Mediocre at best

I love mystery and suspense novels as much as the next person, but found nothing endearing about the book. Every character and relationship was an absolute steriotype. The sports-driven salesman married to a formerly-wealthy indy-film-watching abstract-art-dealing wife was enough to make me roll my eyes. Worse was the ridiculously obvious plot that a four-year-old could have written, and dull, predictable ending. Nothing in this book was surprising or suspenseful, and I'm sorry to have wasted my time.

6 people found this helpful

One of my favorites in a while

While a little far fetched at times, the story is great!

The character is likeable and I got seriously entwined with his plight throughout the story - definitely a potential recurring character.

You may be put off if you can't bring yourself to believe some of the far fetched coorporate espionage antics, but in the end, it's all well worth it.

3 people found this helpful

Well done characters and story.

Behind the scenes in the corporate world using war tactics.

Not many stories are set within corporations. The author makes it interesting. His research is talking to corporate guys.

The first half of the book was fascinating. Jason is a salesman of plasma tv screens. He sells to corporations like auto dealers (for their waiting rooms) and airports. Jason meets Kurt. They become friends. Kurt was in the army. Kurt talks about war, the enemy, getting intel. And then Kurt helps Jason by getting intel on Jason’s buyers and competitors. Kurt has no “off” button when it comes to evesdropping, spying, getting info, destroying property, and killing people. This is war -- to get ahead in the corporation.

But the last third of the book was kind of a downer for me. It was scary with a helpless victim feel.

I don’t like 1st person narrative books - which this was. I wish the author would use more 3rd person.

Something I wanted to know before I read the book - Is it a happy ending?:
CAUTION SPOILER:
I “require” happy endings. I don’t want the guys I root for to go to jail or get killed. And the ending was good for me.
END SPOILER.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Scott Brick is not a favorite of mine. He is sometimes too sarcastic, condescending, and smart-alecky. But in this book he was very good.

Genre: suspense.

5 people found this helpful

It is entertaining- not great- but entertaining

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Not to give away the critical moment in the first few pages of the book

Did Scott Brick do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes

Do you think Killer Instinct needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, nothing to follow- story ended

2 people found this helpful

Good, not great

This was a good read, but not a great one. In the thriller category, I thought it relied too heavily on the main character doing things he should have known not to do. He's a guy who gets smarter as the book goes, but he's not as dumb as he would need to be to make the decisions he makes. Nice use of the corporate sales environment.

2 people found this helpful

DISAPPOINTING

First I will say that I loved Joseph Finder's first book "Paranoia." It was one of my favorite audiobooks. I liked "Company Man." It was interesting but not as much fun, nor as fast moving as Paranoia.

This third book was just passable. I was never bored, but never really involved, either. And I often felt the lead character was too slow on the uptake.

Overall, I was disappointed, and do not recommend the book. (Though it's not terrible.)

By the way, I'm listening to "The Faithful Spy" right now, and it's fantastic.

2 people found this helpful

Slow & uncharacteristically boring

Would you try another book from Joseph Finder and/or Scott Brick?

Definitely

What do you think your next listen will be?

Unsure

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

Brick's performances are always top shelf

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointed

Any additional comments?

Joseph Finder is one of my favorite authors. I was unfortunately disappointed with this book. Very slow to develop & I struggled to get through it.

1 person found this helpful

A long slow story

What disappointed you about Killer Instinct?

The first 9/10ths of the book were slow, dry and the ending predictable and unrealistic.

What could Joseph Finder have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The book could have had much more character development. The weakness of the main character was in a weird blatant simplicity. The guy was good, slipping only into the bad without any reflection. The main character didn't seem to have the driving balance that defines most executives. He failed to acknowledge the villain's role in his process and had the depth of a 1960's cowboy movie.

The author could have spent time and effort on main character's struggle climbing the corporate ladder and his moral foundation. It was really strange how little time was devoted to this effort, and yet so much time was devoted to really dry office chat.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nicely read and generally helped an otherwise dry book be tolerable.

What character would you cut from Killer Instinct?

What did his nephew bring to the story? That was totally undeveloped in the hours that the story told little.

Any additional comments?

A nice idea that would have been interesting if character development was more complete.

1 person found this helpful

Falls Flat

Slightly painful to listen to, not only because Scott Brick isn't my favorite narrator, but because the book itself is... um... kind of sucky.

The protagonist is kind of wimpy and stupid, and the antagonist is omnipotent and evil, and yet the wimpy, stupid guy prevails. This is one book that might have been improved by the bad guy winning.

Kind of a waste of a credit.

3 people found this helpful

No free lunch

After 13 years in the corporate world, I recognize the sales guys in this novel. Unfortunately. If I have to listen to how AWESOME a sales executive's latest Powerpoint presentation is, I would at least insist that he pay for lunch. I found the main character to be shallow and none too bright, and the characterization of special forces as darkly omnipotent criminals to be offensive. The story is completely tedious for the first several hours. The dialogue is clunky and odd--my boss has never shouted, "What goes on here?" instead of "What's going on here?" This book is the first time I have ever needed Fast playback on my iPod, and I'm only still listening because I started it with my husband, and don't want to blink first. Use your credits elsewhere.

3 people found this helpful