Aftermath (Splinter Cell: Blacklist)

I think an abridged version would be better as there were different events where it dragged because of too much detail. "She put her left foot down, then her right foot. She paused and looked around. Then she moved another step."

The book is OK as "summer trash" reading, with tight writing and fast-paced action. But, the action is so linear and predictable that it is not very entertaining. Every hunch is right. Every encounter magically leads to a positive development. The "meat locker" scene was particularly egregious in this respect. And, this splinter cell, which isn't supposed to exist, ends up working openly with all sorts of other entities, undermining the very concept of the series.

Characters were Super Hero's with unimaginable skills and physical feats that defy the logic. Ploy line was predictable and the script was something out of a "B" grade movie. A waste of money. Never again.

This is simply not Sam Fisher. The things he says, the way he acts...

It's worse than batman's batman voice in the recent movies... Much as you love batman, that's just not him.

I suffered the same disappointment playing the game. Alas, I'll finish reading it since faux Sam Fisher is better than no Sam Fisher but it's not even close to the quality of the previous books.

In the aftermath of conspiracy, corruption, and betrayal a reconstructed Splinter Cell team designated "Fourth Echelon" emerges under the command of Sam Fisher and answerable only to the President. We join the team during their current assignment: find and steal back one hundred pounds of highly enriched uranium (HEU) stolen from Russia and hidden somewhere inside Iran.

But, when Igor Kasperov, Russia's equivalent to America's Bill Gates vanishes, the President orders Fisher to abort the HEU mission and find him. How is Kasperov more important--or dangerous--than weapon grade uranium in the hands of Islamic radicals?

President Caldwell dispatches the 4E team to learn the answers. Meanwhile, the Russians order their elite operative, Major Viktoria Kolosov, the Snow Maiden, to bring the missing software genius back to Moscow. Smells like a showdown between the Snow Maiden and Sam to me.

There's more here between the book covers than the usual over-the-top action adventure scenes and sequences. Telep shares some of the geopolitical underpinnings driving his story. I like that a lot. It puts meat on the bones. It shows respect for the reader and demonstrates a keen awareness of current events. Two examples: The permanent stationing of U.S. Navy missile equipped ships in European ports to circumvent Russia's "no land missiles" prohibition is nothing short of brilliant and U.S. natural gas sales that undercut Russian pricing in the European marketplace is akin to dropping an economic bomb. Such actions by the U.S. are viewed as a direct assault on the economic stability of the Russian government and a threat to its homeland security. The Russians have long considered Europe as their exclusive gas and oil customer and missile platforms that can sail from port to port yet remain on target is enough to make any country nervous.

It's no surprise that the Russians feel compelled to retaliate against such threats. Is Kasperov's disappearance a part of their scheme? The author sets it all up, turns Sam and his team loose, and dares us to follow.

Did you forget about that missing HEU? Telep doesn't. You can bet your lead vest it's going to arrive, uninvited, in a crucial place, at an awkward time, ticking like a, you-know-what!

Provides exciting insight into what happened to certain characters like Kestrel from Conviction and Sadij from the Blacklist (won't go into any spoilers about them), the plot's plausible and has a highly Tom Clancy like obsession over detailed spy gadgetry, and is big in it's Clancy thread in large conspiracies for a plot. The descriptions are great,the scenes brought to vivid life by Telep's much improved penmanship than his former writings of the Ghost Recon series, I was taken. The dialogue was also improved upon, original, not cliche at all. More language than Choke Point and it's better overall, though I personally have no problem with the former. The pace is set just right, however Sam Fisher is more humorous and human than in the games and past tie-in books, which I don't appreciate. Other characters personalities are as they were in the series. Can't wait for the next game and tie-in book. I'm going to read Clancy's other books like the Jack Ryan/John Clark series. If you're a fan like me of Tom Clancy 's Splinter Cell or any one of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy HAWX, EndWar, Ghost Recon, or Rainbow Six video game series or their novelizations, you'll love this techno-thriller reminiscent of the late Clancy.

As a former active duty USAF servicemember and a fan of most military affiliated books and movies I really enjoyed reading this book(my first Tom Clancy related novel that I actually read from start to finish!) I have been fan of splinter cell since I first played it back in 2002 and have played every game since then! I also liked the fact that the author really did his homework/research on the different military/govt terms and locations....especially the use of Incirlik AB which I was stationed at years ago! Definitely looking forward to the follow up to this one!

My policy with novels written for the Clancy brand is simple: I buy them. I have done so without question for years, going back to the NetForce novels. As the years have worn on the collection has grown, but many of the novels have gone unread.

Peter Telep's Ghost Recon: Choke Point broke that spell earlier this year (which lead to me to also read Combat Ops and Ghost Recon, which Telep wrote under a different name.)

But with Splinter Cell: Blacklist Aftermath, Telep has hit a real stride, having written a tense, vivid adventure that is by and large more interesting and engaging than the game it follows. It hits the ground running with an exciting (and gruesome) motorcycle chase. Fun stuff. From there it slides into the a-plot which deals with a billionaire software developer on the run, seeking refuge after a crisis of conscience leads him to disobey the Kremlin's order to unleash a hellish, unstoppable computer virus on American infrastructure.

Sam Fisher and his team race to find him…as does just about everyone else with a high-powered weapon. Interesting to note is the inclusion of the Snow Maiden, a character featured prominently in Telep's EndWar novels. I love the world building (though not the indistinct timeline—something my nerd brain wants, but doesn't need!) and the sense of scope. The characters live, fight and flee in a world that rises above typical tie-in fiction.

If I have to level any kind of criticism, it's this: the novel is often too lean and streamlined. I have to imagine this is symptomatic of the format and timeframe in which a novel like this is published. If one has read Against All Enemies, they'll know well that Telep can take the time and color characters more vividly than he does here.

But this novel tears ahead and doesn't look back—not much time here to wax poetic. And that's okay, because what's here is blistering and thrilling (AND educational! So, so many descriptions, acronyms and explanations to be had!) Aftermath doesn't read lazy in the least—something far too often evident in tie-in fiction.

While I'll probably skip the next game, I will surely buy the next Splinter Cell novel.

This is my personal favorite Splinter Cell novel. Set soon after the events of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Blacklist Aftermath sees the return of Sam Fisher and Fourth Echelon as they are tasked with locating and securing a missing Russian tech mogul. While rife with action and suspense, the book is also generously sprinkled with clever references to past Splinter Cell video game and literary titles and ties off--most, but not all--loose ends left at the end of Blacklist proper's campaign. Highly recommended for fans of the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZikvWB48LCQ
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It has many usage including, “Cash4Books.net”
Recycle it or Burn it for survival heat. Use two books as spacers to raise your monitor because it’s always better to view at eye leveled to the center of your screen. Even better, send it to donation, any library would take it, or the third world too.
Do not fear a book because it has no teeth!!
When you open your used book, wear gloves if you have to, then you’ll realize, “This book ain’t that bad after all.”
Good read and peace!!
- Ricky

Fantastic character development, rich locations, clear plot line with unexpected turns. What more can you possibly ask for? Oh yeah, a serious ass-kicker and intense technology, that's what! Read this, you'll love it.