So, after starting it what must have been about 6 weeks ago, I finally finished Fist of God last night! After slowly trudging through the first half before and during the Easter holidays I picked it up after returning to uni and got really into it. I absolutely flew through the last third which I think I read in a matter of days.
Had this been a book I had picked up myself, rather than a recommendation from DB I think I would have put it down after the first couple of chapters but I'm so glad I didn't! It was a very rewarding read in the end. The narration is split between varying characters in different states and different ranks, from civilians who work in banks to the highest of the high in the Israeli Mossad.
I had varying theories as to who the mysterious 'Jericho' was (the spy leaking information to the coalition forces throughout the lead up to the war), but was left laughing out loud at the final revelation as I had completely failed to guess correctly.
Not the easiest read in the world, but as this genre and style of writing was completely new to me that is not hugely surprising. Forsyth was definitely in his element in the last third of the book, intertwining the viewpoints and actually getting to the meat of the story. If I had problems with this book they were that there was too much build up to events and too many viewpoints. Some of the narrators of certain points of the book were entirely unnecessary but, in Forsyth's defence, they may have been included to throw people off the scent with regards to 'Jericho'.
Overall a very satisfying read, I felt a sense of achievement when I got to the end of this book, rather than my usual sense of loss at having left a fictional universe. Perhaps not the best book with which to start my foray into recent historical fiction, but I'll definitely look into Forsyth's books again!
7/10
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