5 comments about Fist of God.

1. This is a 'docu-Drama' with all the nitti-gritty of building up to the biggest military action in history - all the major real players are there , plus a great character.
   
   Better than any James Bond, this is a coworker of Andy McNab - SAS wins the day.
   
   How close did we actually come?
   
   BeechSportBill
   Bravo Two-Zero



2. I usually do not post my reviews of books, but this book was so good I feel obligated to tell other potential readers to buy it. I've read a lot of espionage books and this one is at the top of the list. It's better than Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, Eye of The Needle, Brotherhood of the Rose, Fraternity of the Stone, etc.
   
   This book has real characters, believable plots, and about ten twists and turns I never saw coming. From start to finish, this book kept me captivated with its characters and how they all interact and are intertwined. Forsyth does a great job in this book and paints a very grim picture of how close Iraq came to having a weapon of mass destruction. Or did they?
   
   I am always impressed at how Forsyth's research is so thorough. It makes it very difficult to differentiate where fiction starts and fact ends. This book is no exception.



3. Not enough human intelligence.
   
   
   Even then, in Iraq, it seems. A desperate military sends one of the few men it has that has a shot at passing locally into Iraq because of worries about a superweapon.
   
   Quite literally, a BFG. He does a bit of rabble rousing of the spook kind to aid his cause, while he tries to work out what is going on and stop it.
   
   Just passable, as far as Forsyth goes.



4. This is another book from my Top 5 List. Mike Martin really helps us to understand what's all about Iraq's Gulf War. If more politicians read this book, we would probably dealt better with war conflicts. This should be readed by everyone in school, a military/historical fiction which lots of lessons to everyone.



5. This book has a contemporary setting, and is more believable
   than others in its genre. I really enjoyed it. It is readable
   and does not confuse or have too many characters to keep track
   of.

5 comments about Avenger.

1. Rather than the "normal" thriller plot, Forsyth reveals an event early, and then the rest of the book leads up to that event.
   
   While I agree with other reviewers that this is not "Jackal", the protaganist is a very methodical hero who is quite interesting.
   
   If you like "cat and Mouse" suspense novels, this is a book for you. All the events are credible, and the contemporary setting of the Bosnian war is very interesting.



2. A taut, clever tale brimming with backstory, 2003's "The Avenger" is a nice return to form for Frederick Forsyth, recalling if not attaining his "Day Of The Jackal" peak and showing there's life in the old boy yet.
   
   Attorney Calvin Dexter lives quietly and alone in Pennsylvania after the deaths of his daughter and his wife. Unknown to everyone else, he leads a second life as self-styled "Avenger" for hire, calling upon skills honed as a tunnel rat in Vietnam to help other grieving families achieve closure by bringing those who have hurt them to justice. He needs all those skills when he takes on ex-Serbian paramilitary boss Zoran Zilic, whose Bond-villain name comes with a coastal fortress Blofeld might call home.
   
   Reading Forsyth of late has been a disappointing experience for me; I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. "Icon" and "Fist Of God," his previous two novels, started strong only to peter out, hobbled by excessive exposition and plots that unfolded too neatly, drained of suspense. "Avenger" has a lot of exposition, and a neat wrap-up, yet it actually works very well this time, in part because Forsyth's writing has tightened and also because he has a real story to tell, one that resonates in the same way as his early classics.
   
   The plot is engaging like "Jackal" because you don't quite know what the protagonist is up to. In "Avenger," like "Jackal," you are given a lead character operating alone and in secret, the differences being that Calvin Dexter is a sympathetic figure and known to you by name. We spend a good deal of time seeing Dexter in the time before his current life began, including a terrific sequence explaining the whole Tunnel Rat idea. A bit more exposition than needed, perhaps, especially when we travel to Dunkirk in 1940, but that's Forsyth's style, something his fans enjoy and others should allow for.
   
   When the book begins to take off, however, it really soars, especially when the CIA gets involved. Zilic, see, is no ordinary exiled baddie, but one who has connections in the global underworld. And there's one man in particular who, as August turns into September of 2001, that CIA counter-terrorism boss Paul Devereaux would like Zilic's help in eliminating.
   
   Devereaux is a complicated figure. He'd be the villain in almost anyone else's book, no question, as he works to keep Zilic safe. But Forsyth is wrestling with the problem of how to fight evil in today's world, and poses the question to the reader in an interesting way. This gives "Avenger" a kind of twist that makes it special in the Forsyth canon. Does the end justify the means? Is it better to leave Zilic to prey on his dozens of innocent victims to stop someone else from preying on hundreds of thousands?
   
   Forsyth doesn't present any easy answers, just a tough story that keeps you reading. Dexter's confrontation with Zilic feels rushed, and it seems Forsyth could have done more with it than he did. Like the whole Avenger identity, you don't exactly buy it, but you enjoy it just the same. It's easy work enjoying Forsyth this time around, and hopefully there's more to come as Forsyth rediscovers the balance between giving history lessons and a ripping good yarn.



3. This is a good story but not up to Forsyth's previous efforts. I found it difficult to connect the sub-plots early on, but everything eventually came together and sped to an exciting conclusion. Some careless editing, however: "Pres." for "President" and "Dir." for "Director."



4. This appealed to me simply because I have an interest in 'vengeance' storylines as opposed to revenge, and although I enjoyed it it didn't move me in particular, not emotionally at least. It was a tremendous odyssey however, winging its way from such unusual places as Vietnam to Canada to Dubai and on to Surinam - among many others. Chief among those others was Bosnia, and I have to admit I welcomed this history lesson about a series of conflicts that I never truly understood as well as I do now, thanks to Fred! Likewise the guerrilla warfare in Vietnam, even the Second World war - how superbly the author entwines fact with fiction and fills us with, if we're honest, a lot of unexpected knowledge on the way through this somewhat long-drawn-out mission of justice. Thanks to fascinating background on the central character of Cal Dexter, in particular his years as a 'tunnel rat' against the tactically superior Viet Cong army, we know that he is more than capable of carrying out the seemingly impossible task of finding and returning the Serbian war-lord to the paymaster who recruited him for his role of avenger. The tale contains more than passing associations with Al Qaeda too, and their 9/11 strikes, leaving the reader to wonder how it might have been avoided, or how Usama Bin Laden could have been found just days later. Not classic Forsyth I guess, but a mightily interesting tale nonetheless, and worth reading more than once.



5. I just finished this book and I am totally satisfatied. It's like I had a great meal.

5 comments about The Phantom of Manhattan.

1. A real switch for Frederick Forsyth. A logical, entertaining sequel to "Phantom of the Opera".



2. I am shocked that a professional author with many credits to his name could goof this badly. The story stinks for the most part and could have been so much more with a little more thinking.
   
   Then there is the manner in which it is written. The story is told by many voices and they all repeat what has been said before from a different but not very interesting angle, with little new information so it gets very B O R I N G.
   
   The end is unsatisfying for the most part. I can't believe the rumor that Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to do a sequel from this garbage--if so, good luck with that project, dude.



3. I am a die hard Phantom Phan. I have been for about 15 years now. I view every form of Phantom movies/plays/performances and literature I can get my hands on.
   
   My 1st experience with reading this was an ARC (advanced reading copy) a friend that worked at a bookstore scored for me. I was SO excited for a new POTO book endorced by Webber to come out!
   
   Blech! If you care AT ALL for the main characters, this is NOT the book for you.
   
   I actually enjoy the different variations on a theme, this is not variation of a theme, it's butchery of a theme.
   
   The "author" starts the book stating how horrible he thinks the original Leroux version is. If you dislike a book so passionately, WHY write about the characters??
   
   I just found out in the news today that ALW is going to work with Forsyth for his upcoming sequel to be out in 2009 / 2010. I'm heart broken. ALL excitement about seeing a sequel on stage has deflated out of me.



4. In this departure from his usual storytelling, Forsythe, who is a friend of Andrew Lloyd Webber, continues the story begun in the musical. I found the preface, in which Forsythe critiques the Leroux original and gives us the reasons why ALW abridged that story to create the plot of his play, to be very interesting. He points out some of the inconsistencies in the original, with his explanations as to their meaning. The main part of this story takes place in 1906. In this version of the Phantom, we find Madame Giry, on her deathbed, confessing her sins, including how she helped Erik to escape France to begin a new life in the United States. The storytelling shifts to Erik, who describes his escape from Paris, his arrival in the USA, and the making of his vast fortune. Forsythe interweaves actual events and personalities of the era into the plot, which is told by using the alternating viewpoints of the principles involved.
   
   While I found the premise of the story to be interesting, the overall plot feels rushed, several of the incidents and people could use some fleshing out, and the side plot involving Darius and Father Kilfoyle is distracting and unnecessary. It is a quick read. And while I would not consider this the worst book of the POTO genre, don't go out of your way to purchase this title, unless you need it to complete your "bucket" list.



5. Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to write a sequel to his wildly successful musical Phantom of the Opera, and gets Frederick Forsyth to write this. I have it on good authority that Forsyth is actually a good author, and the book itself is not written badly. I am admittedly no fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I'm blaming him for the general wretchedness of this book. It has some interesting details in it, but for the most part, it's just bad. It's full of plot cliches (I don't usually talk TO a book, but found myself saying "Come ON" a lot), and the resolution is so unlikely and fast and tidy (far too tidy for the climax-a major character is killed. Everyone, including a child, is sad but moves right on) as to be completely aggravating and insulting to the reader.
   
   Plus, of course, as several other reviewers pointed out, Forsyth spends a considerable amount of time bashing the original book. He may, in fact, have legitimate criticisms, but it comes off as petty, particularly in light of the general underwhelmingness of this book.
   
   The book is written in such a way that Sir Lloyd Webber won't even have to trouble himself to figure out how to plot the show or where to write solos. Hell, there are a couple of places where it already rhymes. I'm sure that was supposed to be clever or a prayer or something, but it just winds up looking even more like the bald attempt to provide a plot for a playwrite desperate for a boost his flagging career.
   
   At the end of the day, there just isn't much point to this book. There's no charm or magic, and I don't know that I needed to know what happened after Leroux's book ended. Certainly if THIS is what happened, I didn't need to know it. What a waste of time and paper.

5 comments about No Comebacks.

1. Very few writers are equally good at both novels and short stories. I will not leave you in suspense - Frederick Forsyth is a better novelist. That is not a problem, however, as his novels are strong enough that he can dip a bit below that level and still be quite good. NO COMEBACKS demonstrates this.
   
   As one would expect from Forsyth, the stories in this collection often have either a violent or malicious undercurrent to them or explore the inner recesses of man's psyche. Many of the stories have a bit of a twist at the end, with some easy to see, others a bit harder, while still others appear to be apparent only to take a last minute swerve to somewhere else. My personal favorite is Money With Menace because it illustrates one of my favorite principles - you should not mess with someone even if he looks to be a sap because you never know when that other guy is tougher and nastier than you. The story Duty is out of place, which Forsyth acknowledges in a footnote. But as it is claimed to be true, I am glad it is included and the story did stay with me for a while after reading it.
   
   Forsyth unfortunately tends to be far too technical with some of his descriptions. Usually this is easily overlooked but becomes irritating in the story The Emperor with its details of fishing equipment. I suppose, however, that one does not earn Forsyth's reputation without an eye for detail and one cannot blame a man for showing it. Get the book to read a story or two between larger and heavier books and you will not be disappointed.



2. I loved the twist endings, some were funny, some insighrful, others a little boring, but the overall effect was good. Great writing style, and interesting enough plots for short stories and the irony of life.



3. In 'No Comebacks,' Mark found more than he bargained for when the Corsician assassin told him to strip. He had his public and 'professional' life, his private life, and his secret life -- none of which matched the London tycoon personna he projected. In his kind of fast lane wheeling and dealing, there are no comebacks, but he did not see this one coming. As in any kind of business, even radio, there are no comebacks from scandal. On air pranks and stunts are not acceptable at any time, and yet a group of incorrigibles got away with it free and clear. At least, they thought so, until a stranger entered their world with a mission of revenge.
   
   In another story, there is a libel victim exacting sweet revenge. 'A Careful Man' wasn't careful enough as he wandered around his meek neighborhood for his usual two-block walk. 'There Are Some Days' and 'There Are No Snakes in Ireland' regardless to what you've heard are strange and different. "You are not obliged to say anything, but anything you say will be taken down and may be used in evidence." He can write on many diverse subjects, even in French. Writing is magical. The empty page is where you start to put together the disparate parts of your life. Once you put it down on paper, you can figure out how all your plans can start to come together. Most writers are clearly aware of this unless they have the so-called writers' block.



4. Forsyth is a master of detail, encased in tight, fine prose. In this collection of short stories, his hallmark of fine fiction derived from real-life situations prevails in an assortment of unexpected, even surprising, tales mostly of ordinary people leading ordinary lives. Several command re-reading, especially "The Emperor", which women will hate and men will adore.



5. Forsyth's method is almost formulaic. These stories are carefully planned, then meticulously realised. You can see how he has an idea, researches and/or thinks it through, then spells it out precisely, neither skipping nor wasting words. There's no ebullience or flights of wit, surrealism or insight. The characters are all described dispassionately, at a distance, and are frightfully British - reserved, self-controlled, non-demonstrative. A strange way to describe a book that includes several murders, blackmail over illicit sex, and even big game fishing, but Forsyth, while professionally conveying detail, doesn't write in order to make our heart beat faster.
   
   However, he does write with an addictive slow burn. These stories aren't flashy, but they are satisfying and meaty. The twists are generally potent, and occasionally you have the added bonus of the little man surprisingly overcoming.
   
   I first read this collection over twenty years ago, and it says something for the lasting impact of these stories that I could still clearly recall several of them: the irony of `No Comebacks' and `There are no snakes in Ireland'; the epic metamorphosis of `The Emperor'; and the delightful justice of `Privilege' have all stayed with me through the years.
   
   It could be seen as dated, but I'd more see it as an able time piece: you can feel, for example, the 70s society so wonderfully pilloried by the Monty Python TV shows in these pages. Moreover the ideas for these stories (except, perhaps, `Sharp Practise', the weakest of the series: an (obvious) accomplice is hardly a shock twist) are consistently strong, and ably presented.

5 comments about The Deciever.

1. Frederick Forsyth delivers thrilling tales of Cold War espionage in The Deceiver. The book is a collection of novellas that revolve around the career of one of British intelligence's most effective operatives. Unfortunately for that operative, he is being sent by the new administration into quiet retirement on the eve of the end of the Cold War. Using a committee review of that operative's career to link the individual episodes, Forsyth provides another entertaining character in thrilling spy tales.



2. Frederick Forsyth has penned a most unusual collection of spy tales here. In fact four episodes from the colorful career of Sam McCready, British spy master, are provided and well-crafted. The four tales cover about 10 years and every terrorist and criminal hub in the world, including Libya, Cuba, USSR, the IRA, and East Germany.
   
   McCready has been deemed expendable, due to his unorthodox and outrageous tactics, in a post Cold War era by very high level political and civil service leaders.
   
   The typical story line for a prehistoric cold war operative runs like this: Operate a high level Russian spy for many years in an uneasy collaboration with the CIA. Send an overweight, aged, hard drinking West German spy into East Germany to collect a package. With the help of retired smugglers, go yourself into East Germany to retrieve the package when the West German suffers a complete break-down. Of course this needs to be done without any official sanction from the British or West German, while the KGB is also on the trail of the Russian general. Clearly these tactics have no place in the post cold war 1990's, a time of seeming safety and tranquility at least until Iraq invades Kuwait in August 1990.
   
   The fundamental premise here is that McCready has a legal right to a deparmental hearing as a sort of protest of his forced retirement. In the hearing the four spy tales are told. This is a very unusual construct and may not appeal to all. The tales are all good, but not good enough to stand alone as Forsyth novels, and are strangely unrelated, other than that they are four cases successfully solved by our hero. This is also a book for those like me, who love the technical minutae and operational details of the covert trade.



3. The Deceiver by Frederick Forsyth is a collection of four novellas all featuring Sam McCready, a veteran agent for the British Secret Intelligence Service. It's the waning days of the cold war and the SIS has made the decision to scale down its field operations. Consequently, McCready is targeted for early retirement. As a colleague argues before the powers-that-be to allow Sam to stay on as an active operative, four of his most interesting cases are reviewed one by one.
   
   Pride and Extreme Prejudice takes place in 1981. Sam is handed the task of obtaining a top secret volume of classified military information from a high ranking Soviet army officer who is cooperating with the CIA. The turnover is to be made in East Germany. There's just one problem. The West German agent Sam has hired to make the pick up is a desperate man who will surely bring the mission to a disasterous end. A smartly told, suspenseful and satisfying tale of cold war intrigue.
   
   The Price of the Bride also unfolds against the backdrop of the cold war. A colonel in the KGB defects to the CIA choosing to do so on British soil. As the compelling narative unfolds, doubts are raised as to the Russian's veracity. Sam McCready is there to skillfully ferret out the truth while the plot twists and turns almost to the breaking point. An intricate chess game of a story.
   
   Novella number three is entitled A Casualty of War and takes place mostly on Cyprus. It revolves around a sinister collaboration between Libya's Colonel Qaddafi and the IRA. A series of terrorist attacks are to be carried out in England and McCready must act swiftly to prevent them from happening. The detailed descriptions of how terrorists and counterterrorists ply their respective trades are quite fascinating.
   
   And lastly, A Little Bit of Sunshine has McCready visiting a tiny British colonial outpost in the Carribean. This novella differs from the other three in that it unfolds more as a whodunit with comic undertones than as a conventional spy story.
   
   All in all, The Deceiver rates 4 stars. Fans of international thrillers will doubtlessly derive considerable enjoyment from reading it.



4. The first two stories in this compilation of episodes from the colorful career of one Sam Mcready a.k.a "The Deceiver" are worth their weight in gold. The first one deals with a thrilling infiltration into East Germany with a variety of twists and turns. The second story details the defection of a senior KGB officer who creates a rift between the British MI6 and the CIA. The final two stories are more run-of-the-mill, but Forsyth fans will not be disappointed.



5. "The Deceiver" consists of four first-rate stories dealing with Cold War era espionage. While the characters (other than historical figures) and the incidents are presumably fictional, these stories have the usual Forsyth air of authenticity.
   
   These stories are uniformly excellent. Forsyth artfully uses the format of an administrative hearing for a superlative British Cold War intelligence officer to tell the four separate stories that make up this collection. It works. These stories involve the old Soviet Union, the IRA, the Libyans, international criminals, and the Cubans. All well-told.
   
   Highly recommended.

1 comments about The Emperor: Part II of No Comebacks).

1. An impulse buy for the marlin on the cover of the cassette, I have worn this one out. Surely one of the best fishing stories ever told. A wonderful story about everything that is good in the world, and the way it should be. If you see it, buy it.

No comments about The Fist of God [Audiobook].

5 comments about Day of the Jackal.

1. This was unfortunate for Freddie Forsyth, because he was never able to match it. But then, neither was anyone else. Set in the aftermath of the Algerian crisis in the early 1960s in which an entire Foreign Legion paratroop regiment mutinied and formed the OAS (Secret Army Organisation), there was an attempt on the life of French President Charles de Gaulle and France trembled on the edge of civil war, the story is meticulously put together and excitingly told, with a bit of repetition of language (Mr. Forsyth seems to like trains; several times he described the demolition of someone's expectations or his person as if hit by a train). The Jackal, hired by the OAS to assassinate De Gaulle, is a cold-blooded killer who's in it purely for the money, yet curiously you find yourself rooting just a little for him. And you KNOW that Charles de Gaulle died in his bed in Colombey Les Deux Églises in 1969, so the Jackal can't possibly succeed, yet the book keeps you reading right to the end - and the O. Henry-type twist that has become somewhat of a Forsyth trademark. By the way, most of the French politicians mentioned were real people in De Gaulle's government.
   
   All in all, a brilliantly-conceived and -presented thriller. I have yet to find a better one. (For what it's worth, Fred Zinneman's film of the novel, with Edward Fox as the Jackal, is also excellent. Avoid like the plague the appalling US remake starring Bruce Willis).



2. After many failed attempts to assassinate Charles de Gaulle by the local French militant organization, an outside professional (the Jackal) is hired. The way in which Forsyth puts together a story, it has us even rooting for the assassins.
   
   Forsyth's observant mind is at full force: with detailed detective work and the assassin's planning stages. Wonderful visualization and knowledge of the French culture and architecture. My only gripe is the French dialect slows down the reading pace. This is a complete and well thought out novel.
   
   Wish you well
   Scott
   



3. I usually don't describe books as something "I couldn't put down" but this is an exception. "The Day of The Jackal" is a page-turning thriller from start to finish.
   Frederick Forsyth puts his keen newsman's eye and pen to describing the intracacies and frustrations of police work. The author builds the French assassination plot/worldwide manhunt into a crescendo before making one final U-turn that leaves you knowing there was more to the story.
   I could write a book about the ending itself but I'll resist doing that here so as not to spoil things for those who haven't read the book.
   I'm tempted to look for answers in "The Odessa File" (Forsyth's other famous novel) since Odessa (a post-World War II Nazi SS diaspora society) is mentioned in "Jackal." Yet the Detective Lebel in me suspects that most of the answers are tucked inside the taut sentences of "The Day of the Jackal."



4. Mythological assassin vs detective.
   
   
   Mythological in the sense that he has a fancy name tying in to the history surrounding that particular assassin.
   
   In this case, some perhaps not so nice people want a French leader removed, and haven't managed it themselves, so they bring in an outside expert.
   
   On the other side is a detective trying to track him down.
   
   An excellent example of tense spy thriller writing of the time, by one of its foremost proponents.
   
   
   
   4.5 out of 5



5. This is a very entertaining book, enjoyable for anyone interested in modern Western politics and "espionage," without the need for precise historical accuracy.
   Forsyth's novel is pure fiction with a heavy dose of generally accurate non-fiction context. The setting is the unsettled political climate of 1963 France under De Gaulle. For a Western democracy, France was (and had long been) a politically unstable nation with a fidelity for its government that was as faithful as the legendary lust of the Frenchman (another myth . . .). Anyway, Forsyth's fiction is based on a plot to assassinate De Gaulle as promoted by the rebels in his army who are bitter about his abadonment of the Algerian colony. The rebels hire a shadowy professional British assassin who insists on working alone, and for big dollars. To stop him, the best of French intelligence is devoted to a continential manhunt to find a man who has not yet committed any crime to investigate and who is otherwise unknown to everyone in the world (including the rebels who hired him). The rest is a great story presented masterfully by Forsyth.
   This was a first work for Forsyth, and one can see where the writing could be better at times, but the plot and presentation are generally great. Forsyth's method is journalistic (fitting to the journalist that he was), and the tone is often like listening to Jack Webb's "Dragnet" or William Conrad voicing-over on "The Fugitive." For the most part, the facts are presented coldly, and at first this was a distraction. Later in the book, I realized that Forsyth was gradually, in his method, building characters who are just as rich as any in "pop" literature. For instance, the stolid details of the Jackal's dressing and lunching habits were, I thought at first, mere details to fill the imagination. In fact, Forsyth was presenting, without explicit comment, a picture of this mysterious man as one who so enjoyed the "finer" things and the jet-set lifestyle that he would do and risk anything for the wealth that he needed to support his desires.
   I read this book in the summertime - it is that kind of book - the perfect companion to a lazy day with iced tea or a late night with the air conditioner. A classic in the modern spy genre.

5 comments about The Odessa File.

1. Forsyth betters the best! This book is an example of how an author can take just one simple incident, a slice of life, and transform it into a thriller that leaves the reader breathless with anticipation, wanting more with each passing page. Enjoy!



2. This book has a bit of everything - mystery, thriller, historical fiction and some very interesting bits of history itself. Forsynth captures and brings to light the ODESSA organization for the general public, and the plight of escaped Nazis just after WWII. This book may not be current, but is a great read for history enthusiasts. I highly recommend it



3. Investigating a war criminal secret society.
   
   
   A young reporter gets on the trail of a war criminal known as the Butcher of Riga, a man who was in charge of a concentration camp.
   
   Thanks to a survivor's diary, and some advice from the famous nazi hunter Simon Weisenthal he sets out to infiltrate an organisation that helps war criminals get by in safety - this organisation is what part of the title refers to.
   
   After some hard work, he discovers that what this organisation is up to is really quite a bit worse than just hiding people.
   
   
   3.5 out of 5



4. In this great book, Forsyth packs a punch on several levels. This book is one my favorites, one which I have read over the years again and again. Why?
   1. Intricate plotting - the plot interweaves with events in the past and the present in a fine tapestry.
   
   2. Intriguing "What If" - the Odessa network was proven to exist with the insidious characters like Eichmann, Priebke, Mengele and others who were smuggled to Argentina and South America.
   
   3. Wiesenthal Type Character - the Taubman character is intricately weaved into the story to remind us of the crimes of the SS. That time should know no bounds as to capturing and punshing these animals.
   
   Michael Mandaville, Author "Stealing Thunder"



5. I hadn't read any Forsyth books but had three waiting to be read (this one, The Day of the Jackal and Icon) and decided to read this one first. Wow. Written in 1972, set in 1963-64, "The Odessa File" is a perfect mix of fact and fiction. Young West German journalist Peter Miller finds the diary of a jewish holocaust survivor who committed suicide, and decides to track down Eduard Roschmann, the SS man in charge of the Riga ghetto. Roschmann, meanwhile is heading a project to build nuclear and bacteriological weapons for Egypt. The novel depicts a post war West Germany were former nazis are still very much present, even in the police force that's supposed to find war criminals. Miller's search for Roschmann is not met with much enthusiasm, but he gets help from among others Simon Wiesenthal, while the Odessa network of former SS men tries to kill him.
   
   "The Odessa File" is a pageturner, but also a book that makes you wonder what's fiction and what's reality, and makes you want to learn more about the post-war activities of the nazis.

5 comments about The Shepherd.

1. It's too bad Jimmy Stewart is gone, because this book is pretty much a cross between The Spirit of St. Louis and It's a Wonderful Life and he -- a pilot like Mr. Forsyth -- would have made a Christmas classic of it. On Christmas Eve 1957, a young RAF pilot takes off from Germany in his Vampire to fly home to Britain. But first his instrumentation fails on him, including the radio, and then he flies into increasing fog, making it awfully unlikely he'll avoid crashing into the North Sea, nevermind land safely. This prompts a dark night of the soul:
   
   Ten minutes went by, nearly two complete triangles. I had not prayed, not really prayed, for many years, and the practice came hard. Lord, please get me out of this bloody mess... No, you mustn't talk like that to Him. "Our Father, which art in Heaven --" He'd heard that a thousand times, and would be hearing it another thousand times tonight. What do you say to Him when you want help? Please, God, make somebody notice me up here; please make someone see me flying in triangles, and send up a shepherd to help me down to a safe landing. Please help me, and I promise -- What on earth could I promise Him? He had no need of me, and I, who now had such need of Him, had taken no notice of Him for so long that He'd probably forgotten all about me.
   
   Well, you pretty much know how the rest of it goes, but Mr. Forsyth handles it all quite deftly and the novella certainly belongs on your annual Christmas reading list.



2. I first read this little book when it came out, in 1976. I have since bought many copies and given them away to friends. I have even sought out German-language copies to give to friends overseas who aren't fluent in English.
   
   (The local library has an Audiobooks version, but I didn't care for that and stopped it after only a few minutes. A droning voice can't ever substitute for the images and sound effects created in the reader's own mind).
   
   As far as Christmas memories go, reading this little story on Christmas Eve is one that I treasure to this day. My only regret is that one can never recapture the exact experience of reading it for the first time. I envy those who are about to discover this story.
   
   Somewhere, I have a large unbuilt plastic model of a DeHaviland Mosquito. Have had it for 25 years, a gift from my best friend who got the book from me as a Christmas gift. Someday I promise to built it up, with decals for call sign "JK."



3. I cannot say why, but this short novella always mskes me think of Paul Gallico's wonderful story, "The Snow Goose." The biggest difference is that the primary character survives his experience in "Shepherd".
   
   I first read this story about 20 years ago and I have since lost my copy of it and am going to order another. It is a great yarn, scaring you one moment, cheering you the next and with an ending worthy of Alfred Hitchcock at his best. I believe that I'll be ordering more than one so that I may send some as Christmas presents.



4. This is, simpy put, one of my favorite readings of all time.
   
   This very short novel is engaging, exciting and very well written. Forsyth showed that he's more than one of the best thriller writers of all time.



5. Excellent book. I highly recommend it. It will cause you to beleive in a higher being.