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This is my review of the book Rage by Simon Conway, which I read recently. Having read two later books by Simon, I thought I would go back and read the first one. Maybe I should have got a clue as to the nature of the book by the title, but this is not a book to read if one is feeling depressed. The book is set in the few days before the start of the Invasion of Iraq in 2003, and our hero Jonah Said is posted to the un-zone between Iraq and Kuwait, as an observer. This is evidently not a very nice place and within the first few pages Jonah is beaten up, and the person he is with has had their throat cut. Things then go downhill from there, with the Americans seemingly trying to secretly find a lost supply smallpox so it can then be used as a weapon of mass destruction and as such the excuse for the war. The weapon is hidden in some cars which have been lost in a container. So the hunt is on for the right container. Everyone wants to find the container. I would not say that I enjoyed the book and certainly if I had not read the others I would have finished it, and as such I would not be reviewing it, as I only bother to comment on books I actually finish. Yes it did fill in the back story that is prominent in the subsequent books and make them make more sense. Yes it was very realistic in its description. It reminded me of a Mad Max film. I will read something lighter next. This was book 4 week 2 fiction 4 (audio books 1) non fiction 0
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This is my review of the book A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway, which I have read recently. (Well I did half read it on a long flight back from Melbourne, and then started again a few weeks ago, as mislaid it when unpacking.) This is an interesting story as it explores the boundaries between right and wrong, friend and foe, loyalty and betrayal. The stars of our story are British secret operatives in Afghanistan, who ambush a top CIA convoy, thinking they were the enemy. Then they have to face the consequences of the action, become the hunted themselves. Double and triple agents come into the play. Just whose side is anyone one is not clear. The one thing that is clear is greed and the love of money. It is a very clever twisting plot, that leads to the potential of London being devastated by a bomb. Just who is masterminding the operation is a key mystery, and it leaves one guessing to the very end. This is a really good and enjoyable story. If I said much more about the plot lines it be spoilt. Sadly it does not reflect that well on either the British or the American secret service in so much as the cover up and kill the evidence is the call of the day. The multiple story lines go from the Scottish Isles to Pakistan, via most places in between, and the story does give the impression that we are there with the characters, managing to bringing the whole story to life. A very enjoyable read as book 43 week 35 fiction 39 (audio books 6) non fiction 4 Friends
This is my review of the book Rock Creek Park by Simon Conway, which I actually read several weeks ago, but have not got round to reviewing as I am still trying to do the 52 books in under 52 weeks, and so need to record every book I do read. This was an author we saw advertised at the Wigtown book festival last autumn, which I though looked interesting. I was not disappointed. It was a gripping novel that went from Scotland to America. Michael Freeman a homicide detective in Washington DC, is given the task of solving the murder of a brutally beaten beautiful young woman, just yards from Senator John Cannon house. The story quickly spirals into investigating a Department of Defence funded BioScience company called Germline, where he ends up working with Harriet Armstrong, a Scottish body guard working for Germlines Russian director. The body count rises and the shocks, secrets and conspiracies rise. A very enjoyable book and I look forward to reading more of Simon Conways work. I will record this as book 39 week 31 fiction 35 (audio books 6) non fiction 3 |
Tim Fuller
Dyslexic doodles on photography, food (growing, cooking & of course eating), faith and other fascinating things. This is a personal blog expressing my views. Archives
November 2015
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