The Hadrian Memorandum: A Novel

Written by Allan Folsom

Narrated by Scott Sowers

The sequel to Allan Folsom's New York Times bestselling The Machiavelli Covenant! When an ocean of oil is found beneath Equatorial Guinea, the discovery sets of an international plot to overthrow the nation's corrupt government.

Nicholas Marten has come face to face with the world's most dangerous men---secret global alliances that go back centuries and involve those at the highest ranks of political power and economic influence. Marten is a man on the run, constantly in fear of his life. He knows too much. He has no one to trust, except the one man who may be his only true friend . . . the President of the United States, John Henry Harris.

Murder, suspense, and deceit shadow Marten every inch of the way as his harrowing journey takes him to Berlin, to the Portuguese Riviera, and finally to the always-mysterious Lisbon. At stake is the struggle for control of an ocean of oil, and with it the constantly shifting line between good and evil, love and hate, law and politics. Its cost, thousands of human lives. Its cause, a top secret agreement called The Hadrian Memorandum.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9781427207722

Allan Folsom

Allan Folsom is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and a Hollywood screenwriter. His first novel, The Day After Tomorrow, was an explosive bestseller, hitting the lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and Entertainment Weekly. It has been translated into twenty-five languages. Folsom's two following novels, Day of Confession and The Exile, were also major New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Reviews for The Hadrian Memorandum

[vapops · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Compared to the other works by the author - this is a poor effort - very slow, disjointed, very formulaic, dull

[texasjudge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A cast of evil characters are desperate to destroy photographic evidence that has emerged from the tiny poor country of Equatorial Guinea. The chase across Africa and Europe is thrilling, yet unpredictable. In the early chapters, it seemed confusing and difficult to distinguish the various corporate entities and characters, but after the primary characters became more developed, it flowed better for me. Discovering whether certain characters are the good guys or the bad guys is one reason the book is hard to put down. Folsom kept my interest up the entire read. I found the 'time stamps' at the beginning of the chapters to be distracting and reminiscent of a screenplay, but I got used to them and accepted them as helpful to orient the reader. The draft I was given to read was full of editing errors; I trust they will be fixed before the book is released to the public. The Hadrian Memorandum is my first read of a Allan Folsom novel. I will definitely read more of his books.

[leonardingram · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It has taken me awhile to review this book, because I didn't really know what to say about itIt is a page-turner. It keeps you reading. But it ultimately was very unsatisfying. The plot was way too convoluted with some sub plots that seemed to be thrown in for no reason.I guess the biggest indictment of this book, is that a month after reading it, I really can't remember much about it.

[sentinel83 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be rough to get through because the beginning started off relatively slow. I was definitely wrong! Once it got going it was fantastic. The number of angles involved with the different characters throughout the book made it very interesting. Plus, the character development picked up after the slow start and really tied in the motives of each. I thought this was a very good book, and would recommend it.

[anaavu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Allan Folsom's newest read, The Hadrian Memorandum, is a very fast-paced and interesting thriller from the beginning. It starts off with sudden, and cold-blooded murders in equatorial Guinea, with tons of double-crossing and plot twists. The idea for the plot was pretty good, seeing the need for oil today. Though I was too young to know a lot about the politics, I could understand much of it by the author's explaining some of the background, which made it much easier to read and enjoy. I was very surprised by the conclusion of the novel. It's action-packed plot keeps the reader interested throughout, but that's about all that keeps the book up. There's not much more to it except hidden conspiracies and cat-and-mouse chasing, all for a couple of photographs that could make or ruin a company and many others. Lots of grammatical mistakes distract and confuse the reader. On the whole, very enjoyable for adventure-lovers, and a good stand-alone novel. But it's just like many others coming in today, nothing special or memorable about it.

[computer_tom · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Well written but ultimately a very cookie-cutter thriller. Clearly the research and energy of the author has been channelled into his latest work, I just wish that it was les predicatble and stook out among its peers.

[gdill-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first Folsom book. Overall, it was an excellent read. Full of adventure, mystery, and intrigue. Fast pace. Quite the page turner. I felt like I was watching the TV series, "24". Lots of action and unknowns with an international flair to it. But, I didn't care much for the X-rated sex scene between Marten and Anne. The details were not really necessary. And, there seemed to be a lot of unneeded rehashing of events throughout the book, resulting in a prolonged and stretched out storyline. And, there were a few moments when the story began to bore me. Rarely do I read a 600+ page book, but this was just good enough to hold my attention span and keep on reading to the finish. I've found a new author to add to my Favorites list and look forward to reading Folsom's other books. If you have the patience to read a lengthy book, but full of suspense and intrigue, then I highly recommend The Hadrian Memorandum.

[sherrilee_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a very average retelling of an oft told tale. The action moved along fairly well but the story just never seemed to jell. I normally read a book in 1-3 sittings but I kept putting this one aside because I couldnt get interested. The characters were flat and the story dull. Blah...

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Compared to the other works by the author - this is a poor effort - very slow, disjointed, very formulaic, dull

[cwflatt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book, a non-stop thriller, always keeps you guessing who are the good guys and who are the bad guys and what is really at stake.

[mswallack_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I just couldn't get into this book. I'm not sure that I can put my finger on the problem, but it just didn't grab and hold my attention. I guess that a primary criticism that I have for the book is that the McGuffin (a batch of photos) just never seemed that important and certainly not important in an irreplaceable sort of way. Second, the complexities of the story often felt as if they were complex contrivances serving no real purpose other than to add complexity. Oh, well.

[exlibrismcp · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A story of corruption, greed, conspiracy, and the lone hero out to save the world from it all. There were some well-written action packed scenes that left me wondering what was going to happen. Likewise, the uncertainty of whether his uninvited female traveling companion was on the side of good or evil kept me guessing throughout the book. Yet, there were also a tad too many narrow escapes from close call situations that it began to border on the unbelievable. There is a fine line for each reader regarding how much suspension of reality can be tolerated, and for me that line was crossed. Additionally, the mention of a memorandum arrived so late in the book, that I spent more time than I cared to trying to reconcile the title of the book with what I was reading. Overall, I would not discourage someone to read this book, but it would not rank high on my recommendation list.

[bknrd · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this latest book from the author of The Day After Tomorrow. However, it was not as good as that first book. Still a great conspiracy story and interesting plot, I just was wishing it was a little more believable.

[jaym_835193 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Ummmmm.......I can't really think of anything to say except...egh. I just couldn't get into this book, so I ended up putting it aside for better books multiple times. The plot was serpentine and more than confusing, and a little overdone, and I just didn't connect with any of the characters. I'm all for a thriller, but unilke Dan Brown's fast-paced 'Deception Point' or one of my other favorites 'Shutter Island', this one didn't thrill.And the romance! I'm a girl, I like a dash of love and happiness thrown into most any novel. Not an overwhelming amount, but at least something to make me go 'awwwww' when the rest of the book is so intense and sometimes dark. But the relationship between protagonist Marten and heroine Anne is not what I had in mind. The resolution of their time together at the end of the novel was unsatisfying.'The Hadrian Memorandum' is not something I'll be reading again, but it wasn't the worst book ever. It did have action, just not enough to make reading the somewhat long book a second time.

[clif_hiker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aside from the done-to-death plotline..i.e. "whoever controls this resource controls the world" etc., and the obvious plot miscues (they had the protagonist IN custody... and let him go to then proceed on a chase all over Europe with multiple groups of operatives to catch him to ask him the same questions they were asking him when they HAD him in custody in the first place???), and the obvious reluctance of the author to delve into the world of torture, even though it was obvious that "real" bad guys would have used it on numerous occassions... despite all that, I still enjoyed the story. It was fresh, and the characters were likable and memorable. I'll give it 3 1/2 stars.

[enrique_molinero_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What do you call a thriller that doesn’t thrill? Or a page turner that doesn’t make you want to pick up the book; let alone turn the pages? The Hadrian Memorandum is a perfect example of this sad case. Apparently the main character, Nicholas Marten, is a reoccurring character from some of Allan Folsom’s other novels and I can only hope that he actually had some character development in those books because in The Hadrian Memorandum Marten comes in with little personality and leaves with no more than he started with. It’s like someone took James Bond and scooped out the charming or stole the confusion and desperation from Jason Bourne or even the awkward geekiness from Robert Langdon and replaced it with nothing, Marten feels like an automaton programmed to achieve the mission’s parameters and nothing more.That isn’t to say the book is all bad, but all of the rest of the good always seems to be tempered by more bad. There are some interesting minor characters but Folsom has a tendency to kill off any character that you might actually like which makes it even harder to push through this book. And the plot was solid if not exactly a revelation. But when the market is as saturated with books as the thriller genre is, you need more than a solid plot and a boring main character to stand out. Unless you’re really hurting for reading material you should pass on The Hadrian Memorandum.

[mccoog40 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A fast paced thriller with economic and political factors. I was not impressed with teh overall product. The book was very entertaining and easy to read, however, the author did not really delve into the social and political aspects that really drove the story. Character development was lacking.Overall, a good book to read just to read, but not to gain any kind of insight. Fiction in it's purest form.

[jazziejj07 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have enjoyed reading books by Allan Folsom since I read, "The Day After Tomorrow". And while the Hadrian Memorandum was good it was not as compelling a book. Nicholas Marten is a former LAPD detective who falls into one a cover-up by a big oil company, AG Striker. A company who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of oil; including the killing a many innocent people. The depth of cruelty might be a little hard for some to swallow, but it adds to the suspense and makes for a good read.

[mdtocci · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book can be described as a thriller, page-turner, beach read, etc; not terribly deep but still difficult to put down. I thought the book started off a little slow, it seemed to jump right into the middle of the story and was a little hard to follow. The story really started to pick up when it moved from Africa to Europe. But, unfortunately, I thought the ending really dragged on for too long. This is the third book in a series, and I haven't read the others, so there seemed to be some back story that wasn't explained in this book (like why is he best friends with the President).

[perrywillis60 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed much of this book. Bad dudes are wickedly bad, good guy is smart, plot winds around the world. I don't regularly read this genre, and this was a refreshing return for me. Had never read Folsom before, and found him very talented. The pace was very good once the story got rolling. I'd recommend this to others.

[srb5729 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an enjoyable read. The starting sections were definitely too slow but did get significantly better. The book sped up and became much more enjoyable. As another reviewer stated, the avoidance of current cheap and accessible technology does create a logical dilemma as to certain choices and the book's progression. Overall, an enjoyable beach or park read.

[deaconbernie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book clearly got better the deeper in to it I got. In fact the beginning was so convoluted, it's a wonder I stayed with it. But then Folsom got the story moving very well. His bad guys are very bad. His dummies are really stupid. And his good guys are flawed. I would read more from this author.

[hawkinsfamily · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Hadrian Memorandum by Allan Folsom is a well written action novel. The story moves quickly and keeps the reader interested in what is going to happen next. The writer has developed the characters so you feel for them as the story is told. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys action fiction.

[rbott_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Hadrian Memorandum, by Allan Folsom, is an interesting story and it kept my interest all the way through to the end. The plot follows a man sent to Africa by his President to look into a problem there and follows him to Germany and then to Portugal where the climax takes place. The adversaries are mercenaries, crooked cops and the CIA.All in all this was a good story, although the ending was a little lame. I can recommend this tale to anyone who wants an easy adventure read. I enjoyed it very much.

[miked_181283 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An action packed conspiracy thriller... along the same genre of a Robert Ludlam, Vince Flynn book. It has it all: crooked government operatives, Russians. mercenaries, and the good guys... all in a desperate fight to cover up or expose an American Oil Companies plan to secure (by any means) all of the oil leases in a country fighting a civil war in East Africa.The book starts a little slow but soon catches the reader in a fast paced chase to the end... Nicolas Marten's a retired LA Detective is the protaganist of the story, reluctantly drawn into to the conspiracy that takes him on a chase around the world!

[drlord_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I started reading this book I thought I would be disappointed because it started extremely slow and I found it hard to get into a "reading rhythm". That quickly changed. By the time I was done with half of the book, I found it difficult to put down. The action was intense and followed a logical timeline. The only parts that I found "challenging" was a tendency of the author to over describe certain environments and one particularly graphic sex scene that to me could have been accomplished in a less graphic way.All in all though, I enjoyed the book very much.

[dschander_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Hadrian Memorandum is the third entry in Folsom's Nicholas Marten series. Marten, a former cop turned landscape architect, travels to Equatorial Guinea for a private meeting at the request of his friend the US president. When Marten's contact is killed, Marten finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game with powerful foes.It's a diverting, conspiracy-driven adventure, and I enjoyed the ride. Unfortunately, the action is often bogged down in ackward prose and an over-attention to detail. I just don't need to know every minor character's back story or exactly how long each scene takes.(Received for review from the Early Reviewers program)

[bratlaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ag Striker has discovered a large oil field beneath Equatorial Guinea. Their lease controls the field and the small african Nation. This is a story of man's harsh and heavy greed and coruption. War, murder and mayham. Secrecy, spies, and chases. It's espionage at it's finest.

[dmclane_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This will be a quick review, unlike the book, which bogs down in detail midway and does not recover until the later pages. It seems like the editor told the author to make it longer. In any case, it is still a good, exciting read (except for the above mentioned middle) and has put the author in my sights as someone to check on. In case you did not guess by now, I like spy/thriller/mystery books, using them to occupy time waiting for planes and trains. Have a Merry Christmas.

[cuicocha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Hadrian Memorandum" is a 444 page book that should be about 100 pages shorter. The book starts with a "bang" but then bogs down in too many pages of chase sequences that do little to develop character or intensify the conrflicts which must be resolved. Then, just about 150 pages from the end of the book, the author hits his stride again, and the story takes off and becomes one of the most satisfying action/ thriller tales of the year.Alan Folsom displays techniques of a master thriller story weaver: characters are solid, action can be fast paced, and premises are plausible. This is a good read that, with a little more considered editing, would have elevated the author to the top of his genre.