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America’s worst nightmare has just become a brutal reality. The most unlikely terrorist enemy of all now holds a knife against the country’s throat. With both diplomatic and conventional military options swept from the table, the president calls upon Navy SEAL turned Secret Service agent Scot Harvath to disable a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy intended to bring the United States to its knees. Teamed with beautiful Russian Intelligence agent Alexandra Ivanova and a highly trained CIA paramilitary detachment, Harvath embarks on an adrenaline-fueled search that spans the world—and leads to a final, deadly showdown on American soil, with a lethal and sinister enemy from the past.
— Ottawa Citizen
"Scot Harvath is the perfect all-American hero for the post-September 11th world."
— Nelson DeMille
Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Black List, Full Black, The Athena Project, Foreign Influence, The Apostle, The Last Patriot, The First Commandment, Takedown, Blowback (recognized by NPR as one of the “100 Best Thrillers of All Time”), State of the Union, Path of the Assassin, and The Lions of Lucerne. Visit his website at BradThor.com.
PROLOGUE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 28TH
What I want, Chuck, is ten minutes of peace and quiet so I can think," snapped the president to his chief of staff.
Charles Anderson had never seen his boss like this. Then again, America had never faced a situation of this magnitude before. With less than three hours until he was expected to deliver his State of the Union address, President Jack Rutledge had already made the tough decision of evacuating Congress and settling on a videotaped address from the White House. The hardest call, though, still lay before him.
"Okay, people," voiced Anderson. "You heard the president. Let's give him the room. Everybody out. We'll reconvene in the Situation Room."
Once the Oval Office had cleared out, the president leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with the heels of his hands. His oath of office called for him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution — a body of laws, which obliged him, "to give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Never in a million years could he have imagined that the execution of his duties would lead to the unraveling of everything America had fought to become.
He was reminded of the first State of the Union address given by George Washington over two hundred years ago at New York's Federal Hall. With the country in the fledgling stages of its great democratic experiment, Washington had focused on the very concept of union itself and the challenges not only of establishing, but of maintaining it.
How in the hell had things come to this? Rutledge wondered as he opened his eyes and studied the two folders on the desk in front of him. Each contained a different version of his State of the Union address, and each had the potential to be equally devastating. The fate of millions of Americans would be decided by what he said and did in the next three hours.
Though not a particularly religious man, President Jack Rutledge closed his eyes once again and this time prayed to God for guidance.
Copyright © 2004 by Brad Thor
McNutt
Posted July 6, 2012
This is the 3rd book in a series of 10. I would suggest reading the series in order because they refer back to characters and events that happened previously. I find the Scot Harvath series to be on a par with Griffin, Ludlom, Flynn books. If you are into books on Terrorist threats and our government fighting against them, I highly recommend this series of books from Brad Thor.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 17, 2012
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I have only just recently gotten into Thor's Harvath series after finishing up everything written by Flynn. After fnishing Lions of Lucerne and Path of the Assassin, and getting about 2/3 of the way through this one, I will say that Thor is an attention-grabber and his works are page-turners. One can very clearly see Thor's writing style develop from his first book (Lions) to this one; whereas early on, in Lions, one could tell that this author was feeling his way along, as his character development was a little thin and he provided too many extraneous details (e.g., Scot pulled out his H&K, then he screwed on the silencer, then he slid the slide back to check on a round, then he closed his coat, then he crouched, etc...), now Thor uses situations within the story itself to flesh out a character's background and extraneous descriptions are cut down (but not to a minimum).
The story in State of the Union was immediately an attention-grabber for me, having always been fascinated with the Cold War. The scenario seems entirely plausible and questions of each faction's motivations, ultimate goals and the consequences of every action (or possible action) taken are logical and well-thought out. To this point, I would say that this is Thor's best work yet and it is clear that he has learned from certain mistakes/shortcomings in his previous ones.
If I had to compare the two authors, I would rank Flynn as a superior author and story-teller. Flynn patronizes his readers less, allowing them to think more for themselves and does not feel the need to take time out from the plot to simply describe mundane details or provide background facts; he simply allows his stories to do that for him. While Thor's trajectory is clearly approaching this point (and maybe to-date he has reached it. I have not read enough of his works as of yet to form a conclusion), he is not quite there as of yet in State of the Union. Still, if you are seeking a solid, action-packed read and are into the whole thriller/espionage genre, Thor is worth picking up. If you are new to the genre entirely, I would recommend starting with either of Flynn's Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp #1), Term Limits (Flynn's first book, set in the same universe as the Rapp series, but not featuring Mitch Rapp) or American Assassin (the second-to-last Rapp novel, but first chronologically).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 28, 2011
Was the end of the Cold War just a ploy of the Russians playing possum? In State of the Union, the third book of Brad Thor's series about fictional Secret Service agent Scot Harvath, the Russians did just that! And now there's a plot to destroy the United States! The president, his forces, and Scot Harvath have to race against time to stop the beyond evil plot and save the United States.
I found this book a great start to the Ultimate Reading Adventure because it was non-stop action and adventure that takes the reader from the United States to Germany, Norway, Russia, and back home again. I have read the other books in the series previous to reading this one, so I knew the background information about Scot Harvath, the leading guy in this story; however, Brad Thor does a great job of reminding the reader of the important information of Harvath's character. My favorite new character in the novel was Herman the German because of his humor, especially when relating to his pistols, Helga and Kristina.
State of the Union has everything the reader could want: humor, action / adventure, romance, suspense, and emotion. The overall message of the whole series is standing up for what you believe, even if it means risking life and limb; Scot Harvath lives by this message, and with every page, he stands up and fights for the American way of life, even if it means that he can't go to his father's memorial service that he had planned with his mother.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 24, 2010
I am only half way through this book, but I can say that so far this is my kind of book - mystery, intrigue, action, edge of your seat reading. A bunch of good bad ass guys outsmarting the bad guys. I love political thrillers. Totally entertaining.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I loved this book - I could not put it down. I have read a few of his books, and while the Lions one is probably his best known and that was good as well - I think State of the Union was by far his best!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 28, 2008
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what else can i say? this book was simply amazing. A MUST READ BOOK FOR EVERYONE!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 27, 2007
Brad Thor did a great job holding my attention. After starting the book, I did not want to put it down. Reading this book has made me want to read more in his series. This book has opened my eyes on the view that not every country likes America. It seems to be posible that the book might actually take place in my life time. A few of the newer telivesion showes have picked up on Thor's ideas about the suitcase nukes and put a new spin so we can relate to it more like Fox's 24 with Jack Bauer. Once you read this book you will want to read his next work.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 4, 2004
Since I picked up the first of his books I have been hooked. The book is action packed and is a hard book to put down. I was not disappointed with the lastest Scot Harvath story. You really get into the story and I found myself excited from the first page. If you like action, espianage, police procedurals you will love this book. Try this and you will be hooked on the whole series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 5, 2013
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Anonymous
Posted March 2, 2013
If you like vince Flynn you'll truly enjoy brad Thor but start with book 1of series and grow with the character. You won't be sorry
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MitchRapp36
Posted December 28, 2012
I am a Brad Thor fan and he doesn't disappoint in this book. I found it hard to put down.
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Posted December 23, 2012
Very good. Confusing in the final chapters, but that could be me. On to number 4!
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Posted October 12, 2012
State of the Union by Brad Thor is an exciting page-turner of a book. Wonderfully written. Thoroughly researched. An edge of your seat thriller. I recommend that you read the series in order, but each book does stand on its own. Love it.
I have such deep admiration for the men and women who serve the USA around the world in ways that cannot be discussed publicly. They are patriots who should be honored if not with medals and such, certainly in our hearts. I am amazed at the exploits of Scot Harvath and of Mitch Rapp, the Vince Flynn character. I am hooked on both series.
Check it out. If you love thrillers, you will love this one.
Anonymous
Posted September 3, 2012
keep reading. Just don't know what is going to happen next.
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Posted July 6, 2012
I love Brad Thor and his character Scot Harvath. His books are fast paced and good reads. I am in the process of making my way through all of the Scot Harvath Series. Haven't found a clunker yet.
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Posted January 24, 2012
I enjoyed it as I have all of the other books. This is my second round in reading the series and I love it just as much as when I read it the first time.
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Posted January 20, 2012
Love the whole eerie can't wait to read them all!
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Posted October 17, 2011
I read everything by this author. Patriotic.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Great thriller. Nice and violent, Lots of explanations about cool weapons and government technology. If your into the spy / espionage stuff this is the book for you.
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Posted August 18, 2008
The ONLY thing I find distracting is when an author 'gets inside' a character's head and has that character ask a question where the answer is pretty much obvious. e.g. 'Someone knows something or other about this or that. But who? How would they know?' Ugh. Very distracting. I want a STRONG character who does not do that. A good example is Vince Flynn with Mitch Rapp ... Rapp KNOWS things. Else he finds things out. No assumptions, or the bare minimum, and no no-answer questions in his head. To me, this is what separates a REALLY good author from a mediocre author.
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Overview
America’s worst nightmare has just become a brutal reality. The most unlikely terrorist enemy of all now holds a knife against the country’s throat. With both diplomatic and conventional military options swept from the table, the president calls upon Navy SEAL turned Secret Service agent Scot Harvath to disable a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy intended to bring the United States to its knees. Teamed with beautiful Russian Intelligence agent Alexandra Ivanova and a highly trained CIA paramilitary detachment, ...