Customer Reviews

The Ghost War

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I grew up on the espionage fiction of John Le Carre, Len Deighton, and Frederick Forsyth. In more recent years, I've become a fan of Daniel Silva and others who capture the nuances of modern politics and intrigue. When I came across Berenson's "The Faithful Spy," I felt like I'd discovered a new novelist to follow along this genre's tenuous path, so I was excited to see his second book hit the shelves.

"The Ghost War" starts with some interesting scenarios by delving into the areas of North Korea and China. He raises questions that demand answers, and gives a cautionary tale of sorts. Again, we follow the career of John Wells, a steadfast, pragmatic loner, who now plays the uncomfortable role of American hero. Wells is in a relationship that could add depth for continued books, but that fails to do much here. In fact, I felt that Berenson set up a number of elements for the series' continuation, while never quite giving us the focus of his debut thriller. He brushes up against Vince Flynn stereotypes, then pokes at Le Carre themes, and never really establishes his own identity.

I'm not worried, though. I have no doubt that Berenson is on the verge of creating a strong line of Wells' novels. "The Faithful Spy" was a breath of fresh air, "The Ghost War" is an author catching his breath, and I expect from here he'll be running with a second wind. I'll certainly pick up the next book, but I can only hope it builds on the promise. Until then, I'll be waiting for Silva's "Moscow Rules."

Berenson's first book, The Faithful Spy, was amazing - crisp writing, well-thought-out action, fine character development. The loss that John Wells incurred by serving as the secret servant of the US for many years was staggeringly portrayed: the deaths of his parents, the loss of contact with his child, the sense of being out-of-step with what he thought of as his own culture, all of this should have made even the most cynical readers think about what deep-cover agents agree to give up. It's hard to imagine how Berenson could have upped the stakes in a second novel.

And he doesn't. He simply provides a compelling and realistic continuation of the narrative. What can Wells do to top saving the world in Times Square? Not much. But Berenson gives us another tale well worth reading, as well as a number if political zingers to wonder over.

The John Wells character continues to develop in The Ghost War, and unsurprisingly he is beset by doubts about how he can sustain the life he has fallen into back in the States. Berenson, realizing that his readers expect action, doesn't let this introspection go on too long, but it is a necessary preface to the main events of the novel; without that we would just have James Bond walking in the door and greeting Moneypenny, ready for the next adventure.

Jennifer Exley, the CIA handler who saves Wells in the first book, is back, but we see less of her than I had hoped. There are some passages about her choice of a professional life over the young children she has, but these all have a slightly formulaic ring. Yes, Exley avoids stereotypes, but that's about the best that we can say for her in this book. Even her out-of-the-box solution for getting Wells back is given only the briefest brush of ink. More next time?

The other important characters - Li, Cao, and the mole - are believable, but the American character's motivation is given much, much more ink, something of a problem, I think. Cao's thinking is at least as important, but we don't get enough of it.

These are quibbles. The settings - the coast of North Korea, Afghanistan, China -- are vividly described, the action is practically non-stop, and the day is saved by human cleverness and perseverance, not by techno-interventions. The DC in-fighting has the sad ring of truth, while the recognition of China as a threat moves beyond head-line ripping and into political commentary. This is a terrific read.

Alex Berenson's premiere thriller, THE FAITHFUL SPY, introduced CIA agent John Wells, a character who truly stood out among fictional spies. He had been under cover for ten years, infiltrating Al Qaeda. Embedded, he became a practicing Muslim in deed and, intriguingly, thought.

THE GHOST WAR picks up Wells' story after he has been back in the U.S. for some time. Insomnia plagues his restless mind and body, so he speeds along largely empty interstates in the dead of night on his black Honda motorcycle, taking "joyless joyrides." He's become a re-Americanized guy, a guy who no longer prays five times a day, who is no longer Muslim (or "Moslem," the alternate spelling) and therein lies a loss of distinction. Suddenly, Alex Berenson's hero tends to blend into the crowd of fellow super-spies whose tales line the bookstore adventure shelves.

Once one has accustomed oneself to Wells' more generic identity, THE GHOST WAR is a solid (but not exceptional) read. He is a hero at loose ends, a man in need of a new mission, his loyal and loving girlfriend (and boss), Jennifer Exley, is sure. And since the world is never a static, uncomplicated place, one comes his way in short order.

The basic geopolitical premises the fuel the plot are credible. Certainly, China and the U.S. could flirt dangerously with war. Certainly, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, and other "hot spots" could play parts in exacerbating tensions between the current superpower and, according to some predictions, its presumed successor. And it goes without saying that the CIA sends spies to gather vital intelligence and extract foreign nationals who are vital assets. So, THE GHOST WAR is, in many ways, a believable techno-thriller. Perhaps, the machinations and motivations amongst the Chinese rulers are over-simplified, but overall, Berenson maintains a good pace, introduces characters skillfully, and pumps up the suspense level several times to fine effect.

John Wells is an American spy and man of action worth following through further adventures, but he would stand out in the genre better if he regained some of the unique outlook with which he was originally introduced.

I have to say that I am surprised at the comparatively tepid reviews that this book has received here.

I purchased the audiobook as is my wont, to occupy my time on a roundtrip drive to the Nation's Capital. I had not heard of the author's first effort, so this was my introduction to CIA agent John Wells.

For my taste, this was a very well written spy thriller. The pacing is excellent, the subplots are good, the characters are very nicely developed and the author obviously knows his stuff regarding the various locations, including Korea, Peking, Northern Virginia, a destroyer and a cargo plane.

The love angle might be just a tad lame, but overall, the book was a hit for me.

Berenson strikes again as this action thriller keeps you up at night. Just as in the best works of Le Carre, Wells and associated constantly struggle to figure out who is on their side. The problem is, much of the time you can't be sure, which can be deadly. Berenson's time in Irag for the the NY Times comes through as the fighting scenes come across particularly well.
buy the book!

This book turned out to be an outstanding follow up to Berenson' first
book "Faithful Spy". This book introduced our hero John Wells. Wells had
sucessfully infiltrated the Taliban in Afghanistan. He came back to America and helped stop a terrorist attack.
In this book the CIA is attempting to rescue a defector,a nuclear scientist named Dr. Sung Kwan. They discover that there is a mole in the CIA. It is also discovered that the Taliban are showing more competance in their fights with American troops in Afghanistan. Jennifer Exley and her CIA counterparts begin a search for the "mole" in the CIA. They get
help from an unlikely source. Wells travels back to Afghanistan. He discovers that the Taliban is being trained by Russian Spetsnaz soldiers.
He finds that funding isbeing provided by a billionaire arms dealer named Pierre Kowalski. In the mean time a Chinese General named Li Ping is bringing China and America to the brink of war. Wells also travels to China to rescue another defecter named General Cao. Thank goodness there is room for a sequel. Be sure to read this book.

This is Berenson's second Wells novel, sequeling "The Faithful Spy", and is presumably the continuation of a planned series.

In my opinion, the first novel was a much more complex work and a true classic gem of the spy genre ranking with such works as "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", "Our Man in Havana", "The Tailor of Panama", and even -- to some extent -- the classic Conrad "Heart of Darkness", because in that work he dealt with the complexities of the emotional confusion that unconventional warriors and spies are subject to: identification with their targets; the loss of real identity; self-doubt; loyalty conflicts.

In this second novel, Wells has settled into more familiar and conventional territory, finding a niche in the Flynn/Rapp genre I mentioned in my review's title.

As a Flynn/Rapp fan, that was perfectly fine with me. I truly enjoyed this book on that level. Frankly, the issues in the first work really couldn't be continued if the central character was to maintain any kind of believable career in the CIA.

In this work, Berenson has traded in the Wells character's self-doubt and uncertainties for a broader canvas of international tensions and political intrigue that has the world's future hanging in the balance. Vince Flynn/Tom Clancy territory. He carries it off very well.

From the coast of North Korea to the political intrigues of Communist China to the bureaucratic wranglings of the CIA right into the White House, we follow an international crisis from inception to denouement. Berenson carries it off with verve and panache.

Further, he clearly sets up the next book in the series in the person of a deeply evil international arms merchant, a potentially powerful adversary.

Truly entertaining for fans of the genre, I can strongly recommend this book. I certainly look forward to the next installment.

... this is a perfectly fine book of its type: a thriller with some spy elements-- more Patriot Games than Our Game-- with lots of Special Forces action and the occasional sound effect accompanied by an exclamation point: Whoosh! went the missile. That said-- and this isn't the author's fault-- but the guy at Kirkus Reviews who compared this favorably with John Le Carre must have been on crack. In other words, know what you're getting: if the good guys shootin' the Taliban baddies rocks your reading world, you might be very happy with this... but if you picked it up because of the Le Carre comparisons, you'll probably be done about the time the missile goes "Whoosh!"

John Wells might be some distant relation to Jack Ryan. The problem with these types of books is that however hard the author may try to give his character a challenging situation he also has to give him the ability to get out of it again. Hence the two or three times that Mr. Wells seems like he is in actual physical danger he never going to stay that way long. I read these kind of books and find myself rooting for the obligatory mole at the CIA. The only thing I really did not like about the book was that Berenson ruins the suspense immediately by giving away his identity to easily.

Overall-Its perfectly fine for what it is the hero saves the day and gets the girl, just never read a spy book expecting innovation audiences (and I include myself) don't want innovation they want the tried and true formula. If Tom Clancy were getting his start today he would also be forced to write books dealing with the Chinese situation.

I read the Ghost War based on a NYT review. I liked it a lot- especially for its new ideas and plot elements, I then read The Faithful Spy- which as other readers have pointed out, is even better. If it helps other readers, I like Da Silva's books very much, yet found The Faithful Spy even better than any of them.

To help those who wonder if it matters which to read first- my answer is yes. The Ghost War gives away a number of the twists in the Faithful Spy. So read The Faithful Spy first. If you like it as much as I did, you will then want to read The Ghost War.