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The Day The Ravens Died
This tale is of course fiction, well most of it is. As has been pointed out to me by people who know about these things, there is nothing in this book which serious terrorists could not do. Maybe not quite on the scale suggested here, but who knows?
On the other hand, much of what was available to the security forces to help counter the attacks, either does not exist or they are not allowed to use. The levels of political and judicial interference are real enough, in real life these simply have to be lived with.
Many of the problems in real life counter terrorism arise from the need of a given agency to score 'brownie points' to gain funding. This is a home grown political problem which is rapidly becoming endemic and can only lead to vital information being overlooked, the result of which may not be dead birds at the Tower of London but many dead people.
Not the numbers of dead in this story, hopefully, but if it happens to be you or your family, then the numbers don't matter. Sleep well.
Timothy Pilgrim.
On the other hand, much of what was available to the security forces to help counter the attacks, either does not exist or they are not allowed to use. The levels of political and judicial interference are real enough, in real life these simply have to be lived with.
Many of the problems in real life counter terrorism arise from the need of a given agency to score 'brownie points' to gain funding. This is a home grown political problem which is rapidly becoming endemic and can only lead to vital information being overlooked, the result of which may not be dead birds at the Tower of London but many dead people.
Not the numbers of dead in this story, hopefully, but if it happens to be you or your family, then the numbers don't matter. Sleep well.
Timothy Pilgrim.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2008
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 31, 2010
This is one of those novels that, while reading, you can tell the author is very close to. It is well researched and well thought out.
The Day The Ravens Died follows Paul, a terrorist expert of sorts. He is the guy you call on when things get really bad or when things are about to get really bad. He lives a serene life with his wife and housekeeper until terrorists strike and then he is plunged back into the deeply serious world of people who are dedicated to catch the really bad guys.
Paul is the A-team without BA Baraka, Face or Murdoch. He's a man's man and he gets things done and has blatant disrespect for anyone who is not trying to get things done...his way. Paul and several others search for ways terrorists are doing their thing so they can catch them.
What's great about this story is that the dialogue is great. Characters develop through the dialogue and events happen while dialogue is happening. That's the main reason why you the reader believes who these people are, even down to the people who don't mean anything in story.
At the same time I had a hard time caring for the characters. Deep down I wished something would happen to Paul that would make me care for him more. I wanted his wife to leave him. Let him deal with that. I wanted his house bombed. I wish Paul wasn't only just a soldier but that's all he is. At the beginning and end it's implied that there's another part of him but you simply want to see more of it.
It might have helped to have a bit more of a subplot or another character to follow.
If you want to read a hardnosed thriller then this book is for you. If you like details and inner workings of the military then this book is right up your alley. It's only missing a little bit of empathy. Just a little.
The Day The Ravens Died follows Paul, a terrorist expert of sorts. He is the guy you call on when things get really bad or when things are about to get really bad. He lives a serene life with his wife and housekeeper until terrorists strike and then he is plunged back into the deeply serious world of people who are dedicated to catch the really bad guys.
Paul is the A-team without BA Baraka, Face or Murdoch. He's a man's man and he gets things done and has blatant disrespect for anyone who is not trying to get things done...his way. Paul and several others search for ways terrorists are doing their thing so they can catch them.
What's great about this story is that the dialogue is great. Characters develop through the dialogue and events happen while dialogue is happening. That's the main reason why you the reader believes who these people are, even down to the people who don't mean anything in story.
At the same time I had a hard time caring for the characters. Deep down I wished something would happen to Paul that would make me care for him more. I wanted his wife to leave him. Let him deal with that. I wanted his house bombed. I wish Paul wasn't only just a soldier but that's all he is. At the beginning and end it's implied that there's another part of him but you simply want to see more of it.
It might have helped to have a bit more of a subplot or another character to follow.
If you want to read a hardnosed thriller then this book is for you. If you like details and inner workings of the military then this book is right up your alley. It's only missing a little bit of empathy. Just a little.
September 18, 2009
Ravens is an excellent fast-paced and uncomfortably relevant story told with a scary degree of authoritative detail.
Timothy Pilgrim's fast-paced, spare style keeps things moving and gets all this telling detail in without holding up the storyline. The central character is a tough, no-nonsense, not always admirable guy - but I found the loyalty he commanded from his nicely sketched team very credible.
Cracking good read, if a little scary.
My one nitpick with regard to this book is that sometimes the author's voice is a little too clearly heard - there are some hobby horses being ridden which I think a more experienced writer (or a good editor) might have handled with a little more subtlety. It's unnecessary. It's all there in the story anyway.
This book would make a riveting TV series.
Timothy Pilgrim's fast-paced, spare style keeps things moving and gets all this telling detail in without holding up the storyline. The central character is a tough, no-nonsense, not always admirable guy - but I found the loyalty he commanded from his nicely sketched team very credible.
Cracking good read, if a little scary.
My one nitpick with regard to this book is that sometimes the author's voice is a little too clearly heard - there are some hobby horses being ridden which I think a more experienced writer (or a good editor) might have handled with a little more subtlety. It's unnecessary. It's all there in the story anyway.
This book would make a riveting TV series.
August 13, 2010
I really loved this book, I thought the main character was brilliant.
The main story is about fighting terrorists against all odds and with not much help from the government either. I loved the style of writing and the story just grapped me by the prologue!
I laughed and shed a few tears while reading it as well as getting a little bit angry with the so-called Jobs Worth characters who came along.
If your ever write a follow up Timothy, please make Paul the Prime Minster, I am sure he would put the Great back in Britain again!
I also enjoyed proofreading it too as there was quite a few mistakes!
The main story is about fighting terrorists against all odds and with not much help from the government either. I loved the style of writing and the story just grapped me by the prologue!
I laughed and shed a few tears while reading it as well as getting a little bit angry with the so-called Jobs Worth characters who came along.
If your ever write a follow up Timothy, please make Paul the Prime Minster, I am sure he would put the Great back in Britain again!
I also enjoyed proofreading it too as there was quite a few mistakes!
January 15, 2012
A fast paced, gripping thriller based upon the sobering and frightening subject of a potential terrorist attack in the UK.
The prologue immediately captures your attention and although some of the military speak went flying over my head, it did not detract from my enjoyment. This book has the feel of a disaster movie - I could well imagine it retold in film.
The central character of Paul is a formidable one - clever, outspoken and quick thinking under pressure but on occasion he felt a little too "word perfect" even when speaking in anger which didn't come across as naturalistic or 100% believable to me. Paul dominates throughout and as a result the secondary characters were less well developed than I would have liked.
The scenes where the action leaves the military base and shows in terrifying detail the impact of events on ordinary people were extremely vivid but there were too few!
The prologue immediately captures your attention and although some of the military speak went flying over my head, it did not detract from my enjoyment. This book has the feel of a disaster movie - I could well imagine it retold in film.
The central character of Paul is a formidable one - clever, outspoken and quick thinking under pressure but on occasion he felt a little too "word perfect" even when speaking in anger which didn't come across as naturalistic or 100% believable to me. Paul dominates throughout and as a result the secondary characters were less well developed than I would have liked.
The scenes where the action leaves the military base and shows in terrifying detail the impact of events on ordinary people were extremely vivid but there were too few!
August 11, 2011
Read this whilst riots hit the UK. Thought that Paul would have been quite useful. An enjoyable read, although a worrying subject.
June 10, 2018
Terrible editing, good main character
The only reason this book is getting a three is because of the main character Paul. The editing is terrible (run on sentences, punctuation mistakes, and more), plus there is entirely too much dialogue. However, every time I got frustrated and wanted to quit, I remembered how much I wanted to find out what Paul would do next. I can’t say that I would recommend it.
The only reason this book is getting a three is because of the main character Paul. The editing is terrible (run on sentences, punctuation mistakes, and more), plus there is entirely too much dialogue. However, every time I got frustrated and wanted to quit, I remembered how much I wanted to find out what Paul would do next. I can’t say that I would recommend it.
February 1, 2021
This is very different to what I normally go for, it was published in 2008. It covers behind the scenes of the security service in the prevention of threats to the country, mainly focusing on terrorism. It has a candid approach and the main character Paul is brutally honest and makes the whole idea of the threats on our country more bearable to read about. This is not a true story but opened my eyes to the reality that these service men face on a daily basis, to keep us safe.
May 2, 2010
I liked this book, except for one flaw, there was a bit too much use of British idioms and slang for this American good-ole-boy to be comfortable with. For Brits, it should be right on target, the plot is well thought out, and the main characters are well developed. There's plenty of action, mystery, and suspense, with a thread of social commentary woven throughout, however I'd say it leans a bit more to the action\adventure than mystery. That's a difficult call, since the mystery and action are intertwined deftly. I'd give this five stars for Brits, but only three for the rest of us. The Day the Ravens Died also has a point that's driven home by the ending, but I won't give it away here. I'm loathe to give away any of the story, since everything is intertwined so well, telling any of it without the rest just wouldn't make sense, it would be so out of context. Frankly, I'm not that good of a reviewer to do it justice, I'll just put it this way: If you're comfortable with the Brit-speak, read this book, if you're not, but are willing to look up the slang and idioms, it's still worth the effort.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews