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Written by Frederick Forsyth
Narrated by Stephen Lang
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
From the master of the novel of international intrigue comes a riveting new book as timely and unsettling as tomorrow's headlines.
It is summer 1999 in Russia, a country on the threshold of anarchy. An interim president sits powerless in Moscow as his nation is wracked by famine and inflation, crime and corruption, and seething hordes of the unemployed roam the streets.
For the West, Russia is a basket case. But for Igor Komarov, one-time army sergeant who has risen to leadership of the right-wing UPF party, the chaos is made to order. As he waits in the wings for the presidential election of January 2000, his striking voice rings out over the airwaves offering the roiling masses hope at last--not only for law, order, and prosperity, but for restoring the lost greatness of their land.
Who is this man with the golden tongue who is so quickly becoming the promise of a Russia reborn? A document stolen from party headquarters and smuggled to Washington and London sends nightmare chills through those who remember the past, for this Black Manifesto is pure Mein Kampf in a country with frightening parallels to the Germany of the Weimar Republic.
Officially the West can do nothing, but in secret a group of elder statesmen sends the only person who can expose the truth about Komarov into the heart of the inferno. Jason Monk, ex-CIA and "the best damn agent-runner we ever had," had sworn he would never return to Moscow, but one name changes his mind. Colonel Anatoli Grishin, the KGB officer who tortured and murdered four of Monk's agents after they had been betrayed by Aldrich Ames, is now Komarov's head of security.
Monk has a dual mission: to stop Komarov, whatever it takes, and to prepare the way for an icon worthy of the Russian people. But he has a personal mission as well: to settle the final score with Grishin. To do this he must stay alive--and the forces allied against him are ruthless, the time frighteningly short....
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth (b. 1938) is an English author of thrillers. Born in Kent, he joined the Royal Air Force in 1956, becoming one of the youngest pilots to ever fly in Her Majesty’s service. After two years in the RAF, he began working as a journalist. He later turned his journalism skills to writing fiction, and his first novel, The Day of the Jackal (1970), was a great success. Forsyth continued to use real figures and criminal organizations as inspiration, writing popular books like The Odessa File (1972) and The Dogs of War (1974). His most recent novel is The Cobra (2010).
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Reviews for Icon
255 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It has been a _long, long_ time since I read [Day of the Jackal], but Forsyth hasn't lost his touch. Until the very, very end I found it almost plausible--or at least I was willing to put a lid on the box of my unbelief.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The novel is in two parts. The first part deals with a CIA agent who runs spies in Russia and how he looses them. The second part is about the same agent years who years later is recruited to overthrow a fascist Russian leader in democratic Russia. The story is fast paced but lacks the punch and the excitement of a good thriller novel.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was really, really good, but very slow moving. Spy thrillers are a little misnamed for if the spy is a good spy, most of his actions aren't thrilling. This is very much an example of making small, surgical strikes, rather than simply assassinating someone. And I totally missed the gotcha which is easy to do in spy thrillers as people double cross and triple cross. Who is working for who is never clear.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting premise based on authentic historical background. An absorbing story in typical Forsyth style. The enjoyment of the fascinating plot, however, is spoiled by too much unnecessary detail and an overload of characters, allowing insufficient time to develop some of the major players in the storyline.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forsyth has done something amazing here. He has written a Cold War novel, a realistic one, AFTER the Cold War is over. But it is still gripping and exciting and completely believeable.The first half of the novel has an odd structure that I don't really like. It jumps back and forth from the problems in 1999 to the hero's story from the 80s. Because of this, it actually takes about a hundred pages for the book to get off of its feet. I would have much prefered to start talking about 1999, and then let one of the characters tell Monk's history later. I believe that would have drawn in the reader more quickly.Despite that, once the book does get going, it does not let up until the last pages. A very fun novel.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5More good story-telling by Forsyth but I didn't particularly like the premise of a "still corrupt" Russia. If you accept that premise, the idea of a return to monarchy (or at least a reinstatement of the monarchic figurehead of a sovereign Russia) postulated by the story, I'm sure you will enjoy the pace of this book and perhaps be excited by it.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5poor. just about readable, but lacking the suspense and detailed plot that is expected. A decent enough topic but somehow it just doesn't hang togther well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Well read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5very well read. interesting book. not what I was looking for though.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An exciting and interesting look at the 'future' of Russia in 1996. Unfolded like a Bond novel (without the women) but based on some interesting history.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this book by Forsyth. It was epic in scale. And he pulled it off masterfully. The first half of the book is plot set up, which is typical of the author. He's really into details and logistics, so this part of his books often bores some readers. But not me. I like finding out about all of the details that go into an operation. The second half of the book was action packed and I had a hard time putting the book down.The plot revolves around post-Soviet Russia circa 1999. It's falling apart, is broke, its leadership in shambles. Up steps a charismatic leader named Igor Komarov, who's expected to become president in the upcoming election and who vows to return Mother Russia to its glory. However, he's not what he seems to be. He's a Hitler wannabe who is going to practice genocide on Jews, ethnic minorities, the military leadership, etc. And he's got all of his plans written down in a "Black Manifesto," of which there are three copies. One of them is foolishly left on his secretary's desk and an old ex-soldier who now cleans Komarov's headquarters sees it, reads some of it, realizes its importance and steals it. He then gets it to the British embassy, where it works its was back to British intelligence. The document is shared between British and American governments, but they choose to do nothing, so a group of highly influential and secretive world leaders meet to discuss the situation and come up with a solution -- to send in a spy to destabilize Komarov's platform and discredit him, thereby ensuring he loses the election. The person chosen to do this is ex-CIA agent Jason Monk. Monk fights it, but Sir Nigel Irvine (a great character!) convinces him to do it, and so he goes in. When Monk arrives in Moscow, he immediately calls in a favor of a particular Chechen who is head of the Chechen underworld and he gains their support and protection. He then starts making the rounds, contacting the military's leadership, the state police's leader, the head of the Russian Orthadox church, and a major bank president who also presides over the television media. These people, after being confronted with the facts of the Black Manifesto, turn on Komarov and his security chief, Colonel Grishin. Meanwhile, Grishin finds out Monk is in the country and has an old score to settle with him, so he puts his Black Guard troops at work trying to locate him. Monk moves around, and this is a weakness of the book I think, and is almost omniscient in anticipating their moves and making adjustments for himself and his Russian collaborators. Sir Nigel makes it to Russia to meet with the clergy and comes up with the idea of returning Russia to a czar-based country, which is accepted by said clergy. He then comes up with a distant heir to the throne and promotes his return to Russia to take over.When Komarov and Grishin realize their time is almost up, they do something completely crazy -- attempt a New Year's Eve coup in Moscow. But Monk anticipates this and helps prepare the military the the police, so the coup attempt fails and everything works out beautifully. The climactic scene between Grishin and Monk is largely anticlimactic, though, and that was disappointing. It's not Forsyth's best book, but it's an entertaining one, with a lot of research having gone into Russia, their crime scene, politics, etc., and it's certainly worth reading. Monk is a bit too super human to be very believable, but he's a likeable character, so one can overlook that. Recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My third Forsyth read. Detailed with a nice approach to the two times lines (though I admit I got confused at times). Happy to see the main character wasn't an action hero. It felt real and appeared to be well-researched.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In Icon, Russian fascist Igor Komarov is cruising to an apparent victory in the Russian presidential elections. At Komarov’s party headquarters, an elderly janitor finds a secret document that is a blueprint detailing Komarov’s plans to bring Russia back to being a dictatorship, military expansion, and ethnic cleansing. While the British and American governments are reluctant to do anything to stop Komarov, former British secret service chief Sir Nigel Irvine begins a covert operation, using former CIA agent Jason Monk as his point person.This is a solidly written thriller, on par if not better than many offerings by Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum. There is a sufficient amount of action and intrigue. There are some definite believability issues associated with this novel and some plot holes, but overall it was an entertaining read.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Well anybody who likes history and political thrill ,just lap it up