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A LIT FUSE
"I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change. Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain". “Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name, Ah, what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game.” – Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil
"Do Evil And Evil Will Come Back To You".- Russian Proverb.
“Death is the only victor”. - Josef Stalin.
“This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. History is moving pretty quickly these days A LIT FUSE
"I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change. Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain". “Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name, Ah, what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game.” – Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil
"Do Evil And Evil Will Come Back To You".- Russian Proverb.
“Death is the only victor”. - Josef Stalin.
“This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts”. - Ian Fleming.
With 2016 coming to a close, it’s quite safe to say the world has gone through significant changes. Political extremism is popular in the West, centre left and right politicians are being cut down with an electoral maxim gun and the current world order looks like it is rolling down the road to being either shaken up or blown up before the current decade is out. That being said, all this shock, surprise and jaw dropping suspense that has occurred this year, has provided outstanding material for thriller fiction, in particular thriller novels involving plots ripped from the headlines. In this chaotic, world where the order of the day seems to be secure one second and teetering on the edge the next, there’s enough inspiration and issues for writers to write about and readers like me to greedily devour. In short, the genre, after the mid – life crisis of the 1990’s Cold War Conclusion and the stagnation of the last decade, is in its strongest position since the first act of the Cold War.
Change is good – usually. Sometimes, the world changes for the worse, but there is always the opportunity for things to change for the better. The only certainty in this world is that nothing lasts forever. But there are some people in this world who don’t like change which do not suit them. These people usually aren’t mere mortals like you and me. Sometimes they have the power to try shape the world and are willing to use that power to try destroy changes they do not like. But throughout history and in thriller fiction, we all know that the trying to change the world this way, has its costs, usually paid in the spilled blood of those who get in the way of such nefarious schemes.
This theme of the costs of meddling in global geopolitics is the centrepiece of “Active Measures (Part 1)”, the first book in a trilogy of novels by Matt Fulton. Mr Fulton, an independently published novelist was influenced by the grand epics of Clancy and has sought to bring back some of the scope and ambition of those classics with his work. The story he’s written centres around a topic that has become rare in spy fiction. Namely, the end of the world as we know it. Bringing about the apocalypse is one of the most mocked nefarious schemes in the genre. Not many people except the most mentally unhinged or fanatical would sign up to such an undertaking. Plus, half a dozen nation states that control large intelligence services and Special Forces units would be on hand to nail whoever was crazy enough to attempt the undertaking. Mr Fulton however, has taken his shot at giving this trope back the teeth and claws it once possessed when capitalists and communists were pointing ICBM rockets at each other. Did he succeed? Well he’s accomplished the first leg of that journey. Now to the review. What happens when man plans and God laughs?
The novel begins by taking us back in time. It’s 1990 and the Cold War has come to an end. The GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service sees the writing on the wall but with world Socialist revolution dead, wishes to hide an ace up Russia’s sleeve which it can use to shape global geopolitics at another date. SPETSNAZ GRU is assigned to do one final job on continental Europe, burry a small yield tactical nuclear device in a region’s centre to be picked up at a later date. We then cut to what could be considered an alternate history version of 2016. A CIA officer by the name of Jack Galloway gets busy evading Iranian secret police. His boss is introduced going through paperwork back at Langley. And in sunny Beirut Lebanon, we’re introduced to Ibrahim Al Din. Al Din is essentially the alternate universe version of Imad Mugyneh, the terror of Beirut who in the 1980’s dealt the CIA its greatest humiliation with the horrific murder of Beirut Station Chief Bill Buckley and the annihilation of untold numbers of asset networks.
In this book, Imad or Al Din, did not get his head lopped off by a Mossad car bomb in Damascus. Instead, Al Din survived to witness the Arab Spring, the upheavals of the Syrian Civil war, and his own ouster from the Hezbollah leadership by those who turned Hezbollah into Iran’s army on the ground in Syria. Down, but not out, Al Din waits, knowing that his moment will come. We are then introduced to other players. The two most important are Andrei Minin Chief of staff for Russia’s government who makes an alliance with one of Russia’s wealthiest Oligarchs to stop the Rodinia from going down the road to hell its president has set the nation on, and Saeed Mofidi, the military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, and a man concerned with the upcoming power struggle with his boss in ill – health. Saeed also has another life that of acting as the highest placed Iranian CIA asset. We then get some background information on an event which is causing many of the characters headaches.
The end of the Syrian Civil War and the rise of a Pro Western Friendly government. Such a development is deemed problematic by the Russians and a nightmare by the Iranians who have lost their only true friend. The change also presents an opportunity for a group of Russians led by the director general of the GRU. They agree to the particulars of a conspiracy that one way or another will put them in the history books. On a dark and stormy night, the Tsar of New Russia and his ministers’ fall from the heavens, their plane sabotaged to perfection. Across the world, Al Din receives a visitor, a man with no country or allegiances. A servant of death, by the name of David Kazaroff. Kazaroff is an agent provocateur paid by the GRU to violently shape geopolitics through creating chaos. He makes Al Din a deal, one which the terrorist accepts with fateful consequences for the world around them. From the Bekka Valley of Lebanon to Austria’s blizzard bombarded forests and the slums of Paris, as the infernal devices that will end the world are put in place and made ready to fire, only one question remains. When the world falls, will there be anything to catch it?
In terms of plot, Active Measures, is beautifully constructed, intricate, complex and cerebral. This book is a rare slow burner, in a world where many authors are falling over themselves to rip off the race against the clock Jack Bauer type plot. By being willing to try defy the trend, Matt Fulton is able to give his books their own distinctive identity. The story of Active Measures Part 1 is that of the calm before the storm and the events that lead to the calm crumbling from the pressure it is put under. Like most thrillers in the genre, it touches on issues we see in the news namely conflict. The plot is a snapshot of the world as it is rather than what we desire it to be. A faction of thriller novelists prefer the wish fulfilment type approach where the bad guy gets his head shot off and the day is saved. I however, prefer authors who acknowledge reality with the wish fulfilment or set fire to the latter and throw it out of a helicopter hovering at maximum altitude. Mr Fulton’s book is in the second category. There are no clean solutions which make everyone happy. Politicians can be careless with information. Spies can be outwitted by factors beyond their control. Special Forces soldiers are not bullet proof. Ideas which we see as mad one day can become popular the next. I believe the author like his fellow indie published writers like Peter Nealen and Stephen England do their readers and the genre a great service by following this approach. Their books are more unpredictable, more enlightening and all the better for it. This can be seen in the themes Active Measures focuses on. I mentioned early on about how it explores the costs of shaping geopolitics that the public will never appreciate or know about. People have died for the world to change throughout history. From dropping the atomic bombs on Japan to destabilizing the human rights abusing USSR, Mr Fulton through his book, will hopefully make its readers more appreciative of those who have the burden of making the decisions that determine whether people live and die.
Next, the action and setting. Being a classic, Clancy type epic, Active Measures PART 1 is a globe-trotting extravaganza. The usual halls of power in the West and East are featured, but there are quite a few highlights that haven’t gotten a lot of attention in contemporary spy fiction. From Israel’s primary SIGINT listening post on the snowy mountains bordering Syria, to the legendary drug fields and estates of the Bekka Valley, we also get a fly on the wall look inside the offices of Hezbollah. Centred in the middle of a suburb teaming with their militants, the Security quarter is a network of converted apartment buildings fortified with relatively sophisticated security systems. As for the action, Active Measures Part 1 doesn’t emphasize that too much. It is building a fictional universe and getting all the pieces aligned on the board before sending them on a collision course with each other. That’s not to say the author neglects the action however. He knows when to perfectly punctuate the plot with acts of large scale or intimately brutal violence. From the political assassination that sets the plot rolling into high gear, to an assault on a cargo ship in the Arabian Gulf, one of the most spectacular set pieces is the extraction of a potential asset by the Mossad and attempts by Hezbollah to stop said asset’s getaway with colossal property damage ensuring across the length of Rafic Hariri airport.
Now to research, and boy do we have a big one. Active Measures Part 1 is lovingly researched to an at times worrying degree. I’ve mentioned the impressive fly on the wall portrayal of the Hezbollah head office but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. From seaborne interdiction and boarding tactics to the spot on portrayal of cutthroat life of Russia’s rich and tyrannical, Active Measures goes into the places where other thriller writers miss, enhancing the narrative and creating an epic, sweeping feel. We even get some impressive hardware featuring in this book, particularly the Club K Missile Battery, a 4 shot launcher disguised as a container crate. They fall into the hands of Al – Din at one point and are modified with something that will be important in the next book. One of the primary highlights however is the dispassionate portrayal of contemporary espionage. In this book, the spying devoid of most Bond – like trappings and is focused on the tension, thrills and danger that is part the course of intelligence gathering. Its focus on the shadow army that does this seemingly insignificant yet vital task for nation states. From the case officers who have to cultivate, get to know and sometimes send assets to their deaths, to the lethargy that can prevent useful intel from being acted upon, Mr Fulton’s serious portrayal of espionage shows that a writer does not need a Tom Ford attired gunslinger to provide tension and thrills.
Next, the characters. Quite a few standouts and some who are set to be standouts with more character development. I’ll focus on three as is my usual practise. The first is Saeed Mofidi, the highest placed CIA asset in Iran. Once a loyal servant of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the revolution he had served repaid him by taking the people he treasured away from him. As a result, Saeed, no longer afraid of death decided to get even or die trying. Mofidi is one of the most sympathetic characters in the story and has a highly relatable plot line which will make you cheer for him. He’s a guy who loathes extremes and chaffs at the regime around him which seeks to embrace the very worst of such ideas even to the detriment of the people of Iran. His arc is particularly interesting with him recognizing the signs of a configuration and doing what he can to halt the slide, even if such efforts ultimately come to naught.
Then, we have Nina Davenport. She’s a CIA case officer assigned to station Beirut. A competent professional, but one who is assigned the Herculean task of rebuilding the Lebanese asset networks destroyed by Hezbollah. Along the way, she also discovers one of the most dangerous terrorists who ever lived is still alive, and is forced to fight an uphill battle in trying to gather evidence that he exists and is planning an attack that would devastate the region. Her arc is that of the Cassandra. She sees the truth, but no one can hear or wish to listen to her, especially with a station chief that has his head stuck in the sand. This challenge forces Davenport to raise her game, testing her abilities to the limits and at times forcing her to suffer the sort of experiences most intelligence officers pray they never have to encounter in their line of work.
Finally, we have the scene stealer and one of the most terrifying bad guys ever to hit 21st century spy fiction. That statement is not an exaggeration, I mean every word of it. Meet the agent provocateur, the servant of death, citizen of the world, Mr David Kazaroff. If Anton Chigurh or Raoul Silva had long lost cousins, Kazaroff would probably be that guy. Kazaroff however, has a much bigger stage than Chigurh ever did and grander ambitions than Silva. A deniable asset who provides a hidden paramilitary capability for Russia’s intelligence community, David fulfils a role similar to Oliver North and the rumoured SVR hitman “Igor”. He’s been given a budget Fleming’s 00 section would be envious of and been told to use it to complete the most morbid bucket list ever compiled, namely by setting a chunk of the world on fire. And armed with the black budget and the cream of SPETSNAZ GRU, Kazaroff sets about doing just that. He’s the non – state actor to end all non – state actors, a man with a chillingly logical plan and the intelligence to carry it out. The man himself is also unique due to suffering from galaxy sized nihilism. Life, humanity and existing are irrelevant to him, and he sees such things as a curse on humanity that he alone can solve by bringing the world to its end. Apart from being a master manipulator that would make Machiavelli wince with horror, Kazaroff also has a party piece that must be seen to be believed. At one point in the story, he manages to talk a man to death. How he does it is one of the highlights of the story with Mr Fulton turning a scene that could have devolved into farce, into an awe inspiring tour de force that would be justification alone to make a hypothetical film version of Active Measures.
Now to constructive suggestions. For the next book, I’d advise the author to be mindful of the pacing. This can be done through several methods like a good opening hook and perhaps increased action scenes and deaths. Secondly, the author needs to consider what is necessary and unnecessary in the editing process. Research is perfectly acceptable and eliminating the quiet moments where plots and plans are made is unacceptable but deciding where and when to cut something out would allow the chance to free up word space for another hook to hold the readers interests or allow plot progression or character development. Basically, just be mindful of the pacing and for Active Measures Part 2, try to find ways to speed it up a little bit more.
So, Active Measures, my verdict is this. Want to take a break from the government assassin type of story. Wishing that there was a writer in the genre willing dare? Active Measures Part 1 is the answer to those calls. The opening shot of what looks to be potentially one of the most ambitious undertakings in spy/geopolitical fiction that has been seen this century, it’s a rare, well written thinking’s man’s geopolitical thriller. Grander than Forsyth or LeCarre but not blinding its readers to the realities of the increasingly cruel world we live in like some of the later Clancy books. Part 1 is the lit fuse, a realistic look at how men unwilling to face changes that could destroy them and their legacies can unwittingly cause an intricate stack of geopolitical dominoes to begin crashing down. Packed with a cast of compelling characters and examining in great detail an issue that most thrillers haven’t explored, Author Matt Fulton has created something that will put him in the pantheon of top tier novelists that have rode the indie publishing wave. With the lit fuse burning down, all that is left to wait is for the big bang that will be heard around the world. And when that moment comes with the release of Part 2, I’ll be ready to fan the flames.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ...more
"I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change. Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain". “Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name, Ah, what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game.” – Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil
"Do Evil And Evil Will Come Back To You".- Russian Proverb.
“Death is the only victor”. - Josef Stalin.
“This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. History is moving pretty quickly these days A LIT FUSE
"I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change. Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain". “Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name, Ah, what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game.” – Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil
"Do Evil And Evil Will Come Back To You".- Russian Proverb.
“Death is the only victor”. - Josef Stalin.
“This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts”. - Ian Fleming.
With 2016 coming to a close, it’s quite safe to say the world has gone through significant changes. Political extremism is popular in the West, centre left and right politicians are being cut down with an electoral maxim gun and the current world order looks like it is rolling down the road to being either shaken up or blown up before the current decade is out. That being said, all this shock, surprise and jaw dropping suspense that has occurred this year, has provided outstanding material for thriller fiction, in particular thriller novels involving plots ripped from the headlines. In this chaotic, world where the order of the day seems to be secure one second and teetering on the edge the next, there’s enough inspiration and issues for writers to write about and readers like me to greedily devour. In short, the genre, after the mid – life crisis of the 1990’s Cold War Conclusion and the stagnation of the last decade, is in its strongest position since the first act of the Cold War.
Change is good – usually. Sometimes, the world changes for the worse, but there is always the opportunity for things to change for the better. The only certainty in this world is that nothing lasts forever. But there are some people in this world who don’t like change which do not suit them. These people usually aren’t mere mortals like you and me. Sometimes they have the power to try shape the world and are willing to use that power to try destroy changes they do not like. But throughout history and in thriller fiction, we all know that the trying to change the world this way, has its costs, usually paid in the spilled blood of those who get in the way of such nefarious schemes.
This theme of the costs of meddling in global geopolitics is the centrepiece of “Active Measures (Part 1)”, the first book in a trilogy of novels by Matt Fulton. Mr Fulton, an independently published novelist was influenced by the grand epics of Clancy and has sought to bring back some of the scope and ambition of those classics with his work. The story he’s written centres around a topic that has become rare in spy fiction. Namely, the end of the world as we know it. Bringing about the apocalypse is one of the most mocked nefarious schemes in the genre. Not many people except the most mentally unhinged or fanatical would sign up to such an undertaking. Plus, half a dozen nation states that control large intelligence services and Special Forces units would be on hand to nail whoever was crazy enough to attempt the undertaking. Mr Fulton however, has taken his shot at giving this trope back the teeth and claws it once possessed when capitalists and communists were pointing ICBM rockets at each other. Did he succeed? Well he’s accomplished the first leg of that journey. Now to the review. What happens when man plans and God laughs?
The novel begins by taking us back in time. It’s 1990 and the Cold War has come to an end. The GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service sees the writing on the wall but with world Socialist revolution dead, wishes to hide an ace up Russia’s sleeve which it can use to shape global geopolitics at another date. SPETSNAZ GRU is assigned to do one final job on continental Europe, burry a small yield tactical nuclear device in a region’s centre to be picked up at a later date. We then cut to what could be considered an alternate history version of 2016. A CIA officer by the name of Jack Galloway gets busy evading Iranian secret police. His boss is introduced going through paperwork back at Langley. And in sunny Beirut Lebanon, we’re introduced to Ibrahim Al Din. Al Din is essentially the alternate universe version of Imad Mugyneh, the terror of Beirut who in the 1980’s dealt the CIA its greatest humiliation with the horrific murder of Beirut Station Chief Bill Buckley and the annihilation of untold numbers of asset networks.
In this book, Imad or Al Din, did not get his head lopped off by a Mossad car bomb in Damascus. Instead, Al Din survived to witness the Arab Spring, the upheavals of the Syrian Civil war, and his own ouster from the Hezbollah leadership by those who turned Hezbollah into Iran’s army on the ground in Syria. Down, but not out, Al Din waits, knowing that his moment will come. We are then introduced to other players. The two most important are Andrei Minin Chief of staff for Russia’s government who makes an alliance with one of Russia’s wealthiest Oligarchs to stop the Rodinia from going down the road to hell its president has set the nation on, and Saeed Mofidi, the military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, and a man concerned with the upcoming power struggle with his boss in ill – health. Saeed also has another life that of acting as the highest placed Iranian CIA asset. We then get some background information on an event which is causing many of the characters headaches.
The end of the Syrian Civil War and the rise of a Pro Western Friendly government. Such a development is deemed problematic by the Russians and a nightmare by the Iranians who have lost their only true friend. The change also presents an opportunity for a group of Russians led by the director general of the GRU. They agree to the particulars of a conspiracy that one way or another will put them in the history books. On a dark and stormy night, the Tsar of New Russia and his ministers’ fall from the heavens, their plane sabotaged to perfection. Across the world, Al Din receives a visitor, a man with no country or allegiances. A servant of death, by the name of David Kazaroff. Kazaroff is an agent provocateur paid by the GRU to violently shape geopolitics through creating chaos. He makes Al Din a deal, one which the terrorist accepts with fateful consequences for the world around them. From the Bekka Valley of Lebanon to Austria’s blizzard bombarded forests and the slums of Paris, as the infernal devices that will end the world are put in place and made ready to fire, only one question remains. When the world falls, will there be anything to catch it?
In terms of plot, Active Measures, is beautifully constructed, intricate, complex and cerebral. This book is a rare slow burner, in a world where many authors are falling over themselves to rip off the race against the clock Jack Bauer type plot. By being willing to try defy the trend, Matt Fulton is able to give his books their own distinctive identity. The story of Active Measures Part 1 is that of the calm before the storm and the events that lead to the calm crumbling from the pressure it is put under. Like most thrillers in the genre, it touches on issues we see in the news namely conflict. The plot is a snapshot of the world as it is rather than what we desire it to be. A faction of thriller novelists prefer the wish fulfilment type approach where the bad guy gets his head shot off and the day is saved. I however, prefer authors who acknowledge reality with the wish fulfilment or set fire to the latter and throw it out of a helicopter hovering at maximum altitude. Mr Fulton’s book is in the second category. There are no clean solutions which make everyone happy. Politicians can be careless with information. Spies can be outwitted by factors beyond their control. Special Forces soldiers are not bullet proof. Ideas which we see as mad one day can become popular the next. I believe the author like his fellow indie published writers like Peter Nealen and Stephen England do their readers and the genre a great service by following this approach. Their books are more unpredictable, more enlightening and all the better for it. This can be seen in the themes Active Measures focuses on. I mentioned early on about how it explores the costs of shaping geopolitics that the public will never appreciate or know about. People have died for the world to change throughout history. From dropping the atomic bombs on Japan to destabilizing the human rights abusing USSR, Mr Fulton through his book, will hopefully make its readers more appreciative of those who have the burden of making the decisions that determine whether people live and die.
Next, the action and setting. Being a classic, Clancy type epic, Active Measures PART 1 is a globe-trotting extravaganza. The usual halls of power in the West and East are featured, but there are quite a few highlights that haven’t gotten a lot of attention in contemporary spy fiction. From Israel’s primary SIGINT listening post on the snowy mountains bordering Syria, to the legendary drug fields and estates of the Bekka Valley, we also get a fly on the wall look inside the offices of Hezbollah. Centred in the middle of a suburb teaming with their militants, the Security quarter is a network of converted apartment buildings fortified with relatively sophisticated security systems. As for the action, Active Measures Part 1 doesn’t emphasize that too much. It is building a fictional universe and getting all the pieces aligned on the board before sending them on a collision course with each other. That’s not to say the author neglects the action however. He knows when to perfectly punctuate the plot with acts of large scale or intimately brutal violence. From the political assassination that sets the plot rolling into high gear, to an assault on a cargo ship in the Arabian Gulf, one of the most spectacular set pieces is the extraction of a potential asset by the Mossad and attempts by Hezbollah to stop said asset’s getaway with colossal property damage ensuring across the length of Rafic Hariri airport.
Now to research, and boy do we have a big one. Active Measures Part 1 is lovingly researched to an at times worrying degree. I’ve mentioned the impressive fly on the wall portrayal of the Hezbollah head office but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. From seaborne interdiction and boarding tactics to the spot on portrayal of cutthroat life of Russia’s rich and tyrannical, Active Measures goes into the places where other thriller writers miss, enhancing the narrative and creating an epic, sweeping feel. We even get some impressive hardware featuring in this book, particularly the Club K Missile Battery, a 4 shot launcher disguised as a container crate. They fall into the hands of Al – Din at one point and are modified with something that will be important in the next book. One of the primary highlights however is the dispassionate portrayal of contemporary espionage. In this book, the spying devoid of most Bond – like trappings and is focused on the tension, thrills and danger that is part the course of intelligence gathering. Its focus on the shadow army that does this seemingly insignificant yet vital task for nation states. From the case officers who have to cultivate, get to know and sometimes send assets to their deaths, to the lethargy that can prevent useful intel from being acted upon, Mr Fulton’s serious portrayal of espionage shows that a writer does not need a Tom Ford attired gunslinger to provide tension and thrills.
Next, the characters. Quite a few standouts and some who are set to be standouts with more character development. I’ll focus on three as is my usual practise. The first is Saeed Mofidi, the highest placed CIA asset in Iran. Once a loyal servant of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the revolution he had served repaid him by taking the people he treasured away from him. As a result, Saeed, no longer afraid of death decided to get even or die trying. Mofidi is one of the most sympathetic characters in the story and has a highly relatable plot line which will make you cheer for him. He’s a guy who loathes extremes and chaffs at the regime around him which seeks to embrace the very worst of such ideas even to the detriment of the people of Iran. His arc is particularly interesting with him recognizing the signs of a configuration and doing what he can to halt the slide, even if such efforts ultimately come to naught.
Then, we have Nina Davenport. She’s a CIA case officer assigned to station Beirut. A competent professional, but one who is assigned the Herculean task of rebuilding the Lebanese asset networks destroyed by Hezbollah. Along the way, she also discovers one of the most dangerous terrorists who ever lived is still alive, and is forced to fight an uphill battle in trying to gather evidence that he exists and is planning an attack that would devastate the region. Her arc is that of the Cassandra. She sees the truth, but no one can hear or wish to listen to her, especially with a station chief that has his head stuck in the sand. This challenge forces Davenport to raise her game, testing her abilities to the limits and at times forcing her to suffer the sort of experiences most intelligence officers pray they never have to encounter in their line of work.
Finally, we have the scene stealer and one of the most terrifying bad guys ever to hit 21st century spy fiction. That statement is not an exaggeration, I mean every word of it. Meet the agent provocateur, the servant of death, citizen of the world, Mr David Kazaroff. If Anton Chigurh or Raoul Silva had long lost cousins, Kazaroff would probably be that guy. Kazaroff however, has a much bigger stage than Chigurh ever did and grander ambitions than Silva. A deniable asset who provides a hidden paramilitary capability for Russia’s intelligence community, David fulfils a role similar to Oliver North and the rumoured SVR hitman “Igor”. He’s been given a budget Fleming’s 00 section would be envious of and been told to use it to complete the most morbid bucket list ever compiled, namely by setting a chunk of the world on fire. And armed with the black budget and the cream of SPETSNAZ GRU, Kazaroff sets about doing just that. He’s the non – state actor to end all non – state actors, a man with a chillingly logical plan and the intelligence to carry it out. The man himself is also unique due to suffering from galaxy sized nihilism. Life, humanity and existing are irrelevant to him, and he sees such things as a curse on humanity that he alone can solve by bringing the world to its end. Apart from being a master manipulator that would make Machiavelli wince with horror, Kazaroff also has a party piece that must be seen to be believed. At one point in the story, he manages to talk a man to death. How he does it is one of the highlights of the story with Mr Fulton turning a scene that could have devolved into farce, into an awe inspiring tour de force that would be justification alone to make a hypothetical film version of Active Measures.
Now to constructive suggestions. For the next book, I’d advise the author to be mindful of the pacing. This can be done through several methods like a good opening hook and perhaps increased action scenes and deaths. Secondly, the author needs to consider what is necessary and unnecessary in the editing process. Research is perfectly acceptable and eliminating the quiet moments where plots and plans are made is unacceptable but deciding where and when to cut something out would allow the chance to free up word space for another hook to hold the readers interests or allow plot progression or character development. Basically, just be mindful of the pacing and for Active Measures Part 2, try to find ways to speed it up a little bit more.
So, Active Measures, my verdict is this. Want to take a break from the government assassin type of story. Wishing that there was a writer in the genre willing dare? Active Measures Part 1 is the answer to those calls. The opening shot of what looks to be potentially one of the most ambitious undertakings in spy/geopolitical fiction that has been seen this century, it’s a rare, well written thinking’s man’s geopolitical thriller. Grander than Forsyth or LeCarre but not blinding its readers to the realities of the increasingly cruel world we live in like some of the later Clancy books. Part 1 is the lit fuse, a realistic look at how men unwilling to face changes that could destroy them and their legacies can unwittingly cause an intricate stack of geopolitical dominoes to begin crashing down. Packed with a cast of compelling characters and examining in great detail an issue that most thrillers haven’t explored, Author Matt Fulton has created something that will put him in the pantheon of top tier novelists that have rode the indie publishing wave. With the lit fuse burning down, all that is left to wait is for the big bang that will be heard around the world. And when that moment comes with the release of Part 2, I’ll be ready to fan the flames.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ...more
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· see review
What is to be done? – Old Russian Saying
This is just the beginning – Ryan Freeman D/CIA
Where to start? Probably at the beginning. The synopsis and the massive page-count of Matt Fulton’s debut thriller intrigued me right away, so I reached out to him and struck a deal: A copy of his novel for an honest review.
After finishing Part 1 of the Active Measures trilogy, I have to say it was probably the best deal of my life, because it easily ranks in the top 10 of my favorite thrillers of all time!
S What is to be done? – Old Russian Saying
This is just the beginning – Ryan Freeman D/CIA
Where to start? Probably at the beginning. The synopsis and the massive page-count of Matt Fulton’s debut thriller intrigued me right away, so I reached out to him and struck a deal: A copy of his novel for an honest review.
After finishing Part 1 of the Active Measures trilogy, I have to say it was probably the best deal of my life, because it easily ranks in the top 10 of my favorite thrillers of all time!
Seamlessly intervening a decade-spanning, multi-layered story of epic proportions with grounded emotional character drama, that is quite unique in the genre and stays with you long after the last page, Matt Fulton sends you on a blistering and tightly-plotted rollercoaster right from the epicenter of political power in Washington D.C. over the slumps of Beirut and the streets of Teheran to the halls of the Kremlin, with twists, thrills and death lurking around every corner!
The first standout is the author’s meticulous research. In its attention to detail, It rivals that of the late Tom Clancy. No matter if he describes the inner workings of the intelligence community and of the Beltway in D.C., English architecture, the complex realities of the Middle East or even the built of a nuclear weapon, it is clear that Fulton went to painstaking lengths to get even the most complex, technical details right and deliver an authentic portrayal of the different organizations, countries and cultures, featured in his story! And the fact that the author didn’t have the luxury of “inside sources” to help him with his research, but had to rely solely on open-source material, makes this achievement even more remarkable. Also worth mentioning; Fulton had no editor, his German teacher proof-read the whole book. And since it is one of the best-edited indie thrillers out there, I can only congratulate him to a fantastic job!
The book’s next big trump is its sheer amount of different plotlines! It touches on many different, very relevant geopolitical topics of today’s time – Iran, Russia, international terrorism – without over simplifying them. There are no easy answers given to comfort readers or push sales. On the contrary; “Active Measures” does the complex, political landscape of the post 9/11 world justice by showing that the many different ethnics and cultures surrounding the Middle East in addition to the fractured semblance of peace between East and West, inevitably foster conflict and chaos in some regions and that, despite the vast resources of the western intelligence and military community, a few sharp-minded conspirators positioned at the right places can be enough to ignite the fuse and drag the world to the abyss.
But every great story also needs multidimensional, flawed and ultimately likeable characters the reader can root for, and Matt Fulton has created a vast cast of diverse characters, that includes some pretty unique ones, who come with their own share of emotional baggage.
First there is Jack Galloways, a troubled young CIA operative stationed in Teheran. He is very good at his job, but his private life is next to none existent and he feels utterly alone in the world. He inhabits one of the most powerful scenes of the novel, where he has to confront death almost in a metaphysical way. And because of the tragic loss he suffered as a child, Jack reminded me of Harry Potter (in a good way!)
Now if Jack is the Harry Potter of this story, Ryan Freeman kind of represents a flawed, more down-to-earth version of Albus Dumbledore. The newly appointed CIA Director is the kind of mild-mannered, sharp-minded hands-on man you immediately root for! His shared history with Jack is intriguing and I can’t wait to dive deeper into it in the next book!
Next comes Nina Davenport, a brilliant case officer recently transferred to CIA station Beirut. Drowning herself in work to forget about old mistakes, Nina has to fight turf wars and overcome ignorant bureaucrats in a desperate race to convince the intelligence community of the threat posed by a phantom. She is the kind of person who gets the job done, no matter what prize she has to pay personally. I hope there are many people like her out there!
The last of our heroes is Robert Harris a happily married Seal with an autistic son and a heart of gold. He is the antithesis to the cliché of the rough, hard-boiled soldier and a prime example of Matt Fulton’s ability to break free from the tropes of the genre and crate some pretty big emotional payoff moments in the process!
But all heroes are just as good as the villain they are pitted against, and David Kazanoff is a formidable foe indeed! Wherever he walks dread spreads like a disease and death follows in his wake. But Fulton manages to give him a few unique touches as well that make him much more compelling and authentic than your typical “devil’s advocate”.
There are many more great characters, which I plan to discuss in future reviews of Part 2&3 of Fulton’s trilogy.
Finally “Active Measures Part 1” offers one of the most terrific, emotional and shocking scenes, which I have read in the genre so far! Namely two young refugees manipulated into conducting a suicide attack. They are siblings. And the younger one’s heart isn’t into the mission. So he tries to persuade his older brother to abandon the attack. Now in 99% of the conventional thrillers the young boy would probably succeed, leading to the attack failing at the last minute and to the saving of many innocent lives. But here quite the opposite happens… And that really got to me, because this way the ending felt so much more earned and true to the characters and the story as a whole.
So have I any constructive criticism? Hardly! Some may claim that Fulton’s descriptions are sometimes a little too detailed and while I wouldn’t totally disagree with that, I think that the in-depth descriptions of places, cultures and military tactics only add to the authentic feel of the story. Oh and people who don’t like serialized story-arcs probably won’t appreciate the ending, but they have been fairly warned by the author. After all this is the first part of a trilogy!
So the bottom line is: If you are into dark, unrelenting thrillers from the likes of Stephen England and JT Patten, if you enjoy the extensive, technical detail of a Tom Clancy novel or if you just loved the epicness of “I Am Pilgrim”, you are going to devour “Active Measures” by Matt Fulton!
...more
This is just the beginning – Ryan Freeman D/CIA
Where to start? Probably at the beginning. The synopsis and the massive page-count of Matt Fulton’s debut thriller intrigued me right away, so I reached out to him and struck a deal: A copy of his novel for an honest review.
After finishing Part 1 of the Active Measures trilogy, I have to say it was probably the best deal of my life, because it easily ranks in the top 10 of my favorite thrillers of all time!
S What is to be done? – Old Russian Saying
This is just the beginning – Ryan Freeman D/CIA
Where to start? Probably at the beginning. The synopsis and the massive page-count of Matt Fulton’s debut thriller intrigued me right away, so I reached out to him and struck a deal: A copy of his novel for an honest review.
After finishing Part 1 of the Active Measures trilogy, I have to say it was probably the best deal of my life, because it easily ranks in the top 10 of my favorite thrillers of all time!
Seamlessly intervening a decade-spanning, multi-layered story of epic proportions with grounded emotional character drama, that is quite unique in the genre and stays with you long after the last page, Matt Fulton sends you on a blistering and tightly-plotted rollercoaster right from the epicenter of political power in Washington D.C. over the slumps of Beirut and the streets of Teheran to the halls of the Kremlin, with twists, thrills and death lurking around every corner!
The first standout is the author’s meticulous research. In its attention to detail, It rivals that of the late Tom Clancy. No matter if he describes the inner workings of the intelligence community and of the Beltway in D.C., English architecture, the complex realities of the Middle East or even the built of a nuclear weapon, it is clear that Fulton went to painstaking lengths to get even the most complex, technical details right and deliver an authentic portrayal of the different organizations, countries and cultures, featured in his story! And the fact that the author didn’t have the luxury of “inside sources” to help him with his research, but had to rely solely on open-source material, makes this achievement even more remarkable. Also worth mentioning; Fulton had no editor, his German teacher proof-read the whole book. And since it is one of the best-edited indie thrillers out there, I can only congratulate him to a fantastic job!
The book’s next big trump is its sheer amount of different plotlines! It touches on many different, very relevant geopolitical topics of today’s time – Iran, Russia, international terrorism – without over simplifying them. There are no easy answers given to comfort readers or push sales. On the contrary; “Active Measures” does the complex, political landscape of the post 9/11 world justice by showing that the many different ethnics and cultures surrounding the Middle East in addition to the fractured semblance of peace between East and West, inevitably foster conflict and chaos in some regions and that, despite the vast resources of the western intelligence and military community, a few sharp-minded conspirators positioned at the right places can be enough to ignite the fuse and drag the world to the abyss.
But every great story also needs multidimensional, flawed and ultimately likeable characters the reader can root for, and Matt Fulton has created a vast cast of diverse characters, that includes some pretty unique ones, who come with their own share of emotional baggage.
First there is Jack Galloways, a troubled young CIA operative stationed in Teheran. He is very good at his job, but his private life is next to none existent and he feels utterly alone in the world. He inhabits one of the most powerful scenes of the novel, where he has to confront death almost in a metaphysical way. And because of the tragic loss he suffered as a child, Jack reminded me of Harry Potter (in a good way!)
Now if Jack is the Harry Potter of this story, Ryan Freeman kind of represents a flawed, more down-to-earth version of Albus Dumbledore. The newly appointed CIA Director is the kind of mild-mannered, sharp-minded hands-on man you immediately root for! His shared history with Jack is intriguing and I can’t wait to dive deeper into it in the next book!
Next comes Nina Davenport, a brilliant case officer recently transferred to CIA station Beirut. Drowning herself in work to forget about old mistakes, Nina has to fight turf wars and overcome ignorant bureaucrats in a desperate race to convince the intelligence community of the threat posed by a phantom. She is the kind of person who gets the job done, no matter what prize she has to pay personally. I hope there are many people like her out there!
The last of our heroes is Robert Harris a happily married Seal with an autistic son and a heart of gold. He is the antithesis to the cliché of the rough, hard-boiled soldier and a prime example of Matt Fulton’s ability to break free from the tropes of the genre and crate some pretty big emotional payoff moments in the process!
But all heroes are just as good as the villain they are pitted against, and David Kazanoff is a formidable foe indeed! Wherever he walks dread spreads like a disease and death follows in his wake. But Fulton manages to give him a few unique touches as well that make him much more compelling and authentic than your typical “devil’s advocate”.
There are many more great characters, which I plan to discuss in future reviews of Part 2&3 of Fulton’s trilogy.
Finally “Active Measures Part 1” offers one of the most terrific, emotional and shocking scenes, which I have read in the genre so far! Namely two young refugees manipulated into conducting a suicide attack. They are siblings. And the younger one’s heart isn’t into the mission. So he tries to persuade his older brother to abandon the attack. Now in 99% of the conventional thrillers the young boy would probably succeed, leading to the attack failing at the last minute and to the saving of many innocent lives. But here quite the opposite happens… And that really got to me, because this way the ending felt so much more earned and true to the characters and the story as a whole.
So have I any constructive criticism? Hardly! Some may claim that Fulton’s descriptions are sometimes a little too detailed and while I wouldn’t totally disagree with that, I think that the in-depth descriptions of places, cultures and military tactics only add to the authentic feel of the story. Oh and people who don’t like serialized story-arcs probably won’t appreciate the ending, but they have been fairly warned by the author. After all this is the first part of a trilogy!
So the bottom line is: If you are into dark, unrelenting thrillers from the likes of Stephen England and JT Patten, if you enjoy the extensive, technical detail of a Tom Clancy novel or if you just loved the epicness of “I Am Pilgrim”, you are going to devour “Active Measures” by Matt Fulton!
...more
5 likes · Like
· see review
Jul 17, 2016
Matt Fulton
rated it
it was amazing
· (Review from the author)
·
review of another edition
Jul 30, 2016
Danield
marked it as to-read
Aug 12, 2016
Prasanna
marked it as to-read
Aug 17, 2016
Garry Thompson
marked it as to-read
Oct 05, 2016
Darren
marked it as to-read
Oct 30, 2016
Kevyn
marked it as to-read
