The two central characters in this compelling thriller are exceedingly unlikable: Allander Atlasia, a deeply disturbed criminal who escapes from the Tower, a maximum-security prison, and heads off on a murder spree, and Jade Marlow, a deeply disturbed former FBI agent who now makes his living as a "tracker" and who seems to be the only person who can stop Allander. Readers may have trouble knowing which character to root for, but first-novelist Hurwitz still manages to make us care about what happens. His character aren't likable but they are vividly rendered, the narration is sharp, and the dialogue jumps off the page. The early chapters, describing the Tower and the men imprisoned there, are especially impressive. There are dozens of ways Hurwitz could have imitated other writers here, and dozens of mistakes he could have made. He avoids them all. This is the kind of novel that will probably be snapped up by Hollywood, but, once word of mouth picks up, readers might not want to wait for the movie. An impressive debut.
— Booklist \
The Tower
Narrated by Scott Brick
Gregg HurwitzUnabridged — 12 hours, 21 minutes
The Tower
Narrated by Scott Brick
Gregg HurwitzUnabridged — 12 hours, 21 minutes
Overview
In the bestselling tradition of The Silence of the Lambs comes The Tower, a novel of nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping terror played out in a psychological battle of wit, cunning, and pure evil between a diabolically clever killer and his determined hunter.
Allander Atlasia is an infamous psychopath whose heinous crimes have earned him a lifetime stay at the Tower (nicknamed Alcatraz II), the world's most extreme maximum-security prison. But after a brilliant and brutal escape, the criminal mastermind begins a killing spree that is intensely personal-one by one, victims fall prey to a twisted and chilling re-enactment of his own depraved past.
Jade Marlow is an ex-FBI profiler and tracker whose fearlessness is only surpassed by the severity of his own inner demons. With a record of irrational behavior and a genius for putting himself into the mind of a criminal predator, he may be the one man diabolical enough to catch Atlasia. In an escalating contest of wills and wits, two equally defiant men race toward a showdown where daring is deadly and failure is fatal.
Editorial Reviews
The first several chapters of this psychological thriller offer a gripping rogue's gallery of psycho-killers and sociopathic behavior in a hellish setting from which no man escapes alive. The Tower
Just offshore from San Francisco stands the Tower, an ultra-maximum-security federal prison. When Allander Atlasia escapes from the Tower, he kills everyone there except one inmate. The FBI calls in former agent and tracker extraordinaire Jade Marlow, who profiles and hunts felons thought to be impossible to catch. The story follows Marlow's efforts as he tries to ensnare his prey and in the process loses most of his humanity. First novelist Hurwitz has created two very powerful characters in Atlasia and Marlow, showing their similarities as well as their obvious differences. Hurwitz also delves into Freudian psychology in a subplot that addresses Atlasia's drive to kill his father. The disappointment here is Special Agent Jennifer Travers, who instead of being a foil for Marlow ends up as his doormat. The violence of the killings will upset some, but for the most part this is for collections where thrillers are popular. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/98.]--Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Hts.-University Hts. P.L., OH
Sucker-punching, tongue-in-cheek debut psychokiller tale that spoofs, and tops, the hyper-violent Hollywood genre films that have inspired it. When Wotan, one-eyed FBI puppet-master, decides to put karate-kicking Jade ("shoot first and ask questions later") Marlow, a former agent who left the fold when his superiors questioned his ludicrously over-the-top—if successful—man-hunting techniques, in particular on the Atlasia case, plucky and pretty FBI Travers, one tough lady, warns Wotan that "it'll be like letting a fifteen-year-old loose in a whorehouse, if you pardon my metaphor." "It's a simile," Wotan corrects her, "and I want him." Serial killer Allander Atlasia, an ingenious criminal übermensch who speaks in complete sentences and even uses the expression "pray tell" when lecturing fellow inmates of San Francisco's maximum security Tower prison, has not only flown the coop, but murdered the guards and just about every prisoner there. Marlow, currently self-employed as a bounty hunter specializing in catching bad guys who are wanted DOA, nearly massacres two newspaper reporters when he hears of Atlasia's escape—and it isn't long before he and Travers are bickering, bantering, and trying to figure out why Atlasia removed the eyes from his latest series of victims. The chase awakens slumbering demons inside Marlow, whose relentless pursuit of bad guys, we learn, compensates for a traumatic loss suffered in his childhood. But what about Atlasia's demented upbringing? Was something Oedipal going on with his mother that led him to set squirrels on fire, etc.? Knowing that he'll have to take Atlasia down himself, Marlow handcuffs Travers's ankles together and enduresenough physical torment to knock out Mike Tyson as he tries to stop Atlasia from planning a "Timothy McVeigh special" that will blow the Tower to smithereens. A breezy, funny first outing whose manically cornball dialogue, gross-out brutality, and preposterous action scenes aim low, shoot lower, and hit the target every time. .
Peter Hedges author of What's Eating Gilbert Grape In The Tower, Gregg Andrew Hurwitz merges his formidable intellect with his love of a good story. The gratifying result: a smart and impressive first novel where the pages seem to turn themselves.
Publishers Weekly A gripping rogue's gallery of psycho-killer and sociopathic behavior in a hellish setting from which no man escapes alive.
James Thayer author of Terminal Event Allander Atlasia makes Hannibal Lecter look like a sugary little choirboy.
Booklist Compelling....The narration is sharp, and the dialogue jumps off the page....This is the kind of novel that will probably be snapped up by Hollywood, but, once word of mouth picks up, readers might not want to wait for the movie.
Bill Eidson author of Adrenaline and Frames Per Second The Tower is a terrific achievement, big-scale psychological thriller that takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride at breakneck speed.
Library Journal First-time novelist Hurwitz has created two very powerful characters in Atlasia and Marlow, showing thier similarities as well as their obvious differences.
Kate Phillips author of White Rabbit Gregg Andrew Hurwitz stages a gripping psychological battle between a serial killer and the tortured soul who pursues him.
Walt Becker author of Link The Tower is a compelling tale of terror and suspense that illuminates the darkest shadows of the human pysche.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172264009 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Brilliance Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/18/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
Prologue
He didn't sleep well, but then he never did. He woke in the night and it seemed as if he had been awake all along. He tried to close his eyes and let sleep wash over him again, but it didn't.
Throwing back the covers, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and rested his hands on his knees. The first light of morning showed through the blinds. Soft morning light, still dull around the edges. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and stood up.
The dim light cut him at the waist and shadowed the muscles in his stomach. He ran his hand hard across the back of his neck and stretched his shoulders. The greenness of his eyes was startling; they seemed to draw the dim light of the room into themselves. Green, flickering gems set in the dark silhouette of a face.
Picking up a thin chain from the nightstand, he examined it for a moment before putting it on. He had worn the chain for years, though he had long since removed the medical tags it once held.
He pulled the blinds up. It was 5:26 in the morning and the air was still a heavy gray. He went into the kitchen and took a healthy swig from a carton of milk. The house was impeccably neat, as if some divine hand had swept things into order. He placed the milk back in the refrigerator, pushing it gently into line with the other items.
The living room was adjacent to the kitchen, and he went and lay across the couch. The room seemed empty although it was filled with furniture. It was sparsely but well decorated.
He grabbed the remote from the glass table and flicked on the TV without looking at it. Blue light danced across his face and the hum of voices filled the room. He gazed at the ceiling, shut his eas a difference in the air that he could taste, as if something was about to fall out of place.
He twirled the pistol around his finger, cocked it and uncocked it expertly with his thumb, and twirled it again. A mail truck made its way slowly up the street, stopping at each house. It passed his mailbox without slowing and went to the next.
Pulling a chair around the table to face the window, he sat down, leaning back so two of the chair's legs tilted off the ground. The early morning joggers were out: a tired middle-aged man, a mother with her daughter, a couple with a dog.
He played with his pistol almost unconsciously, turning it over in his hand, spinning it around his finger, catching it in his palm. Sometimes he held it at arm's length, sometimes he held it on his lap. But he always held it well.
The stream of light through the front window climbed his body slowly as the sun rose. Just before it reached his eyes, he got up and walked back into the study, pulling a maple gun case from the drawer. He slid the pistol back into the velvet lining. It fit snugly. His fingers perched lightly on the case's lid as his gaze lingered on the gun. He slammed the case shut.
There was a name emblazoned on its brass plate: JADE MARLOW.
Copyright © 1999 by Greg Andrew Hurwitz
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