24 Declassified: Collateral Damage

Review edited and updated on February 28th, 2009 Let's see now...the bad guy here, Soren Ungar, is an anti-American multi-billionaire from middle Europe. He enacts a plan that gives him control of over two-thirds of America's money supply. His most fervent desire is to see Americans eating garbage. Cut to the real world. Its late in the campaign. John McCain is leading in the polls. The market's been suffering from runs on the dollar for months, in addition to other woes. But just before the election there is a huge run on the dollar! The Dow plummets! Markets tank! Obama wins! Let's see now....the conservative's number one bad guy, George Soros, is an anti-American multi-billionaire from middle Europe. He tried to buy the presidency for liberals in 2000 and 2004. Didn't work. So he buys off and or blackmails democrats in Washington. Proposed legislation by Bush to reform Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae is rebuffed by liberal dems Frank and Dodd. Toxic assets build. Banks collapse! AIG gets bailed-out! Government controls nearly 40% of CitiGroup! Newsweek magazine's recent cover headline says it all: "We are all socialists now." I wonder (but not much) what George Soros' most fervent desire is.....

Wow..I just finished this book today and it was awesome. It's better than the other ones. The plot is very interesting. Instead of saving the world from terrorists in LA, Bauer gets sent to the Big Apple to fix all the problems that the CTU branch in New York has! It's very interesting and the book has kinda a twist in the middle. You think that it starts out as a book where the enemy is just a bunch of terrorists that don't like the US but then there is a twist and you find out that they actually want to bring down the US economy! It's also good because Almeida and Morris o Brian are the supporting characters. Almeida is great and Morris Brian provides good comic relief during tense moments in the book. Yeah. This book rocks! Marc Cerasini....don't stop writing....

I enjoyed this entry in the 24 series. Full of action and violence but also full of wonderful moments of heroism. You see, it's the heroism, not the politics, that draws us 24 fans again and again to Jack Bauer. He sacrifices for a greater good, wrestles with doing a wrong thing for the right reason, and this author delivers those moments beautifully. Don't miss Collateral Damage if you are a fan of 24. As a New Yorker, I found it especially refreshing to have the setting moved East and accurate to the city I live in. Don't be afraid of this book if you have never seen 24. It reads very well as a stand-alone thriller. All of the characters are well explained and well defined, all of the settings are well described, and all of the organizations are well explained, too, including CTU, the CIA unit for which Jack Bauer works. In fact, if you read this book, you may better understand the show itself--how Jack thinks, how CTU fits into the larger scheme of government, and what it is attempting to accomplish. In any event, I agree with the other reviews. Good read.

Due to the Hollywood writers strike, the seventh season of "24" has been postponed till next year. Thus the "24" paperback novels, which are usually scheduled to coincide with the new season, are this year going above and beyond the call of duty to keep the franchise alive. Hardcore fans of the show are able to get their "24" fix thanks to these books. It is fortunate indeed that "Collateral Damage" is Marc Cerasini's best entry in the series to date. The story starts off with a bang with an assassination attempt on Jack Bauer and company in the first minutes of the first hour, and the unrelenting pace never lets up. Breathtaking action and daring escapes ensue as Jack and CTU rush to forestall a plot to sow terrorist destruction throughout the eastern US. The story unfolds in various locations in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England, offering a refreshing change of pace from the show's typical Southern California setting. The chaos is the handiwork of an Islamic extremist group headquartered in a remote village in New Jersey. Composed mainly of ex-cons recruited in American prisons, the group has bought up all the property of a small town to create a compound for training and executing their plot. The group is actually a cult guided by a Jonestown-type leader that has adopted the trappings of radical Islam to tap into the rage of societal outcasts. But the group itself is being manipulated by a shadowy puppet-master behind the scenes with an even more sinister agenda. Like other "24" novels, "Collateral Damage" is a prequel to the show, taking place prior to 9/11. The terrorist threat is not taken as seriously as it ought to be. One of the first signs of trouble is the capture of a local jogger who has strayed onto the cult's compound despite prior warnings about trespassing; she has an exaggerated sense of her immunity as an American, and pays a terrifying price for her complacency and arrogance. This establishes a motif that runs thoughout the book. The chaos Jack and CTU struggle to contain could have been nipped in the bud if not for the arrogant interference of bungling know-it-all beaurocrats. But once unleashed, the destruction reaches truly apocalyptic proportions.

I'm a huge 24 fan and have been reading the declassified books since the first one was released. The last book (Storm Force) left a bad taste in my mouth. Worst "24" book ever. I wrote a review for that book as well. Marc Cerasini, however, does not disappoint. Collateral Damage is a great read. He continues to be the best at conveying a compelling Jack Bauer novel. He weaves plenty of action and suspense throughout a well told story. The book moves fast. It starts off with Jack and company being ambushed and the action doesn't stop until the last page. There are many of our favorite characters as well as new ones. If you are a 24 fan, you'll love the book.