Rating: 
Summary: Ludlum scores another winner!
Review: A rather obvious and predictable but very fast-paced and thrilling tale of a deadly virus and an even more sinister conspiracy afoot. When Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith loses his fiancee Sophia Russell to a new Ebola-style bug(how many times has this one been trodden out), he begins his own investigation. Warned by an old school friend(who happens to be in with the bad guys, ominous music burst cue) and tipped off that Siphia was murdered, he vows to tack down her killers. With the help of ex-SAS colonel Peter Howell and Asperger's-syndrome-afflicted Marty Zellenbach who is an ace computer hacker and elctronics genius, his trail leads to Iraq and a secret experiment from Desert Storm involving human guinea pigs and a dormant virus. And how does Victor Tremont, muscling in to control multinational Blanchard Pharmaceuticals, fit in to the conspiracy? It seems that everywhere Jon Smith turns, he is a wanted man - by the FBI, the military and corrupt politicians. Who can he trust? As you read, you will surely guess the ending . . . maybe. The basic character of Smith is obviously plagarised from Joel Converse in Ludlum's earlier classic THE AQUITAINE PROGRESION, and the subject of a doomsday virus may not exactly be original(re:EXECUTIVE ORDERS, PANDORA'S CLOCK and THE COBRA EVENT) but this somehow is such a well-plotted, easy to read book that you cannot help but be intrigued, and does manage to keep the reader hooked in abig way. A great airplane read!
Rating: 
Summary: Derivative, but with potential
Review: When THE MATARESE COUNTDOWN appeared, I wrote a scathing (and well-deserved) review of the worst book Robert Ludlum had ever written. In that review, I suggested that Ludlum either retire or rediscover the passion and inventiveness that marked his early work. With the help of Gayle Lynds, he seems to be making a comeback.THE HADES FACTOR will be familiar to long-time Ludlum readers. The protagonist, Lt. Colonel Jonathan Smith, M.D., faces a conspiracy of monumental proportions aided by only a few long-time acquaintances and a beautiful sidekick. Yet the Ludlum-Lynds tandem breathes new life into this somewhat stale framework. The result is a story that moves along fairly well (although too hastily at times) with much better character development than his most recent work (although one would like to see a little bit more of Smith's background, it will likely be covered later in the series). In particular, I very much enjoyed Martin Zellerbach, the computer genius with Asperger's Syndrome who I sincerely hope will make appearances in other Covert-One novels. Unfortunately, the plot remains problematic. Indeed, THE HADES FACTOR's storyline is almost a mirror image of the most recent Tom Clancy offering, RAINBOW SIX. Without giving too much away, you have a killer virus sprung on the world with ulterior motives (profit this time, not ecological purity as in Clancy's novel). The derivative plot is not the only problem here, but the others are minor in comparison--for instance, the Zellerbach character is drawn a bit too cartoonish despite Ludlum and Lynds's best intentions, but again, this could be touched up in later books. The book is obviously intended to be a jumping off point for a new series of books (all collaborations between Ludlum and other authors one suspects) a la Tom Clancy's OP CENTER. There is definite potential here for sequels, but let's hope that Ludlum and his future partners become more imaginative with their plotlines.
Rating:
Summary: New to Ludlum, fan of Lynds
Review: I enjoyed this one! The pace kept the pages turning. While the plot wasn't necessarily original, the characters were interesting (Marty with his 'Zounds!' and mild autism). I do like biological terror books and hadn't read one in a long time, so this fit the bill. Plus, she mercifully didn't throw the remaining couple together at the end. I look forward to more books in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Ludlum lite
Review: 'Hades Factor' is the first Ludlum book I have read in a very long time. I greatly enjoyed his early books but stopped reading the late Mr Ludlum's novels after his stories became too incredulous to believe. 'Hades Factor' has many of the fine characteristics of an early Ludlum but seems to have been hastily written. After I was half way through the book, I had to look back to find where the story lost me as a reader; where I started to back away from the story and no longer believed any of the characters. It was around page 70.
Sophia, Jon Smith's love of his life, dies in his arms after being injected with a virus, and in his grief, Jon ... performs an autopsy on his beloved, removes tissue samples and travels the next day to California? Huh? Wait a minute. From this incredibly unbelievable response to death onward, I read this novel from a critical distance, noting the inconsistancies in plot and lack of logic of character motivations. Yet still, I recommend this book for a quick read. Not a great Ludlum, not even a very good one, but some of the good stuff that made a Ludlum novel so appealing still manages to peek through every now and then.
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT THRILLER FROM LUDLUM
Review: I absolutely loved this novel from Ludlum considering I have never read anything of his before. This book kept me enthralled from the very first page and would let go. Lt Col Jon Smith (USAMRIID) is trying to investigate the death of his beloved Dr Sophia Russell, who was killed after doing some detective work on a very rare virus that seemed to be kiliing random people across the world. This virus had Ebola-type symptoms and after Sophia goes digging into what sort of virus it is and where it comes from, somebody thinks she is better off dead. Smith enlists the help of 2 friends to uncover a myriad of missing documents, doors slammed shut and unethical scientists that seem to love making terrible viruses and trying them out to see what would happen, but the question is why?? I thought this was a sensational read, not too heavy and very well written. Being a research biochemist myself, I love the way Ludlum incorporated todays technology into a suspense thriller that was able to keep me up all night! Excllent piece of fiction, Mr Ludlum, I will definately be reading everything else that you have written! Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Pale version of Clancy
Review: I have read this and it is earily similar to other tales of deliberately introduced viral plagues such as that of Tom Clancy and Robin Cook. However, the excruciatingly plodding and predictable plot and straining of credibility to the breaking point render it painful to read. Examples: Erasing all the data on one topic in all the computers in research centers around the world in 2 hours. Has not the author heard of tape or disk backup? Cutting out a page in a lab notebook to surrepticiously remove data without detection. Hello, all the lab notebooks that I am familiar with have prenumbered pages.
Rating:
Summary: Hades Factor a quick start to the Covert One series
Review: Despite being a long-term Ludlum fan, I had previously been hesitant to jump into the Covert One series. This changed when I picked up Cassandra Compact in an airport bookstore. Having enjoyed Cassandra Compact, I decided to go back to the beginning of the series. With The Hades Factor, I was not disappointed. The tale, although lighter and clearly not nearly as complex as the typical Ludlum, kept me turning the pages. This book, which grabs the reader early and does not let go, contains much of the suspense and plot twists that Ludlum aficionados have come to love in the conspiracy-thriller genre. If you are considering picking up the Covert One books, I would recommend starting with The Hades Factor. It is a very quick read and provides a nice foundation in terms of character building for future works in the series.
Rating:
Summary: There ain't no such thing as a free vaccine
Review: The Hades Factor is the first in a series written by Gayle Lynds with perhaps some creative input from the late Robert Ludlum. Lynds has crafted a suspenseful thriller with solid, though perhaps stereotypical characters, and a good story line, though the ending was not that strong. Our band here consists of Smith, a soldier-doctor-medical researcher, his CIA agent almost-sister-in-law, his best friend from high school-millionaire computer geek, and an aging British secret agent, living alone in the California mountains with only a trained mountain cat for company and protection. This is the first in the Covert-One series, as the government decides to formalize this group after their stunning success here. The protangonist, Smith, finds himself AWOL, on the run from Arab killers, set up by another high school friend, grieving over the murder of a fiancee and several colleagues, and seemingly on his own to contain the world's worst outbreak of a deadly virus. Also, it seems that the evil plot has been hatched by a conspiracy of greedy businessmen, government and military officials, that goes all the way to the pinnacle of power. And that is only the first two chapters. Forunately, Smith manages to suppress his grieving, outrun the bad guys long enough to assemble his team in a armor plated Winnebago, and escape down a California logging trail. Here the team splits up with the commando and the geek heading east, hacking every computer on the trail of the criminals, while Smith heads to Iraq on the trail of the virus, where he meets up with Russell, the sister of his late fiancee. Ultimately, the team determines that a pharmaceutical firm has been spreading the virus for many years, simultaneously developing and stockpiling the vaccine, in order to prosper from the worldwide disaster they created. The science and technology descriptions are masterfully revealed, a true strength of both Ludlum and Lynds. Finally, this thing comes to a rather weak conclusion, with the perpetrators being revealed and caught in a formulaic fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect story - enjoyable read.
Review: This was my first Ludlum novel and I loved it. Fast paced, and very enjoyable story that must have involved a lot of research/reference to present all the facts (about viruses, etc) as Ludlum and Lynds have done in this case. I also enjoyed the vast number of twists and turns the story took as it unravelled into a well planned and presented story. No blackmarks. I will definitely be checking out more of Ludlum's work.
Rating:
Summary: You Cant Put It Down!!
Review: First of all let me start by saying this is my first Robert Ludlum book, and it sure wont be my last. The Hades Factor is an incredible suspense thriller, and it is indeed a difficult book to put down, once started. The story begins with three deaths, and escalates to the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian's worldwide. Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds have done a fantastic job creating a nightmare, which can turn into reality in our insane world that is filled with immense greed and evil consciousnesses. The characters were realistic, and the story line was fantastic. It not only shows the world's obsession with money, but also depicts characters that are willing to do the unthinkable to obtain billions. This book is for those who are willing to put dismiss their naivety, and realize the unfortunate truth. I recommend this work of art to everyone.
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