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Frederick Forsyth, best known for his spy novels The Day of The Jackal and The Odessa File, sets this post-communist thriller during 1999 in Russia, a land whose current stresses have worsened to breaking point. Ex-C.I.A. agent Jason Monk is sent in by a clandestine western group to try and stop the election of a sinister nationalist, Igor Komarov, who seems about to be installed in the Kremlin. The Russian Mafia and Komarov's nationalist militia make nasty enemies. As usual Forsyth gives his story an authentic feel with minute attention to detail and the use of real public figures in the background.
I don't
normally read spy thrillers of this type, and this was the first of
Forsyth's books I've read, but I loved it! I grabbed this book from my
husband one day when I was bored, and was drawn in immediately by the
tense prose and gripping plotline. I won't give a synopsis, you can get
that above. But I will say I read this almost straight through from start
to finish.
No one seems to know how much of this novel is really true, and in the
end, that doesn't matter, because it's writen so well that it might as
well be true. The plot is crafted around a war that really happened, and
the author spoke with those who had taken part in the war, giving his work
an authenticity hard to match. If you're looking for an intelligent novel
of this genre, then this one is hard to beat. Don't hesitate!
this book
is in no way outdated or old. The swift moving plot, the realistic police
methods, the interesting characters, all make for a complete story which
never lets you get away - you're hooked from the first page. Much of the
story, like many of Frederick Forsyth's books, depend mostly on the
characters, how they think, what actions they take or fail to take. This
story does not rely on advanced computer systems, super weapons or
sinister plots carried out by ex-Nazis from underground bases in South
America.
In other words, a good story no matter when you read it.
Review
"The Day Of The Jackal makes such comparable books that The Manchurian
Candidate and The Spy Who Came In From The Cold seems like Hardy Boy
mysteries." -- The New York Times
I've read
all of Frederick Forsyth's novels, most of them more than once, and this
is far and away the best he's ever done. The plot is very plausible,
remember it was written during the Cold War confrontation between Thatcher
and Reagan on the one hand, and the Soviet Union on the other. The
smuggling a nuclear device into the UK with the intention of exploding it
near a nuclear arms base makes for a very intricate series of events. The
false-flag recruitment, and the subsequent chase, from London to South
Africa, and back to London, with the professional "Shadowers" team, is
gripping.The car and motorbike chase for the Soviet spy throughout
England, all of it hingeing on a traffic jam, is one of the best I've ever
read, even better than most scenes in movies. Most of all, Forsyth's
ability to bring all the threads of his novel together at the end, is
unparalleled.
Thank you, Mr. Forsyth !
The Deciever
Forsyth
continues to amaze me with his attention to detail and mastery of his
subject matter. The information he has between his ears about espionage,
military tactics, geography, rules of engagement, etc. would make any
policeman, detective, or military leader drool. I have read about five of
Forsyth's books, and The Negotiator ranks up there with the best of them.
As always, the book is fast paced, entertaining, and leaves you wondering
how the hero is always one step ahead of the bad guys.
The Negotiator is thrilling in the James Bond sense: you are amazed at the
same time you say to yourself, "Oh, come on." You know that there will be
a plot twist, but you can't necessarily predict where it will come from,
and/or which good guy will turn out to be bad. Forsyth's descriptions of
landscape alone, from cities in the Netherlands to the rural Vermont
countryside, demonstrate the author's range, never mind his accounts of
weaponry and combat. Out of sight.
Cast as the Forsyth-lover's Forsyth, this is a series of short stories about a fictitious superspy, McCready, a spinner of misinformation. There are some highlights - the Carribbean sojourn is memorable - but in his attempt to distill the essence of Forsyth, Forsyth abandons the essence of Forsyth. His greatest books were, as the "Law and Order" trailers say, "ripped from the headlines"; stories of intrigues so authentic you'd think they really happened. (To this day, many believe an Englishman tried to kill de Gaulle; most believe The Odessa File to be gospel and Dogs of War to be based on a true life incident). In descending into mellower, more anonymous yarns of spy-vs-spy, Forsyth steps into Le Carre's shadow.