Warning: this book contains a lot of violence some thoroughly depicted.

VENGEANCE IS MINE!

What starts as a peaceful climb to escort a camera crew up the Himalayan mountains quickly devolves to be a fight for life Alex, Samuel Cohen and Paul?? A team of three mountain guides starts out and unspoken lies are revealed causing much danger and death.

Fleeing from potential terrorists and maybe the CIA. They flee for their lives. Cohen’s attitude turns to revenge. Revenge for Alex, revenge for those lost in numerous previous wars, for every victim since time began. The chase scenes are beautifully written, your heart is in your throat as the chase is on. This book reminds me of so many action stories, but in a good way. Narrow escapes dangerous territory and improbable situations.

One item I find personally annoying is when an author uses a foreign language without any translation or interpretation to follow. I feel as if I’m missing dialogue and a potentially important concept. I can absolutely envision this as an action-adventure movie, in the vein of a diehard type of drama. Fast paced and edge of the seat scenes.

If this type of book is your type, enjoy, it will be a wonderful read for you! However, after about half of the book, I could no longer continue reading the book. The situations became too much, the plausibility long gone, and I tried to go back to reading it. I have tried multiple times to go back and each time I couldn't open the book. Just to note, I am an avid reader and read over 200 books a year!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

When I was a little kid and aspired to be an author, I wrote “books” that were all dialogue. This book reminded me of my failed attempts. I tried picking it up and putting it down, then picking it up again multiple times and it just could not hold my attention. I enjoy spy novels and books about the Himalayas, so I thought I would love this one, but I couldn’t get into it at all.

Twisty, complex thriller. What should be an easy job for a guide Himalayas turns deadly. Who are these clients and how did this trip turn upside-down so quickly? What were they carrying? A treacherous journey across Europe unveils part of the answer.

This book has vivid descriptions of exotic settings and the thrilling scenes of danger The author takes from his own experiences of war and human rights journalist, and creates a realistic and compelling vision of the political and environmental issues facing the world today. Along with a glimpse into a world of espionage and nuclear politics
If you’re a fan of thrillers with an adventurous story that is fast paced and exciting read check this book out.
Overall it’s a exciting and interesting book
Thank you netgalley

This novel didn't work for me. I had to set it aside. An unsympathetic protagonist, an implausible story.

Pass on this one. The main character is a caricature of the mistreated hero with no reason to believe he has any reason for his anger. Many "supporting" characters, but none of them are well enough written for me to care for them. Lots of good books in this genre. Find one of them.

The context of a book lost in time allows one to guage when it in fact becomes less than prevalent in terms of relevance. "Tibetan Cross" (Mike Bond/Big City Press/402pgs] sends it lead character through the ringer. While the set up in Tibet in terms of a CIA operation and how this reluctant hero gets involved comes off as a happenstance at most in the beginning, the way he eludes his pursuers is not. The way author Bond interweaves Cohen as a man of many talents while simultaneously being a master of none, reverberates in that he has to make decisions that are sometimes vicious, sometimes mildly homicidal and other times simply part of survival. Bond paints the different areas Cohen visits on his path to a rendezvous in Paris with a bit of danger but alot of societal intrigue. Each country presents its own challenges, strengths and topography. The most dynamic relationship is the one he has with Claire, both a foe and a friend at times. Certain parts of his journey have a dreamlike quality but many times it comes off more as wishful thinking of the author. The dialogue strains between credible, subtle and too over the top in its would-be exposition and melodrama.

The bad guys have their reasons for doing things but the overall subterfuge (even for the time it is set in...which is around the mid-80s) leave a bit of motivational desire. The intrigue level is right but the chain of command is less so. The more intrinisic parts of the novel which take place on the border of Europe and the Middle East show the split context of what it means to live and escape versus simply survive. Cohen as a character recognizes his shortcomings but also the empathy and compassion of others who are not directly affected by his situation. However, a big context of the novel is collateral damage which is more than specifically angled to a consequence of Cohen's actions. He only has one goal in mind, but even that is not assured and many people get hurt in the process. The quid pro quo and internalization of his mission helps even as the novel shifts a certain gear in the third act which feels more like "Olympus Has Fallen". This leads to a finale that is more hopeful than it is diametric. "Tibetan Cross" in that way accomplishes some of its goals while at other times delving into too pulpy a description while loosening its dialogue without adequate reasoning. B-

By Tim Wassberg

This is my first Bond book. I liked him as an author and will probably read another of his books. Great characters and good plots that keep you riveted. He was very descriptive in his writing and I could imagine I was with them as I read the book.

Mike Bond writes a good book. As another reviewer wrote, "Bond writes more than a thriller", as he describes the scenery and culture in a way to bring the history of the book setting to life. We are transported back to 1970's Tibet and the rawness of the atmosphere at that time. A world of intrigue and mystery, with war, China, and the CIA. The true stories will probably never declassified, but Bond does a good job of turning whispers into truth.
I enjoyed the book, though at times it dragged in places.

I found this a hard book to get into. It was quite violent. It was an interesting story with a satisfying resolution.

Another Mile Bond fast-paced adventure that will keep you up at night turning the pages! This one takes place in Nepal and surrounding countries with the story ending on the United States. A bit too much of what feels like gratuitous violence and graphic sex, but the story will keep you reading.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

This is my first book I've read by Mike Bond.

What I like about the book is the story line about, Sam Cohen and his friends Alex, and Paul hired as guides to take a group to Mustang (which is part of Nepal) for the purpose of doing articles, travel stories about a trip to Mustang. and the equipment they have supposed to be expensive which ended up being weapons and the group they were escorting were not ordinary. This book was packed with action and as stated it is the storyline I thoroughly enjoyed.

What I don't like about the book are the characters. Usually, I fall in love with the characters and that is what binds the story together for me. This book the characters fell short for me because I was having trouble liking them.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first read by Mike Bond and I am not quiet certain how I feel about it. His writing style took a lot of time to get into as there was overload of details and not enough actual story. The premise of the story was Sam and some of his veteran friends were hired to guide a photographic tour through Himalayas but it was not just a tour. They discover it is a smuggling operation they need to get away from.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy to review.

a great spy novel that was very intriguing

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for this review copy.

I requested this book because the description really appealed to me. However, reading the entire story I was disappointed primarily because of the constantly changing locales with very little transition.

Unreadable. Trite, cliche characters and a very difficult writing style caused me to give up on the book before I was 10% through the story.

I thought I would be excited to read this based off the description but unfortunately it was just not for me. I felt that it just didnt move fast enough and didnt really have a story so to speak behind it and i am not one to not finish a book so i pushed myself through regardless and got to the end but it just wasnt what i was hoping for in the end.

Thanks NetGalley and Mandevilla Press for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Unfortunately this book was just not the book for me. It had quite an interesting description, but lacked a lot of context and was very confusing with who, what, when, where….I just felt like I was in a constant state of confusion with this book and didn’t connect. My mind would get bored and it would wander.

This was a fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat as I had to know what happened. I now want to read more books by Mike Bond.