Oct 12 2011
This week Pejman and I talk with Ken Ballen about his new book Terrorists In Love: The Real Lives or Islamic Radicals a fascinating documentation of case studies of individual extremists, their life histories, and their personal perspectives.
Sep 3 2011
Image via Wikipedia
I was disheartened when Olen Steinhauer decided to shut down the group blog Contemporary Nomad at the end of last year. I was a big fan of the authors that posted and enjoyed both interacting with them in this limited way and hearing about what they were up to. But I understand blogging isn’t always a wise investment for authors nor is it easy to find time to keep it up.
A link in my stat tracker program reminded me of the good old days of the blog and led me back to Olen’s home page (where he is now using Tumblr). Which in turn led me to his novella You Know What’s Going On which is the subject of this post.
The story (originally published in Agents of Treachery, an espionage-fiction anthology edited by Otto Penzler) is classic Steinhauer: engrossing and full of suspense even as it is thought provoking with a literary flair.
The plot involves a CIA mission against a terrorist organization in Africa. But what exactly is the mission and what motivates it is the question each of the characters finds themselves asking.
Steinhauer offers the perspective of four characters: Paul, Sam, Nabil and Benjamin—two CIA agents, a Somali terrorist, and a Kenyan policeman. It is a testament to his skill that such a short story can pack such a punch.
Paul the agent afraid to die, Sam out for revenge on multiple levels, Nabil the ambitious terrorist trying to see all the angles, and Benjamin in the middle trying to figure it out. As each character adds their perspective and details the tension and suspense ratchets up a notch. The reader get a little more clarity even as the characters scramble to understand the big picture. It all ends in flames. Along the way Steinhauer muses on death, perspective and trust.
If you are looking for some great espionage fiction, and to hold you over until the next Milo Weaver novel comes out, this is an excellent and quick read that is also a great deal ($.99!). I highly recommend it.
Jan 16 2010
Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack Marc Thiessen
Description
White House speechwriter Marc Thiessen was locked in a secure room and given access to the most sensitive intelligence when he was tasked to write President George W. Bush’s 2006 speech explaining the CIA’s interrogation program and why Congress should authorize it. Few know more about these CIA operations than Thiessen, and in his new book, Courting Disaster, he documents just how effective the CIA’s interrogations were in foiling attacks on America, penetrating al-Qaeda’s high command, and providing our military with actionable intelligence. Thiessen also shows how reckless President Obama has been in shutting down the CIA’s program and releasing secret documents that have aided our enemies.
Feb 9 2009
The Faithful Spy: A Novel
I used to read a great deal of espionage thrillers. I especially liked a series with a repeating central character. In high school and college I used to devour them. I would find an author I liked and read every book they had written. There was somehing satisfying about being emersed in a series and a character.
These days my tastes are a little more eccelctic and I have a great deal less time. No more going back and reading a newly discovered author’s backlist from the start. This bugs me because I am the kind of person who likes to read a series in order for fear of missing some key fact or even just the more nuanced perspective you get from reading every book in a series or even in an author’s career.
But when Alex Berenson’s latest John Wells novel, The Silent Man, arrived at my door I felt like I needed to read the first two books before jumping in. Thankfully it was only two books and they are quick reads.
Which brings us to the first book in the series, The Faithful Spy, which won the Edgar Award for a first novel in 2007. If you like “ripped from the headlines” thrillers with a nice blend of action and geopolitical tension then The Faithful Spy is your kind of book.
Despite being firmly in the international/espionage thriller camp, Berenson brings a great deal of plausibility to his plots and depth to his characters. They are fast and entertaining reads.
More below.
