The Afghan Hounds Al Qaeda (The Afghan - Frederick Forsyth)

Member Name: markysparky

Product:	The Afghan - Frederick Forsyth
Date:	27/07/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Top Drawer Thriller

Disadvantages: Some aspects of plot are beyond belief

I've enjoyed reading Frederick Forsyth's novels for over 25 years. In fact I have re-read these stories several times each (he is one of the very few authors of whom I can say that).

His novels are lengthy, several hundred pages long. He writes thrillers and is widely acclaimed as one of the best at this art. He is opinionated, right-wing (as in the Maggie Thatcher category) and very patriotic (as readers of his Sunday Express columns will be well aware). He is meticulous in his descriptive detail and is reknowned for the painstaking research of his subject matter. He always includes bags of violence, pain, passion, heartbreak, intrigue and political chess.

The Afghan, which I've recently re-read, in not in my opinion one of Mr Forsyth's best works (but in saying that, it is still a pretty damn good read). It has all his usual, trademark, elements - a hero (ex-SAS) Major Mike Martin who has had his knocks but is still a magnificent physical specimen who is capable of near superhuman feats, a storyline which flips between the UK, US, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Caribbean and the oceans of the world (amongst other locations!) and the controlling background influences of the world's secret services.

Martin was brought-up living in Iraq where he displayed a great talent for learning the language, habits and mannerisms of the native arabs. He was a lead character in Forsyth's earlier novel The Fist of God, in which he was able to infiltrate Iraq, disguised as a native worker, and against all odds foil a sinister plot against the West. It is this ability to pass as a native (he even looks like an arab through his skin colouring) that is so valuable to the West's secret services and he is asked to infiltrate Al Qaeda after a sinister plot is uncovered.

I obviously don't wish to give too much of the plot away. Martin is to play the part of The Afghan, impersonating a real life Al Queda fanatic who has been locked away in Guantanamo Bay for the previous 5 years. The mission is daunting, could it be achieved?, what is the terrorist plot?

You have to suspend your disbelief with some of the coincidences and happenings in this thriller (probably more so than with the author's other novels) but the quality of the writing and the suspense that builds to many crescendos make this one hell of a read. Forsyth has a great talent to keep the reader glued to the page - something crucial will be about to happen in Pakistan and you'll be transported back to the UK for another 30 pages.

This is a great book which I would recommend although for anyone considering reading Forsyth for the first time, I would suggest The Devil's Alternative or The Avenger.

Summary: Forsyth is the grand master of thriller-writing and this is great stuff