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Starred review from October 2, 1996
While for sheer reading excitement Forsyth has yet to top his fiction debut, Day of the Jackal, published a quarter century ago, his later novels (The Fist of God, etc.) display a mature mastery of storytelling melded with a deep knowledge of realpolitik. Here, contemporary Russian crypto-fascists prove every bit as villainous as their Communist predecessors whom Forsyth portrayed in The Fourth Protocol and The Deceiver. It's 1999, and ultra-nationalist Igor Komarov's victory in the upcoming Russian presidential election seems assured. But within Komarov's party headquarters, an elderly janitor accidentally discovers Komarov's secret plans for Russia, laid out in a document that comes to be known as the Black Manifesto--a blueprint for a return to dictatorship, military expansionism and genocidal ethnic cleansing. The manifesto soon comes to the attention of British intelligence, but both they and the CIA are restrained by their governments from taking official action. So with the backing of an organization of international VIPs, former British Secret Service chief Sir Nigel Irvine mounts his own covert operation to subvert Komarov. Ex-CIA operative Jason Monk, who once ran highly placed agents in the Soviet Union, will be Irvine's point man. As usual, Forsyth interweaves speculation with historical fact, stitching his plot pieces with a cogent analysis of both Russian politics and the world of espionage--particularly the legacy of the real-life Aldrich Ames, a Soviet mole who tunneled deep into the CIA. Shifting back and forth in time and space among a large cast of characters, Forsyth expertly builds suspense toward a climactic New Year's Eve skirmish in Moscow. It's another strong performance by a writer who knows exactly what he's about, and who here catalyzes narrative with another memorable protagonist, the stealthy and daring Monk. Major ad/promo; BOMC main selection.

July 1, 1996
A genre master tackles Russia.

March 1, 1997
YA-This complex spy novel opens in the summer of 1999 in a Russia on the brink of economic and political ruin as its elected President dies. Information leaks to the West indicating that his probable successor, Komarov, is a bigot who makes Hitler seem tame. Alternating sections take readers back to 1983 to give necessary background and introduce the hero, Jason Monk, before resuming the primary plot. Monk works for the CIA and has been hired to stop the election of Komarov. Many of his efforts are hampered by Aldrich Ames, a Russian spy who worked in the CIA and eliminated those who might have helped Monk in 1999. The use of actual political leaders and spies makes for an engaging blend of truth and fiction. In spite of the novel's length, Forsyth is adept at reviewing both past events and identifying characters within the plot while providing a good description of the problems of contemporary Russia. Even though readers know that Monk will be successful, the epilogue holds final, creative surprises. An intriguing story of espionage.-Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

September 1, 1996
Eyeing the 2000 election, superpatriot Igor Komarov vows to restore prosperity and national greatness to Russia, a platform sure to elevate him to the presidency. He unwisely commits his secret genocidal political desires to paper, and the document reaches British intelligence. Is the Black Manifesto genuine, and if so, how will Hitler the Second be thwarted? Meanwhile, Komarov's ruthless minion Grishin attempts to retrieve the manifesto, springing a two-pronged plot that proves Forsyth remains a premier crafter of the international cloak-and-dagger thriller. The stop-Komarov conspiracy emanates from retired British Secret Intelligence Service chief Sir Nigel Irvine, stepping in for a timorous government wanting no part of dirty work. Irvine taps ex-CIA folks also out to pasture, and one Jason Monk emerges to infiltrate Moscow and start rumors about the manifesto's existence in an attempt to provoke Komarov. Gaining audiences by deception, Monk shows the document to the Chechens, the Orthodox Patriarch, and a Jewish business leader, all of whom would be consigned to a new gulag should Komarov win. Ensnaring readers in a taut web of disguises and disinformation, Forsyth subtly conceals the truth and the existence of a double agent until the very end, proving that the skillful author still has some satisfying tricks up his sleeve. Sure to be popular. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)

September 1, 1997
A lone agent slips into Russia to stop a tyrannical upstart.

September 1, 1996
It is 1999, and Russia is wracked by inflation, corruption, and widespread unemployment. An interim president sits powerless in the Kremlin awaiting a January election. The assumed new leader is Komarov, who mesmerizes the country with his compelling speeches of a Russia reborn. Suddenly, a secret document penned by Komarov turns up at the U.S. Embassy. "The Black Manifesto" outlines his true plans for a "purified" nation and a return to the terror and ruthlessness of communism. A group of political and economic elder statesmen convene and persuade Jason Monk, a retired CIA spy, to infiltrate the Kremlin and stop Komarov. As compelling and suspenseful as the author's The Day of the Jackal (1971), this novel is Forsyth at his best as he takes Jason Monk through the seething underworld of Moscow with the Kremlin's finest in hot pursuit. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/96.]--Susan Clifford, Palos Verdes Lib. Dist., Rolling Hills Estates, Cal.