The Afghan

Overview

A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue

A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue.

T he Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File-the books of Frederick Forsyth have helped define the international thriller as we know it today. Combining meticulous research with crisp narratives and plots as current as the headlines, Forsyth shows us the world as it is in a way that few have ever been able to equal.

And the world as it is today is a very scary place.

When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they instantly galvanize- but to do what? They know nothing about it: the what, where, or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless . . .

The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantanamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a twenty-five-year veteran of war zones around the world-a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before-pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs-pass off Martin as the trusted Khan.

It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there.

Filled with remarkable detail and compulsive drama, The Afghan is further proof that Forsyth is truly master of suspense.

Editorial Reviews

Forsyth writes as if preparing for the movie or television miniseries he knows will surely follow. His multiple focus in terms of characters and settings makes for thrilling cinema and engrossing reading, but in an audio version, a global smattering of Afghani, Arabic, Pakistani, British, Indonesian and other names can cause a bout of verbal vertigo. Wise listeners will replay the first CD or at least part of it. Once the characters, ships and locales are in place, the narrative is much easier to follow, despite Forsyth's love of minutiae. Powell plods through the novel with all the enthusiasm of a distracted Oxbridge tutor. His presentation is careful and eloquent but ultimately dull. He doesn't understand the nuances of most accents, including those of the Americans, all of whom have gruff voices. Powell does best with his performance of Colonel Mike Martin, the reluctant hero of this tale. The action, when it comes, is too little and too late to hold one's attention on audio. Powell's lethargic pace inflates this particular flaw in Forsyth's novel. It would be better to read the print version or wait for the film. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, June 5). (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Frederick Forsyth

Frederick Forsyth was born in Ashford, England, in 1938. At age seventeen, Forsyth decided he was ready to start experiencing life for himself, so he left school and traveled to Spain. There he briefly attended the University of Granada before returning to England and joining the Royal Air Force. He served with the RAF from 1956 to 1958, earning his wings when he was just nineteen years old. Forsyth's dream, however, was to be a foreign correspondent, and he eventually left the RAF to become a reporter for the Eastern Daily Press, Reuters News Agency, which sent him to France and Germany, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). While with the BBC, Forsyth was sent to Nigeria to cover an uprising in the Biafra region. As he learned more about the conflict, Forsyth became sympathetic to the rebel cause; however, he was pulled from Nigeria and reassigned to London when he reported this viewpoint. Furious, he resigned and returned to Nigeria as a freelance reporter, eventually writing The Biafra Story and later, Emeka, a biography of the rebel leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Upon his return to England in 1970, Forsyth began writing fiction. His first novel, The Day of the Jackal, was inspired by rumors he'd heard while in France in the early 1960s of a plot to assassinate President Charles DeGaulle. The book won an Edgar Allan Poe award from the Mystery Writers of America. In his next two books, Forsyth again made use of his own travels and experiences in choosing the setting: The Odessa File follows a German reporter's search for a Nazi war criminal, while The Dogs of War is about a mercenary who orchestrates a military coup in Africa. Other bestsellers include The Fourth Protocol, Devil's Alternative, The Negotiator, The Deceiver, The Fist of God, and Icon. These books are suspenseful, tightly written, and creatively plotted, and many of them have been made into films.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Putnam Adult

Filesize

779.24 KB

Number of Pages

352

eBook ISBN

9781429508407