41 review for The Jakarta Plot

1. 

   5 out of 5

   Dzoly – Aug 19, 2018

   IokOk

2. 

   4 out of 5

   Fred Rayworth – May 10, 2019

   I originally read this in 1999 and never reviewed it until now, in 2015. R. Karl Largent is one of my favorite authors and I really miss him. This was another one of his one-off stories and the plot involves a meeting of world leaders in Jakarta to give the Chinese an ultimatum on nuclear testing. Mayhem ensues. While some have debated technical issues with the story, I could care less. I’m neither versed, nor that picky about details like that and have a fairly high suspension of disbelief unles I originally read this in 1999 and never reviewed it until now, in 2015. R. Karl Largent is one of my favorite authors and I really miss him. This was another one of his one-off stories and the plot involves a meeting of world leaders in Jakarta to give the Chinese an ultimatum on nuclear testing. Mayhem ensues. While some have debated technical issues with the story, I could care less. I’m neither versed, nor that picky about details like that and have a fairly high suspension of disbelief unless it’s particularly egregious. I didn’t find any of that. Thankfully told in his usual third-person point of view, I was able to enjoy every page and had a great time while closing the book with a smile on my face. Can’t ask for better than that. Highly recommended.

3. 

   4 out of 5

   Jatin – Apr 26, 2019

   Clearly a gem for defence lovers

4. 

   4 out of 5

   Steve Chaput – Dec 17, 2009

   This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When you read these books you have to wonder how many ex-CIA agents are running around. Also, why does it seem the Agency always has to bring them back in to perform actions the current crop can’t seem to accomplish? I’m just asking. Largent’s book is quite good, even though his hero, former agent Gideon Stone does seem to question himself a bit more than necessary. Stone is likable and I’m assuming that Largent will be bringing him back, if he hasn’t already (as the book was published back in 20 When you read these books you have to wonder how many ex-CIA agents are running around. Also, why does it seem the Agency always has to bring them back in to perform actions the current crop can’t seem to accomplish? I’m just asking. Largent’s book is quite good, even though his hero, former agent Gideon Stone does seem to question himself a bit more than necessary. Stone is likable and I’m assuming that Largent will be bringing him back, if he hasn’t already (as the book was published back in 2006). One of the weaker elements is that some of the secondary characters, and there are dozens, never seem to really have any back-story, or any that we learn. We feel sympathy for them when they are injured or killed, but that’s because of how it affects Stone and not because we genuinely care about them. An odd thing is that this is truer of members of Stone’s team than of individuals on the opposing side. For instance, we know more about a native crewmember on a barge, used in a later mission, than we do about several servicemen who accompany Stone on his first rescue attempt. When a group of Communist terrorists capture and hold captive U.N. delegates of an international meeting on the island of Java, including the U.S. Vice-President, the CIA is asked to attempt a rescue, while not admitting it publicly. Led by the popular Bojoni Sawak, the Bandung rebels demand that the current leader of their country step down and recognize the Bandung as the legitimate government, otherwise, the hostages will be executed one by one. With Stone already in the area, working to recover some documents lost when a civilian airliner is blown up, it’s an easy move to have him head up the assignment. Since he is an expert diver and former black op, you know that the ultimate rescue will involve at least some of those skills. When the initial attempt goes badly wrong, leading to the death of two of the group and the VP still hostage, the stakes rise. Stone has to get his team into the terrorist base, perform his mission and get everybody out alive. Complicating matters is the threat by China that any overt American intervention would be considered a provocative action and might lead to that country becoming involved. As is typical of this type of book, Largent brings in a lot of technical information on the equipment Stone and his team uses. Interesting to a point, but it does make this reader skim over paragraphs of this stuff in order to get to the main action. If you are more into this Tom Clancy sort of thing and especially if you are interested in deep-sea vehicles and helicopters you might want to tack a half-star onto this.

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Jim McCulloch – Jul 03, 2013

   The story premise is shaky from the start with a UN delegation including the US Vice President being kidnapped in Indonesia. The US response is much more muted than is likely in the scenario, but it is what it is. Accepting the storyline setup, the concept is relatively interesting and thought provoking. The dialog is somewhat stilted, verbose, inconsistent, and too cliché-riddled for the characters being portrayed. It also contains an overabundance of unexplained military acronyms which struck The story premise is shaky from the start with a UN delegation including the US Vice President being kidnapped in Indonesia. The US response is much more muted than is likely in the scenario, but it is what it is. Accepting the storyline setup, the concept is relatively interesting and thought provoking. The dialog is somewhat stilted, verbose, inconsistent, and too cliché-riddled for the characters being portrayed. It also contains an overabundance of unexplained military acronyms which struck me as odd or less than genuine. The characters use small arms throughout the story, but the author seems to have a tenuous grasp of proper terminology and tactical application. Some weapons were clearly fabricated by the author and do not exist in real life. His Jeep scene tells me he’s never been in one. His hand to hand combat scenes are laughably naive and unrealistic. The gasoline lighting scene tells me he’s never poured gas on the ground and lit it with a match. The technical aircraft and naval terminology is beyond me so I don't know if the military-speak information is accurate or not. One thing is sure; there is far too much unexplained acronym-laced language for me . . . and that makes me wonder how accurate it is, especially when I don’t relate to it as a military (Army) veteran and find his small arms and close-combat descriptions unrealistic. Kind of made me wonder if I was being blasted with BS to cover the fact that the author didn't really understand what he was talking about. Still, it kept me just engaged and entertained enough to finish, although the story ran out of gas at the end. It was as though the author tired of writing and just rushed to an ending to be done with it. Kind of a letdown because I can think of many more satisfying conclusions for his characters.

6. 

   5 out of 5

   Joshua Balli –

7. 

   4 out of 5

   Andrew Wasson –

8. 

   4 out of 5

   Martin –

9. 

   4 out of 5

   Ian –

10. 

    4 out of 5

    Derek Adolfo –

11. 

    5 out of 5

    Liam –

12. 

    5 out of 5

    Amanda –

13. 

    5 out of 5

    Mark Jackson –

14. 

    5 out of 5

    Craig Tambling –

15. 

    5 out of 5

    Juhari Sham –

16. 

    5 out of 5

    Peter Charleston – Jun 21, 2016

    Action packed book.

17. 

    5 out of 5

    Bill –

18. 

    4 out of 5

    Bob –

19. 

    4 out of 5

    Kester Nucum –

20. 

    4 out of 5

    Ryan –

21. 

    5 out of 5

    Judith –

22. 

    4 out of 5

    Cheysar Cheysar –

23. 

    4 out of 5

    Utari –

24. 

    4 out of 5

    John Hamelink –

25. 

    5 out of 5

    Jim –

26. 

    4 out of 5

    Calvin –

27. 

    4 out of 5

    Carly Svamvour –

28. 

    5 out of 5

    Ndmurphy –

29. 

    4 out of 5

    Alex Gherzo –

30. 

    4 out of 5

    Diane –

31. 

    4 out of 5

    David Berry –

32. 

    4 out of 5

    Gerald –

33. 

    5 out of 5

    Pete –

34. 

    5 out of 5

    Ronald Howell –

35. 

    5 out of 5

    Nathan –

36. 

    5 out of 5

    Mark Damon –

37. 

    5 out of 5

    Cliff –

38. 

    5 out of 5

    Alan Goltz –

39. 

    4 out of 5

    David –

40. 

    4 out of 5

    Nancy Smith –

41. 

    4 out of 5

    Kevin –