The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Afghan
Book Review: I Wanted to Like this Book But . . .
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted to like this book but couldn't. Frederick Forsyth has written some wonderful thrillers such as "Day of the Jackel". "The Afghan" is no where close the quality of Forsyth's earlier works.
Every fiction book requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Even the most willing reader will find it hard to suspend disbelief long enough to swallow an unending series of coincidences and plot twists that just aren't believable. Other reviewers have commented on the implausibility of taking an escaped Taliban member around the world just to stand on the deck of a ship and steer. The fact that the Taliban member had never been on a ship before, of course, in no way interfered with the plan to use him as a steersman. That is merely one of a series of implausible plot twists.
The Americans are hosting the G8 and decide to hold it on the Queen Mary II. But Forsyth would have you believe that the British have essentially NO part in planning or executing the security of the G8 meeting on a British ship.
The huge disaster that Forsyth would have us believe that Osama Bin Laden has meticulously planned is just not credible. It is as precariously balanced and has as many excess parts as a Rube Goldberg machine -- and as likely to be successful. It is hard to become worried about a potential disaster that requires the good guys to be not only clueless but to be amazingly stupid.
Forsyth built his reputation, in part, on his meticulous research and plausible writing. "The Afghan" is not up to that standard. The multitude of errors in "The Afghan" will jar readers with even a little background information. Forsyth will reach for the threadbare plot trick of coincidence not one time too many but again and again and again. The plot twists and structure are, all too often, not even vaguely plausible.
Book Review: Less Than Perfect
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree with many of my fellow reviewers that this is not among Forsyth's best books - not by a long shot. I kept thinking perhaps the intelligence world has changed so much since Odessa, et al, that the Forsyth felt compelled to explain every angle of an operation or a country's service, that the story line became stilted. Lastly, while I thought the premise was good; find an operative (in this case an SAS Officer), who had the skills and ability to infiltrate an al Qaeda cell, I though the plot was based too much on the operative's luck getting involved in a one-off terrorist operation. There was no pre-thought or planning as to what the undercover operative was supposed to do once inside the group. The story would have been much more believable if the good guys new about a significant terrorist operation ahead of time, and used the plan and the operative to stop it.Book Review: Life is too short
Summary: 1 Stars
Excrutiatingly boring: badly written, just facts piled on one another, no protagonist to carry the story and care about. I stopped when it became clear the books was not going to improve. I have better things to do with my time and far better books to read.Book Review: Master story teller Forsyth does it again
Summary: 4 Stars
Not one of Forsyth's best works but still awesome is how I would put it. The sheer lunacy of putting a westerner to play the role of an Afghan behind enemy lines is laughable, but Forsyth makes the idea look credible and the succeeds in weaving a story around it. Izmat Khan, the five-year veteran of Guantanamo Bay is used to provide the identity and persona for Mike Martin who is born and raised in Iraq. A gripping book in usual Forsyth tradition but lacking in the excitement of "The Fist of God", "The Day of the Jackal" or "The Odessa File".Book Review: Mixed Reviews But Still Good Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
This book has received mixed reviews of this forum. Particularly in the area of accurate research. Nevertheless, I've always enjoyed the author going back to Day Of The Jackal,The Odessa File and The Dogs Of War. I've missed him lately and hope he's back. I found this to be a good attention holding read. The idea of attack from the sea is real and could indeed be disastrous. Col. Mike Martin and Izmat Khan were both good characters. All in all this was a worthwhile read.