Signal (Sam Dryden, #2) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

Jan 30, 2015 Mike (the Paladin) rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fantasy, thriller

Let me say up front here I'm torn. I really wonder if I shouldn't drop this to 2 stars but then I tend to rate books right on the edge of dislike a 2. This needs the much lamented half star so i could go 2.5 I think.

I liked the first book about this character and this one opened in an interesting way with a scene that will pull you into the situation. That said after you do get started the book is so full of logical inconsistencies that the idea of suspending disbelief is a huge understatement.

I Let me say up front here I'm torn. I really wonder if I shouldn't drop this to 2 stars but then I tend to rate books right on the edge of dislike a 2. This needs the much lamented half star so i could go 2.5 I think.

I liked the first book about this character and this one opened in an interesting way with a scene that will pull you into the situation. That said after you do get started the book is so full of logical inconsistencies that the idea of suspending disbelief is a huge understatement.

If Doctor Who ever picks this thing up he'll blow a fuse...he'll have a double heart attack.

Look I know that any book which (view spoiler) will hit certain problems. That said most books that attempt to deal with (view spoiler) at least come up with an explanation as to why they can do impossible things.

I'll say a bit more in a longer spoiler tagged comment below but bottom line... It's "okay" but it drove me crazy and I considered putting it aside a few times.

(view spoiler)
...more

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Mar 01, 2024 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller-suspense, owned-copy, audiobook, scary-sexy-cool-dangerous-hero, ex-military, part-of-a-series, kickbutt-heroine, library-checkout, favorite-characters, special-forces-spec-ops

I enjoyed this book, although I have to say, the narrator didn't work for me. The way they spoke, made it feel dry, and I would feel like I was going to be bored, even though I wasn't and I wanted to find out what happened next. The story isn't boring at all, and it's very fast paced. I love me an action thriller hero who takes care of business, who's there to protect and deal with nasty bad guys. Sam is on my list. My expectations are unfairly high because of one Evan Smoak aka Orphan X. Like e I enjoyed this book, although I have to say, the narrator didn't work for me. The way they spoke, made it feel dry, and I would feel like I was going to be bored, even though I wasn't and I wanted to find out what happened next. The story isn't boring at all, and it's very fast paced. I love me an action thriller hero who takes care of business, who's there to protect and deal with nasty bad guys. Sam is on my list. My expectations are unfairly high because of one Evan Smoak aka Orphan X. Like every action thriller lead has to get compared to him from now on. Having said that, Sam gets my 100% approval rating. He's a good person, but he stands on business. I like that he doesn't talk too much and give himself away either. I do admit I missed Rachel from the first book. She wasn't even mentioned, which was disappointing. But having said that, this book was off and running and doesn't slow down until the ending. I love his friend Claire. I would read a series just about her, because she's a badass too.

If I was to nitpick, I think Marnie's character felt kind of dumped in, and all of a sudden she was fully on board. I thought it was a little weird how fast she bought into the situation, but considering what happened and what she saw Sam do, I guess it makes sense. I liked the plot twists, and while things turned out kind of straight forward, there were some good curve balls thrown in.

The concepts deal with some "wibbly wobbly timey wimey," (Doctor Who reference there). My brain doesn't really quite get it all, although a character explained it. The technology is pretty scary when it's used in a bad way, but like Claire, the positive ways it could be used would definitely have me obsessed. I did keep wanting them to use the machine to fix some issues that come up in the book, but I'm guessing it doesn't work that way. I got an A in Non-Calculus Physics, but that doesn't mean I understand quantum mechanics. I liked how it ended because I felt that in my bones, with my obsessive personality. Like, when would it stop?

This is a nice quick action thriller you can slot in between longer books or if you need a good action/thriller hit to get your adrenaline up. ...more

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Feb 05, 2015 Jamie rated it really liked it

Shelves: espionage, kidnapping, assassination, cutting-edge-science, nazis, cyber-surveillance, science-fiction, fbi

Another solid book with an interesting premise by Patrick Lee. I wanted to know who the rat was inside Bayliss Labs. I don't think it is enough to say the Group is keeping a global watch for a machine that may or may never be rediscovered again. There are many small tech companies like Bayliss and these people knew of the breakthrough right away. Therefore, the Group must have had an inside man. Someone betrayed them. There was no closure there. And how could they not hear about the fire? It's h ...more

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Mar 13, 2016 Dawn rated it it was amazing

Sam Dryden's friend calls him to come right away. Meet him a couple hours away. He does and the pace doesn't let up from there. Can they save the girls in the cage in the trailer? ...more

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