Language: English
Author: Frederick Forsyth
Genre: Thriller
The only time I ever read thrillers is when I have time to kill. This book though belied my expectations. It actually engrossed me till the end!
The best part of any Frederick Forsyth book is the detailed research that he goes through before writing stuff down. This book is no different. he has researched the Vietnam, Bosnia conflicts and also probably some dtuff related to the current US war. I was impressed when Bout an arms dealer Forsyth refers to in this book was arrested a couple of weeks back. Makes the book appear much more realistic.
The protagonist, Cal Dexter, is very inspiring. He is fifty and keeps fitter than a 25 year old commando. At least that is what the author would like you to believe, and going by the details he gives it is almost believeable. :-)
Forsyth is showing his age though. The way in which he tries to fill up the gaps with respect to the protagonist getting a fake identity and breaking into a protected database are definitely for people of lesser merit than Forsyth. Another thing that people mostly fail to appreciate is that cyber crime against prepared people is far harder than it is made to appear in books and movies. The author sad to say falls for the same trap. But well shut one eye and believe it.
Cal Dexter is really someone I would like to be. Not for his choice of profession, but for his choice of his way of life. How he trains himself, respects his body and the law, and manages the fine line between it all. The last part where we have the "HERO" versus the rest is too good to be true. Goes to show that sometimes we look so far away that we forget to look under our noses.
If you have time for it, its a nice read. If you like to read books about heroes, this is a book for you. If you want story building flawless narrative and smooth flow, get some other Forsyth, he has written enough of those as well. ;-)