The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth

The new book from Frederick Forsyth’s stable does justice to his genre of thrillers. It has all the standard elements of spying, suspense, action, vengeance, etc. The title of the book has no major relevance to the story. The author does mentions the what and how of the kill list. There are two main characters in the book: preacher and tracker. The story revolves around these two characters.

There is surge in jihad, perpetrated by unsuspecting individuals. The big brothers, US and UK, are worried as this new phenomenon of jihad was never heard off. Individuals who have no history in violence are taking to jihad, to target equally unsuspecting citizens. There is a pile of bodies. The governments realize this sudden outburst is only because of one person and he is identified as the preacher. Then we get to know about the tracker, the person who is assigned the task of eliminating the preacher. The story talks about how these two primary characters evolve; how the tracker outsmarts the preacher; how the good triumphs over the evil. We get to know how these two individuals are supported by individuals who share the same ideologies.

There is also a subplot about the Somali pirates and their business of hijacking ships. My personal opinion is that the sub plot does not add substance except for stretching the novel by a couple of ten pages. There may be arguments that this subplot is the means by which the preacher is lured out of his den. I tend to disagree.

The readers are kept in the dark about the details of one important communication between the tracker and the preacher. We can only second guess the contents of this communication. This mystery remains a mystery.

Overall the book is a good read and also good to have in your private library. What is lacking is the direct dual between the two main characters. It seems that one character is not even aware of the danger lurking for him whereas the other character has all the resources and means to accomplish his task. The vengeance angle is also very subtle. Anyhow enjoy the book!

The Cobra - Frederick Forsyth

The master storyteller’s eagerly awaited latest book, "The Cobra", has all the elements for a successful Forsyth novel. The plot is humongous, the characters are plenty, and the story unfolds in different continents. The plot involves the US SEALS, the British SAS, the premiers of these two nations, the CIA, the DEA, the FBI, and various other governments and their agencies. There is also a mention of Karnataka and Goa states from the Indian sub-continent. Forsyth has brought in two of his main characters from "The Avenger", Paul Devereaux and Cal Dexter. The duo (though they weren't best of pals in The Avenger) team up in this novel to end the multi-billion dollar cocaine industry.

The story begins with the death of a young teenager, due to drug abuse, in a slum (yes, you read it right, it is a slum) in Washington D.C. The death starts a chain of events, which supposedly should culminate in the end of the drug mafia. The destruction of the cocaine industry and thereby other drugs is the crux of the novel. The message on drugs from Forsyth is loud and clear. I will quote his exact words "That is what drug abuse does to a young mind. It destroys it". So simple, yet so striking. The lead duo plans and executes an operation, which ultimately destabilizes the mafia.

The story is gripping from the word go. The narrative is swift, except at a few places where the author takes time to describe the environment. There are no emotions involved, just plain "facts". You would love to hate the ruthlessness with which the mafia deals with their "betrayers". There is no chasing amongst the characters, no personal adventures and hardly any individual contributions. The story only deals with the system and the characters are just part of the scheme of things.

The climax to such a magnum opus plot is dull. Just like in "The Afghan”, the ending to the story is pretty lame and doesn't meet the build-up created by the entire plot. It even has a nasty twist for which there is no reasonable explanation. You wonder why would a reptile turn turtle (no, it is not the correct usage of the idiom, but you will understand when you read the novel).

Overall, it is a good book to read and definitely one to add to your personal library. Go grab the book if you haven't done so already.