Another week, another Freddy book finished. Becoming a bit of a habit, this. This was one of the books I liberated from my parent whilst down there in June, along with another FF book, a Ludlum, a Deighton and some others. They were having a clear out and the books were off the charity shop - so I had a selection away. So this copy is another "classic" Corgi one, looks to be produced in 1980 (when I was 2, ha ha). There is something about old books.I started reading this straight after I had finished "The Odessa File", which probably wast a good idea. Why wasn't it a good idea? Well, I still had that book swimming in my head and that confused the first few bits of this book. I've noticed this before with Forsyth books. "The Devil's Alternative" is a lengthier book that "Odessa", about twice as thick; which was a good sign as despite being a decent read, I found "The Odessa File" a bit short and quick.
Plot wise, well where to start. I'm used to the typical "multi-plot" device used by Forsyth, but this one was something else. This was the authors fourth novel proper, and it seems he fancied building more and more sub-plot then before. The three previous books ("Day Of The Jackal", "The Dogs Of War" and "Odessa") all had a maximum 2 or 3 plot lines to follow which combined at the 3/4s mark and then flowed to the end. "The Devil's Alternative" didn't. It had about 7 I think, which could get confusing at some points - especially when you think you have all the plots sorted and he throws a new one in! Saying that, the way he works them together is excellent. At no point did I think that any of the sub plots were superfluous and there purely for filler. Even with FF's penchant for endless reams of facts and figures, real-life historical information and technical gubbings; the many fractures of the world fitted well. I think it helped that everything was happening at the same time; unlike some of his other novels when you had to remember that at some point you were reading what happened years prior to the part just before it.
Do you want a plot outline and spoiler? Well, I guess the book is so old it's not going to make much difference. Concentrating on the main plot; a group of Ukrainian dissidents want to strike a blow to the heart of the Soviet Empire and free the people of their homeland from years of suffering and persecution. To do this, they plan a act that will, if known to the outside world, shake the Kremlim to it's core and bring down the secretive and totalitarian government. Unfortunately, this dont go exactly as planned, so a second act is needed to help the first complete in full. Alongside this, Russia is suffering from a problem with it's annual grain harvest. The US learn of this and use it as a bargaining tool to force the Soviets to agree to lower there military power - but the acts of the Ukrainians threatens to blow the deal out of the water and bring Europe, if not the World, to war. Inside this there is story of love lost and re-found; a story of pride and achievement; a murder plot in the West by factions of the East; and a story of political subterfuge and cover ups.
A pretty enjoyable book. I found it hard to get my teeth in to at the start, but by the end I was lapping the words up, willing for the plot to reach its boiling point. It's well written, well paced (no odd drop out, such as I found in "Odesaa" and "Avenger") and the character development with pretty good too - at no point do you think "hold on, that's a bit out of character for him/her" - and that really helps you differentiate between the plot lines. I'm actually amazed that this hasn't been scripted for a film yet. I could see this working as a retro-thriller, still basing it in 1982 during the Cold War. It would need to be a long film, but I would go and see it...
Maybe I need to write a script? Errrrr..... no. I'll leave that to someone else.
Oh, as an aside this will probably be the last paper-back I read for a while. I've gone and got myself a Kindle. :)
Oh, as an aside this will probably be the last paper-back I read for a while. I've gone and got myself a Kindle. :)
