What do You think about The Fist Of God (1995)?
I had loved Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal, the first book I read from this author, and also the first one I read through Bookcrossing. So it is no wonder that I also really liked this one. Even though the theme is very different (The Day of the Jackal is about an attempted murder of General de Gaulle and this one is about the first Gulf War and the liberation of Kuwait), they both share an attention to detail, accuracy of information, suspense and a great ability to mix historical facts with a fiction plot. A really well crafted and hard to put down book. I read its nearly 600 pages like a breeze and I am not a particularly fast reader.
—Pequete
My first Frederick Forsyth book and a very enjoyable read. The book covers the build-up to the Gulf War in 1990-91, with a couple of alterations in the weaponry possessed by Saddam Hussein. The huge amount of research that has clearly gone into this, plus the factual writing style (which reminded me a lot of Tom Clancy, which is a big compliment) created a narrative that seemed very believable. It was also interesting reading with the knowledge of what happened in 2003 in Iraq, the lack of knowledge of the weapon inspectors etc.Basically I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the Gulf War, or someone who just enjoys a well-researched thriller
—Cormac Healy
Not Forsyth's best work but it certainly bears all of his usual features -- a focus on Cold War and post Cold War geo-political confrontations, well researched detail, complex plot lines and some truly menacing villans. One of Forsyth's recurrent tricks is that of creating lead characters who possess an exceptional combination of boldness, physical prowess, chutzpah and the capability of deadly violence when necessary; the one he introduces here one of his most intriguing characters, Mike Martin, who appears again in a later book "The Afghan". As in many previous books, Forsyth manages to construct fictional stories populated by real people whom we immediately recognize -- in this case Saddam Hussein. He does it so seamlessly that it's easy to lose sight of where real events end and fiction takes over.One criticism: Forsyth is overly fond of including minute detail about his subject matter -- things such as weaponry, the inner workings of intelligence and military organizations etc. This speaks well of his diligence in research and adds realism, but it makes some of his books unnecessarily lengthy and this is one of them.
—Jim Puskas
