Customer Reviews

The Walking DeadA Thriller

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

 

 

Over his 24 book career four things mark Gerald Seymour out as one of the very best thriller writers out there: the subjects he chooses are topical, fascinating and revealing, his research is impeccable, he can write and, he can weave a rivetingly good story. "The Walking Dead" has all of these. The subject matter is particularly topical: why do suicide bombers do what they do and how do apparently "sensible" people turn into mass killers? The research is typically excellent: so good that, by the end of the book, you'll have real insight into how and why this form of terrorism has become so insidious and effective. And, it's a riveting plot, with its multiple story lines - each of which is fascinating - developed with a page-turning drive that makes you want to know what happens to these people in the end.

So why doesn't it hit the mark? It should... the comparison of the idealism that drove many to a manipulated and brutal death in the hands of the communists during the Spanish Civil War with the idealism that drives potential suicide bombers into the hands of equally brutal modern-day terrorists is perceptive and provides a thought-provoking sub-text for the whole novel. The way that its numerous "sub-plots" are explored is interesting and addictive, and the way that they come together in the novel's final pages is believable. But, in the end, it leaves you with the distinctly frustrating feeling that several of these sub-plots - which have been followed with growing interest as a result of Seymour's superb ability to explore & develop his characters, and which form a large part of the novel - are nothing more than an overly lengthy "means to an end" to a not particularly unexpected denouement.

Worth the effort then? Yes... because a great deal of the book will give you a fascinating insight into a different and highly relevant world. One of his best?... not really because, unusually for such a gifted thriller writer, you'll probably leave it with a feeling that there are too many loose ends waiting for answers. Harsh assessment?... possibly, but then when you're one of the best the standards are higher than most.

Gerald Seymour is, and will likely remain, my favorite author of potboilers based on contemporary international tensions and conflicts. But, my reaction to THE WALKING DEAD was that perhaps he tried a little too hard with the secondary plot and a superabundance of characters in this one. Sometimes, simpler is better. What could have been a lean and mean thriller is rendered mean and flabby.

The primary plot features the Scorpion, a facilitator of suicide bombing missions, who's recruited the young Saudi medical student, Ibrahim Hussein, to carry an explosive vest into the heart of England. Helping the pair are the Engineer, an old friend of the Scorpion who builds the bombs, plus a deep cover cell of Brits of foreign heritage who've been recruited by local imams into the jihadist cause: Faria, Khalid, Ramzi, Syed, and Jamal. Opposing them are Dickie Naylor, five days from retirement, who supervises the MI6 desk charged with intercepting overseas-born, foreign-based suicide terrorists, and Joe Hegner, an FBI agent from the Riyadh station previously blinded by an Islamic martyr's blast. Then there's the ambitious Mary Reakes, Dickie's assistant, who's already measuring Naylor's office for redecoration. Flown in from their farm in the Inner Hebrides are Xavier Boniface and Donald Clydesdale, former colleagues of Dickie's in Army Intelligence and experts at "taking the gloves off" during enhanced interrogation techniques. Finally, there's Midge, a spaniel trained to sniff-out explosives.

In the secondary plot, we have Ozzie and Ollie Curtis, brothers on trial for the armed robbery of a jewelry store. Their shady solicitor is Nat Wilson, who arranges for Benny "the Nobbler" Edwards to bribe one of the jurors, Julian Wright, to deadlock the panel's verdict. As the trial winds down, the jurors are sequestered and placed behind a protective shield of officers, one of whom is David Banks, seconded from the Royal and Diplomatic Protection Service after falling out of favor with his boss and ostracized by his professional colleagues. Banks, a loner, is obsessed with the diary of his great-uncle, Cecil Darke, who penned the journal during his time fighting with the communists during the Spanish Civil War.

Further out on the periphery of the story are George Marriot, a crippled ex-bounty hunter that once tracked Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, Steve Vickers, a city tour guide, Avril Harris, an ER nurse with car problems, and Lee Donkin, a drug addict and petty thief. All four are residents of Luton.

Seymour's strength has always been making his characters, particularly the protagonists, ordinary folks with everyday problems who manage to muddle through and save the day, or at least not lose it, at the world's gritty and grotty edges. In THE WALKING DEAD, the gritty and grotty edge is Luton north of London. But, then, I gather that many Englishmen wouldn't disagree with that assessment. Not having been there, I couldn't say.

In any case, the primary story line has all the elements necessary to make an excellent thriller and, for me, it got to the point where the occasional textual diversions to the subplot were just plain annoying inasmuch as the latter totally lacked the substance and suspense of the former. Granted, Banks eventually bridges the gap between the two to become a key player in the novel's conclusion. However, I couldn't help but wish that the author had found a better way to illustrate his point that victories in conflicts between opposing forces more often than not hinge on unforeseeable and random events.

Actually, I would've liked a larger role for Midge.

This is a good contemporary thriller that had me wondering exactly where all of the seemingly disparate elements would intersect.

In the middle east, a young man is chosen, for the confidence of his walk, to be a suicide bomber in Britain. At the same time, David Banks an armed protection officer, becomes engrossed in an unknown great uncle's account of his fighting in the Spanish civil war.

The novel is fast paced and although some of the characters may seem less relevant, they each have a place to play in the story as it unfolds. Caught up in the action are plenty of reminders of the consequences of choice.

A great way to fill in a couple of hours.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I have read many of Gerald Seymour's novels and up till now, I've never been disappointed by them. His trilogy on Northern Ireland (Harry's Game, Field of Blood, and the Journeyman Tailor) are the best novels about terrorism I've ever read, and I long for him to write another one about the Irish Troubles.

Harry's Game: A Thriller

Field of Blood

The Journeyman Tailor

But the Walking Dead was a let down for me.

1. Given that the climactic moment of the novel was the result of a coincidence, the book goes on too long (over 400 pages).

2. I thought the terrorist plot (which consisted of one suicide bomber with one explosive vest) was a bit underwhelming (after all, the Brits have had multiple suicide attacks take place ... most notably on 7/7/2005).

3. I didn't find any of the major characters terribly compelling...the police officer who is ostensibly "the hero" comes across as rather hard to like.

4. Some of the dialogue didn't ring true to me. Characters give what amount to eloquent speeches that read very well until you start asking yourself, "Would someone ever say this in a normal conversation?"

I can only hope that in writing this Gerald Seymour simply had an "off day."

Having not read a Seymour's book for years i was delighted to get reaquainted. He hasn't only gotten better. He is so far above most "spy" thrillers , there is simply no comparison.
He moves rapidly among his characters as you see events from their perspective and neatly draws everyone in near the end.
As a number of years have gone by , i am ordering some of his previous novels that i vaguely remember reading. The top writer on the market .
Thrash man

With so many pieces of the puzzle to put together and so many sub-plots this book takes a bit to draw you in but draw you in it certainly does.
I found myself breathless for the last third of this book while Ibraham Hussein draws inexorably closer to his targets.
Great book.

Easily the most powerful and appealing novel of Seymour's I've read, and in order to learn his technique I've been reading all I can get my hands on, and that's quite a few!
It's a story about a boy who is willing to die to achieve recognition by those he wishes to please.
Seymour's usual details make scene, atmosphere, humans, all come to life.
Try not to skip A WORD!

I have read everything Gerald Seymour has written - from 1978 onwards. He writes very well, to the point that I almost expect that whatever political blunder/murder/chase etc that he is writing about to appear on the evening news. I almost expect him to be reading the evening news

Although this book is as well written as all his others, there seems to be something missing, something that for me only makes this 2 star read and not higher.

My main criticism of his work is that none of his books ever end well. Just once can the hero not get the heroine? Can the love of who ever's life not get killed? Cannot everyone live happily ever after? Actually that can also (occasionally) happen in real life too!