I have read about eight of Forsyth's thrillers over the last 40 years. In this, his latest book, the US President and the UK Prime Minister agree to co-operate to put an end to the world trade in cocaine. According to the man they hire to do the job, the eponymous Cobra, it will take $2 billion and nine months. All you need to do, it seems, is destroy the Colombian cartel which supplies the USA and Europe with its cocaine powder. And so goes the plot, tracing the meticulous planning and the execution of that plan. This is very much a Forsyth speciality. There is much detail, much planning and many pages of execution. If you are up for it, then this is probably his second-best book, after The Fist of God. However, if ending the trade in cocaine was this easy, we'd probably have done it by now. 6/10 (March 2013) The Cobra was a bit of a disappointment for me, especially since I love Forsyth and most of his works. The premise is pretty simple. The president, who is clearly meant to be Obama, decides to take on the cocaine cartels and wants them wiped out. To do this, he turns to an ex-CIA man code named "The Cobra," who assures him that with appropriate time and resources, he can do it. He then recruits an ex-soldier named Cal Dexter to be his second in command. And thus begin my complaints with the book.After this initial introduction to The Cobra, we almost never see him again until the very end of the book. How odd is that? Instead, Dexter is everywhere -- all over the world -- coordinating the logistics for putting together cocaine hunter/killer special ops groups who are going to take on the cartels by air and sea. Additionally, friendly governments are recruited to help, the British by sending their special forces, others by ramping up security. And halfway through the book, after tons of planning, the operation begins. And goes on and on. And the good guys -- who are real god -- and the bad guys -- who are real bad -- go at it, with the good guys winning virtually 100% of the time, so incredibly easily that you have to wonder if the government actually followed this novel as a planning guide, could it eradicate the drug trade? Forsyth makes it look so damn easy. And that's not remotely realistic.There's a twist at the end that brings The Cobra back into the story and also involves Dexter. By now, the cartels have figured out what's going on to a certain degree, but seem powerless to stop it. Amazing. What happens at the very end was a bit of a surprise to me, and a welcome one, actually, but it couldn't save the book. Why name the book "The Cobra" when it actually should have been named "Cal Dexter?" It doesn't make sense. Why write a book that makes winning the war on drugs -- which America has stunningly lost to a shocking degree -- look so incredibly easy when we know it's not? It's not remotely realistic. Some people complain of boredom due to the incredible detail and planning that went on during the first half of the book. Well, that's basically Forsyth's way, so I personally don't have a problem with that. But it's got to lead somewhere. And this led nowhere. Another complaint -- there's no sense of suspense or real danger to the good guys in this book. You get that in the Odessa File, the Jackal, the Fourth Protocol, etc., but not here. It's just non-stop intercepting and destroying drug shipments left and right. The only danger is to the bad guys. Not much of a thriller.Normally I highly recommend Forsyth books, but I'm afraid this time I can't. I'm not even sure why I'm giving it three stars instead of two. I guess out of respect for the author. Not recommended.
What do You think about The Cobra (2010)?
Well researched. Narration is as good as a screenplay of a spy/espionage movie.
—Joanne
Now that's what you call Guerrilla warfare. An under rated work of art.
—camHallx
I loved this book and now I am addicted to Forsyth.
—alexstar
