Harper North first paperback edition - 2022
My 26th Ben Hope thriller by Scott Mariani; the first - The Alchemist's Secret - I bought as long ago as 2007. Fifteen years as a faithful reader! Scott is running out of places to send Hope, who must be feeling his age by now. Although not showing the tiredness that affected the last few Matthew Bartholomew books by Susanna Gregory, this tale did not quite match up to Mariani's best.
From an initial lack of interest in Afghanistan and its miserable history, Ben Hope is forced to contemplate going there to search for, and probably rescue, his friend, Madison Cahill, former American bounty-hunter and daughter of a late archaeologist, who had obsessively searched in the 1970s and 1980s, for the physical remains of Alexander the Great's far-flung empire in that god-forsaken area. Chapter 2 is a brief 'history' lesson about the Taliban in Afghanistan and the US speedy withdrawal.
Hope, returning from a shopping trip to Valognes, is 'picked up' by three UK agents and forced to travel to London, to meet Colonel Carstairs, senior SAS brass, with connections to military intelligence and rumoured to be involved with a shadowy cadre called Group 13 linked to blacker-than-black ops... Carstairs is well past retirement age, but still involved in this murky underworld. He explains why Ben has been 'sent for.
As you're aware, the sudden withdrawal of US troops from the region and the ensuing Taliban takeover of the country have resulted in the most godawful chaos. Trust the Yanks to bugger it up so badly, of course. The present administration are bloody incompetent, run by a gang of wet blankets under a president who frankly ought to be in a - but I won't go on about that...
Ben agrees to go, even though he will be under Captain Jack Buchanan of the UKSF and Carstairs refuses to tell him much about Operation Hydra apart from the mission is to extract an asset of prime importance, codenamed "Spartan". Ben goes to rescue Madison, intending to break away from the group at the right moment - his commitment to his friend came first.
The novel has all the marks of a Scott Mariani thriller, with detailed information about military hardware, actual fighting and the nature of the countryside. It also has some pretty political and extreme remarks, which need not necessarily reflect the author's own beliefs. He is very strong (and, to my mind, accurate) about the sheer evil of the Taliban and their repulsive brand of extreme Islamic beliefs.
Hank Schulz, formerly of US Marine Corps Force Recon, regards the USA government (Biden's) as an administration of worthless yellow-bellied rat-ass sleazebags in the White House, its left up to deplorables like us to take care of business. This mirrors Carstairs earlier condemnation. "Spartan" is, in fact, the fourth in line to the UK throne, but for some strange reason is called Prince Richard (when, clearly, it is Prince Harry). He is a not particularly likeable individual, with a chip on his shoulder - he gripes - even my twat of an elder brother was allowed to piss about in jets in Afghanistan with 16 Air Assault Brigade, even if he didn't actually do much. So why not me? Wat was wrong with me? He was getting agitated now, thumping his chest with his fist. One of the retired top-level operatives, Mike Nielson, on a quite different mission to escort a group of children out of the country, has this to say about the Royal Family - I have no problem with the old dame...I mean, respect to her and all. She's been through a lot of shit and handled herself with style. But they have a serious problem keeping their younger generation in line, man. What a bunch of misfits. Again is this the author speaking, or just the character? John Buchan has always been viewed by some as an anti-Semite, yet it was one of his characters, the American Scudder in The Thirty-Nine Steps, who refers unpleasantly to a Jew, whilst the author was a strong supporter of a Jewish homeland.
I found the book more retrospective and introspective than the usual Ben Hope offering - the latter questioning his inner demons at the start of the tale. The reference to his 'lost sister'; his knowledge of Biblical extracts; the reappearance not only of Madison but of Wolf; the fleeting asides about previous escapades. He still has the problem of commitment to women - Abbie Logan, who we recall from The Silver Serpent, the last adventure, and who appeared to be a perfect 'fit' for Ben, returns to Australia and there is no feeling that Madison will prove to be the permanent answer. 90% of Amazon reviews gave the novel a 5* or 4* and it's fair to say that Mariani has kept up the high standard he has achieved since 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment