The Exile

5 Responses to “The Exile”

1. rsasdr says:

   July 21, 2010 at 1:00 am

   I was really looking forwards to this book. Andrew Britton’s previous novels were supberb thrillers. Excellent writing, which is rare to find in thrillers these days. Strong characters that more than just cardboard cutouts. Fantastic villains. Forceful plotting. Sadly, the leader passed away either writing this novel or before long after completing it. Most likely, the publisher had a name touch up or end the manuscript.

   The storyline and characters are fantastic. The president’s niece, an aide worker, is killed in Darfur. Ex-Special Forces and CIA operator Ryan Kealey is manipulated into coming back into the fold to investigate, and he unravels a conspiracy that reaches back to Washington, DC. A really dark, cynical tale with some appealing characters.

   But the writing and plotting place a lot to be desired. At barely over 300 pages, it’s extremely fleeting for a Britton novel. But the tale itself is much more complex than the previous books. This book reads more like a firt draft and at many chapters, I felt like I was reading more of a detailed outline than a concluded novel. There’s lots of subplots and copious characters, but not sufficient space to fully develope all these different plots and characters. I was left with the feeling that Andrew proposed for there to be a lot more than what this book has.

   It’s not a terrible book and is still better than a lot of additional recent thrillers I’ve read, including Vince Flynn’s last one. If Andrew had been able to place enough time and energy into this novel, I have no doubt I’d be giving it 5 stars. There’s the potential for a really fantastic novel here. I just hope the publisher doesn’t continue to relief sub-par books with Andrew Britton’s name on it.

   If you loved the previous three books, you’ll like this one, but you probably will be a small disapointed.
   Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
2. Carlbarry says:

   July 21, 2010 at 3:53 am

   This is the first book in this series I’ve read so I can’t judge it in comparison to persons that came before it. But I thought it was exciting and very well written with brilliant characters, and like a previous reader I felt it was much better than most additional thrillers on the market today. I will certainly buy the earlier novels by Andrew Britton.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
3. Harriet Klausner says:

   July 21, 2010 at 6:52 am

   In Darfur, the Janjaweed militia attacks a refugee camp where they cruelly kill American nurse Lily Durant. But, Lily is not just another American in the incorrect place at the incorrect time; she was the niece of President David Brenneman.

   Defense Intelligence Agency All-purpose Joel Stralen sees an opportunity to gain an edge over his unit’s prime rival the CIA. He pushes fervently for punishing Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, as he swears to his close friend he has slam dunk information the attack was not random. The vicious dictator ordered the assassination of Lily. CIA Deputy Director Jonathan Harper questions ex- operative Ryan Kealey to investigate before Stralen rushes America to judgment.

   The latest Kealey espionage thriller (see The American, The Assassin and The Invisible) is an exciting action-packed tale in which the DIA and CIA argue merit of a retaliatory strike like Reagan ordered against Gaddafi. Quick-paced, fans of the series will delight in accompanying the hero to Africa and back though the tale line is to some extent sub-genre standard as Kealey once again affirms spying is a team sport, if one wants to take the information and live

   Harriet Klausner
   
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
4. D. W. Theriault says:

   July 21, 2010 at 7:32 am

   I loved this book but it is the last from this leader, as noted not more than:
   
   On March 18, 2008, Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina. He was survived by his mother Annie (Britton) Nice, stepfather Graham Nice, and his two siblings Christopher Vine- Britton and Roxanne Nice. Andrew Vine-Britton is interred in the Veteran’s section of Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
5. Bookreporter.com says:

   July 21, 2010 at 9:32 am

   There has been too long a period of time between the publication of THE INVISIBLE and Andrew Britton’s new book, THE EXILE. As persons familiar with Britton’s work might expect, but, it is well worth the wait. Ryan Kealey, an ex-Special Forces operator and ex- CIA agent, is an outwardly confident, inwardly tortured soul who would rather be left alone. He nonetheless is possessed of a skill set that does not permit that state of being, as THE EXILE so demonstrates.

   Britton’s literary style lends itself wonderfully to the thriller genre. He is an intelligent and sharp writer who is able to pluck minute details out of a huge picture, providing information while evoking emotion. So it is that this book starts with an atrocity so graphically described that it cannot help but fill the reader with outrage. The point event is fiction, of course, yet it is well documented that occurrences of the sort described take place on all-too-regular a frequency. In the case of THE EXILE, Lily Durant, a young woman effective selflessly as a nurse in West Darfur of the Sudan is beaten, raped repeatedly, and murdered. She is deliberately targeted for this unspeakable violence by her attackers, members of a government-backed militia known as Janjaweed, because she is the niece of the President of the United States. The loathsome acts are recorded and distributed to the news media. A result of force is expected — nay, demanded — but the President surprisingly does nothing, at least not immediately. Forces within the U.S. government are at work, though, to avenge the atrocity in the most direct way possible.

   As these events unfold, Kealey, voluntarily separated from the CIA, is doing private security work for Blackwater. Tasked with leading a security team in charge of protecting the President of South Africa, Kealey demonstrates his ability to reflect, shoot and fight on his feet in an extended sequence that makes a James Bond film resemble a passage in a Jane Austen novel. In the aftermath of this event, Kealey is approached by Jonathan Harper, his ex- friend and superior at the CIA. Harper is unconvinced that Durant’s murder was instigated by Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president. Al-Bashir’s crimes are many and well-documented, but Harper is worried that if the United States should retaliate directly against al-Bashir, absent corroborating evidence, it will plunge an already unstable area of the world into total chaos.

   Harper, utilizing an argument that appeals in equal parts to Kealey’s guilt and sense of duty and justice, convinces him to undertake a mission to determine precisely who deliberately set into motion the chain of events that led to Durant’s death and to bring that person to justice. Kealey, one of persons individuals for whom the term “independent contractor” was specifically coined, follows a complex, treacherous trail through a series of exotic locales. But even a jaded figure such as Kealey is surprised by what he eventually finds. His result, though, is anything but surprising. In a conclusion that will practically rock THE EXILE right out of your hands, Kealey attempts to right wrongs and see that justice is served, in Harper’s words, “…to the extent that it can be.”

   Britton’s ever-increasing legion of fans will be well-served by this latest installment in the Kealey canon. The world is a intricate and treacherous place, and Britton, like few others, captures it perfectly for the printed page.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5