The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Afghan
Book Review: Even so-so Forsyth is better than most other writers
Summary: 4 Stars
There was a time when Frederick Forsyth was one of the great suspense story authors, making his mark with such classics as The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File. In recent years, his production has been sporadic, both in quantity and quality, probably hitting a nadir with his unnecessary sequel to The Phantom of the Opera called The Phantom of Manhattan. While The Afghan is not a bad book, it is one that is also not as good as Forsyth can normally deliver.
The Afghan begins with a series of happy accidents that clue American and British Intelligence to the existence of an Al Qaeda plot known only as al-Isra. What exactly al-Isra is, no one is sure, but it's supposed to be big, and the U.S. is the likely target. To find out what this plot is, and to stop it, requires an extraordinary and highly risky effort, namely to get an undercover operative into Al Qaeda. Finding someone who can possibly pull it off is almost impossible, but a candidate is found in Mike Martin, a retired British Special Forces colonel who can pass reasonably well as an Arab.
Martin is to adopt the identity of a Taliban commander named Izmat Khan who is currently housed in Guantanomo Bay. Martin and Khan have a bit of a past, but fortunately, Khan has no close acquaintances, so the ruse may succeed. Even then, however, Martin needs to find out what al-Isra is and get the information to the right people.
Forsyth is a very good writer, but this is also a distinctly flawed book. Nearly the whole first half of the book is exposition, providing background on Martin and Khan before the story really kicks in during the second half. Some editing could probably have been done, either shortening all this background material or distributing it better through the book. In addition, part of the story hinges on an unlikely plane accident that creates a rather useless subplot.
Is this a good book? Yes: Forsyth is skilled enough to overcome the flaws, but Forsyth at his peak would not have had these flaws in the first place. For someone unfamiliar with his style - which often has a detached feel - The Afghan may be a little distant, but it still works overall. It's not Forsyth's best, but it will do for most readers.
Book Review: Faint glimmers of classic Forsyth but not enough ...
Summary: 2 Stars
'The Afghan' starts reasonably well, though Mr Forsyth is getting a bit sloppy in his writing. For someone whose research and attention to detail was legendary, this particular body of work comes across as something that was hastily put together with basic research at the local library to meet some publishing deadline. One only has to look at books like 'The Dogs of War' and 'Day of the Jackal' to see the huge difference in his recent books.
Also, Mr. Forsyth, like several aging writers of yore, seems to have had a right leaning shift in his politics. His recent books constantly idolize the Special Forces and Intelligence agencies and come dangerously close to the drivel that Tom Clancy writes. One particular section describing a radar on the Predator drone that goes "Mr. Raytheon has added a synthetic aperture radar ..." makes you wince.
'The Afghan' does have faint glimmerings of vintage Forsyth, but they are few and far between. Most of the book is devoted to gushing about how close the US and UK co-operation is, how they are sole protectors of western civilization blah blah ...
I had to skip through several pages to avoid the inane details that no one seems to care about, and managed to finish reading the book in 4 hours flat. The surprise that I was waiting for at the end never really materialized. Like most of Forsyth's recent, post 70s books, this is not one I would remember for long.
Book Review: Flaccid Prose
Summary: 1 Stars
This book has all the excitement of a Wikipedia entry. I suspect most of the factual information (about 40% of the narrative) was taken from Wikipedia.
The plot is pathetically thin. The characters are cartoonish beyond belief:
The evil and fanatical Jihadist and the "good" British agent matching (all-too slow) wits.
The Brit speaks no Pashto, but travels thru' Afghanistan and half around world impersonating Afghan war-lord! No one discovers he speaks no native Afghan language!
Next installment: Black CIA agent who speaks no Russian tricks Russian FSB by impersonating a defected Russian spy. With this author all is possible.
Book Review: Formula novel
Summary: 2 Stars
Through a thick forrest of detail and "local color," which gives the impression the author was reluctant to throw away any bit of research he had gathered, we glimpse a thin and improbable plot of uncanny coincidences. The only type missing is the old favorite: the last page discovery of the hero's true noble ancestry and heritage.
The author's ambition seems to have been to think up "the next 9/11" and offer a satsifying thwarting of it by the capable counter-espionage of the Brits and the Americans, in that order, for the author manages to convey subtly but clearly that the Brits are cleverer although less endowed technologically than their "cousins" (the term is used).
As for the terrorists, we get the strong message that the enemy is Islam (with the perfunctory occasional disclaimer de rigueur that it is Islamic fundamentalism and not all Islam). The "Islamist" characters are all cardboard cutouts animated by one goal in life only: to destroy us. From the farthest reaches of far east Asia to the ME and Africa, they all hate us with a fanatical passion for no other reason except that their religion dictates it.
In its pamphleteering simplicity, his novel reminded me of the short reels shown in American theaters before the movies in the early 50s aiming to keep us vigilant against the "red menace" and reassuring us that our brave FBI and NSA men (no women yet) were working tirelessly and successfully to protect us.
Disappointing, especially from someone of this author's talent and previous work.
Book Review: From a first-time Forsyth reader...
Summary: 5 Stars
The Afghan was the first Frederick Forsyth book I had read, and it was mostly by pure chance.
I picked this book from a book list for school because all the other good books (i.e. those I had actually heard of) were taken (dontcha hate that??) and a friend enjoyed Forsyth's Dogs of War.
I had no idea what to expect, and the title is vague enough to have second guesses (maybe it's about average life for an Afghan woman??). I was pleasantly surprised when I started this novel, and I enjoyed it throughout.
There was a lot of detail, and though some it may have been slightly inaccurate (according to other reviews here), I find that wholly irrelevant. This is a fiction thriller novel after all. The general plot is great, as is the suspense throughout (mostly at the end) and the constant action. Whether the story facts match up to real facts doesn't matter because this novel is very much enjoyable. One thing to note, at least for me, was that there was so much real information (historical and modern) intertwined with fiction that the line between fiction and not became somewhat obscured, which, looking back, is not such a bad thing after all.
I would suggest future readers to not get yourself caught up in these facts but rather let the story carry you along. The story is not worth interrupting to check online to see if Forsyth's research was accurate, and the ending, I think was absolutely great, shocking too a bit.
So here I am, a couple books read by Forsyth (this and The Day of the Jackal), and I am officially hooked. I shall be reading more of Forsyth in the future, that can be guaranteed.