Holy War has an interesting premise, and Mike Bond seems to have a much stronger understanding of the region, both through the lens of understanding terrorism and the understanding the culture in general, than most of the thrillers set in the Middle East that I have read previously. The story structure is one that I’ve seen before in more general fiction, but not nearly as often in Thrillers. The jumping between protagonists or in some cases antagonist and not just giving you their POV but presenting it in a way that is sympathetic to that character is something I enjoyed. I should give a word warning that some of the characters and viewpoints might turn off some readers. I, however, read a lot of thrillers and was happy to get characters outside the usual cookie cutter mold. I should also say that the structure, while interesting, has its issues. The… Read more »
Tag: Middle East
Spy for Hire
Mark Sava, John Decker and friends must protect a small orphan being used as a pawn in a turf war between governmental agencies. Spy for Hire is a straight up action thriller and for fans of the genre it ticks off all the boxes you would expect. The story itself is about as cookie cutter spy/action thriller as you get. It isn’t bad mind you, just a bit ho-hum. The good guys are clever and often manage to outwit their adversaries and there is some good action with a few plot twists thrown in to keep you on your toes. The only real problem with the plot twists is that they are completely telegraphed. You see where the twists are going almost as soon as they are introduced and readers of the genre will find very few surprises. Additionally there are problems with the sub-plots. Mayland introduces events and side… Read more »