Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of Black Ops by W.E.B. Griffin

Black Ops by W.E.B. Griffin

Black Ops

A Presidential Agent Thriller. #5

by W.E.B. Griffin

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • Dec 2008, 480 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

The Russian bear is stirring - and it's hungry.

Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel Charley Castillo receives a series of back-channel messages concerning covert US intelligence assets gone missing and then, suddenly, inexplicably, found dead. One in Budapest; one in Kiev; one in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - mere klicks from the Iran border. And then one in Virginia, along the Potomac River, practically in the shadow of CIA headquarters.

Castillo suspects it's only a matter of time before the commander in chief assigns him and his group of troubleshooters to look into the deaths while the intel agencies fight among themselves trying to put the pieces together.

Meanwhile, Castillo has problems of his own - fallout from recent missions involving a clandestine rescue of a DEA agent from South American drug runners, and the confiscation of some fifty million dollars from thieves in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. He's made more than a few enemies, he knows. And then comes another back-channel message. All that has happened so far, it says, is just a warm-up for what's about to come out of the Kremlin...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"While he paints an enticing, if overly idealized, portrait of loyal, capable people drawn to others of their kind, realism isn't his strong suit. Still, Griffin's many fans will be rewarded." - Publishers Weekly.

"His novels promise action, suspense, and rousing entertainment, and they never fail to deliver." - Booklist.

"Based on this novel's conclusion, the series is either changing drastically or ending—either is overdue." - Library Journal.

This information about Black Ops was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

G.B. Hood

BLACK OPS by WEB Griffin- not up to snuff
I've read and enjoyed a great many of Griffin's books, including ALL of the Presidential Agent series. Normally they are GREAT! But this one just doesn't measure up to his normal quality level,which is why I rate it a 3 out of 5. All the others in the series I rated at 4.5 or 5 out of 5. This one is giant summary rehash of the previous books with a very jumpy plot. The paperback version is ~800 pages, that I see as 600 pgs of 'fluff & filler', and 200 pages of mediocre content. I'm hoping his next in this series greatly improves.

Surfbuster

Days of your life you won’t get back…
Too laborious, and rife with too many uninteresting characters. Should have been a 200 page book…

Hammond

padded
This is one of the most padded books I have ever read. It is laden with irrelevant mind numbing details. Endless commentary on these dogs C is hauling around with him. Endless irrelevant detail that involves - walking down the sidewalk, how hot it is, how people are seated - on the train, at the table, etc - efforts at clever irrelevant conversation, many instances of arguments between C and various others where C trumps with his presidential orders. Not much action half way through. If I hadn't paid good money for this paperweight I would throw it away without reading the second half, but as it is, I probably hope in vain for something to get going with this piece of trash.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

W.E.B. Griffin Author Biography

W.E.B. Griffin (William E. Butterworth III) is the author of more than 50 epic novels in seven series, all of which have been listed on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and other best-seller lists. More than fifty million of his books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.

Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland and was assigned ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary.

In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips ...

... Full Biography
Link to W.E.B. Griffin's Website

Other books by W.E.B. Griffin at BookBrowse
  • Under Fire jacket
  • The Soldier Spies jacket

12 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Black Ops, try these:

  • West jacket

    West

    by Carys Davies

    Published 2019

    About this book

    An exquisite, slender first novel set on the American frontier about a restless widower who heads west on a foolhardy and perilous expedition in search of unknown animals, leaving his intrepid young daughter behind to fend for herself at home.

  • Who Is Rich? jacket

    Who Is Rich?

    by Matthew Klam

    Published 2018

    About this book

    A provocative satire of love, sex, money, and politics that unfolds over four wild days in so-called "paradise" - the long-awaited first novel from the acclaimed author of Sam the Cat.

  • The Not-Quite States of America jacket

    The Not-Quite States of America

    by Doug Mack

    Published 2018

    About this book

    An eye-opening journey to the most overlooked parts of America.

We have 12 read-alikes for Black Ops, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    When No One Else Will
    by Amanda Skenandore
    1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.
  • Book Jacket
    A Pair of Aces
    by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
    Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    The Reimagining of Thornwood House
    by Jaleigh Johnson
    A witch and her ward discover a magical walking house and find the true meaning of home.
  • Book Jacket
    Feast
    by Catherine Kurtz
    In 19th-century France, a girl with a magical taste becomes a duc’s poison taster amid nobility and danger.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Summer's Never Over
    by Darby Bozeman
    A woman revisits a Southern summer camp where a counselor's death may not have been an accident.
Who Said...

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.