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Attorney Calvin Dexter is a (superbly conditioned) triathelete who lives an apparently ordinary life in suburban N.J., a local boy raised by a working class father (who had been deserted by Cal's mother) and who returned from an Army tour of duty in Vietnam to earn a college degree and seemingly move on with his life. However, his experience as one of the members of the elite but unknown team of "tunnel rats" has combined with his own personal tragedy to form the basis of his alter ego - THE AVENGER of horrific crimes who can be hired to find and return the perpetrators of such crimes to face justice in a court of law. In a world of moral relativism and frequent lack of accountabilty, he still believes in the concepts of right and wrong, and of the possibility of justice and the necessity for punishment. In a parallel thread that forms the basis of Cal's next quest, an idealistic young volunteer,Ricky Colenso, disappears while working for an humanitarian aid organization in Serbia during the upheaval caused by the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Unfortunately for Zoran Zilic, the gangster responsible for Ricky's brutal murder while operating under the protection of Milosevic, Ricky's mother is the daughter of Steve Edmond, a Canadian billionaire and injured RAF ace during WWII. Edmond's vast resources and political connections enable him discover the existence (but not the identity) of THE AVENGER, and Edmond manages to contact Cal and interest him in attempting to uncover the truth concerning Rick's disappearance. As Cal verifies the facts of Ricky's murder and the perpetrator, he agrees (anonymously) to accept Edmond's request to capture Zilec and bring him to the United States to stand trial.

Two factors complicate Cal's efforts. First, he has to locate Zilic, who became very rich as a dealer in contraband and drugs during the war and subsequentlty disappeared. Second, unknown to Cal, the CIA head of counterterrorism, Paul Devereaux, has recruited Zilic to aid in the CIA's efforts to locate and eliminate an Islamic terrorist named Usama Bin Laden (the story takes place in 2001 pre- September 11.) Thus, as Devereaux learns of the existence of THE AVENGER and his quest (but not his identity), the CIA utilizes all means at its disposal to locate and neutralize Cal in order to protect Zilic as one of its most valuable assets in the wor on terror. (It has in fact helped Zilic relocate to his seemingly impregnable compound in the fictional South American Republic of San Martin.)

This is a very methodically organized and well constructed story, but the various threads are only slowly woven together. We are first introduced to Cal, but only gradually learn his history in chapters interspersed with our introduction to Ricky, to Steve Edmond; the the formative events in each of their lives are gradually revealed. Only after the necessary background for the thread that binds their lives together has been provided does the author introduce Devereaux's history and his personal philosophy regarding his justification that in order "to achieve the greater good" he may have to engage in immoral acts and even allow evil to go unpunished.

There are long sections regarding Vietnam and military actions during that war, WWII, the CIA, and other background elements which are crucial to the story but at times read almost like an educational text. There is also incredible detail about Cal's formulation and implementation of his plan, which readers of Forsyth will recognize as one of his trademarks and which serves to prolong the story while making it more believable and increasing the tension. (JACKAL is a wonderful example of this.) However, the conclusion is worth the wait. The outcome is a tribute to Forsyth's narrative skill, although given the complexity of the moral questions raised some readers may disagree with my elation at the ending. Finally,the two page epilog was stunning in its ability to capture the best of the autho's efforts.

So, I highly recommend this book if you want to read a complicated thriller with a lot of detail. The story emerges gradually as the individual elements are pieced together, just as in the construction of an elaborate jigsw puzzle. And in fact, this analogy applies as well to Cal's attempt to fullfill his mission. But I do have two caveats. First, this book is heavy on history and philosophy and is meant to educate as well as entertain, if you want fast moving action and a linear plot, look elsewhere for your entertainment. Second, there are a few instances of really gruesome events decribed in great detail, especially Ricky's murder and Cal's experiences in Vietnam and his family tragedy. The are close to nauseating, and would normally keep me from reading a book with such sequences or at least cause me to reduce my rating. But because they are elemets crucial to the story and because I hold the author in such high regard, I decided to continue reading and did not reduce my rating. But, be prepared if you are somewhat squeamish; however, their description is as minimalist as possible while still achieving the desired impact and relevance. There is also, of course, the standard violence in such a novel, but that should be anticipated by a reader of this genre.

This book is better than 98% of the action/fiction books out this year. But, possibly one of Forsyth's worst ever. This is the same man who gave is The Veteran & Icon in the last 5 years and absolute classics like Day of the Jackal, Dogs of War, Fourth Protocol, Negotiator & Fist of God apart from his short stories.

The plot should have been a short story. The book is 80% background stories & 20% plot.

To sum it up, so-so but nothing close to the Master's best work.

All these rewarding and entertaining qualities are back in this latest novel. Forsyth takes a little while, in a series of almost self-contained short stories, to give us the background of our leading characters, as well as educate us on some of the U.S. Intelligence machinations prior to 9/11. But the story soon takes off for real as Army Vet Calvin Dexter, who we learn is the self-appointed mercenary of justice called The Avenger, hunts for a murderous Serb. The challenges he must overcome, including the target's virtually impenetrable physical security, leave us in wonder of the man's cleverness and guile. The end is to say the least both satisfying and heavily ironic -- for if this tale were indeed true, it would have actually, and of course accidentally, facilitated the terrorist attacks by Bin Laden. You won't be disappointed for a minute with this latest Forsyth thriller!