“The Kill List” by Frederick Forsyth – Finding the Invisible
The book follows the top operative of TOSA (Technical Operations Support Activity), an agency which secretly specializes in assassinating the U.S. government’s most dangerous enemies.
The operative has recently been tasked with hunting down the Preacher, one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist leaders. The plot thickens when it is revealed that one of the Preacher’s attacks killed the operative’s father. With the stakes being set as high as they ever were, an international hunt begins for a man with no face, name, or even approximate location.
As with virtually every other Forsyth novel, the focus is placed more on the story than everything else. The author only uses descriptions to a minimum, where they are really unavoidable… the rest of the book is dedicated to advancing the plot. The narrative is quite action-packed and fast-paced, and not just with shootings and explosions.
Due to the nature of the assignment the operative is given, it feels as if every little detail they find and every move they make matters and brings them one step closer to their goal; in other words, the weight of every decision is not only felt by the characters, but also by the reader.
In particular, what helps this novel draw you in is the fact that Forsyth writes his stories based on recent events in one way or another, making everything feel that much more relevant.
One of Forsyth’s greatest strengths in my opinion, and it shows in this book, is his ability to simplify the complicated. Many passages of the book would have been quite boring and confusing would he not be as talented.
One of Forsyth’s greatest strengths in my opinion, and it shows in this book, is his ability to simplify the complicated. Many passages of the book would have been quite boring and confusing would he not be as talented.
There are plenty of technical details here and there (after all, the story does revolve around long-distance spying through digitalized means), but Forsyth manages to make the explanations very simple to understand, even when the subject of complex political schemes is touched.
On the whole, The Kill List is a very solid political spy thriller, and though it isn't exactly groundbreaking, it captures your attention like few other books can and never lets go. It’s fast-paced, intelligent, unpredictable, and fascinating to watch unfold; I definitely recommend this to all fans of Forsyth, or spy thrillers in general.
 | Frederick ForsythPersonal site Frederick Forsyth is an author and political commentator hailing from England who concentrates his writing around crime and political thrillers, bringing a number of suspenseful stories to us, including The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War and Fourth Protocol. |
If 'Afghan' detailed the terror networks themselves, Kill list focuses on the people who actually feed it the hatred it needs - the preacher (s). It begins with a code name that lands on a kill list and the subsequent man-hunt to hunt down and kill a man who feeds hatred through his oratory and takes pleasure in the drawn out death of his captives.
ReplyDeleteWhile threads of desert combat, HALO drops, negotiation tactics and the prevalence of pirates on the Somali coast are familiar to readers of Forsyth's other works, what sets the Kill list apart are the following : 1. This time its personal...very personal to the hero of the book 2. But for his occupation, said hero may have been an extraordinary chess player.
Usually the strategizing is left to behind-the-scenes men or the controllers but in this case, 'the Tracker' is a hybrid specimen capable of hard battle as well as superb strategizing (kind of like Mike Martin meets Nigel Irvine meets several cool gadgets and a no-holds barred budget)
That being said, one did miss the 'twist in the tale' that one expects from Forsyth...Nice read though.
Very well said, I could have hardly put it better myself. It was quite exciting to follow 'the Tracker', despite his abilities being far above those of most mortal men. As you said it, the lack of big twist was a bit disappointing, but on the whole it doesn't take that much away from a solid book.
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