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03-07-2023 08:46 PM
Spy novels aren't really my thing; yet, took a chance on this one, by NYT bestseller, Joel Rosenberg. The urgent writing, the cloak-and-dagger and far- flung international settings are just the ticket for escape!
"The Persian Gamble". by Joel C. Rosenberg
The very first page clinched it for me, so exciting and exotic. Marcus Ryker, former U.S. Secret Service agent, and two colleagues-- Jennifer Morris, who is the C.I.A.'s Moscow station chief, and Oleg Kraskin, defecting son-in-law of the Russian President, have to bail out of their commandeered plane. Here's a tiny bit of Rosenberg depicting their plight:
"..... Marcus was free-falling through a thick band of cloud cover, somewhere over northwestern Russia. He could see nothing. Not the moon nor the stars. Not the twinkling lights of a single...hamlet below. Nor could he hear a sound, save the steady hiss of the oxygen flowing into his helmet.... He couldn't even hear the scream of jet engines as six MiG fighters bore down on him from multiple angles at twice the speed of sound."
There's been a cataclysmic event at the heart of the Russian government, and Marcus and friends have reason to flee for their lives. I love the intricate way that they work through apparently hopeless circumstances, starting deep in the snowy Russian wilderness, and winding through continents and fast-moving events to come...
Joel Rosenberg, an American who resides in Israel, is an expert on the Middle East, but this novel encompasses a number of countries, from North Korea, to Russia, to the U.S., to Iran and Israel.
While tantalized by espionage, I'm still me, so I do tend to skip over some of the more technical aspects of the book. BUT, I can report that, if you are like me, and not as interested in computers and weapons as you are in plot and character dynamics, you can skip over the tech-y stuff without sacrificing substance.
While books like this are inevitably plot-driven, there's an impeccable quality to Rosenberg's writing that I really like. In all spy novels there is violence, and people die- but the violence here is mostly off-stage, and it is never exploitative or voyeuristic. Another immensely appealing bonus is that Rosenberg's treatment of women characters is scrupulously respectful.
"The Persian Gamble" is part of a Marcus Ryker series, but it seems you can start at any point. There are other spy series, including one about an investigative reporter, "Collins", I think.
And there's a non-spy, "one-off" novel by Rosenberg that I definitely want to read-- "The Auschwitz Escape", based on the perilous, real-life escape of two prisoners from the Auschwitz concentration camp in World War II.
03-07-2023 10:01 PM
03-09-2023 12:18 AM
I see the first book in this series is called The Kremelin Conspiracy. I have added to my TBR list.
03-09-2023 07:40 PM
I think you are smart to start off with the first in the series, @icezeus . I should have mentioned that that one starts off the series, before "The Persian Gamble". Less confusing to begin at the beginning. Hope you like!
03-09-2023 08:10 PM
The spy book sounds interesting but I will put "The Auschwitz Escape" book on my list to buy. I would imagine that is an edge of your seat story. Thanks for the recommendations, Oznell.
By the way I started "Elizabeth the Great', enjoying all the intrigue and scandals of the royals , some I have read about. There is much to absorb and, details I wasn't aware of, good read!
03-10-2023 12:16 PM
Oh, I'm glad you are enjoying the "Elizabeth" book, @spiderw . Author Elizabeth Jenkins has a way about her, and offers some interesting insights.
Rosenberg's novel based on the Auschwitz escape should be really good. I remember being so fascinated when I first heard, recently, that there were two real-life men that had actually escaped from that hell-hole, and lived to tell the tale. Brave souls.
03-19-2023 04:29 AM
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