Customer Reviews

The Negotiator (Windsor Selections)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Day of the Jackal, despite being a superb book for it's time is starting to get just a little outdated. I mean, it remains one of the greatest intellectual thriller types but fans today like a bit more action, a bit more suprises, a bit more twists. On this aspect, I have to say than in my opinion, The Negotiator is Forsyth's best book to date. It's not as tightly plotted as Jackal or Odessa (a particular sub plot gets wrapped up too quickly in the end) but it certainly is a hell of a sizzling read with plenty of suspense and twists and action. Yes, the details may annoy some but the suspense that forsyth manages to sheath every page with is more than enough to cover any minor flaws and Quinn is simply, the best hero Forsyth has ever come up with (The Jackal was not exactly the hero).

Dont get scared by the Publisher's Weekly review, while the book does take some time to delve into the main plot, the beginning too is VERY gripping with the plotting of a coup etc etc and once the story gets started this is one tremendously enjoyable thriller.

This is not one of Forsyth's better books in my opinion, but it's still an enjoyable read overall. While Quinn, "the negotiator," is an interesting and entertaining character to follow, I don't think he lives up to the claim of "Forsyth's best yet." The plots and subplots here are really nothing very unique, but the book is good because of the way Forsyth tells it and puts it together. There are some nice surprises, especially in the last third of the book, and the conclusion, while perhaps quick, is quite satisfactory. The inclusion of Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev in their respective real-life political roles is handled well but is by no means a primary focus of the book. The Negotiator is good, but if you're pressed for time and can only choose one Forsyth novel, you'd be better served to choose one of the others.

Forsyth is an excellent writer, and this book's by no means a waste of time, but it could be a lot better. The storyline is a little uneven, to put it mildly, and at times it feels like Forsyth was in a hurry to finish the book and move on to something else.

The book begins by unveiling a Russian scheme to invade Iran and gain control of its oil reserves. The first couple of chapters are devoted to the development of this scheme. Then, once the conspirators have worked out what they're going to do and set things in motion...

...well, nothing. This subplot - which looked like it was going to be the central story of the book - simply _vanishes_, never to be mentioned again, and it's not at all clear why Forsyth bothered to include it at all. His books are usually very tightly plotted, with just about every subplot coming together near the end of the story, so this is a disappointing departure from form.

Then, towards the end of the book, it looks like Forsyth got bored and wanted to take a few short-cuts to the finish line. The strength of Forsyth's novels is their realism - one usually feels that yes, this _is_ how things happen in the real world. But the end of 'Negotiator' has the ring of a James Bond movie: "Before I kill you, Mr. Bond, I will tell you all about my diabolical plan." In a Forsyth novel, this is a disappointing cop-out.

All in all this is a good way to kill a few hours, but it's nowhere near the level of, say, "Day of the Jackal".

The first 100 pages sets up the basic premise and characters before launching into a nail-biting hostage drama and a chase across Europe for the kidnappers that leads back to the US. Although the character Quinn, the negotiator, is fully fleshed out along with the kidnapper Zack, the story is far fetched when it comes to the detective work. The kidnapping case comes to a climax half way though the book and I found everything fully believable and enjoyable until then. After this pinnacle part of the story it looses the believable part and just becomes strictly enjoyable. Unlike his other novels "The 4th Protocol etc.", it seems to miss out on keeping the story simple and believable.

This novel is a bit like "Hannibal" in many ways. There are lots of disturbed villains with their own tastes and a great memorable character in the form of British gentleman working for the KGB, but alas it really does have some big plot holes and "chance" discoveries that leave you thinking that the book could have been planned a bit better with regards to that. Although the writer does go to great pains to tell us that detective work needs a bit of "luck" or a "break" in the case for things to work out, the breaks that Quinn gets are all too much to really believe. Other than that the novel is extremely easy to read and you will not put it down until you have finished that "next chapter". Good show, shame about the severe bending of reality though. Keep it real Fred!! I much preferred the detective work in "The 4th Protocol" compared to this.

Frederick Forsyth is a master of 'spy' story telling. This book was my starter to Forsyth's other works. The story line and the facts presented in THE NEGOTIATOR is enticing by giving complete details as if I was in the story with Quinn. The plot is shocking due to many twists and exploding action along the story. The characters are well developed and carried the suspense till the end. This book is an ultimate satisfaction. Because of this book, which made me fall in love with Forsyth's work, I bought the following books:- Icon, The Deceivers and Devil's Alternative.

Unlike some reviewers, I found The Negotiator to be one of my best fictional reads, and certainly my favorite Freddy Forsyth book, right up there with Day of the Jackal and Devil's Alternative. Without giving away the story, the president's only son is kidnapped in the UK while studying abroad, and so the president turns over leadership of the country to his able VP so he can attend to his stricken wife. The kidnapping occurs at critical time of Soviet negotiations around arms reduction

After all the blame that can made is made, it is time to focus on recovery of the President's son. On the recommendations of the CIA, the VP chooses an outsider to help negotiate the release of the president's son: he summons "Quinn" from retirement in Spain. Quinn has a record of effectiveness, but rebelliousness that antagonizes every branch of government on both sides of the pond. Before accepting this request, Quinn has only one condition: he works for the President and the family, not the US government. The VP reluctantly agrees.

And so the deception and duplicitous behaviour begins on both sides of the Atlantic...all anticipated by Quinn

There are a few amazing coincidences, but I did not find they took away from the story.

This is a terrific thriller with many twists and turns, and nothing is as it seems including the kidnappers and their motivation, and mysterious people behind this heinous crime

I am puzzled why this story was never made into a movie thriller. It is a great read

The thickness of the book is worthwhile the effort going through it. In the Negotiator, Quinn is tasked with negotiating with kidnappers of the son of the US President. But behind the kidnap is a diabolical plot to destabilise the President who is keen on de-armaments, much to the dismay of some of his own countrymen.

Fast and furious through much of the story, the author knew how to slow things down to reflect the tension mounting while waiting for the kidnappers to call, and waiting for them to call again. The novel is not a handbook on handling a kidnap crisis but it does highlight certain issues worth bearing in mind, mainly, survival of the victim should be the most important. The author added twists in unexpected places, unlike many writers nowadays who made everything so plain with clear subtexts.

Quinn as a character, was driven first to secure the safety of the kidnap victim, and later find himself tracking down the kidnappers, his only clue being the flimsiests of flimsiests.

What was not satisfying was the parallel plots introduced early in the book on two militant groups, one Russian, one American, to launch take-over in oil-producing countries of the Middle East to secure the fuel supply for the colossal demand of their respective countries. As the novel progresses, one plot became inexplicably dormant, while the other produced a subplot which was also left hanging in the air. Both plots were too casually concluded at the end of the novel.

Also unlike other thrillers, readers are not told that the villains are all-so-powerful that penetrated the highest government and have spies everywhere; it just makes them boring.

The novel did provide a few good portrayals of the characters, not too shallow, but enough to make it interesting to watch them act according to their motivations. The author showed that villains did not do bad things because they were evil, they were evil because they did things following their own motivations which had unhealthy impact on others, except for psychopaths, of course. In such light, even characters who are traditionally the villains can be put in a good light, something which the author has accomplished.

This book gives pure pleasure while reading because readers would not be able to know the ending, just that it would be ... unexpected.

Though the actual mechanics of the nefarious plot can get confusing and far-fetched at times, it does not distract the reader from the main narrative, which flies along at a crackling pace. Forsyth expertly notches up the suspense with no letup, even when the story makes a huge turn close to the halfway mark. I was expecting a slowdown at that point, but the story races ahead so smoothly that I couldn't help but continue reading (and this was at 4am!).

The plot has aged, having been overtaken by world events since its publication, and the characters are not fully realised, but the taut, focused writing makes up for all the shortcomings. A very satisfying read that beats, hands down, most thrillers of more recent vintage. Not many books are like that nowadays. What a pity.

The first book of Forsyth that we've ever read. Catches my attention from the first page itself. Non stop thriller with riveting plot that kept building up along the story. Quinns' character is so well developed through out his adventure. The story line is so real with a clear detail of what happening around the characters environment. The story also gives emphasisation for all the characters making the book a very exciting read. After reading this book we got so hooked up with Frederick Forsyth's books and started buying all these books:- Icon, The Deceiver, Fist of God and Devil's Alternative.

This is an ultimate satisfaction for both of us. Keep writting good books.

After the Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth was expected to produce something as splendid in his next novel, ie The Negotiator. Set against a background of the crumbling USSR era and the ending of the Cold War, the Negotiator is one of the few last novels about the Cold War drama of political intrigue. In this novel, I found that the hero, Quinn, very charming and interesting. Here I personally find it interesting, when Forsyth put some emotions in Quinn, compare to the other characters created, that seemed like 'cardboard' characters living off their 'professional' life! I love it when Forsyth writes about those 'cat and mouse' games. He did it wonderfully in The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Fourth Protocol. And in The Negotiator, he masterfully crafted it again. The Negotiator has a good plot, the events of the story intelligently revealed and a 'good touch' ending. The lackings in this story include the Forsyth tendency of making his character a Mr Know-it-all and rebelious, which seem a bit unrealistic in the 90s, and a wee chauvinistic. But Quinn is certainlly better that most of other Forsyth characters like Cat Shannon and the Jackal. Good job Mr Forsyth!