Customer Reviews

The Exile

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was really looking forward to this book. Andrew Britton's previous novels were supberb thrillers. Good writing, which is rare to find in thrillers these days. Strong characters that more than just cardboard cutouts. Great villains. Tight plotting. Sadly, the author passed away either writing this novel or shortly after completing it. Most likely, the publisher had someone touch up or finish the manuscript.

The storyline and characters are great. The president's niece, an aide worker, is killed in Darfur. Ex-Special Forces and CIA operator Ryan Kealey is manipulated into coming back into the fold to investigate, and he unravels a conspiracy that reaches back to Washington, DC. A really dark, cynical tale with some interesting characters.

But the writing and plotting leave a lot to be desired. At barely over 300 pages, it's extremely short for a Britton novel. However the story itself is much more complex than the previous books. This book reads more like a firt draft and at many chapters, I felt like I was reading more of a detailed outline than a completed novel. There's lots of subplots and numerous characters, but not sufficient space to fully develope all these different plots and characters. I was left with the feeling that Andrew intended for there to be a lot more than what this book has.

It's not a bad book and is still better than a lot of other recent thrillers I've read, including Vince Flynn's last one. If Andrew had been able to put enough time and energy into this novel, I have no doubt I'd be giving it 5 stars. There's the potential for a really great novel here. I just hope the publisher doesn't continue to release sub-par books with Andrew Britton's name on it.

If you enjoyed the previous three books, you'll like this one, but you probably will be a little disapointed.

In Darfur, the Janjaweed militia attacks a refugee camp where they brutally kill American nurse Lily Durant. However, Lily is not just another American in the wrong place at the wrong time; she was the niece of President David Brenneman.

Defense Intelligence Agency General Joel Stralen sees an opportunity to gain an edge over his unit's prime rival the CIA. He pushes strongly for punishing Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, as he swears to his close friend he has slam dunk information the attack was not random. The vicious dictator ordered the assassination of Lily. CIA Deputy Director Jonathan Harper asks former operative Ryan Kealey to investigate before Stralen rushes America to judgment.

The latest Kealey espionage thriller (see The American, The Assassin and The Invisible) is an exciting action-packed tale in which the DIA and CIA argue merit of a retaliatory strike like Reagan ordered against Gaddafi. Fast-paced, fans of the series will enjoy accompanying the hero to Africa and back though the story line is somewhat sub-genre standard as Kealey once again affirms spying is a team sport, if one wants to obtain the information and live

Harriet Klausner

This is the first book in this series I've read so I can't judge it in comparison to those that came before it. But I thought it was exciting and very well written with excellent characters, and like a previous reader I felt it was much better than most other thrillers on the market today. I will definitely buy the earlier novels by Andrew Britton.

I enjoyed this book but it is the last from this author, as noted below:
On March 18, 2008, Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina. He was survived by his mother Annie (Britton) Nice, stepfather Graham Nice, and his two siblings Christopher Vine- Britton and Roxanne Nice. Andrew Vine-Britton is interred in the Veteran's section of Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.

There has been too long a period of time between the publication of THE INVISIBLE and Andrew Britton's new book, THE EXILE. As those familiar with Britton's work might expect, however, it is well worth the wait. Ryan Kealey, an ex-Special Forces operator and former CIA agent, is an outwardly confident, inwardly tortured soul who would rather be left alone. He nonetheless is possessed of a skill set that does not permit that state of existence, as THE EXILE so demonstrates.

Britton's literary style lends itself wonderfully to the thriller genre. He is an intelligent and sharp writer who is able to pluck minute details out of a big picture, providing information while evoking emotion. So it is that this book begins with an atrocity so graphically described that it cannot help but fill the reader with outrage. The specific event is fiction, of course, yet it is well documented that occurrences of the sort described take place on all-too-regular a frequency. In the case of THE EXILE, Lily Durant, a young woman working selflessly as a nurse in West Darfur of the Sudan is beaten, raped repeatedly, and murdered. She is deliberately targeted for this unspeakable violence by her attackers, members of a government-backed militia known as Janjaweed, because she is the niece of the President of the United States. The loathsome acts are recorded and distributed to the news media. A reaction of force is expected --- nay, demanded --- but the President surprisingly does nothing, at least not immediately. Forces within the U.S. government are at work, though, to avenge the atrocity in the most direct way possible.

As these events unfold, Kealey, voluntarily separated from the CIA, is doing private security work for Blackwater. Tasked with leading a security team in charge of protecting the President of South Africa, Kealey demonstrates his ability to think, shoot and fight on his feet in an extended sequence that makes a James Bond film resemble a passage in a Jane Austen novel. In the aftermath of this event, Kealey is approached by Jonathan Harper, his former friend and superior at the CIA. Harper is unconvinced that Durant's murder was instigated by Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president. Al-Bashir's crimes are many and well-documented, but Harper is afraid that if the United States should retaliate directly against al-Bashir, absent corroborating evidence, it will plunge an already unstable area of the world into total chaos.

Harper, utilizing an argument that appeals in equal parts to Kealey's guilt and sense of duty and justice, convinces him to undertake a mission to determine precisely who deliberately set into motion the chain of events that led to Durant's death and to bring that person to justice. Kealey, one of those individuals for whom the term "independent contractor" was specifically coined, follows a complex, treacherous trail through a series of exotic locales. But even a jaded figure such as Kealey is surprised by what he eventually finds. His reaction, though, is anything but surprising. In a conclusion that will practically rock THE EXILE right out of your hands, Kealey attempts to right wrongs and see that justice is served, in Harper's words, "...to the extent that it can be."

Britton's ever-increasing legion of fans will be well-served by this latest installment in the Kealey canon. The world is a complicated and treacherous place, and Britton, like few others, captures it perfectly for the printed page.

This posthumous work of Andrew Britton obviously was in rough form when he left us wanting more Kealey. This is nicely structured, with a well developed plot, but oh-so-lacking in good editing.

Numerous times in the prose we find a "Wikipedia" moment, where the author flies off to tell us far too much about a particular item or fact, a whole fifty-word paragraph in fact. While these could have been woven into the story, instead they stand alone, breaking the flow and tension of the moment. Over and over they shatter the emotions he has built up in the reader. There is a lot of good geography here about the Sudan and the timely situation in West Darfur. The story is memorable. But Mr. Britton deserved better in the editing. By all means, buy it, but expect some amateurish episodes as you read.

The Exile is Britton's 4th installment in the Ryan Kealey series. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the first three books from the series, I had high hopes for The Exile. I even waited to purchase it, making it the first novel I bought and read on my new Kindle. In the end, however, I felt there was something lacking that prevented The Exile from being as good as the previous three. It simply did not seem as tight or cohesive. That said, it was far from a washout. Britton fills the story with action that kept me turning "the pages." One thing is for sure. This book should not be the place where a reader starts in the series. The character development and events from the previous books are integral to the understanding and enjoyment of The Exile.

This is a difficult book to review because the author passed away in 2008 and it was finished by an unidentified ghost writer. The publisher says nothing about the death of the author on the flyleaf and apparently the Andrew Britton name will live on through the efforts of anonymous others. The next Andrew Britton novel is scheduled for release in 2011. I am no a fan of such practices.

The story is simple enough and had major potential, if some major problems had been worked out.

Lily Durant., an American, is a nurse at a refugee camp not far from Darfur. The camp is raided by men in Sudanese Army uniforms who brutally murder the woman, who is a niece of the American President. Supposedly and entirely unexplained is why the niece and the President were so close that her death essentially throws him for a loop.

The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Air Force General Joel Stralen and the Secretary of State are urging the President to take drastic action against the Sudanese President which could have significant repercussions for the United States. On the opposite side of the argument are the Director of the CIA and his colleague, Jonathan Harper. The two are quickly frozen out.

The story goes off the rails quickly. There is a man, you see, a former CIA agent, Ryan Kealy, drummed out of the CIA, performing daring feats in Africa for a private security firm. Kealy is featured in Britton's earlier books. Kealy carries significant psychological baggage from an earlier failed operation. But, golly, only he can get the job done!

Unfortunately for the reader, Kealy's role in averting the global crisis is entirely set-piece. Main bad guy (also a former CIA operative) is one or two steps ahead of Kealy. Lots of people (15 or so by my count) die in entirely unbelievable sidewalk gun fights. Evil people with lots of money from dubious sources are buying weapons, other evil people intend to use said weapons for evil purposes.

Only Kealy and his exotic and helpful French agent assistant can stop them.

Frankly, the writing is good enough to keep you reading, but at the end I felt that I could have used the hours spent for more satisfying purposes.

No, I personally don't like this book. The plot feels as if it were constructed of children's building blocks and beginning about 40 pages in becomes very predictable and repetitive.

It might do as an airplane read if you've already read Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Lee Child or the others, but it just doesn't hold up as a thriller. Not for me at least.

Jerry

This was a well conceived plot involving a complexity of characters involved in a frighteningly believable scenario. I particularly appreciated his skill at incorporating current political realities in a way that they are familiar but more than front page facts wrapped up in a thin veil of imagination. Not sure if it is his ongoing style or a lack a final polish by the author, but I was put off by the many instances where pages of words were devoted to describing something that could have been presented in a sentence or paragraph. Mr. Britton researched the material well but less would have been more. The book held my attention and invited me to take a look at his previous work.

I've read all 4 books by Andrew Britton, I keep hoping that as a writer he will grow as a writer, but he has not. The book is boring period, though there are pockets of activity. Of the 38 books
I have read this year. This ranks #35/38.