It does look intriguing, the caption which gives an insight into the three main players involved, 'Sleeper', 'Catcher' and 'PinMan'. The cover in itself has an interesting darkness about it, the premise of it all promising to feed on the imagination of spy junkies.
But hold up! Before u rush off to the bookstores to get this one, go and get a refresher course on the political situation in Northern Ireland. For those who are unfamiliar with the IRA, the Provisional govt of Northern Ireland and the attitude of the Brits towards the whole Irish situation would find it near impossible to follow the technical details of the novel.
Stevens is a good author no doubt, but he writes from a standpoint which auto-assumes that the reader is familiar with British politics and intelligence agencies. Which makes it one helluva bitch to read if you don't know much about Ireland, MI5, MI6, Hereford etc,
The characters are fleshed out well. Philipa Walker, the principal antagonist, a fitting answer to Forsyth's 'Jackal'. The lady is cold, driven and composed in the most extreme situations. Which makes her the perfect 'Sleeper', a high profile assassin with the perfect cover of a well-placed Englishwoman in London with a respectable career. One who sends the whole of the UK scrambling all over looking for a drunk, beefy Irish 'redneck' assassin instead, whilst she works out the technicalities of her mission with relative ease, undisturbed.
And the saying that it takes one woman to understand another holds so true in this one. Nolan, 'the Catcher', Walker's direct nemesis though they never meet till the end. The lady who figures out the major glitch in the ongoing investigations. The person who nails the identity of 'the Sleeper', being able to figure out that the very reference to the character as a 'him' is rather inaccurate.
As the two chess masters shift their pawns on the board, we have the high profile target, 'the PinMan', whose identity is unknown except for the fact that he/she belongs to the royal family.
The Irish desperate for a hit and the Brits equally desperate for god to save the queen, this novel is one which promises hours of entertainment. There is adequate snooping around, clandestine operations, double-tap professional killings and the works to keep avid fans of the genre occupied and engrossed. Definitely worth a read.
Just do your homework though on the situation in Ireland. It'll help you loads in understanding the novel better.
*peace*
No comments:
Post a Comment