A chilling story of modern terrorism from the grandmaster of international intrigue. Unabridged CDs - 8 CDs, 10 hours
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Outsmarting bin Laden.:
Frederick Forsyth, acknowledged grandmaster of the international thriller, took on an ambitious project in writing The Afghan. Perhaps a bit too ambitious. One could easily make the argument that the material contained in The Afghan is wide ranging and extensive enough to provide the basis for two full length novels.
The multifaceted storyline revolves around an Anglo-American plot to infiltrate Al Qaeda for the purpose of staving off an anticipated terrorist attack. Not just any attack but one whose... more info
Rocky Read:
My favorite thriller is Forsyth's "Day of the Jackal" - which "The Afghan" attempts to equal or exceed; but the bar has been set too high. Although the book has patches of excellence, an equal number are deficient. A fussy reader will find many distractions; however, there is enough Forsyth to carry the day, at least to three stars.
Less Than Perfect:
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... more info
Typical latter-day Forsyth:
Unfortunately Forsyth seems to be following the Clancy/Grisham trend of just phoning in his more recent books. His last few books, including this one, have been nowhere near the standard of "Day of the Jackal," "Odessa File," etc. In his defense, it's still a decent book, far better than Clancy's last few unreadable efforts. The story is gripping, moves quickly, and he weaves the various plot threads together in a compelling manner. Like other readers, I'm amazed that the research was blown so badly.... more info
