The Message

by Tariq Goddard

Set in a fictional African state in the grip of a civil war provoked by the emergence of The Mahdi, a pretender to the leadership of the Islamic world, The Message is the latest thriller from Tariq Goddard, an exciting and topical treatment of realpolitik, personal integrity and the real cost of Empire-building. Into the melting pot are thrown Iranian ‘advisors’, an SAS contingent, and in the best farcical tradition; a family of unscrupulous English mercenaries, kidnappers of an innocent girl with their own sinister agenda. In the face of violence and unexpected betrayals we see these factions draw inexorably together to a chilling and ultimately redemptive climax. With guarded sentimentality and cheerful nihilism, redolent of Conrad with just the slightest nod to Chuck Norris, The Message is as enjoyable as it is thoughtful, a literary take on current affairs from a rare and unusual talent.

229 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2011

About the author

Tariq Goddard was born in London in 1975. He read Philosophy at King’s College London. His first three novels were shortlisted for various awards including Whitbread (Costa) First Novel Award, Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. His fourth and fifth books won the Independent Publishers Gold medal for Horror Writing and Silver medal for Literary Fiction respectively. He lives on a farm in Wiltshire with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Kristofer Carlson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a complicated thriller with lots of moving parts. Unfortunately, few of the characters are memorable and I found myself at a loss keeping track of them all. The narrative shifts were jarring, with no immediate indication that the POV had shifted. I didn't understand some of the character's motivations at all, especially towards the end when one of the minor characters is responsible for the denouement with no warning. It's a twist ending, but usually if you think back you'll be able to see the clues left behind by the author. Not in this case, although perhaps it is a failure on my part.

[Suzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure I know how to write a review of this book, it's quite unlike any I have read. It's unique in a way that could be good or bad depending on your reading habits. I liked it, the prose flows, the characters were plausible without cliches and I did gt to a point where I couln't stop reading. The cover attracted quite a lot of attention and I found myself having to continually explain to people what the book was about or else fend of disturded glances. Aside from that it's an interesting story set in a jungle in which 4 groups of people, with almost the same motive are thrown together. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the levels of violence which at times, we a bit off key even for a novel about an Afircan dictator (who doesn't appear very much except in name only). I didn't need to read about bitten off penises, beheaded corpses or pygmies wearing chains made of human ears. Apart from that an odd, but not necessarily in a bad way book.

[Anne Mcarthur · Rating 1 out of 5]

This star is for the reviewer on the back of the book and I'm really annoyed at him for enticing me to read this really horrible book. Marketed as a relevant novel in these times of terror, the book was poorly written, totally scattered, impossible to follow, racist and sexist. The story took place in a fictional African country, full of murdering pygmies eating body parts, machetes, and wild African soldiers all running around crazy in the bug-filled jungle. Really offensive and hard to believe that the author has ever traveled to any African country at all. It felt like he Googled "Africa" and then made it up based on all kinds of stereotypes. Of course, the female character falls in love at the SAS soldier staring at her arse and is giggly and cute. I know that there are satirical elements to the story, but it was just way too offensive to even make me smirk.