The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth

 

Synopsis :

And the world as it is today is a very scary place.

When British and American intelligence catch wind of a major Al Qaeda operation in the works, they instantly galvanize- but to do what? They know nothing about it: the what, where, or when. They have no sources in Al Qaeda, and it's impossible to plant someone. Impossible, unless . . .

The Afghan is Izmat Khan, a five-year prisoner of Guantánamo Bay and a former senior commander of the Taliban. The Afghan is also Colonel Mike Martin, a twenty-five-year veteran of war zones around the world-a dark, lean man born and raised in Iraq. In an attempt to stave off disaster, the intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before-pass off a Westerner as an Arab among Arabs-pass off Martin as the trusted Khan.

It will require extraordinary preparation, and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter. Or for the terrible things he will find there.

This is what I say :

I read this title in 10 days. Started on a Sunday and completed it the following Tuesday.  I am rather pleased with myself for this achievement.

That said, The Afghan wasn't a difficult title to read. Being a thriller, it is actually quite captivating in the way that an experience author is able to.

There are very few dialogues.  It is like reading a brief. Somewhat dry but surprisingly captivating.

Not much character development but at the sime time feel like we know the character well enough.

It ended quite sudden and abruptly and I was left with "that's it?" but then quite rightly too as what more can be written about it. 

I do like The Afghan.  I would recommend it to you if you are a fan of thriller but only if you are ready to commit to it then you will appreciate it.

Salvage by Keren David

 

Synopsis :

Aidan Jones was my brother. But I couldnt remember his face

Cass was adopted at an early age and life' been comfortable ever since - too comfortable, some might say.

I glance at the paper. There's a picture on the front page. I sit down and stare at Cass. It's her. My stolen sister.

Aidan's disrupted childhood has been spent shuttling between foster care and children's homes, with a brief disastrous return to his birth mother.

Their experiences couldn't be more different, but their paths are about to converge. Aidan manages to track down his lost sister, and they arrange a secret meeting.  But neither of them have really thought this through.

Can a broken family be salvaged?

This is what I say :

This is my first title since a couple of months ago.  I found this book while looking for some other titles. If I remember correctly, this book belongs to the princess. But I read it anyhow as I wanted to clear it from that section of THR titles.

I started this title on an Wednesday and I finish reading it on that Saturday.  

It was a ok title.  Wasn't bad. But doesnt have the wow factor also.

It's a title that wants readers to think after reading.  1 family (brother and sister). Lives disrupted by circumstances and choices not from their own making.  Started from the same root but moves on to different lives system. One was adopted. the other went into foster care.  

If you like to 'think and reflect' after reading, you can do a lot of 'thinking and reflecting' from this title. From their you can draw your own conclusion. Can what's broken be salvage?