I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Guardian review of the book proclaims it as “The only thriller you need to read this year”. Perhaps rightfully so. The book is well researched with a highly intense tempo maintained throughout the long- ish storyline (900 + pages … whoa ! )
So while the length might put off many of the nuclear-reading segment of the ebook age (those who like their books short and sharp), the multiple subplots and parallel story-lines inherent in the book make it more like a collection of stories. Among the major tales, there is one on international terrorism, another on a murder mystery, an underlying plot of the memoirs of an ex-spy , among others. Not bad at all, pretty engrossing once we start getting engrossed.
There has been a lot of ground work apparently done by the author on various aspects from the executions in KSA to the life of a spy to the way espionage politics occur between international intelligence groups to the mercilessly consequential yet high frequency of cognitive dissonance in the secret world . Not to mention the very striking operating procedures of an international undercover job, especially when its one to save the free world.
A good book. Though initially a reader might be overwhelmed by its length, there is a terrible feeling of bereavement when the book is finished. Especially after the chest-thumping, action-oriented climax.
Et tu, Ghost-Runner 