about secret stuff, tell people things they shouldn't, and generally mouth off in such a way that the other side inevitably hears about it. Then they discover they've been discovered, and walk blithely into danger anyway, which no sensible person who has seen action would do, and manage to overcome all odds to triumph over incredibly inept opposition. This happens repeatedly, and strains the reader's "willing suspension of disbelief".<br /><br />The locations are meant to be glamourous, but wind up being two-dimensional cardboard backdrops, and inserted not for any particularly believable reason, but because action books clearly need to take place in glamourous locations.<br /><br />The author relies on three recurring plot devices:<br /><br />- people whose business is guarding secrets discuss secrets in places where they are easily overheard<br />- people whose business is guarding secrets discuss secrets with people they ought not to trust<br />- secrets are divulged on deathbeds.<br /><br />There is no sense of urgency in what happens in the story. We learn that a dying soldier had accidentally recorded an Irish-speaking commander of a Taliban unit in Afghanistan that had attacked and killed a dozen US. Army Rangers and members of a British medical team, in an ambush. The chase is on, of course, to find that apparent traitor who calls himself Shamrock. We also hear of a mysterious Preacher, the Al Qaeda leader in London, who somehow manages to remain safe as an academic, despite his constantly using a cell phone to contact those he controls, including Shamrock; surely, MI5 should have intercepted his calls, especially with key word recognition programs. Along the way, we hear a lot about the Troubles and their aftermath in Ireland, yet see little of the consequences of that often brutal and tragic period in Irish history. We also hear about the fighting in Afghanistan, but most of the action is off stage; all we get is a lot of talking about it. What was promoted as a revenge novel in which, I imagined, Sean Dillon would go off to Afghanistan and find and destroy Shamrock--or bring him back to the U. K. for trial--became a big disappointment.<br /><br />Another major issue I have with the novel is the lack of character development through individual portraits. I had to read the first two hundred pages twice to get any sense of each character. They sound alike, use similar phrasing, and are little more than cardboard cutouts, including the villain, Shamrock, as well as secondary characters Higgins introduces. The principals, such as Sean Dillon, General Ferguson, Daniel Holley, and Harry Miller--who should stand out as being sharply etched images--sound alike; with my eyes closed, I could not tell them apart. Even Harry and Billy Salter have lost their individuality as street thugs and are now little more than shallow images of themselves. Indeed, Billy used to be quick-tempered, "muscle" for Harry; in this book, he plays a minor role. In fact, he is even taken out of a critical mission at the end, in the Khufra Marshes of Algeria, by Ferguson (Higgins), after Billy was shot at near point-blank-range in the chest; while saved by a chest protector, he was deemed too weak to go after Shamrock.<br /><br />What little action is there, occurs sporadically, and doesn't feel or sound believable. We have an amazing shot by Dillon, at dawn, in a pouring rain, off-balance, and at some distance in misty marshes, as he wounds Shamrock, but even that is contrived. We also have an attack on Ferguson in Pakistan, which is also artificial. That attack raises the question of why Ferguson would even go on such a mission; he must be in his 70s by now, and retired. When he does appear, Ferguson plays a minor role in what happens. Even Roper, the highly skilled communications expert and researcher employed by Ferguson, is just another name; we know nothing about how or why he is in the chair and how he manages to thrive on a few hours of sleep. I also wonder how he manages to do his critical work with all the alcohol he drinks. Many of the character details were introduced in previous books; the reader who is new to Higgins needs some of the background details, otherwise he will be completely lost in this novel.<br /><br />Higgins also seems to have a problem with women. He killed off Hannah Bernstein, an effective member of Ferguson's unit, in an earlier novel; Dillon's lady friend, Monica Starling, is mentioned, but only in passing, being shipped off by Higgins to Harvard; and Shamrock's mother becomes an avenging angel. It is as though Higgins doesn't know what to with his women; so he figuratively get rids of them. As a cheat, Higgins opens the door to a sequel with Shamrock's mother predictably telling Dillon, after her son's funeral service, that she is going to avenge her son's death. This is the same device Higgins used with Kate Rashid in early adventures with Sean Dillon. We know what will happen to Shamrock's mother.<br /><br />Finally, Higgins irritatingly uses a variation of "and he did," when a characters asks to be told about an event in the story. Rarely do two characters ever share information directly. And, of course, to make a character sound Irish, we have several "Old sods" or Old souls."<br /><br />The edginess of a taut thriller is is gone in Judas Gate. I have read all of Jack Higgins' work from when he wrote as Harry Patterson through James Graham to today; the Judas Gate is the biggest disappointment so far. I think it is time for Higgins to retire Sean Dillon, as he did with Liam Devlin, and bring in new blood as the driving force in action thrillers, not merely part of more intellectual exercises.

This was my first <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/19706.Jack_Higgins" title="Jack Higgins" rel="noopener">Jack Higgins</a> and it might be my last. To be fair this is book 18 in the series and number 18 is not the right end to start a series. But for all that I'm hard pressed to say anything good about this book. The plot left a lot to be desired. The characters were no more than cardboard cut outs. The pace was like a wet afternoon. When the end came my first reaction was, thank God that's over.<br /><br />I have friends that tell me the earlier books are good so I might give Mr. Higgins the benefit of the doubt and see how book one works out. <br /><br />Recommended as cure for insomnia. <br /><br />

Higgins remains at the top of his form in this latest saga of Sean Dillon, General Ferguson and company as they ferret out the latest of their public enemies when they discover an Irishman is apparently aiding and abetting the enemy in Afghanistan. With only a recording of the voice as a British team is all but destroyed, Dillon and team set out to locate and eliminate this threat to their country. But the enemy has nothing left to lose and attacks from the shadows of anonymity. Twice various members of the team are sent into ambushes – who will come back alive? When the attacks become personal, who will remain unscathed? When the man is brought before them face-to-face, who will recognize him for who and what he really is?<br /><br />This is the seventy-third title published by Higgins, the eighteenth in the Dillon series. Like most of his books, this is military intrigue, and is also somehow connected to the Irish/English problem that has reigned in those islands for centuries. <br /><br />Mr. Patterson, I’m a fan!<br />

What can I say about <i>The Judas Gate</i>? Large stretches of boredom, interrupted by moments of "hmmm, time to open my eyes now?" Dillon returns, with a major new character (Daniel Holley) who seems to have no real reason for existing. I usually enjoy Jack Higgins' books for treadmill reading, but this one was a few steps below his usual work. I almost wondered if it was written by a ghostwriter or co-author (as has happened with too many of Tom Clancy's book ideas). but no, it appears to have been written solely by Higgins. Disappointing.

This story has a boring middle and lame ending. 2 of 10 stars

Not sure how this got on my audio-menu, but it's a stiff upper lip full of DNF.

Not my cup of tea. DNF

If I were to write a letter to this author I would say:<br /><br /><br /><br />Dear, Mr Jack Higgins, I picked out this book because it really pointed out to me there was something about it that was different. I wanted to know more about Putnam and why it was established, and what does the name of Putnam symbolize. I also wanted to know why this is the name of the book and during what time period did this book involve? Lastly, I wanted to know if this book is compared to a specific time or day in history and were the characters in this book real?<br /><br />I just wish book would’ve focused more on one thing at a time because one minute your book would explain the situation between Dillon and the war, then the U.S Army Rangers and the British medical teams’ death. You really lost me on those two conflicts in the book. I also didn’t like the fact that there was so much treachery throughout the book with the Afghans in the story and Osama as well.<br />I would suggest the ending to be not only Sean Dillon dealing with the war while searching for the traitor, but for him to have a team along with him to put the betrayal to an end so Sean doesn’t die at the end by himself. I just wish he would’ve had the president with him to see what he had to deal with by himself and gave Sean some sort of help at the end to give him more hope for finding the traitor.<br />Shevez Davis<br />

Run of the mill, formulaic adventure. I've not read previous books and as this was £18 am not sure whether I would have benefitted from reading earlier books in order to know more about some of the key characters. There seems to be repetition and unnecessary explanation of the plot in the first quarter of the book and the characters do blur into one another as you try and remember who is who. Plenty of examples of "loose lips sink ships" and club lunches that one hopes is not how the current intelligence community does its business!<br />Lie by the pool and leave your brain in neutral.