The Sixth Man (King & Maxwell Series, 5)

Okay, not to be overly simplistic, but David Baldacci's latest thriller featuring former Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell does have a plot highly reminiscent of the television show "Chuck," though certainly not a similar tone. No, there's no "Intersect" computer imbedded in anyone's brain, but there is a defense contractor running what's called the E-Program. As the novel opens, the contractor, Peter Bunting, is seeking the individual who can become the next "Analyst."

The Analyst is the person tasked with watching the "Wall," a six- by eight-foot screen on which flows "information on suspicious activities being carried out by either Americans or foreigners operating domestically." It's a "compilation of top secret communications, all of colossal importance. And on it poured, from all corners of the globe, delivered en masse in high definition. If it were an Xbox or a PS3 game it would be the most exciting difficult one ever created. But there was nothing made up about it. Here real people lived and real people died, every second of every day."

The idea is that our intelligence network is too spread out and diversified, and that in order to truly get the Big Picture, one individual needs to be able to process every scrap of data we collect. It's a staggering job that literally brings brilliant men to their knees. Obviously it's not a job for the average Joe, but a few extraordinary individuals can utilize 90-some percent of their brain, rather than the paltry ten percent most of us access. And all of this is exposited in a brief prologue.

Next, we're with series protagonists King and Maxwell as they touch down in Maine. They've been called up for an investigative job. Ted Bergin, an old friend and law professor of Sean's is defending the serial killer Edgar Roy, and he seems to believe there's more to this open-and-shut case than meets the eye. So, he's brought in reinforcements. Alas, they arrive too late. En route to their first meeting with Bergin, they come across a stalled vehicle. Inside they find Bergin's body with a bullet to the skull. The question is: What do these two storylines have to do with each other?

So begins a novel more packed with action than with plot. There is plot, but it's not terribly complex or sophisticated. Some stuff happens, more stuff happens, and there's a lot of traveling up and down the eastern seaboard. Many people are not what they seem. Baldacci gets some stuff right. He's good at gracefully expositing what's come before, and he can write a tight, tense scene. However, after four previous novels with these protagonists, I was really shocked at how one-dimensional the characters felt. King and Maxwell are at a pivotal point in their personal and professional lives. I was astounded by just how uninvested I was.

It's not that this is a terrible novel, but there isn't a whole lot of substance to it. If you've been following the series you're going to want to read this one. Otherwise, I simply wouldn't bother.

David Baldacci's The Sixth Man with Sean King and Michelle Maxwell in the lead is a relatively good book. It is not at par with their last outing FIRST FAMILY, which i thought was their best adventure till date. I wont go into the synopsys of the book, you can read that in other reviews. Something about the Kindle price will follow but thats noet the most important. As i siad earlier, the book is good, quite good, if you dont compare it to the previous one. But a David baldacci book is always better then some other books that come out. Even better than Dan Brown and his overhyped Lost symbol. The story does move forward. And ofcourse this is not Baldacci's best as he is comming out with 3 books this year (wont hear me complain!! along with Stebe Berry i think hes the best).
Now if you have a Kindle, like me, and you want to buy the book to read on the Kindle but you think the price is too high (which it is), you can get it elsewhere to and just use the leagal programme CALIBRE to put it in Kindle format and read. But buying it on Amazon is still the best way to have it as soon as released (i want to have it the day of release).
All in all a good read. Recommended!

I am a long time Kindle user, and while I am disappointed in the book price as much as anyone, these reviews are not the place to vent. Book lovers come here to get critiques of potential reads. They do not want to see skewed reviews based on the price, which is not affected by the author. There are many reasons to use a Kindle over paper that do not include price. For instance, I am an hour from the nearest book store. At four dollars a gallon, it makes sense to buy the Kindle edition, but the speed and convenience, along with the ease of reading make the difference for me. Plus, lets face it, you spent several hundred dollars for a reader, this is not exactly the most frugal demographic. You guys should get together and go on strike, or start an Amazon letter writing campaign or call the publishers directly, or whatever. But leaving one star reviews based on the price is really not helping.

It's hard to believe that this is the same author that wrote the first couple of "Baldacci" wonderfully intriging titles produced this drival. It is poorly thoughtout and cheesy. Now that he seems to be in the mass production mode, quantity has taken presidence over quality. Since his first books were completely brillant ... it's a big dissapointment that he gone has the way of Patterson... only without the quality.

I have a simple solution for kindle users who think this book is too expensive -- don't buy it. Throw away your kindle and buy the paperback. I am SO tired of low star reviews of books I am interested in, only to find that it is you dipwads bitching about prices. For God's sake, go to the stinking library!

Once upon a time a new Baldacci was a treat. Good plots, good characters, some humor. But now he is cranking a book a minute and it's getting worse and worse. So weird plots, Sean and Michelle out of character.... and it's just plain boring.
Maybe he could try a sequel to True Blue, the freshest thing he has written in years?

...because I only got halfway through before I got bored and stopped reading it. A good premise gets bogged down with tedium and nonsense, and I have no idea how it got such glowing reviews. Not to mention that $13 price tag, which is just ridiculous for a Kindle book.

This book is the most disappointing of the author's prolific list of bestsllers! The central plot lacks credibility, many of the characters are two dimensional, dialogue is artificial, the "bad guys" are over the top in their evil plotting and their capabilities, and several subplots add nothing to the novel as a whole. Had I not been returning from an overseas trip with nothing else left to read I doubt I would have finished the novel -- it was that weak. I only hope the author has not decided, like some other successful novelists, to rely on his reputation to sell poorly thought out and weakly structured books for the sole purpose of making more money!

I'M adding my name to the list of people who are not happy with the kindle pricing. I am not buying the book, and although I enjoy my Kindle, I am not recommending it to friends. Since the publishers seem to be motivated by greed. It is up to the consumers to make them pay for their greed by reduced sales and lower overall profits. Notice that I didn't bring up the concept of integrety. I does not seem to be an issue with them.

Other reviewers have said it. I will say it again. Charging more for the Kindle version than the printed version? Greed, stupidity, idiocy, take your pick. I will NOT purchase a Kindle version that costs anywhere near the coast of the print version.