| List Price: | |
| Price: | $0.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details... |
| You Save: | $0.00(0.00%) |
| Binding: | Kindle Edition |
| EAN: | |
| Feature: | |
| Label: | Grand Central Publishing |
| Publisher: | Grand Central Publishing |
| Studio: | Grand Central Publishing |
| Tags: |
Editorial Reviews
An original short story by New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.
Frank Becker is a highly sought after, expert assassin. When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his success will permanently alter his future.
Frank Becker is a highly sought after, expert assassin. When Becker takes a mysterious job, he has no idea that it will force him to delve deeply into his own past. Undeterred by obstacles he is determined to complete his assignment. But he may realize too late that his success will permanently alter his future.
Related Reviews
Extremely weak first outing for a short story
Before posting this review I read through the ten or so already listed to make sure that I am not the only one with the same opinion on this short story. To my surprise, most of the other readers have the same thoughts that I do.
This is the weakest writing that I have ever read from Baldacci. As a matter of full disclosure, I am RABID fan of his novels and eagerly await each and every one of them since being turned on to his thrillers about three years ago. However, this first efort at a kindle short story is predictable, implausible, and never links the character motivation that drives the ending. I thought maybe it was me, but upon reading it a second time I was still left confused at the ending and wondering why he had even written it.
Read his novels and stay away from this weak story. His new book "The Sixth Man" is a much better and enjoyable read.
Better luck next time.
This is the weakest writing that I have ever read from Baldacci. As a matter of full disclosure, I am RABID fan of his novels and eagerly await each and every one of them since being turned on to his thrillers about three years ago. However, this first efort at a kindle short story is predictable, implausible, and never links the character motivation that drives the ending. I thought maybe it was me, but upon reading it a second time I was still left confused at the ending and wondering why he had even written it.
Read his novels and stay away from this weak story. His new book "The Sixth Man" is a much better and enjoyable read.
Better luck next time.
Literature has always been about concise, good writing that draws the reader in quickly. Short stories have always been good reading material for everyone. They can be put into magazines, chronicled in anthologies and also used to train new students in how to write, how to think and how to make your story concise without loosing detail.
I had no idea what a Kindle Single was but thought I would try this one since I do love David Baldacci's writing.
This very short story deals with the life of a paid assassin who does his job well. We have a quick look at his latest job and then follow him as he meets a new client for an "challenging" job. But what could be so challenging about what appears to be a very strait forward killing. He sees nothing challenging about it.
But that is where Baldacci catches us. The man does his job quickly and well, but as soon as he has dispatched the victim he realizes that he has made a grave mistake. This story will take you about ten minutes to read and will leave you with the desire to read more.
Maybe Amazon will package these Kindle Singles into an anthology so that we have a larger gathering of short stories in one volume.
Enjoy!
I had no idea what a Kindle Single was but thought I would try this one since I do love David Baldacci's writing.
This very short story deals with the life of a paid assassin who does his job well. We have a quick look at his latest job and then follow him as he meets a new client for an "challenging" job. But what could be so challenging about what appears to be a very strait forward killing. He sees nothing challenging about it.
But that is where Baldacci catches us. The man does his job quickly and well, but as soon as he has dispatched the victim he realizes that he has made a grave mistake. This story will take you about ten minutes to read and will leave you with the desire to read more.
Maybe Amazon will package these Kindle Singles into an anthology so that we have a larger gathering of short stories in one volume.
Enjoy!
****Spoiler Alert****
PLEASE, do not waste your time on this poor excuse for a story.
I am sorry; I had to give it a star. Even with a willing suspension of belief, the premise is ludicrous. Even given the possibility of time travel, there is no motivation given for the old man to give it away just to kill the assassin. Secondly: how did he go back in time with out knowing it and if it was the train that did it, did everyone else on the train go back in time also? And, if the other train riders did go back in time , why did the mysterious old man ruin their innocent lives by sending them back in time.
This was a waste of the 5 minutes it took to read it.
PLEASE, do not waste your time on this poor excuse for a story.
I am sorry; I had to give it a star. Even with a willing suspension of belief, the premise is ludicrous. Even given the possibility of time travel, there is no motivation given for the old man to give it away just to kill the assassin. Secondly: how did he go back in time with out knowing it and if it was the train that did it, did everyone else on the train go back in time also? And, if the other train riders did go back in time , why did the mysterious old man ruin their innocent lives by sending them back in time.
This was a waste of the 5 minutes it took to read it.
I was very disappointed in how short this single was, It took less than 10 minutes to read. This is my first single and if this is any indication of the lenght of a single, then no more. The story line was good, but you were left wanting for more.
At a dollar this was way overpriced. Mr. Baldacci must have had a bill that needed paying to put this one up for sale. Short story isn't an adequate description. It took all of ten minutes to read and the ending was easily foreseeable.
A fifth grader could have written this
Oh, please. Transport me back in time and kill my mother. What about the time-space continuum? There are so many holes and poorly defined characters, he must have written this while waiting in line at WalMart. Oh, well, I'm sure it will pay for his Mercedes payments for the next 4 years.
As a fan of David Baldacci, I pre-ordered the single for $.99 and was excited to read it. Having done so, I can say that even if I had paid nothing for it- I would have felt ripped off. Such a disappointment. I wish I hadn't wasted my time.
Why bother?--and forget about Kindle Singles.
A ripoff. Not Worth the less than a minute download. 15 pages? Come on--get serious. Makes you wonder where the powerful influence of Kindle is going. Maybe scraping content from where it isn't. Forget about it.
Don't turn into a Steven King ripoff writer
You get a pass for this one David because your stories are always so, so, good. This one still leaves me scratching my head and wondering why you would even bother writing this short story. Please don't do this again. I remain a faithfull reader and hope you look at the care given by other reviewers to knock the story but praise you.
Even though I only paid 99cents for this Kindle book, I was shocked at how short the story was. When I tried to turn the page and realized I had reached the end, I was very unhappy with the story's vague ending.
David Baldacci is a decent novelist, but I really question this short story. It doesn't seem worthy. Not much else to add that the other reviewers haven't already, except stick to the books.
I am a huge Baldacci fan and have read all of his books but this was a total waste of money. Very predictable and without substance. Stay away from this one!
Does NOT seem like it was written by David Baldacci
David Baldacci is one of my favorite authors. I buy every book he publishes the day it is released, so I was excited for this short story. From the first line, it didn't 'read' like it was written by him. I struggled with every page to feel engaged in the story. Still love his work, just not this one.
Not normal Baldacci quality. A decent high school student could have written this as well. Save your buck.
I love baldacci and this is the first time I have been sorry I paid for one his books. Are you sure he wrote this?. Talk about demeaning your writing!
Enjoyed reading this. Baldacci crafts the character well. Very interesting storyline, but it was a tat predictable. Still enjoyed watching it unfold.
It's not going to get in The Best American Short Stories this year, and I didn't expect it to. However when you consider that Baldacci charges more $10-$14 for a novel, I think this story is a little too short for a buck. I might feel differently if this had really knocked my socks off. Something this short should be free maybe a quarter.
I THINK DAVID IS A TERRIFIC AUTHOR BUT THIS STORY WAS DEFINITELY NOT ONE OF HIS BEST EFFORTS IT COULD HAVE MUCH BETTER FELT IT WAS WAY TO SHORT AND LEFT THE READER HANGING HOPEFULLY HIS NEXT SHORT STORY WILL BE MUCH BETTER
A waste of time to read this short story. Not Baldacci's style and not up to par with his full-length novels. Glad I was out only a buck.
I have enjoyed reading all of David Baldacci's full-length novels. They were all 5 stars for me!! My only disappointment is when I finish one of his novels, I keep wanting his next one. So this short story was a good fix. Really enjoyed it -- especailly the unique ending. Well written as usual. Fun.
Too bad there was no zero stars for a rating. You've got to be kidding me. I thought I was buying a book. What a ripoff. You should detail what we're buying. I'd get my 99 cents back, but it's not worth my time.
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review
Create your own review
The story has an interesting little plot, but not much character development or interaction due to the length of the short story. However, Baldacci does a good job of getting you interested in the character - this really could have been the outline of a full-length novel, and I think it would be a good diversion for Baldacci as I really haven't liked his last two novels which appear to have been primarily written by others. You do have a pretty good idea of how the story concludes about 75% of the way through it.
To summarize, this is a pretty good short story and Baldacci fans should like it. I did!