I am going to read prologue's AFTER I finish books. "The Terminal List" started by describing a character wholost his wife and daughter, was on the run, and hunting people who caused all the problems. It should have been tagged SPOILER ALERT!!! Chapter One had the text "Three months earlier" to kick things off. So during the moments with the above mentionedwife and daughter, SEAL mission, and otherevents I was robbed of suspense due to knowing what was coming. In "The Terminal List," read the prologue after chapter 40, before starting chapter 41. Spoilers happen in many novels: Tom Clancy's Command and Control, Lee Child's Persuader, Stephen King's Holly, N. K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, Sharon Bolton's Dead Scared, Joe Hill's Horns, Peter Straub's Ghost Story, Philip Carter's Altar of Bones, Peter Heller's The Dog Stars, and Charlie Huston's The Shotgun Rule are several examples. The only story I recall where spoilers didn't bother me was Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes.

The book went into the weeds, how to load a gun, build a bomb, describe a warrior's way of thinking, etc., not well and too often.
798 members; 3.88 average rating; 6/21/2024 ( )

The Terminal List is a high octane revenge thriller that pits a Navy Seal against bigwigs in own government. The bigwigs were part of a scheme to use soldiers as guinea pigs for a new drug whose sale they would profit from. The problem for them was that the soldiers developed brain tumors. The way to hide the evidence: kill the guinea pig soldiers by setting them up for an ambush in Afghanistan. A bigger problem for them became the survivor of the ambush: Jack Carr’s Seal Team hero James Reese. When Reese finds the truth, he draws up his terminal list, a double meaning referring to terminal cancer and the eventual fate of the perpetrators. The action thriller follows Reese as he tracks down and eliminates everyone on his list. At the top of the hit list: the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lorraine Hartley, an odious woman with presidential aspirations. Hartley bears a remarkable resemblance to HRC, making the way she is terminated of interest for readers with a disliking for her. The Terminal List is a remarkable book for its pacing, but also for its details about special forces and their weapons, tactics, and camaraderie. ( )

Revenge Conspiracy Thriller Masterpiece

When liberal politicians (of both the civilian and military variety) purposely send a seal team into an ambush resulting in dozens of American servicemens' deaths, and then have the sole survivor's family murdered it's time for some serious payback. Obviously these backstabbing weasels have just pissed off the wrong man. Page turning goodness ensues. It would almost seem over the top if so much political BS hadn't happened during the Obama reign of terror (remember Benghazi or the Seal Team helicopter shoot down? How about the death of the Supreme Court Chief Justice?). The conspiracy in this book pales in comparison. Anyway, I haven't enjoyed a revenge thriller this much since reading Term Limits by Vince Flynn. Other revenge thrillers I have read and enjoyed include: The First Rule by Robert Crais, The Chinaman by Stephen Leather, Without Remorse by Tom Clancy and Fade by Kyle Mills. I'll be looking for more books from Jack Carr in the future. ( )

After this book, I think I have finally discovered a comparable series to Jack Reacher and Lee Child. James Reece's motivation, with his seal team and family both being killed and back story, as a long-standing and decorated Navy Seal, are excellent and believable. the level of support he receives is smoetimes hard to believe. Who has friends that would go to that length to help with their money and skills, that Reece gets here? But the action scenes are described well and in detail and the. book is a fun to read action fantasy, like watching, a Stallone, Statham, Norris, Van Damme or Schwartzenegger movie. I've started the next one already. The thorough glossary of acronyms. etc., is very helpful. ( )

An action packed thriller with a lot of violence and death. Quite a macho read and near the end I did find it did drag on a bit. ( )

If you want a good action thriller along the lines of Mark Greaney or Jonathan Maberry, then this may be for you.

Carr does a lot right—he really does—but he also very much wears his politics right on his sleeve. And...well...some of it ain't pretty.

But, if you can get past that, then it's a pretty good story. Basically, he's taken Marvel's The Punisher, and made it more realistic. ( )

There seems to be a trend in movies lately to make characters gray. They're not bad, but they're not really all that good, either. With so many gray characters out there, it can be refreshing to find a hero you can cheer for without any reservations. Jack Carr provides that kind of character, telling a satisfying story about a good guy who wears the whitest of white hats and where the villains are unequivocally deserving of everything they're gonna get. His hero is sympathetic, and if Carr uses cheap tricks to create sympathy, remember that it's a thriller, not literary fiction.

I grew up on the likes of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum, and while it's been a lot of years since I've read anything by either, Carr's writing, in comparison, feels more straightforward. Where Clancy might spend chapters setting up a villain and the rest of his book sending Jack Ryan on a hunt for the villain (or for the Red October, as the case may be), Carr cuts right to the chase, drops you right in the action, and through quick flashbacks fills in the gaps. It makes for an page-turner, the perfect novel for warm summer evenings. I listened to it while I was mowing the lawn and then read it long after lights out to see what happened. It’s action driven, a close cousin to Top Gun or The Dirty Dozen, and it’s worth every page.

With The Terminal List, you know who the bad guys are almost from the beginning and the only question in your mind is how are they going to meet their demise. Carr sounds like he knows his subject well; he is, after all, a former Navy Seal himself, and every page feels authentic, sometimes violently so: James Reese is a Seal and he's getting revenge--he's not filing lawsuits here. Expect explosive and deadly results as he deals with the conspirators with extreme prejudice.

Unfortunately, I read The Terminal List right before watching Chris Pratt play the role on Amazon, and it was a disappointment. The changes for the show just don't improve the plot. Jack Carr had it right the first time, and I'm a big fan of not messing with a good thing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (And when in doubt, trust the book. It’s always better than the movie.)

The Terminal List was a fun way to close out the summer, and I think I'll try out the sequel to see what Carr does with his character. There were few loose ends in The Terminal List, so I'm predicting that James Reese becomes something of a one-man A-Team. "If you have a problem if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... the A-Team." ( )

I liked the story. I liked how the plot played out. I liked the action, adventure, and mystery. Then why only 3 stars? Simple whether it be liberal, or conservative. I hate preaching in my books. Just tell me the f’ing story. Not your ideology. I don’t care ( )

I will word things as carefully as I can. This was a very masculine book bordering on toxic at times. Yes. I get that this is a book about a navy seal doing navy seal stuff so there was certainly a lot of running, shooting, crotch grabbing (their own, most definitely not other people's), spitting and blowing stuff up. I have read lots of books like this and really enjoyed them. There was just a slight undertone in this that I felt excluded me from being part of the target audience. It seemed to lean towards one particular set of political views. I also never felt sympathy for James because he barely seemed to grieve before he became so bloody minded and vengeful. I love revenge stories when I can get behind the main character but this was not the case in this novel. Others have loved this series so it's just not for me. ( )

I must admit that I struggled to get going with this book having stopped and restarted 3 times before I really got into it. Might have had something to do with my mood at the time or the other reading that I was doing but I found it technically daunting to start with all the acronyms and navy seals jargon in use. Not being used to those terms and the equipment used by the seals was a bit of a barrier for me but with the trusty google by my side I was able to make my way past this obstacle and learn a whole lot about NOD's, FROGs, WARCOM, etc. So, once I got into it, it took off like a rocket and I completed the audiobook within the next 12 hours. The story and pacing literally grips you and draws you in and won't let go. Looking forward to watching the series to the compare the book with prime video's take on it. 1/17 Came back to update that I binge watched the series on Prime Video and while it was different from the story in the book. I did appreciate and enjoy the interpretation. ( )

The storyline was good but some of the characters and their dialog was so heavy handed. I actually liked the show better which is rare. ( )

Well written Military Thriller. Bad politicians take advantage of military members to make money on new pharmaceuticals. Bad idea to anger people with skills. Military good - Politicians bad. Revenge killings as needed. ( )

the premise is interesting but the execution was lacking for me. ( )

A thriller expertly plotted from start to finish! In this story about an outstanding SEAL whose life is turned upside down by a cabal of District of Corruption elites the reader is at his side while he employs all his special skills to even the score. Lots of fun, packed with believable action that simply shines as genuine. Very readable. I read half one day and the second half the next - completely immersed in the story. I'm adding Jack Carr to my list of favorites! ( )

Fun and exciting read. After the first quarter of the book I was hooked and couldn't put it down. Looking forward to reading the other books in the series. ( )

High marks for action, lower marks for credibility. Lots of revenge killings, stereotyping. ( )

Anti-heroes are all the rage today, I guess, but if you're going to create one, he needs to generate some sympathy or give you a reason to root for him, albeit uncomfortably. And Jack Carr's character James Reece, a SEAL commander, comes close but doesn't quite hit the mark for me.

This review contains spoilers.

In "Terminal List," Reece's squad is ambushed in an operation in Afghanistan that didn't feel right to begin with. All but Reece and one other SEAL die, along with many other support personnel. Once Reece gets stateside, the other surviving SEAL "commits suicide," Reece's daughter and pregnant wife are killed in a "gang home invasion," and several attempts on Reece's life are attempted. On top of all this, Reece finds out his has an inoperable brain tumor (as did the rest of his SEAL team).

In the meantime, we learn that several business people, government officials, and even the SECDEF are in cahoots to create a drug that's supposed to stop PTSD. This group gives Reece's team this drug, which is what causes the brain tumors. This causes them to try and clean up the mess by killing everyone involved. (Because Reece survives, the hit on his home was supposed to include him but he wasn't there; that's why his family's killed.)

As Reece puts this all together, he makes a "terminal list" and begins taking out everyone responsible for the deaths of his team and family.

So...back to the anti-hero. It's hard to sell the idea of a SEAL who's all about honor, yet kills anyone and everyone responsible (and even some who aren't directly so, which he shrugs off as collateral damage). And he doesn't just kill these folks. He does so in brutal fashion.

I'm OK with revenge stories. And certainly Reece, as a SEAL, has those "special skills" and experience to kill those responsible. But what he becomes is a domestic terrorist, no matter how justified his motive is. And that makes him very difficult to cheer for.

The irony for me is that I bought "True Believer," not knowing it was the 2nd in a series. Within a few pages, one paragraph pretty much summed up the plot of "Terminal List." So I stopped reading "True Believer" and bought "Terminal List." Now that I'm not super enamored with James Reece, I'm a little chagrined about reading the next book even though I already own it. Sigh. I do wish books were more obvious about them being in a series... ( )

LOVED it! LOVED it!
Hallelujah, James Reece is the Punisher! An awesome first novel full of action. The pace was great from front to back there is no downtime. I was a bit concern that it'll be too technical, but it wasn't. Pure good vs evil. Need a longer list in the next book because I didn't want it to end. A book this good, I'll read anything Carr writes.

Thank you Jack Carr for your service and for defending our freedom. 🙏❤️ ( )

I'm a mystery/thriller lover who doesn't like murder/extreme violence. I'd rather be challenged by a puzzle, but without gratuitous violence. Some authors provide this better than others. In The Terminal List, there's too much violence and not enough puzzle/thrill. The audio edition is narrated by the fantastic Ray Porter. ( )

The Terminal List by Jack Carr
Series: Yes: James Reece #1
Format: Hardcover
Stars: 4 1/2
Recommend: Yes
Would Reread: Maybe


I ran across book 3 in the goodreads giveaway page and thought it sounded like it might be
similar to Matthew Reilly's book.

But sadly its nothing like Matthew Reilly. And to compare the two is being unfair.
This book is more realistic, gritty and ummm violent. o_O (And if you have ever read a Matthew Railly book thats saying something!!)

I still enjoyed the characters and the story was awesome.
My only complaint is the pacing of the book, it slowed down in a few spot and then at time it felt like it jumped.

I do look forward to reading the next two books in the series when my library reopens.

I give honest reviews and all my opinions are my own.

For more of my reviews go to Heavenly High Seas Books
https://heavenlyhighseasbooks.blogspot.com/ ( )

Lieutenant Commander James Reece is a Navy SEAL; a skilled, highly trained and deadly soldier. Things start to go bad when his men are led into an ambush in Afghanistan. Soon after returning home, his family and the only other soldier to survive the attack are targeted. When they unsuccessfully come for him, Reese discovers a conspiracy that reaches to the very highest levels of government. Now Reese has nothing left to lose and a powerful sense of vengeance.

The Terminal List is not just a political thriller, it’s a tale of vengeance. Everything that James Reece cares about has been stripped from him and nothing will stop him from visiting retribution on all those who played a part in the conspiracy. With the help of a few trusted friends, Reece determines who is responsible and puts together a list of the people who are going to have to pay.

Jack Carr has created a convincing action hero and Carr’s own experience as a SEAL shines through from descriptions of intelligence gathering, battle preparations and brutal combat. Comparisons to other contemporary action heroes are inevitable, but there are also flashes that remind me of earlier action series such as Don Pendleton’s Executioner series. This is particularly true when Reese shows up with his arsenal of weapons to deliver very personal forms of justice and retribution on those who deserve it.

It’s tough to rise above the noise in the political thriller genre but Carr has delivered a promising debut. The Terminal List is a top-notch thriller and Carr is an author to watch. It will be interesting to see where he is able to go next. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher. ( )

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: On his last combat deployment, Lieutenant Commander James Reece’s entire team was killed in a catastrophic ambush. But when those dearest to him are murdered on the day of his homecoming, Reece discovers that this was not an act of war by a foreign enemy but a conspiracy that runs to the highest levels of government.

Now, with no family and free from the military’s command structure, Reece applies the lessons that he’s learned in over a decade of constant warfare toward avenging the deaths of his family and teammates. With breathless pacing and relentless suspense, Reece ruthlessly targets his enemies in the upper echelons of power without regard for the laws of combat or the rule of law. ( )