For journalist Reuben Bourne the nightmare begins when he breaks a promise to cast a paramilitary white supremacy group in a favorable light -- a fateful decision that will shatter his life. A basically peaceful man with a paradoxical attraction to violence, Reuben suddenly faces an enemy driven my an obsessive, unrelenting hate. To survive this ordeal, he must lead his family on a desperate flight into the wilderness -- a world as harsh and unforgiving as the fanatics who hunt him.
This is yet another of those "I couldn't put it down" books. Reuben Bourne is a reporter who has written a negative article about a white supremacist group that results in dire consequences to him and his family from the group. The story is a bit unrealistic. Imagine such a group with the resources and money spending a lot of time hunting down Bourne & family. But this book is a thriller, not a fantasy so I found it best to accept it on that basis, overlooking the unbelievable premise of the book. Bourne and his family are forced to escape into the mountains where Bourne uses his resourcefulness to temporarily elude the supremacists. Though violent and a bit bleak, I recommend this book for a few entertaining, thrill filled hours.
Written by the author of Rambo, this book is a real page-turner. Violence and fear on every page. Quality plotting.
Great book, great author, good read. If you haven't read David Morrell you are missing a lot of excitement. One of my favorite authors.
Reporter Reuben Bourne has broken a promise - to cast a paramilitary white supremacy group in a favorable light. Now, one basically peaceful man, one with a paradoxical attraction for violence, must confront a force of unrelenting hate. Somehow, he must survive - as he leads his family on a desperate flight into a wilderness as unforgiving as the fanatical humans who pursue him.
This is Morrell's second novel written in 1975. This came after writing his first novel, FIRST BLOOD, that was made into the Rambo movie starring Sylvester Stallone. I've read a few of his other novels and consider Morrell one of the top thriller writers out there. However, for me, TESTAMENT was not quite on par with some of his other works. It tells the story of Reuben Bourne, a writer and reporter who was able to get in with a white supremacy group and write a magazine article about them. Well he had promised the leader, Kess, that he would show the group in a favorable light but after seeing the reality of what the group was capable of, Bourne published a not so favorable story getting Kess very pissed off. Kess sends his men to take revenge on Bourne and his family which brings a very shocking start to what is essentially a chase novel with Bourne taking his family to the wilderness to evade the men sent after him.
Overall, this one had a good premise and started out well. But as the novel progressed it became somewhat tedious as Bourne is able to evade his pursuers in the high country of the west and must use survival skills to make it through a severe mountain snow storm. There are definitely some shocking moments in the story and the ending was somewhat surprising but only a mild recommendation for this one.
Overall, this one had a good premise and started out well. But as the novel progressed it became somewhat tedious as Bourne is able to evade his pursuers in the high country of the west and must use survival skills to make it through a severe mountain snow storm. There are definitely some shocking moments in the story and the ending was somewhat surprising but only a mild recommendation for this one.
Reporter Reuben Bourne has broken a promise - to cast a paramilitary white supremacy group in a favorable light. Now, one basically peaceful man, one with a paradoxical attraction for violence, must confront a force of unrelenting hate. Somehow, he must survive - as he leads his family on a desperate flight into a wilderness as unforgiving as the fanatical humans who pursue him.
From the rear cover: "The terror begins without warning. The cat suddenly dies of poison. At that moment, Reuben Bourne has no inkling of its significance.
Then bit by bit the full horror of it is unleashed upon him. He knows now that he and his family have become the target of a powerful and paranoid right-wing fanatic-a man who will not rest until Bourne, his wife, and children are exterminated!
Where can they run?
Whtat can they do?
How can they save themselves trom this madman's obsessive hate?"
Then bit by bit the full horror of it is unleashed upon him. He knows now that he and his family have become the target of a powerful and paranoid right-wing fanatic-a man who will not rest until Bourne, his wife, and children are exterminated!
Where can they run?
Whtat can they do?
How can they save themselves trom this madman's obsessive hate?"
