Book Review: Pandora’s Grave

I’m a sucker for a good spy thriller. I blame my dad, honestly, who used to toss his Len Deighton novels my way when he was finished. (I’m probably one of very few people my age who had read the Bourne series before they were a major motion picture – and who knew going into the movie that they were written as cold war novels.) Since then I’ve been hooked on authors like Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. So I was curious when my sister told me about Pandora’s Grave, because it’s an unusual idea to have someone who is, essentially, an assassin also be a Christian. (I know there are plenty of Christians in the military and the like – but you don’t see it written about – so I was intrigued by the idea of what justifying taking someone’s life would translate to when you’re forced to include Christianity. The atheist heroes all struggle with taking life – what would that extra layer do?)

In Pandora’s Grave, we meet Harry Nichols, part of the CIA’s Clandestine Services. He and his team are sent to rescue American archaeologists in Iran after the military takes control of their dig. From there, everything goes from bad to worse. You have all the typical plot points you see in thrillers like this: terrorists, turncoats, teams pushed beyond their limits, etc. But they’re well written and woven together nicely.

I had a few nit picks, though they didn’t impede my enjoyment of the novel too much. First, the story reads like what I imagine a script for 24 would be like. You flit from here to there to somewhere else then back again and for the first 25% of the book (or thereabout, maybe slight more) you’re struggling to keep up and remember who is who and why you should or shouldn’t be rooting for them. Second, the red herrings are so perfect that they’re obviously red herrings…so you really figure out one major plot point pretty early on. That didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the novel at all, and honestly, I think the story might have been better to just go ahead and tell the reader outright who the turncoat is so that you’re not as confused with code names. The other characters still wouldn’t know and that actually would have heightened the reader’s tension (rather than our confusion.) Finally, there were a few things put in that seemed like they should have more of an impact on the storyline, but really, they ended up being extraneous. (The President’s extracurricular activities and Harry’s faith to name two.) Now, perhaps as this is the first in a series those will matter more in future editions, but I wanted some kind of resolution / impact on the story from them in this one.

That said, it’s well written and quite enjoyable – I still give it 4 stars and will be on the lookout for future installments.