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The Depths of Deception
There are only a few good solutions in a world gone mad.
America has disappeared some years ago. A neo-fascist Party has come to power in the UK. Russia has expanded south. Ships leaving continental European waters are attacked. China is on the rise.
A submarine hurtles through the cold dark waters of the Atlantic en route to an unknown destination. Only the ship’s doctor knows its true mission, but he is not who he appears to be. Raised as a perfect assassin by a mysterious organization called the Office, he was once a family man, enjoying a peaceful life in a remote corner of Africa. But when his family is murdered, he must return to his old profession and step on a path of vengeance.
A sweeping tale moving from the violent heart of Apartheid South Africa, to the ruins of the United Kingdom, and down to the edge of the world in the frozen Antarctic landscape, The Depths of Deception is a modern homage to the works of Alastair Maclean, Hammond Innes, Neil Shute and other great adventure writers.
It is a cruel tale of revenge, served as a shatteringly cold dish.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Fraser is a multi-award winning playwright and author. He grew up in South Africa. Penguin Books published his autobiography, dealing with his army experience under Apartheid. His work was nominated for and gradually began winning most of the South African theatre awards. For a decade, both his solo comedy and dramatic works staged by various Arts Councils won awards and broke box office records at the Grahamstown Festival, Africa’s largest Arts Festival.
He relocated to the USA in 2006, and is now a naturalized US citizen. Since arriving, his work has been staged in Wisconsin, Florida, Scotland (in the UK), and in 2009, by Brown University.
America has disappeared some years ago. A neo-fascist Party has come to power in the UK. Russia has expanded south. Ships leaving continental European waters are attacked. China is on the rise.
A submarine hurtles through the cold dark waters of the Atlantic en route to an unknown destination. Only the ship’s doctor knows its true mission, but he is not who he appears to be. Raised as a perfect assassin by a mysterious organization called the Office, he was once a family man, enjoying a peaceful life in a remote corner of Africa. But when his family is murdered, he must return to his old profession and step on a path of vengeance.
A sweeping tale moving from the violent heart of Apartheid South Africa, to the ruins of the United Kingdom, and down to the edge of the world in the frozen Antarctic landscape, The Depths of Deception is a modern homage to the works of Alastair Maclean, Hammond Innes, Neil Shute and other great adventure writers.
It is a cruel tale of revenge, served as a shatteringly cold dish.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Fraser is a multi-award winning playwright and author. He grew up in South Africa. Penguin Books published his autobiography, dealing with his army experience under Apartheid. His work was nominated for and gradually began winning most of the South African theatre awards. For a decade, both his solo comedy and dramatic works staged by various Arts Councils won awards and broke box office records at the Grahamstown Festival, Africa’s largest Arts Festival.
He relocated to the USA in 2006, and is now a naturalized US citizen. Since arriving, his work has been staged in Wisconsin, Florida, Scotland (in the UK), and in 2009, by Brown University.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2011
About the author
Ian Fraser
43 books6 followersIan Fraser is a South African playwright, writer, and comedian, now living in the USA. His memoir, My Own Private Orchestra, published by Penguin Books, was nominated for the CNA Literary Award in 1994.
His plays won a variety of national South African Literary and Theater prizes.
Recently, his plays were produced at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theater in Providence, RI and at Garioch Theatre Festival in the United Kingdom. Fraser was a nationally-syndicated columnist for the Johannesburg daily The Star, and wrote a weekly "Fraser's Razor" column for the Mail and Guardian.
His plays won a variety of national South African Literary and Theater prizes.
Recently, his plays were produced at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theater in Providence, RI and at Garioch Theatre Festival in the United Kingdom. Fraser was a nationally-syndicated columnist for the Johannesburg daily The Star, and wrote a weekly "Fraser's Razor" column for the Mail and Guardian.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 30, 2011
This was a very difficult book for me to read - the author jumps around a bit too much. The hero of the story was also a bit too much for me, a murderer and a wonderman, who is capable of doing anything and everything.
However, what really killed the story for me was the author's South African inserts. These simply aren't true:
* a foreigner just being allowed to go out with the secret police on operations;
* the conspiracy theory around Machel's plane crash involving hackers (in the mid-80s?);
* pirated DVDs, cell phones and game consoles being sold in a South African flea market in 1988;
* farming in Botswana with game having free access to the farm (Botswana is criss-crossed with veterinary fences to prevent game coming into contact with domestic livestock) - the elephants would plunder such a farm on a daily basis;
* the pages on the "nest of snakes" was a bit over the top - snakes are solitary;
* the author has made the hero's family "go native", but they need TV and computers - where does the electricity come from? where does the TV feed come from? more importantly, where does the money come from?
Where I gave up on the story, was when the author takes the hero and his family on an outing into the wilderness area of their farm. The family goes through an exercise of chopping down (and gathering fallen) branches of thorn trees to make an enclosure for an overnight camp. This would require an immense amount of work and trees, especially for the 6-foot high wall mentioned. A total waste of a natural resource. However, the cherry on the top for me was the bit about the family sleeping in trees - really?
Most comments I've seen about this book mention how realistic the author's African scenes are - I can assure you, they are not.
However, what really killed the story for me was the author's South African inserts. These simply aren't true:
* a foreigner just being allowed to go out with the secret police on operations;
* the conspiracy theory around Machel's plane crash involving hackers (in the mid-80s?);
* pirated DVDs, cell phones and game consoles being sold in a South African flea market in 1988;
* farming in Botswana with game having free access to the farm (Botswana is criss-crossed with veterinary fences to prevent game coming into contact with domestic livestock) - the elephants would plunder such a farm on a daily basis;
* the pages on the "nest of snakes" was a bit over the top - snakes are solitary;
* the author has made the hero's family "go native", but they need TV and computers - where does the electricity come from? where does the TV feed come from? more importantly, where does the money come from?
Where I gave up on the story, was when the author takes the hero and his family on an outing into the wilderness area of their farm. The family goes through an exercise of chopping down (and gathering fallen) branches of thorn trees to make an enclosure for an overnight camp. This would require an immense amount of work and trees, especially for the 6-foot high wall mentioned. A total waste of a natural resource. However, the cherry on the top for me was the bit about the family sleeping in trees - really?
Most comments I've seen about this book mention how realistic the author's African scenes are - I can assure you, they are not.
May 26, 2011
The Depths of Deception is a thriller with a revenge plot set in a near-future dystopian world. It has a nonlinear narrative told from the first-person POV of an unnamed assassin. The scenes in the beginning are excellent and I was quickly absorbed by its haunting mood and vivid exposition. The scenes set in South Africa felt very authentic and I was enthralled by the glimpse of a dystopian Britain. I was intrigued by the concept of North America and South America mysteriously disappearing off the face of the world. I would rate these scenes a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
When I was about a quarter into the book, I stopped feeling engaged. I was expecting to learn more about the details of the revenge and who the target would be, but hints weren’t being delivered and it didn’t feel suspenseful anymore. I read on and waited for the “thriller” part to kick in. But it never did.
The Depths of Deception is well written in many ways, but it doesn’t work as a thriller or a revenge story. Both the protagonist and antagonist are kept in shrouded in too much mystery for me to feel strongly about either of them.
The problem is that I find the protagonist neither sympathetic nor disagreeable. I just have no reaction towards him. His wants revenge because of his murdered family, but I also didn’t care about his family. A quarter of the book is dedicated to flashbacks to his family as they spent time in the African veldt and ate delicious-sounding food, but none of it developed them as characters. At the end of it I still felt like I was looking at a stranger’s family photo. “Nice family, so what?”
The antagonist is shrouded in so much mystery that I didn’t see hints about who he was, where he’s from, and what his motivations and next actions are. These hints usually provide some suspense and excitement to a revenge story. But because there’s no information about him for me to react to, I couldn’t look forward to his comeuppance. He is eventually revealed in the last few pages, but there is still nothing revealed about his character or motivations–which made both the murder and revenge feel meaningless to me.
The plot makes sense, but as a reader, I didn’t experience tension or conflict. The protagonist does everything easily and he only reveals his goals after he’s done it or while he’s doing it. The story feels more like a chronicle of events rather than a conflict between the protagonist and the world. The protagonist has it very easy. There isn’t a visible gap between his goals and where he is because he reveals nothing other than the general goal of revenge. It read like the protagonist wandered across the globe, ate some street food, and effortlessly killed some strangers in suits. Everything is too easy and casual.
I find it jarring that the narrator deliberately withholds crucial plot-related information. He doesn’t reveal who the villain is and where the submarine is supposed to go until at the very end, and I didn’t see any clues to build up to it either. It’s his POV and there’s nothing that points to him being an unreliable narrator. Some of my favourite works of fiction have nonlinear narratives, but the unnecessary deception and lack of clues makes both the overall structure and plot twist feel artificial.
While the narrator deliberately withholds information, at the same time, he says a lot of things off-hand that the reader is supposed to take at face value. The fight scenes are very much in this regard. He does a Rolling Panda. He kills a man with a pencil. He jogs up walls without realizing it. This is also the reason why The Office as a secret organization fails to be convincing, because a lot of claims are made but never developed. There’s an off-hand reference about how Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA and it’s left at that. I have nothing against any politics in fiction. As long as a book has interesting ideas, I am happy to read it and see how the author develops it. But the claims are just left there and not developed, yet the reader is supposed to accept it as it is without question. Perhaps some of these off-hand comments are meant to be darkly humourous, but I didn’t interpret it that way due to the tone of the narration.
The book also had a confused treatment of Mandarin. It’s important because the protagonist is fluent in it, speaks to his children in the language, and is a hired assassin by China. It never mentions any Mandarin phrases until towards the end, despite freely throwing around Afrikaan and Japanese words. While the details that relate to South Africa feel authentic, anything that has to do with Chinese seem comical and haphazard in comparison.
At times, it even appears to conflate Chinese and Japanese cultures. There’s a scene where the protagonist as a young child trains with a Chinese martial arts instructor. They train in a dojo, find satori, and mention kanji despite doing Drunken Monkey moves. This is very odd, especially when are supposed to be conversing in Mandarin at the same time. There’s Chinese “characters”, not kanji, and so on. I can forgive a few inaccuracies, but this is just wikipedia-level knowledge and it’s an integral part of the protagonist’s background.
I want to emphasize that this book is professionally written and edited. Again, I highly enjoyed the first quarter of the book. I also appreciated the prose style, the black humour, and the intelligent criticism of North American culture. There are some great details in this work, but unfortunately they don’t add up to a good thriller novel. With this in mind, I would be interested in reading the author’s work in a different genre.
You might appreciate this book if you’re interested in descriptions of Apartheid-era South Africa, exposition about street scenes and kiosk delicacies, or beautifully crafted exposition in general. But if you want dystopian literature, international intrigue, or a thriller—I would look elsewhere.
Note: a free review copy was provided by the author.
When I was about a quarter into the book, I stopped feeling engaged. I was expecting to learn more about the details of the revenge and who the target would be, but hints weren’t being delivered and it didn’t feel suspenseful anymore. I read on and waited for the “thriller” part to kick in. But it never did.
The Depths of Deception is well written in many ways, but it doesn’t work as a thriller or a revenge story. Both the protagonist and antagonist are kept in shrouded in too much mystery for me to feel strongly about either of them.
The problem is that I find the protagonist neither sympathetic nor disagreeable. I just have no reaction towards him. His wants revenge because of his murdered family, but I also didn’t care about his family. A quarter of the book is dedicated to flashbacks to his family as they spent time in the African veldt and ate delicious-sounding food, but none of it developed them as characters. At the end of it I still felt like I was looking at a stranger’s family photo. “Nice family, so what?”
The antagonist is shrouded in so much mystery that I didn’t see hints about who he was, where he’s from, and what his motivations and next actions are. These hints usually provide some suspense and excitement to a revenge story. But because there’s no information about him for me to react to, I couldn’t look forward to his comeuppance. He is eventually revealed in the last few pages, but there is still nothing revealed about his character or motivations–which made both the murder and revenge feel meaningless to me.
The plot makes sense, but as a reader, I didn’t experience tension or conflict. The protagonist does everything easily and he only reveals his goals after he’s done it or while he’s doing it. The story feels more like a chronicle of events rather than a conflict between the protagonist and the world. The protagonist has it very easy. There isn’t a visible gap between his goals and where he is because he reveals nothing other than the general goal of revenge. It read like the protagonist wandered across the globe, ate some street food, and effortlessly killed some strangers in suits. Everything is too easy and casual.
I find it jarring that the narrator deliberately withholds crucial plot-related information. He doesn’t reveal who the villain is and where the submarine is supposed to go until at the very end, and I didn’t see any clues to build up to it either. It’s his POV and there’s nothing that points to him being an unreliable narrator. Some of my favourite works of fiction have nonlinear narratives, but the unnecessary deception and lack of clues makes both the overall structure and plot twist feel artificial.
While the narrator deliberately withholds information, at the same time, he says a lot of things off-hand that the reader is supposed to take at face value. The fight scenes are very much in this regard. He does a Rolling Panda. He kills a man with a pencil. He jogs up walls without realizing it. This is also the reason why The Office as a secret organization fails to be convincing, because a lot of claims are made but never developed. There’s an off-hand reference about how Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA and it’s left at that. I have nothing against any politics in fiction. As long as a book has interesting ideas, I am happy to read it and see how the author develops it. But the claims are just left there and not developed, yet the reader is supposed to accept it as it is without question. Perhaps some of these off-hand comments are meant to be darkly humourous, but I didn’t interpret it that way due to the tone of the narration.
The book also had a confused treatment of Mandarin. It’s important because the protagonist is fluent in it, speaks to his children in the language, and is a hired assassin by China. It never mentions any Mandarin phrases until towards the end, despite freely throwing around Afrikaan and Japanese words. While the details that relate to South Africa feel authentic, anything that has to do with Chinese seem comical and haphazard in comparison.
At times, it even appears to conflate Chinese and Japanese cultures. There’s a scene where the protagonist as a young child trains with a Chinese martial arts instructor. They train in a dojo, find satori, and mention kanji despite doing Drunken Monkey moves. This is very odd, especially when are supposed to be conversing in Mandarin at the same time. There’s Chinese “characters”, not kanji, and so on. I can forgive a few inaccuracies, but this is just wikipedia-level knowledge and it’s an integral part of the protagonist’s background.
I want to emphasize that this book is professionally written and edited. Again, I highly enjoyed the first quarter of the book. I also appreciated the prose style, the black humour, and the intelligent criticism of North American culture. There are some great details in this work, but unfortunately they don’t add up to a good thriller novel. With this in mind, I would be interested in reading the author’s work in a different genre.
You might appreciate this book if you’re interested in descriptions of Apartheid-era South Africa, exposition about street scenes and kiosk delicacies, or beautifully crafted exposition in general. But if you want dystopian literature, international intrigue, or a thriller—I would look elsewhere.
Note: a free review copy was provided by the author.
November 8, 2011
Despite a certain soft spot I have for the Bourne novels and old James Bond movies, I normally don’t read spy novels. Yet the summary of the Depths of Deception intrigued me. I read the sample, and from that moment on I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading.
A real page-turner, the story hurtles back and forth in time and space, following the life of a killer working for the Office, a sort of international secret service controlling events around the world. From the start, the author is upfront with what is going to happen: a rare instance where knowing the ending, of sorts, doesn’t affect the narrative. The narrator is reliable. What is fascinating is the author’s technique, his play with time and memory, which in my opinion is so well done that it constitutes a major strength of this book.
Without giving anything away, since this is the opening of the book, the protagonist finds himself in England preparing for a trip to Antarctica. His family is dead and it all starts with his chilling promise “soon, my darlings, soon”, the exact nature of which only becomes clear in the final pages. The next scene takes place in Antarctica, where he is alone in the cold, then zooms back into time to South Africa and to how he met his wife. This is how the story is built, back and forth between the years and continents, mainly following the story of meeting his wife and leaving the Office to have a family, his days in Antarctica years later, and his life at the Office before and after his family’s murder.
Many things make this a great story.
The story is told in the first person, past, and the character is three-dimensional and real. His take on truth is brutal and honest, and his voice is authentic and seems to whisper in your ear. His tale is a terrible one and there is no lightness about it. His anger, his pain, his sorrow are real and they often moved me to tears. This rarely happens to me and I must say that this is one of the reasons I am giving this novel full marks.
The setting is multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual, described in detail and using all senses. South Africa is the best rendered, which is no surprise since it’s the author’s native land. The contrast between its warmth and colors with Antarctica is startling and revealing.
These two main settings (including the submarine heading to Antarctica) are set against a travelogue of sorts when we follow the protagonist in his Office jobs, both before and after his family was killed. Asian countries are described in bold strokes, so that we almost smell the spices on the air and hear the beggars in the street shouting. Northern Europe countries are also rendered well, where the author lets us feel the cold and see the clean streets and cloudy skies. Everything feels real, from the mixture of languages to people’s reactions and habits. I personally really liked the wealth of information and knowledge offered in the pages of this novel about other countries and cultures.
The story itself is engrossing, a great mix of personal moments and action, with memorable characters and situations. But above all, the story holds together tightly, its thread never broken despite the back and forth in time. It all connects so well that no gaps are left, no reason or time to wonder why we have jumped back to Africa or to Asia, with each story thread vibrant and fascinating. I am impressed by this author skills and his grip on this complicated structure in such a manner that the reader is guided effortlessly, never doubting and never lost, through this complex story.
I wouldn’t be honest if I said that nothing at all bothered me in this novel. Two small things did, which are the following:
The story starts off in the UK, in a sort of post apocalyptic world. As mentioned in the summary, a neo-fascist Party has come to power in the UK, and this has led to a total breakdown of the society. People are starving, there is violence and death. America for some reason not explained has disappeared. One can’t help but wonder why Europe or some other power hasn’t risen in its stead and at least aided the UK, why if there is any other superpower (China is mentioned) why it hasn’t taken control. The story isn’t post-apocalyptic in the least, in fact very few things point to a future date, and I think it’s only confusing that these elements are present when the story itself is complex enough as it is.
The other thing is that a couple of times I felt that the hero’s abilities and training were a tad overdone. Especially in a training session of martial arts in the early chapters, but also a few other times when he meditates or does some incredible ninja-like things, I found myself wondering if that was really necessary. As a super spy, he is expected to be well trained and strong, but the great strength of the story is his very human nature, his weakness when it comes to his family. So I would have preferred it if those scenes were mellowed down, made more real, as was the rest of the story.
Nevertheless, these two complaints are minor and overall I thought this was an excellent novel. I highly recommend the Depths of Deception to readers who enjoy intelligent stories, personal journeys and page-turning action. As I said before, I rarely give 5 stars, but this was a story that met and surpassed my expectations.
A real page-turner, the story hurtles back and forth in time and space, following the life of a killer working for the Office, a sort of international secret service controlling events around the world. From the start, the author is upfront with what is going to happen: a rare instance where knowing the ending, of sorts, doesn’t affect the narrative. The narrator is reliable. What is fascinating is the author’s technique, his play with time and memory, which in my opinion is so well done that it constitutes a major strength of this book.
Without giving anything away, since this is the opening of the book, the protagonist finds himself in England preparing for a trip to Antarctica. His family is dead and it all starts with his chilling promise “soon, my darlings, soon”, the exact nature of which only becomes clear in the final pages. The next scene takes place in Antarctica, where he is alone in the cold, then zooms back into time to South Africa and to how he met his wife. This is how the story is built, back and forth between the years and continents, mainly following the story of meeting his wife and leaving the Office to have a family, his days in Antarctica years later, and his life at the Office before and after his family’s murder.
Many things make this a great story.
The story is told in the first person, past, and the character is three-dimensional and real. His take on truth is brutal and honest, and his voice is authentic and seems to whisper in your ear. His tale is a terrible one and there is no lightness about it. His anger, his pain, his sorrow are real and they often moved me to tears. This rarely happens to me and I must say that this is one of the reasons I am giving this novel full marks.
The setting is multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual, described in detail and using all senses. South Africa is the best rendered, which is no surprise since it’s the author’s native land. The contrast between its warmth and colors with Antarctica is startling and revealing.
These two main settings (including the submarine heading to Antarctica) are set against a travelogue of sorts when we follow the protagonist in his Office jobs, both before and after his family was killed. Asian countries are described in bold strokes, so that we almost smell the spices on the air and hear the beggars in the street shouting. Northern Europe countries are also rendered well, where the author lets us feel the cold and see the clean streets and cloudy skies. Everything feels real, from the mixture of languages to people’s reactions and habits. I personally really liked the wealth of information and knowledge offered in the pages of this novel about other countries and cultures.
The story itself is engrossing, a great mix of personal moments and action, with memorable characters and situations. But above all, the story holds together tightly, its thread never broken despite the back and forth in time. It all connects so well that no gaps are left, no reason or time to wonder why we have jumped back to Africa or to Asia, with each story thread vibrant and fascinating. I am impressed by this author skills and his grip on this complicated structure in such a manner that the reader is guided effortlessly, never doubting and never lost, through this complex story.
I wouldn’t be honest if I said that nothing at all bothered me in this novel. Two small things did, which are the following:
The story starts off in the UK, in a sort of post apocalyptic world. As mentioned in the summary, a neo-fascist Party has come to power in the UK, and this has led to a total breakdown of the society. People are starving, there is violence and death. America for some reason not explained has disappeared. One can’t help but wonder why Europe or some other power hasn’t risen in its stead and at least aided the UK, why if there is any other superpower (China is mentioned) why it hasn’t taken control. The story isn’t post-apocalyptic in the least, in fact very few things point to a future date, and I think it’s only confusing that these elements are present when the story itself is complex enough as it is.
The other thing is that a couple of times I felt that the hero’s abilities and training were a tad overdone. Especially in a training session of martial arts in the early chapters, but also a few other times when he meditates or does some incredible ninja-like things, I found myself wondering if that was really necessary. As a super spy, he is expected to be well trained and strong, but the great strength of the story is his very human nature, his weakness when it comes to his family. So I would have preferred it if those scenes were mellowed down, made more real, as was the rest of the story.
Nevertheless, these two complaints are minor and overall I thought this was an excellent novel. I highly recommend the Depths of Deception to readers who enjoy intelligent stories, personal journeys and page-turning action. As I said before, I rarely give 5 stars, but this was a story that met and surpassed my expectations.
August 8, 2021
An interesting read.
The book started slow, and at first and the flashbacks were disconcerting. As the book progressed they helped to develop the plot. The main character was dark. The flashbacks helped to uncover why. The ending was inevitable
The book started slow, and at first and the flashbacks were disconcerting. As the book progressed they helped to develop the plot. The main character was dark. The flashbacks helped to uncover why. The ending was inevitable
July 21, 2019
Worth a read
I liked this book even though I didn't quite get on with the ending. It dragged me in slowly, well worth it just for that
I liked this book even though I didn't quite get on with the ending. It dragged me in slowly, well worth it just for that
June 25, 2012
The story is told from the first person viewpoint of the assassin (as far as I can remember he was never named). The story has a non-linear structure, jumping back and forward both in time and in location. We experience the protagonist’s early life as he is trained in martial arts and murder by his controller, in South Africa as he builds his family; we follow him as he executes human targets, and finally in 20xx where he fulfills his final mission.
For much of the story, Fraser’s brilliant writing skills--lean and rich in imagery—were enough to immerse me within each of the threads. This was particularly true in his descriptions of life in pre and post-apartheid South Africa.
As the book progressed, though, I became impatient with the amount of time spent describing the surroundings and the cultures the protagonist found himself in. Large amounts of the text seemed reminiscent of a Theroux-like travelogue and had little to do with moving the story forward. The author (through the guise of his protagonist) holds forth on politics, culture and language, reminding me of an intelligent but annoying dinner guest who, lit by one too many brandies, loudly proclaims his opinions to a captive audience.
Labeled a thriller, there were few thrills to be had because the assassin—armed with the overwhelming technology of The Office—seemed to overmatch every opponent. He was cold and calculating and detached—hard to get connected to. Except for one instance, he never seemed to be under threat of failure or discovery.
The scenes involving the submarine offered potential for some nail biting, but because they were preceded with a flash-forward that showed the assassin had survived, the challenges and struggles of the submarine’s captain and crew offered little tension—I was told they made it.
It was all too easy.
Disclaimer: This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. I may have received a free review copy.
For much of the story, Fraser’s brilliant writing skills--lean and rich in imagery—were enough to immerse me within each of the threads. This was particularly true in his descriptions of life in pre and post-apartheid South Africa.
As the book progressed, though, I became impatient with the amount of time spent describing the surroundings and the cultures the protagonist found himself in. Large amounts of the text seemed reminiscent of a Theroux-like travelogue and had little to do with moving the story forward. The author (through the guise of his protagonist) holds forth on politics, culture and language, reminding me of an intelligent but annoying dinner guest who, lit by one too many brandies, loudly proclaims his opinions to a captive audience.
Labeled a thriller, there were few thrills to be had because the assassin—armed with the overwhelming technology of The Office—seemed to overmatch every opponent. He was cold and calculating and detached—hard to get connected to. Except for one instance, he never seemed to be under threat of failure or discovery.
The scenes involving the submarine offered potential for some nail biting, but because they were preceded with a flash-forward that showed the assassin had survived, the challenges and struggles of the submarine’s captain and crew offered little tension—I was told they made it.
It was all too easy.
Disclaimer: This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. I may have received a free review copy.
February 6, 2012
Before I bought this book I read most of the reviews and then checked out the Authors page. Mr. Fraser is very intelligent and educated man. He is apparently well traveled and has encountered many interesting experiences in life. I gladly hit the buy button. That was the highlight.
I really thought this work was going to be in the like of Clancy, Ludlum, or Allistaire MacLean. That is not the case.
I will say this, Mr. Fraser has an excellent command of the English language, but I wasn't looking for a book of literature, I was after a face paced exciting thriller, not a testament to current political ideals and beliefs.
Call me old fashion, but I like a definitive break with chapters. This was glaring missed. I found myself constantly going back to make sure where the change started.
The high point of the book was the description of his family life in Africa. This part flowed nicely, but this was supposed to be an espionage thriller, not the apparent life the author lived in-country. If you want to know how to live off of the land in Africa, he covers that with great description.
The beginning did grab me with the description of downtown London in shambles from a rebellion of sorts. But we are never informed just how this came about. I was looking for more background. When the main character gets into character and performs the job he was trained to do, assassination, he is precise and coldly meticulous, it leaves us wanting more, but alas, it isn't too be. The reader is whisked back to the Sahara's of South Africa.
I know many enjoyed this story, but "Ice Station Zebra" it isn't. So for what it is worth, if you are looking for a very well written book of literature you will enjoy it, if you want none stop action, this isn't for you.
I really thought this work was going to be in the like of Clancy, Ludlum, or Allistaire MacLean. That is not the case.
I will say this, Mr. Fraser has an excellent command of the English language, but I wasn't looking for a book of literature, I was after a face paced exciting thriller, not a testament to current political ideals and beliefs.
Call me old fashion, but I like a definitive break with chapters. This was glaring missed. I found myself constantly going back to make sure where the change started.
The high point of the book was the description of his family life in Africa. This part flowed nicely, but this was supposed to be an espionage thriller, not the apparent life the author lived in-country. If you want to know how to live off of the land in Africa, he covers that with great description.
The beginning did grab me with the description of downtown London in shambles from a rebellion of sorts. But we are never informed just how this came about. I was looking for more background. When the main character gets into character and performs the job he was trained to do, assassination, he is precise and coldly meticulous, it leaves us wanting more, but alas, it isn't too be. The reader is whisked back to the Sahara's of South Africa.
I know many enjoyed this story, but "Ice Station Zebra" it isn't. So for what it is worth, if you are looking for a very well written book of literature you will enjoy it, if you want none stop action, this isn't for you.
Want to Read
May 17, 2011By Jacqueline Kitchen on Amazon. 'Where do I start? Prepare to feast on this scrumptious word meal! If this novel could be described as a cut of beef, then The Depths of Deception would be Prime Rib or better still Filet Mignon! Include your favorite red wine, voila! An all around superb dish.
The author captures your attention from the very first page. It grabs you by the collar and doesn't let you go. Long after you've finished. This is definitely a book for thinkers. Looking for a great read that also educates, then look no further. The detailed descriptions, gives one the feeling of 'being there'. You taste, smell and feel everything the main character does. Words alone can't express how much I enjoyed this book.
The scenic beauty of each locale described in gloriuos detail.
You would think that the occupation of the main character is off-putting, but somehow the author makes you like the character, almost against your will, so much so, in fact you want him to succeed. From start to finish, you will not be bored. You will want to savor every word, sentence and paragraph to its brtutal conclusion.
You get the sense that this author understands the "Human Condition" all too well. Our weaknesses, our hopes and our failures.
Very imaginative, informative and convincing. I am so looking forward to many more great reads from this author.
Well done Ian! Well done!
The author captures your attention from the very first page. It grabs you by the collar and doesn't let you go. Long after you've finished. This is definitely a book for thinkers. Looking for a great read that also educates, then look no further. The detailed descriptions, gives one the feeling of 'being there'. You taste, smell and feel everything the main character does. Words alone can't express how much I enjoyed this book.
The scenic beauty of each locale described in gloriuos detail.
You would think that the occupation of the main character is off-putting, but somehow the author makes you like the character, almost against your will, so much so, in fact you want him to succeed. From start to finish, you will not be bored. You will want to savor every word, sentence and paragraph to its brtutal conclusion.
You get the sense that this author understands the "Human Condition" all too well. Our weaknesses, our hopes and our failures.
Very imaginative, informative and convincing. I am so looking forward to many more great reads from this author.
Well done Ian! Well done!
June 22, 2011
'Depths of Deception' is an exceptionally well-written novel telling the story of a former operative of a shadowy organization, who makes the decision to attempt a normal life. The book is structured around a mysterious expedition to the Antarctic, which the main character joins with equally mysterious plans of his own.
However, the power of this book arises not from plot details but rather from the main character's reflections on the life that led him to his perilous condition. Fraser does a masterful job of creating a character who is wounded but not finished, who speaks through pain while letting the raw feeling behind show through.
The book also offers fascinating portraits of South Africa, Hong Kong, Oslo and other cities and a bittersweet portrait of a corrupted (and possibly doomed)world.
However, the power of this book arises not from plot details but rather from the main character's reflections on the life that led him to his perilous condition. Fraser does a masterful job of creating a character who is wounded but not finished, who speaks through pain while letting the raw feeling behind show through.
The book also offers fascinating portraits of South Africa, Hong Kong, Oslo and other cities and a bittersweet portrait of a corrupted (and possibly doomed)world.
February 13, 2013
I thought this was a good read. I enjoyed the authors style of writing, though I had a bit of trouble following the frequent changes of scene and time. I liked his descriptions of places and his thoughts about things. The ending was not what I would have choosen, but it works.
April 6, 2013
The story kept me involved and interested. I found his world background, as it evolved, kept me wanting to discover more. I didn't particularly like the ending as it was depressing to me. Possibly realistic, but depressing.
November 9, 2011
This book just rambled on and on. After 60% through, I had read all I planned on reading.
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