Tim TignerBesprekingen

A bit of sci fi, a bit of sci fantasy. Creative plot. Good pass-timing read for the mid-holiday rest stop.
Big pharma, messing with the mind. With a little mobster action to help things glide along.

A fast paced action amnesia-based thriller with lots of twists. I found it to be a captivating read although a bit too clique and unbelievable at times. 3.5 stars.

Vicky, the protagonist was the daughter of two Cal-Tech scientists. They had been killed in an accident and she goes on to develop a technique for mind reading. She elects to keep the technique secret believing it would be result in huge problems were it to be made public. Then, independently four others make the same discovery. They decide to become criminal defense attorneys. Their mind reading skill allows them to intimidate witnesses or cause their testimony too be misdirected.
Because the attorneys fear what others will do if it is allowed free circulation.

2.5 stars--This author is a very good writer. The book probably deserves more than the rating I gave it. I've read something else by this author and liked it well enough to look at other titles he'd written.

I just couldn't get into this one and decided to not keep forcing myself to read on in the hopes I would start to get into it. For me it "jumped the shark" when Achilles wakes up believing himself to have been injured in a hurricane and finds himself supposedly married and marooned. Maybe there's a good reason for that but the confusion it caused just gave me more reason to say "no".½

I felt a bit lost at the beginning of the book when the main characters Alex discovered that his brother Frank is dead and that there is a mole in the company that Frank worked at and he discovers that the mole is forced to cooperate. And, then someone tried to kill Alex. It got a bit clear after a bit when more of the reason behind his brother's death was revealed and why just Alex was the one that pretty much goaded to Siberia.

As a thriller was it quite good with lots of action, not any boring parts that dragged the story down. I found the book perfect for reading for when you are in need of something fast-paced to read. The book has short chapters that kept the story going forward. When it comes to adventure and thrillers then there should be short cliffhanger types of chapters that make you read chapter after chapters because you need to find out more about what is going on.

The one thing in the book that kind of bothered me was that it was a bit too easy for Alex, at least I felt that way. Everything just happens to just go his way all the time. I mean in Siberia he manages to find the one person, a woman that has lost a brother in a suspicious “accident” that seems to have a connection to the man that his behind Alex brother Franks death. She is also being courted by the same man. That felt just a bit too much coincident for my liking. So even though I did enjoy reading the book, it just never really got that intense to read and the ending felt a bit like a typical movie ending, a perfect set-up for the next book (if there is a next book).

But nerveless it was a good book and I would like more books by Tim Tigner. But I hope for a more intense story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a blog tour at TLC Book Tours.

Silly but fun.

I struggle with whether this is a 3 star or 4 star book. In the end it just didn't make the 4 star rating for me. While the book is an interesting read my emotions stayed flat throughout the book.

Excellent read, full of action and intrigued packed on few pages. Impressive for a novella.

Okay - hut not great.

Sadly, predictable. That would have been ok if there had been more attention paid to the characters in the book. Any of them. But it had a rich premise, and that only highlighted the lack of character development. Very anemic.

I think the title had me anticipating more of a science fiction read than this was. Yes there was definitely a science fiction component to the plot, but this was clearly an action/adventure book. Go in reading it as you would a Clive Cussler book and you might not be as let down as I was.

Great premise. Good execution. I enjoyed reading this book. I'm the kind who can never solve the mystery, but I did see this one coming. The set up was done well but 20 years into the exercise it was kinda disappointing. These people were incredibly smart and fabulously wealthy but they came up with.... this?

Instead of a gaze into the mystery of our humanity, I saw clumsy hand waving that didn't hide the fact that there was no magic happening. I think if the author spent more armchair time with the philosophical questions he posed the result might not have felt like it was a less satisfying Dan Brown knockoff.

I didn't bother to finish the book - there was no one in the book I liked enough to care what happened to them. It was horrifying and annoying.

When an investor and a group of scientists discover a way to stop aging, rather than marketing their creation, they decide to keep it to themselves, trying to outwit time. However, as you might expect, this comes with problems of its own. In the meantime, an ex-CIA agent stumbles upon the murder of his college friend, and takes on an investigation of his own in order to figure out why his friend was murdered.

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading mixed reviews on this book. But the plot sounded intriguing. And overall, I liked it. It's a quick read with short chapters -- basically a thriller. And as thrillers go, it had its share of some some unrealistic plot twists, but I've come to expect that. The ending was wrapped up a little too tidily, in my opinion, but overall it was a decent read from an author I was previously unfamiliar with.½

It was an interesting premise. It would have been more interesting had the author explored a different reaction to how to spend one's time.½

Bigger than Life Hero in Nonstop Action Thriller

Simply put, if you are a fan of bigger-than-life action/thriller heroes, Pushing Brilliance is for you. The book introduces Kyle Achilles, who unlike his namesake, appears to have no heel. Working with the beautiful, Russian mathematician Katya Kozara, they fight assassins out to kill them for reasons they can’t begin to guess.

Action is clearly the strong suit of this book. It starts early and seldom slackens. And each time you believe Tigner is about to wrap up this tale, our protagonists meet another challenge. Relaxation only comes when you finish reading. One doesn’t necessarily expect a great deal of character development in a thriller, and this book fits that mold. We get a glimpse of Achilles and Katya, but nothing in depth. Both are stereotypes, although Katya seems well beyond the norm on nerdiness. Do mathematicians really run their lives by calculating probabilities? Additionally, thrillers often struggle with the romantic connection between the leads – usually they just jump into bed. Tigner, in my opinion, handles this aspect of the story better than most.

While I like the bigger-than-life heroes on occasion, they can get old. There are just so many Olympic bronze medalists, turned CIA operative, turned competitive rock climber, turned invincible hero I can take (yes, that’s Achilles’ resume). Additionally, there was too much dialog on tactics and strategy with Achilles being the teacher and Katya playing the role of the ready-to-risk-her-life student. And some of the tactical insights seemed little more than common sense, although Katya was still in awe. Finally, there was a question if the target of this crime (I’ll leave that vague to avoid a spoiler) would really be as gullible as they are portrayed. Human nature became a bit warped in places.

But overall, for an action-packed ride filled with gun battles, plotting and counter-plotting, and a bit of technology and romance, Pushing Brilliance is tough to beat.

As far as I remember, this is the first time I've read this author. His style reminds me a bit of David Baldacci's.

Pushing Brilliance as a title has a couple meanings: one, of course, being that there is a group recruiting people to use a new drug named brillyanc that enhances cognitive skills and makes the user pretty much the smartest person in the room. Another meaning is the more figurative in that many of the characters are trying to outwit others by using their brains (or mental brillance) to do so.

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD (READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION)
****

The Achilles family have met up to celebrate the father's retirement and to take a family cruise on a yacht. Kyle goes home with a server from the retirement dinner and thus is the only family member spared from carbon monoxide poisoning. His brother's fiancee also survives.

Kyle is implicated in their deaths. A former spy, Kyle's friends help him escape his cell so he can team up with Katya (the fiancee) to investigate who really killed his family and why.

Kyle and Katya discover the existence of brillyanc and what it does. They also suss out the side effect. (It's unclear if a strain was ever developed that avoided the side effect. Grigori says yes, but Kyle says no.)

And just when you think the novel is over, there's still the matter of the Russians that Kyle feels he has to solve which turns into a bioweapon designed to debilitate POTUS and allow the brillyanc-taking VP to move up the ladder.

So . . . it's unclear to me what happened to the charges against Kyle. There is evidence that he was not the killer so I think he was cleared of that, but he didn't show up to court when he was supposed to, so perhaps other charges could be put on him. The book made it sound like his bail was forfeited (though honestly, you'd think with all he did that someone could put pressure on the court/DA to get him most if not all of the money back).

There's also an unanswered question of where the relationship with Kyle and Katya will end up. Both are interested in each other, but Katya doesn't yet seem ready to move on.

This leaves Kyle with a dilemma--does he follow his heart and be near Katya or does he take the job he's offered at the end of the book (which might take him away from Katya). Or perhaps he can do both since the job seems to be a "once in a while, when the President needs you" kind of offer--so perhaps he could be with Katya so long as the President has a way to reach him.

This was well written so I would probably read more in this series.

Great story and characters. Look forward to seenig Skylar and Chase again.

Read Pushing Brilliance, very good.

Love the premise of the story and I am always looking for new mystery twists. This one had some that were plausible and others that weren't, but still a good read. Great combination of elements of the mob, greed, pharmaceutical industry and action to keep your interest. I liked the characters as they moved throughout the plight, though predictable at times. Other times, the read was as if I missed something. Overall a good read for an escape. Not my favorite author but I'd recommend his books.

This is my first book by author, 'Tim Tigner'. His bio is quite impressive and readers see his experience in his stories - especially with various gadgets that appear futuristic. In Falling Stars, Kyle Achilles, receives a call from his former boss to meet for a top secret discussion about an off the books project. It's awkward for the two and before things really get going, his former boss (head of the CIA) is assassinated by an unseen villain. A gun materializes on the floor nearby and without witnesses or a shooter, Kyle is blamed, and all the alphabet government agencies set out to find him.

Kyle and Jo, two former CIA partners had lost their jobs because of their failure to capture the illusive mastermind, 'Ivan the Ghost' (previous books)and join forces once again to find this killer. But first, they have to learn his identity and then find him. What they encounter on the way are twists and turns that leave readers in a quandary. The story is fast paced in the beginning and towward the end, but portions in between seem to drag on, causing me to flip pages forward. It also bounces around between different perspectives and story lines - the author leaves cliff hangers at the end of each respective chapter which then leaves readers' interest piqued until that story line returns.

A lot of suspense but sometimes the scenes are too detailed and Achilles appears over the top. If you want to be intrigued by all the gadgetry and espionage, then this book is for you.

This is a very action packed prequel to what promises to be a great series!

I am so happy to have discovered Tim Tiegner. His writing reminds me of Chris Kuzneski. Nail biting thrills keeping you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait for the next installment of this series!

I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely read more of this author's work in the future.

This book was good, but it was very slow at times. There was an obvious similarity to US/Russia relations today.

Chasing Ivan is a pure thriller. The main character, a CIA field agent, could substitute for James Bond in any movie. He is handsome, athletic, and a perfect gentleman with the ladies. But, you can’t have a guy like that without an evil nemesis who is cunning and ruthless. Like all James Bond’s nemesis, this one, nicknamed Ivan, gets away, after being nearly being caught, and will surely appear in another book.

The book is only 172 pages short but is the perfect length when you only have time for a quick read. I read it will in an airport and on the plane during a recent trip. This is a book that you’ll read it in one session as you won’t be able to put it down.