Avenger

Rating:
Summary: Maybe it was a Little too Easy for the Good Guy
Review: I wanted to like this book, did like it, but not as much as I'd hoped. The story starts out with Attorney Cal Dexter practicing for the Olympic Triathlon and we're told how difficult the event is for a young man, much harder for Dexter and his fifty-one years. After his grueling exercise he comes home and finds an add in an airplane magazine he takes, advertising for an Avenger, but the Avenger aircraft are all in museums. The ad is for Cal, as he's sort of a viligante in his other life.

In a nutshell a rich guy's grandson went missing during the conflict in Bosnia and now, years later, grandpa wants to know what happened and he's willing to pay whatever it takes. The first guy he hired found out the boy had been killed, now granddad wants the boy's remains brought home and he wants the killer brought to justice. Not so easy as the killer is a Serbian warlord who has long since disappeared.

Lots of goings on in this book, much suspense, a lot of time shifting that takes a bit of getting used to, but you can tell there is a master storyteller's hand had the helm of this yarn. I just wished I liked it as much as I'd liked Forsyth's earlier stuff, maybe it was because it seemed just a little too easy for Dexter to catch the bad guy. Ah well, four stars from me.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Rating:
Summary: Well Told, but Sometimes it was Slow Going
Review: It's been something like half an average lifetime between DAY OF THE JACKELL and AVENGER and Frederick Forsyth is still writing about international intrigue and spy type characters that are over the top and his reads are almost as good now as they were way back then. Almost, but not quite. AVENGER felt like a jumble of short stories that took place over that same third of a lifetime mentioned above. One chapter we're in the present, the next we're in the fifties, back to the present then to Vietnam, back to the present, back to Vietnam again. To add to the confusion you need a score card to keep track of all the characters and just when you get interested in one, all of a sudden, he's out of the story.

However the short stories that make up the chapters are all masterfully told and gripping and that does help keep us grounded and Mr. Forsyth does tie up everything at the end. Sometimes it was slow going though. All and all a four star read.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Rating:
Summary: Like an Airport Paperback by Unknown Author; Alternatives
Review: Your plane is about to board and you buy one of those paperbacks
from the airport book store. Against your better judgment, because
the author is an unknown and the font is too large, to make the
book thicker. But the cover suggests an intriguing, save-the-world premise, and sports a good picture of a submarine or a swastika, so you buy the book. Before you reach cruising altitude, you have given up on the book and are reading Skymall. Imagine that book. That is Avenger. Now you know what it will be like to try to read Avenger. Even worse, because you were expecting Mr. Forsythe. It is difficult to write this, because I am his best fan. If you have not read any of the following Forsythe books, buy these instead. You will savor the book, and honor Mr. Forsythe: Jackal, Deceiver, Odessa File,
Devil's Alternative, Dogs of War, No Comebacks.

Rating:
Summary: among his best
Review: It's been years since I read 'The Day Of The Jackal', my first Forsyth book. After reading this one, I noticed I had the same feeling as years ago: excited to follow the plot, moving along, good solid thriller. Like 'Jackal', there's a lot of intricate plotting, use of arms and equipment, things that work out just right, and, of course, a hero with unique background and qualifications. This is the first Forsyth book I've seen in quite a while so I assumed he'd retired or passed away. The last few I read were enjoyable but not as good as 'Jackal', 'Odessa', and one or two others. If you've always enjoyed Forsyth, you'll probably like this book as well as your other favorites.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Tale Told By One of the Best
Review: It is three months before one of America's darkest days.Cal Dexter, a man of many talents, most of them unknown to those who know him, answers a blind ad in an antique aviation magazine. The ad is seeking an Avenger. During WW II Grumman aircraft made such a plane for the Navy. The person who placed the ad is not looking for an aircraft. He is looking for justice. He is looking for the murderer of his grandson.

In a story which weaves it's way from the stink hole of Viet Nam to the jungles of South America and the halls of power in Washington, Forsythe spins a tale of intrigue and cunning which culminates on September 10, 2001. In doing so, he imparts much of his wisdom on the events of our times and fashions a first rate read that will hold your interest from the first page to the last.

Rating:
Summary: A master story teller past his prime?
Review: The Frederick Forsythe at his prime, as the author of Dogs of War, The Odessa File and even the more recent Fist of God is nowhere to be seen in his latest novel, Avenger.

The taut pacing, complex plot, dramatic finale and telling facts on espionage are all missing in this effort. It feel more like a story that the author was mulling in his head, put it to paper without much thought to preparation, editing or coherence.

The story is a sorry mix of espionage, terrorism and revenge.

I read the book out of respect for all the great books Forsythe has written in the past. But perhaps now it is time to bid adieu to his newer ramblings.

Rating:
Summary: Great thriller
Review: See storyline above.

This is, what I think, one of his best novels of recent past. An exciting thriller that will take you to the past. With scenes about the 'tunnel rats' of Vietnam to the atrocities put forth by the Milosevics, including a wife, son and daughter described as making "...the Munsters look like Little House on the Prairie", too the present, with hero/protagonist Calvin Dexter out to capture Zoran Zilic (the name even sounds evil) an old Milosevic henchman.
I'd really like to see this become a series. With a great skill at writing international thrillers and a super hero like Calvin Dexter, how can you go wrong.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: outstanding - one of Forsyth's best
Review: Without question, this is one of Frederick Forsyth's best books, and that's saying something since he's written classics like The Day of the Jackal. In Avenger, he revisits a familiar theme of revenge, one he handles well in many of his novels and short stories. But Avenger is unique from many revenge novels because it is not merely revenge that "the avenger" is seeking; instead, it is justice. Forsyth provides a great character with the man who is "the avenger" - a character reminiscent of the Clark/Kelly figure in Tom Clancy's novels (featured in Without Remorse). This book weaves several threads into a larger story; this is well-done, and the individual episodes are good enough to stand alone. While there are several elements that you see in other novels and in the thriller genre in general, Forsyth shows his talent with his precision of words and quality of narrative. His writing flows in giving depth to his characters and action to his plot. Nothing that is necessary is left out, but neither is anything extraneous left in. Simply a pleasure to read besides being another remarkable Forsyth tale of action/suspense.

Rating:
Summary: Page-turner
Review: I enjoyed THE AVENGER. It actually digresses into character backgrounds a LOT--almost excessively--but those digressions are very interesting, so I actually enjoyed reading them. A subtext peeks through a lot that you think is going to have a bigger pay off in the end, but doesn't. But it's a real page-turner. I found myself wanting meals to end so I could get back to the book. And I absolutely love Forsyth's summing up of the terrorist personality and the true reason for anti-Americanism around the world. He is so so so so so SOOOO right about that it was refreshing to read.

Rating:
Summary: Terribly disappointing
Review: A weak, half-hearted novel from a writer capable of much more. Character has never been Forsyth's strong suit, but in Avenger he has hardly bothered with it. Synopsis: An ex-tunnel rat from Vietnam is now a "lawyer by day and a bounty-hunter by night", motivated apparently by the death of his daughter and wife. He hires out to very well-heeled people who have been wronged and cannot get justice the usual way, to bring back whoever has wronged them and hand the low-life over to the authorities. This protag is completely unbelievable, as is the villain, a 100% evil Serb who has fled his homeland after the end of the war there, taking a billion dollars with him and setting up a Dr. No-style fortress off the coast of South America. Ian Fleming did it better than this. Forsyth's usual familiarity with technology and with the various intelligence and security organizations of the world is pretty weak here, if not absent. A pathetic example of resting on one's laurels.