While checking to see if I owned a copy of "The Last Raven" by Craig Thomas (I did; see my last blog post for a review) I came across this little gem sitting untouched and unloved on my bookshelf. It was a typical novel of the sort of genre I read avidly in the 1980s and 1990s and it sat there with probably another dozen of the same ilk. I couldn't remember the first thing about it - I probably hadn't read it for fifteen or twenty years - but some distant sub-conscious memory indicated that is was worth pulling out of the shelf and reading again. And so I did.
And it was worth it. Unlike "The Last Raven", I think this novel has stood the test of time. The basic tenet of the story, a defecting Soviet scientist, is obviously anachronistic but the elements of the chase in first the urban environment of Stockholm and then the forests of rural Sweden could have been written today with some other plot device. The chases and the various twists and turns in the plot are well done and well written. This isn't an "SAS is best; outwitting the poor Russians at every turn" type novel; this is more a story of two teams of special forces, one British, one Russian, trying to outwit each other; sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. The characters are believable, they develop throughout the story and, sometimes, they even die.
I enjoyed picking up "That Last Mountain" again. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only Terence Strong book I have ever read but it won't be the last. I see that Strong is still alive, well and writing and that a new novel, "Some Unholy War" is due to be released in July next year. I have it on backorder already. In the meantime, there are another dozen or so Strong novels out there waiting to be read. I'll have a go at a few of them and report back here.
And it was worth it. Unlike "The Last Raven", I think this novel has stood the test of time. The basic tenet of the story, a defecting Soviet scientist, is obviously anachronistic but the elements of the chase in first the urban environment of Stockholm and then the forests of rural Sweden could have been written today with some other plot device. The chases and the various twists and turns in the plot are well done and well written. This isn't an "SAS is best; outwitting the poor Russians at every turn" type novel; this is more a story of two teams of special forces, one British, one Russian, trying to outwit each other; sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. The characters are believable, they develop throughout the story and, sometimes, they even die.
I enjoyed picking up "That Last Mountain" again. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only Terence Strong book I have ever read but it won't be the last. I see that Strong is still alive, well and writing and that a new novel, "Some Unholy War" is due to be released in July next year. I have it on backorder already. In the meantime, there are another dozen or so Strong novels out there waiting to be read. I'll have a go at a few of them and report back here.
Unlike Craig Thomas, most of Terence Strong's novels are still in print. You can pick up paperbacks, including "That Last Mountain", at The Book Depository (just click on the link below) for less than $15 delivered. And don't forget the new novel, "Some Unholy War". This is on pre-release at The Book Depository for $20 (paperback) and $32 (hardback).
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