The Heading of my review says it all, folks. to avid Frederick Forsyth fans, at least. To the rest of the world, a fabulous book! And that is why I have rated it as 4 star, although the temptation to rate it as 3 stars was very great!
First of all, if you have read the The Day of the Jackal as the first book of Forsyth, then this book will come as a distinct let-down, for it is not in the same class. That does not mean, however, that this book is crap. Far from it, in fact! It is a very good book, so my advice to all readers: remove The Day of the Jackal from your mind before reading this book. Luckily for me, I was aware of this, and hence was able to enjoy this book quite a lot!
THE BACKGROUND
This book is set in the backdrop of the Cold War, and the constant tussle between the Russian Federation and the West. In this, it zeroes in on Communism, and for this alone, this book is a must read.
The book deals a lot with the political landscape of The United Kingdom, hence a look at the basic parties is needed:
1) The Liberal Democrats
2) The Conservative Party
3) The Labour Party
There are others, of course: Sinn Fein, Scottish National, Social Democrat etc etc. but the above 3 are the main parties
The second aspect is the fourth protocol. this deals with something all of us know very well: the NPT, or the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. I will not delve too much on this, as this is integral to the book. Just one point: this lead me to do some reading up on it, as I did not recall any such thing as the 4th protocol about the NPT! The treaty per se has 3 pillars: Non-proliferation, Disarmament and right to peacefull use of Nuclear Weapons, and was signed in 1968. I have read the text of the treaty. and there is nothing like the fourth protocol. That is pure fiction. So what is the fourth protocol? Read the book, my friend!
The third, and the most important aspect is the Communist World, of which much is common knowledge.
THE REVIEW, /b>
The book is a taut, racy story set in 2 nations: The United Kingdom and The USSR, and goes back-and-forth effortlessly between the two in a brilliant fashion. The pace is frenetic and relentless- much racier than his iconic first novel, in my opinion. However, it starts in typical Forsyth Fashion: starting slowly, with the pace building up as you turn the pages.
The book has all the hall-marks of Forsyth, namely:
1) The attention to detail
2) An intricate Plot
3) A Political Scenario
4) Three distinct parts: the planning, the implementation and the execution of the plot, and the investigation part
5) A powerful anti-hero
6) An unsung Hero
7) A Powerful central political figure
8) A fast, last – minute nail - biting, seat – edge climax
9) The constant switching from one scenario of the Anti-Hero to that of the Hero, interleaving the tale and giving simultaneous insights into the same scene from 2 different viewpoints. This needs to be highlighted: it gives the reader a complete understanding of the plot and the scenario
It concentrates on the efforts of a power – group within the USSR towards enabling a Communist victory in the election. That is the simple synopsis of the plot. But I have earlier stated that the book is taut and racy – so how is it that so mundane a subject as political elections gets converted into a racy – paced book? That is the genius of Frederick Forsyth, and that is precisely what makes this book a must read!
The one shortcoming in the book is that the charectar of the anti-hero could have been developed better, which would have made it a truly great book, and placed it in the same level as The Day of the Jackal. That apart, a truly brilliant book!