The Hades Factor--Jeremy Schreck

The Hades Factor Book Review
By Jeremy Schreck

I read The Hades Factor by Robert Ludlum. There isn't a specific reason why I chose to read this book. My mom recommended that I should read a book by Robert Ludlum, and we happened to own this one. She told me that Ludlum is a good author. Also, I like reading this genre of books, which is basically suspense and adventure, so this was a good choice for me.
In The Hades Factor, a pandemic is spreading across the world. Millions are dying. Plenty others are ill. Jon Smith knows that his wife's (Sophia) death was not an accident. Someone has control and is injecting the virus into humans to start this pandemic. With help from friends Marty and Peter, plus Sophia's sister Randi, Jon sets out to find the people responsible for his wife's death and stop them from murdering others. Encountering and escaping death on numerous occasions, Jon and the team get closer and closer to the truth.
"Find them!" This was a quote said by the president towards the end of the book. I won't tell you who he's yelling at or about, because it's a very important part in the story. I picked this quote because it is in the middle of, in my opinion, the most exciting part of the book. Jon, Randi, and the team are at the last stage of bringing the murderers down. This part was very suspenseful and exciting, and this quote sparked another problem in Jon and Randi's plan.
For my rating system, I would use dollar bills. Victor Tremont and his assassination team are starting a pandemic so they can make billions of dollars. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it 3 and a half "dollars". It was a good book, so therefore I gave it a pretty high rating. There were some things about it that I didn't like though, hence the three and a half stars. Most suspense books make me want to keep reading to find out the ending. When I read, I just keep turning the pages, eager to finish. The Hades Factor is very different. We, as readers, know basically who is behind the virus, how they are doing it, and why throughout the story. The whole book is about Jon and his friends trying to figure out what we already know, and stop them. This, to me, lowers the "page-turner" effect. I didn't feel the urge to keep reading. Since I already knew what happened to Sophia and the others who died, I wasn't constantly wondering about it. I liked
the book throughout the whole story, but I didn't enjoy reading it as much as other books. It doesn't make me want to keep reading until the ending.
If you are someone who likes suspense and adventure books, or even mystery, then this is a book for you. Granted, you might not like it as much as the Harry Potter or Alex Rider series, but it is still a good book. It is long, a little over 400 pages, so if you are not up to that challenge then don't read it. There isn't any sexual content, and the violence isn't very explicit. There are scenes where people are shooting though, so if you or your parents care that you read about anything related to guns, then this isn't the book for you. Overall, I liked it and I think you should read it, too.