Ward
Larsen has a series of novels out involving an Israeli assassin.
The main character, David Slanton, is a Kidon, the most lethal
Israeli assassin ever created. The two books written with
this character, both having “assassin” in the
title, have Slanton pitted against a number of adversaries,
including those in his spy organization.
The first
book, The Perfect Assassin, has Slanton saved by
Dr. Christine Palmer. While sailing across the Atlantic, she
makes an incredible discovery of a man narrowly clinging to
his life in the frigid waters. Eventually she discovers that
the survivor is a highly trained, highly precise, and highly
dangerous assassin. The Kidon is both the hunter and the hunted,
with he and Christine in grave danger, especially after it
is discovered that the ship Slanton was on carried two South
African nuclear weapons that Israel was going to obtain. The
rest of the book has Slanton tromping through England, evading
the authorities, and mapping out a plan to save Christine,
himself, and the nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.
The other
book, Assassin’s Game, begins with Slanton
retired and living a quiet life in the United States. After
his wife escapes an attempted kidnapping, Slanton must return
to his previous life. He now must eliminate a scientist who
has taken Iran to the threshold of its dream, a nuclear-tipped
ballistic missile. The book has Slanton attempting to find
his wife and trying to succeed where previous Mossad agents
have failed, paying the ultimate sacrifice.
The characters
are very well developed, likeable, and complex. Both Christine
and David are independent and very capable. The difference
is that she is naïve about world politics and he knows
all too well how the world reacts to events. A quote in the
book hammers home the point that first and foremost leaders
are politicians by nature and many times are not driven by
right or wrong or doing what is necessary, “Governments
make decisions based on polls.” The author shows how
Slanton understands this, while Christine has to learn it
through her dangerous experiences.
Larsen’s
books have a lot of potential, but he needs to overcome unrealistic
themes. Some of Slanton’s adversaries are those within
his own organization. In the first book, this is somewhat
believable since they are rogue agents, but the second book
has high-ranking officials ordering killings of their own
people. This seems to go against the basic principles of Israel,
that never should any person be left behind to die.
The author
explained, “I tried to imply that the Israelis are a
desperate people. They have an ‘us against the world’
mentality since enemies on all sides surround them. The first
time they lose is the last time. They do what they need to
survive and I just took that to an extreme. I wanted to show
what leaders must go through in making decisions.”
Larsen
gave a heads up about his next Slanton book. As with many
authors, his plot was conceived before the actual event. In
this case it involves a wide body airliner stolen and able
to disappear without anyone finding it. As a former Air Force
pilot, Larsen relies on his past experiences to make this
plot exciting and believable. Slanton is now working as a
sole contractor and joins with the CIA to find the enemies
who have taken the plane for their own profits. Christine
is also back and is put in a position where she must make
choices that increase her understanding to what Slanton must
go through in his decision making process.
Both
assassination books have great characters, and with more believable
premises, Larsen could rival Daniel Silva. However, these
books are an interesting read and readers will find themselves
rooting for the main characters.
As a side note he will be on a panel and will be signing books
at the Veteran’s Benefit Book Fair on November 8th in
San Diego on board the USS Midway.
Reviews
of other titles by this author
The
Perfect Assassin
Fly
by Night
Stealing
Trinity
The
Perfect Assassin / Assassin’s Game
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