The Man from Barbarossa

by John Gardner | Mystery & Thrillers | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0399136258 Global Overview for this book
Registered by ResQgeek of Alexandria, Virginia USA on 5/15/2005
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Journal Entry 1 by ResQgeek from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Sunday, May 15, 2005
Pre-numbered label used for registration.

From the Central Branch of the Arlington County Library. This was a left over from their recent Friends of the Library book sale, to be released.

From the jacket: A case of mistaken identities pits 007 against a new breed of international terroritst in John Gardner's tenth contribution to the best-selling James Bond series.

When Joel Penderek is kidnapped from his New Jersey home, the unknown clandestine Russian organization The Scales of Justice takes credit for the abduction. Claiming that Penderek is really Josif Vorontsov, a Ukranian who had a hand in the infamous Babi Yar massacre and later served with devastating brutality as a guard at the Polish death camp of Sobibór, The Scales of Justice vows to bring Penderek to trial.

But before the group can do so, James Bond receives word that the underground movement has snatched the wrong man. The real Vorontsov lives in Florida, where he has been under Israeli surveillance. Further complications arise when The Scales of Justice begins a killing spree within the most secret and protected ranks of the Russian military. Clearly, the renegade group has infiltrated the Kremlin itself, but nobody knows to what end until Bond and his international team of undercover operatives, including the luscious Nina Bibikova, discover a plot by the mastermind behind the criminals, a villian so ruthless that his unscrupulous motives will subject the world to an extreme and unbelievable horror unless Bond can stop him first.

Fraught with nerve-racking deception, explosive action, and double-cross after double-cross, The Man from Barbarossa is a slam-bang thriller that will leave the reader breathless.

Journal Entry 2 by ResQgeek from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Thursday, October 27, 2005
Hmmm...a book with a past! I started reading this yesterday, and I noticed that it has an inscription on the title page that reads:

Happy 18th,
Pal of Mine
          B.
6/23/91


In addition, I found a Delta Air boarding pass stub tucked between the pages for a flight from Dallas/Forth Worth to Mexico City on 23 Nov. in the name of Susan C. (I'm only providing the last initial to protect this person's privacy). Was Susan the birthday girl? Did her trip to Mexico take place the same year as her 18th birthday, or was it years later? Who is "B." and what is his/her relationship to Susan? How did this book end up in Virginia at the Arlington Library's book sale?

Journal Entry 3 by ResQgeek from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Let me just start by saying that I'm a big James Bond fan. I generally enjoy the movies, and I've read all of Ian Fleming's original novels. So when John Gardner started writing James Bond novels, I was thrilled. However, they never quite held my interest the same way Fleming's stories did. After reading the first few of Gardner's contributions, I simply stopped reading James Bond novels. So, when this book came to me, I decided it might be worth taking another look at Gardner's version of 007.

Unfortunately, The Man from Barbarossa left me with a continued lukewarm feeling. This book is long on exposition, and more than a little short on action. Bond remains passive through much of the book, while the events unfold around him. While the ultimate crisis described in this story certainly has potential as a first class thriller, the initial elements surrounding the kidnapping of the war criminal and the operations directed towards uncovering the "Scales of Justice" simply don't build up sufficient suspense to move the story along. While the plot might make for an intellectually challenging puzzle, that's not what I expect from a James Bond story, and so I'm left feeling a bit disappointed.

Released 18 yrs ago (11/8/2005 UTC) at US Patent & Trademark Office - Knox Building in Alexandria, Virginia USA

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Donated for a used booksale to benefit the Combined Federal Campaign, to be held Nov. 15 in the auditorium in the Madison Building.

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