Sins of the Fathers: A Novel [Hardcover]

John Blackthorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 1998

In an era when embassies, army bases, and entire skyscrapers are blasted into rubble in an apocalyptic instant, this tense story of vengeance run amok is an introduction to the twenty-first century and is as newsworthy as it is nerve rattling. A sophisticated thriller in the spirit of Graham Greene, it is informed by geopolitical savvy and a storytelling talent that reveals how the Cold War's most dangerous episode was far from resolved in 1962.Set on the eve of the Cuban revolution's fortieth anniversary celebration, Sins of the Fathers adds a chilling coda to the Cuban missile crisis as an American historian finds himself caught in a race against the clock between the Cold War past he's studying and a catastrophic act of urban terrorism whose seeds were planted almost four decades earlier.

A purely academic project swiftly turns personal as subtle hints concerning dual mysteries accumulate at the edge of Professor McLemore's consciousness. Who is the elderly man glimpsed in Havana's rare shadows? Why does Sam Ramsay of the U.S. Interest office take such a special interest in an unassuming history professor? What could McLemore's radiant interpreter, Trinidad Santiago, have to do with Cuban State Security? And if McLemore's father left his wife and young son bound for Cuba in April 1962, why did he never return?As the sins of their fathers are visited on the sons and daughters of Cuban missile crisis veterans, McLemore discovers the missing piece of a deadly thirty-seven-year-old puzzle in Cuba's dusty archives. But he doesn't know where that crucial piece fits, and those who might be able to tell him have too many state secrets to conceal. After four decades of assassination attempts, disinformation, and dirty tricks on all sides, the CIA and the Cuban State Security Department aren't about to trust each other. As the timer ticks inexorably toward New Year's Day, 1999, both sides face a life-or-death decision--cooperate or perish.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Cuba seems to have the same effect on American administrations that the full moon used to have on werewolves." Such sharp observations lift the pseudonymous Blackthorn's taut and moody debut, in which a long-buried leftover from the Cuban missile crisis threatens the 40th anniversary of Castro's revolution, to a high level. The sons of a legendary CIA agent and a bitter Russian general stand at the heart of this gripping post-Cold War thriller. The Russian son, Viktor Isakov, is selling two tactical nuclear weapons (hidden in Cuba by his father in 1962) to a Cuban exile group called Bravo 99, which plans to blow up Castro, and most of Havana, during its January 1, 1999, anniversary celebration. The American son, a 36-year-old professor named McLemore, is in Cuba to research what really went on during the missile crisis. Despite his family history (his father was shot as a spy while the crisis was at its height), McLemore considers himself above politics. But in Blackthorn's Cuba, everything is political?which is why, when McLemore discovers the existence of the hidden nukes, and both the CIA and the Cuban Security Police want to enlist his help in stopping the Bravo group, he has an irrevocable choice to make. Blackthorn (a "world-renowned American political figure") writes in a terse, authoritative style, creating a strong sense of Cuba and its crucial place in the American political consciousness. His assured debut reads like the work of someone who's been perusing this terrain for years. Audio rights to Soundelux.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Castro-haters plot to nuke Fidel in this less-than-explosive suspenser. They also plan to pulverize along with him hundreds of thousands of others, employing as their weapon a lost nuclear warhead left behind by the Russians in 1962. Self-styled Bravos, the terrorists are Cuban exiles fixated on revenge. The plan is to detonate the bomb in mid-Havana on January 1, 1999, the 40th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, and the fact that a good many of those blown to bits with Castro will be babies doesn't rate a Bravo eye blink. For a while, only one man stands in their way. The unlikely stopgap is an American historian named McLemore, in Cuba on a research grant. In a desultory way he's re-examining the Cuban missile crisis, hoping for an overlooked nugget to revive an academic career in decline. Enter the beautiful and enigmatic Trinidad. Ostensibly, she's a government guide. Actually, she's a highly placed member of Cuban intelligence. In ways ever available to the beautiful and enigmatic heroines of suspense fiction, she galvanizes McLemore, converting him from a burnt-out case to a live-wire. It's McLemore who works it out that the Bravos have latched onto the nuke. It's McLemore who locates the whereabouts of the missing warhead. And it's McLemore who manages to convince the CIA and Cuban intelligence that after years of double-crossing each other they have much to gain from playing it straight. When at length McLemore and Trinidad yield to their mutual passion, few readers will be surprised. Nor will they be taken unawares when in the last nanosecond of countdown, the good guys catch up with the bad guys and neutralize the nuke. Blackthorn, we're told, is the pseudonym for ``an internationally known political figure.'' And he does seem comfortable with his backgrounds. What he lacks is the savvy storyteller's abililty to invent people who can make the backgrounds come alive. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (December 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068816191X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688161910
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,684,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambassador-in-waiting writes compassionately about Cuba, March 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Aurora, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sins of the Fathers: A Novel (Hardcover)

When the United States finally re-establishes diplomatic relations with Cuba, John Blackthorn should be on the "short list" of ambassador candidates. Blackthorn, according to the bookjacket a pseudonym for a political figure, writes expertly and compassionatley about the country and its people in his novel, "Sins of the Father." The book crackles with authenticity in describing present day Cuba, and the story line -- involving left behind warheads from the missile crisis and a plot by Cuban refugees to "blow up" the 40th anniversary celebration of the revolution -- comes across as very plausible. But its Blackthorn's obvious compassion for the people of the country that rings loudest. The poverty inflicted by the Hobson's choice between a Communist-government that cannot adequately provide for its people and foreign (U.S.) domination is brilliantly depicted. The novel reads truest when focusing on historical matters and reportage. The thriller aspects are, frankly, a little to pat. Still, "Sins of the Father" should appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in the missile crisis and the political-economic-social conditions of our offshore neighbor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never before insight into critical juncture in history., February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sins of the Fathers: A Novel (Hardcover)

Whoever John Blackthorn is (my guess is an ex-CIA chief or White House Executive), he has given an amazing introspection into one of this century's most critical and intense moments. Written much like a well played chess game, which coincidentally is worked masterfully in a brilliant scene in the text, Blackthorn has taken the fairly well trodden spy thriller genre into a complex yet artfully placed backdrop of historical and political perspective. He ties this into a modern thriller using an intricate plot line and even manages to play to Hollywood by introducing the required love story for the main characters. Much like the Three Days of the Condor style of intrigue and espionage, he seems to be readying himself for the inevitable move to the big screen. While I was too young to remember the exact details of the Russian/Cuban Missile Crisis that acted out some of the best political drama in the second part of the twentieth century, Blackthorn shocks you into realizing how 'white knuckled' and decisive a period of time this really was. He obviously has some 'insight' into the behind the scenes goings on during this time, or else he is one hell of a researcher. All in all, I am quite impressed with his work and not only hope to find out who he is (is it the same 'Anonymous' that stirred up such controversy a while back?), but more importantly hopes he follows up with other works just as exciting. If you are into an impossible to put down book that is reminiscent of the style of Le Carre and also manages to exquisitely tie in actual historical accounts, do not hesitate to pick this one up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This story really makes you think!, February 3, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sins of the Fathers (Audio Cassette)

After listening to the audio "Sins of the Fathers" written by a mystery politician - I wonder who it could be??? - I am really seeing Cuba and it's people in a different light. "John Blackthorn" (possibly G. Bush?) writes a story that you don't want to leave. Filled with historical and geographical images, I have never before been made aware of, with characters I could really feel, I was mesmerized by the story this author weaves. Having been but a baby when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, I never fully grasped what it was all about. Now I am hungry to read and learn more about this historic episode in World history. I highly recommend this audio to anyone interested in a great mystery, based on actual historical and political events.