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A review by ingalls1969
The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth
2.0
Oh, man. After almost 20 years of reading and enjoying Forsyth's globe-trotting espionage/mystery thrillers, I knew I was bound to come across a clunker, and this one's it.
In a way, this book is similar to his deservedly acclaimed "Day of the Jackal" in that in concerns the plot and execution of a serious crime for political gain. While "Jackal" is about the assassination of French President Charles De Gaulle, "Dogs of War" concerns the attempted coup d'etat of a small, fictional African country in order for a British mining company to take advantage of the country's seemingly endless supply of platinum. In order to do this, the company hires mercenaries to invade the country and depose its dictator.
Sounds like a great yarn, right? WRONG! Great idea for a story, horrible execution. First of all, Forsyth seems to have come across the problem that makes Tom Clancy's books so insufferable: endless, monotonous details about a the planning and execution of an operation. We get it, Freddie: you did your research. Now, how about some interesting characters and dialogue? How about some suspense, maybe?
While "Day of the Jackal" went into great detail about certain aspects of planning for the operation, it was on a much smaller scale and therefore, much easier to take in. Here, it's torture. Also, "Jackal" told its story from the point of view of both the assassin and the police chasing him. It's a fantastic cat-and-mouse thriller. Here, there's nobody to root for. It's incredibly dull.
The book does have it's rare moments, and I particularly enjoyed the twist ending. But other than that...meh.
Forsyth wrote great novels before this one: "Day of the Jackal," "The Odessa File." He also wrote many great novels since: "The Negotiator," "The Deceiver," "The Fourth Protocol," "Icon," among others. Also, his short story collection, "No Comebacks," is definitely worth checking out. But he seemed to be sleepwalking through this one.
In a way, this book is similar to his deservedly acclaimed "Day of the Jackal" in that in concerns the plot and execution of a serious crime for political gain. While "Jackal" is about the assassination of French President Charles De Gaulle, "Dogs of War" concerns the attempted coup d'etat of a small, fictional African country in order for a British mining company to take advantage of the country's seemingly endless supply of platinum. In order to do this, the company hires mercenaries to invade the country and depose its dictator.
Sounds like a great yarn, right? WRONG! Great idea for a story, horrible execution. First of all, Forsyth seems to have come across the problem that makes Tom Clancy's books so insufferable: endless, monotonous details about a the planning and execution of an operation. We get it, Freddie: you did your research. Now, how about some interesting characters and dialogue? How about some suspense, maybe?
While "Day of the Jackal" went into great detail about certain aspects of planning for the operation, it was on a much smaller scale and therefore, much easier to take in. Here, it's torture. Also, "Jackal" told its story from the point of view of both the assassin and the police chasing him. It's a fantastic cat-and-mouse thriller. Here, there's nobody to root for. It's incredibly dull.
The book does have it's rare moments, and I particularly enjoyed the twist ending. But other than that...meh.
Forsyth wrote great novels before this one: "Day of the Jackal," "The Odessa File." He also wrote many great novels since: "The Negotiator," "The Deceiver," "The Fourth Protocol," "Icon," among others. Also, his short story collection, "No Comebacks," is definitely worth checking out. But he seemed to be sleepwalking through this one.