The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Afghan
Book Review: No thriller here!
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is terrible. I thought that I was purchasing a thriller on a par with Forsyth's other works. No way. What a dud! What I got was more of a history and geography book. Very boring. I was skeptical of his facts regarding the speeds of the QM2 and US nuclear fast attack subs. A quick check on the web showed me that he got this wrong! Can we believe any other facts in this one? Well, at least he got the ragheads right!
And then there is the writing style. Some of the sentence structure was clumsy and difficult. What little dialog existed in this one was at a 6'th grade level.
Book Review: Not Forsyth's best but yet...
Summary: 4 Stars
Having read Frederick Forsyth's works over the past 15 years, I have been significantly impressed by their characteristics which make them distinct from other thrillers. In fact, if I were to rate contemporary writers of thrillers, I would assign a 9/10 for Forsyth.
I recently bought The Afghan (2006)- mainly because it featured the protagonist from The Fist of God (1994), one of Forsyth's best characters. The Afghan is a stand-alone and one is not required to have a prior knowledge of The Fist of God. The plot revolves around the British and American intelligence agencies fortuitously catching wind of an impending and calamitous operation, codenamed Al Isra, by the AQ. Their research on Al Isra comes up with naught, and they make a perilous gambit in order to get insider information: having one of their own infiltrate into the higher echelons of AQ. Finding such an individual is like seeking for a needle among the haystack.
A slip of tongue by SOAS academic Dr Terry Martin leads them to his brother Mike Martin, a retired SAS Colonel in his mid 40s who has clocked 25 years of active service. Martin is a perfect mole- a patriotic Englishman, born and brought up in Iraq, and a background of having conducted critical operations in the Falklands, Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq (during Operation Desert Shield and to run an Iraqi spy `Jericho'- as elaborated in The Fist of God) and Afghanistan. He is also fluent in Arabic, knows passable Pashto, is well versed in the Middle Eastern culture, and more importantly, has the physical characteristics of his maternal Indian grandmother. Martin, whom we find spending his retirement days converting a old barn into a habitable dwelling, succumbs to the prospect of more thrill, just like he chose his career over his marriage. Martin is to impersonate the famed Izmat Khan, a senior commander of the Taliban, currently languishing in Guantanamo Bay (and refusing to talk all thanks to his burning hatred for the country which obliterated his village along with his young family), and with his credentials infiltrate into the AQ.
I wish not to provide a detailed synopsis of the novel, but I would gladly recommend it as a good read for those who are new to the genre or to Forsyth's works. The writing style is mainly documentary and cynical, as befits the subject. Detailed information, sometimes technical, is provided so that anyone could understand the plot (on modern-day technology, insights into espionage, Afghanistan's war-riddled history, AQ's formation and history, the difference between Islam and Wahabbism, AQ's worldwide recruitment). The reader is able to study the main characters and deduce what truly drives their past, present, and future decision-making, and evaluate their lives being woven into real world events. There aren't too many detailed depiction of violence (you'll have to use your imagination). The reader finds themselves an observer, wherever the scene might be set- in fact, there is a very blurred line between fact and fiction. I also loved the snippets of poetry and would have appreciated more.
However, the book has quite a few errors (as pointed out by other reviewers), including a few contradictions all of which one wouldn't expect in a work of Forsyth. Were these made deliberately? Furthermore, around halfway into the novel, one got the impression that Forsyth got tired of writing and just wanted to wind up his opus. There are holes in the plot, dependence on assumptions, and the characters remain one dimensional (all that one can conclude is that Mike is closed and emotionally detached whilst Izmat has a life riddled with tragedies).
The plot also heavily relies on coincidences (some being practically improbable) which are downers: it turns out that Martin had met a young Izmat Khan when the former was attempting to reach the Mujahideen resistance in Afghanistan who were fighting the Soviets. And Martin had practically saved his life twice. Later on, Izmat Khan's implausible escape, `The Sheikh' remembering the brief encounter with the teenage Khan and the exact conversation he had with him from years ago, and the AQ deciding on Martin's fate as a participant/observer for the top-secret Al Isra itself, the vagueness of what Al Isra entailed until the very end ... the list goes on. Admittedly, there was no need for the pseudo-Khan to be included in this operation as a steersman on a tanker traversing many seas as opposed to other AQ operations which may have had need of his expertise- his input during the entire Al Isra was practically nil and unnecessary. It would have been more credible had Martin infiltrated AQ in their lair itself and gleaning information about Al Isra.
There are other impossible scenarios, the blatant one being the G8 summit being held in a luxury liner traversing the Atlantic and this plan not being scrapped despite getting information of an AQ threat from the sea. The rustic Afghan also seems to adapt well to international air-travel masquerading as a well-dressed Arab businessman. Another instance was Martin passing the rigorous physical examination aimed at checking out his identity- had he been an Afghan, surely he wouldn't have western dental fillings (unless these were gifted at G-Bay and would have been circumcised?
I was also irked by the glaring dissimilarities between the Mike Martin of The Fist of God and the Mike Martin of The Afghan, least of these being that he was born in around 1955 in the first book and five years later in the second book.
The climax was an anti-climax (although probably realistic given the circumstances), I would have definitely preferred an alternative ending. I would have also preferred a detailed plot with flawless research and better proof-reading- but perhaps I am asking for too much.
Try not to compare this with his past works- for it falls miserably (although better than The Icon). But when compared to other works in the same genre, it is a good, gripping, and enjoyable thriller which you wouldn't put down until you complete reading it. And should Forsyth pen an improved The Afghan, I would be happy to buy it. I wouldn't mind another sequel featuring Martin as well.
Book Review: Not a good as Wickepedia....
Summary: 3 Stars
The book is mostly exposition very little plot. Typically a subject comes up (the Taliban, some type of jet fighter, whatever) and one gets whatever Forsyth's researchers have given him, and we move onto the next subject. This fills about 90% of the pages. Plot is simple and depends to an absurd degree on luck and coincidence and filler. I mean a jet engine falls out of the sky and....... Come on.
Some reviewers noted the "facts" presented were not always factual which, I suppose, is serious if one considers Forsyth's researchers as any type of authority. A few of the so-called facts seemed false to me but personally I don't care if they made them all up.
3 Stars because Forsyth writes so well that he can get away with this garbage ( I did actually finish the book). I suspect that we are dealing with a sort of factory here where Frederick puts his name and the final touches to the work of underlings.
Book Review: Not bad, not great, good info and scary....
Summary: 3 Stars
anytime you read a book about terriorism, it is scary....there are so many ways......this book moves fast, but is just missing something, not sure what. not a bad read....Book Review: Not his best work
Summary: 3 Stars
This is an interesting book but certainly not Forsyth's best effort. It deals with a very complicated Al Qaeda terrorist plot against the west. The target is never disclosed which leaves the reader in suspense until the very end as to who is the target and how the attack will come down. The intelligence services discover a serious plot is underway which they must discover and thwart. To do so they enlist the help of an arabic speaking British Marine who assumes the identity of an Afghan held in the Gitmo Prison. The first half of the book is devoted to outlining the plot and preparing the Marine for his role while the second half is devoted to his adventures within the hidden world of Al Qaeda. All of this is fascinating although not as suspensful as other Forsyth works, plus it left me with a couple of disconnects. During the introduction Forsyth made a point of noting that like most Muslim men, the Afghan was circumcised. Later while the Al Qaeda are vetting the Marine undercover they do not verify he is circumcised. Since most European men are not circumcised it seemed to me that this would have something the Al Qaeda would have checked. If this wasn't important to the plot why was it noted at the beginning? The other disconnect came toward the end when the pseudo Afghan is placed on board the ship with no particular duties. Given that the Afghan was held in such high regard and viewed as a role model it was never made clear why Al Qaeda would sacrifice such a hero.
The book is slow to get to disclose the plot but it turns out to be a twist ending and a cliff hanger. This really saves the book. It is a fun read and I enjoyed it but it isn't Forsyth's best effort.