Scimitar

by Peter Niesewand

READING CREASES ON SPINE. NO WRITING OR MARKS ON PAGES. LIGHT TANNING INSIDE COVERS DUE TO AGE.

Genres: Thriller, Spy Thriller, Fiction

574 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Peter Joseph Niesewand (30 June 1944 – 4 February 1983), journalist and novelist, was born in South Africa but grew up in Rhodesia where he ran a news bureau, filing for the BBC, United Press, AFP, and many newspapers, notably the Guardian. On 20 February 1973 he was arrested and spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his criticism of conditions under Ian Smith's government and his coverage of the guerrilla war. His sentence of two years hard labour for revealing official secrets was commuted on appeal after an international outcry. He was deported on release from prison, leaving behind his wife of three years, Nonie, and young son Oliver. He emigrated to the United Kingdom to complete his only non-fiction book, In Camera: Secret Justice in Rhodesia, and was named 1973 International Journalist of the Year, an award he won again in 1976 for his coverage of the Lebanese civil war, again for the Guardian. As their Asia correspondent he also covered the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from on the ground, experiences that inform his last novel, Scimitar. He subsequently returned to London to become their deputy news editor until his untimely death of a heart attack at the age of 38.

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel belongs in a category of books you read to pass the time. It's got all the elements of a terrible spy yarn, including two dashing and daring agents from a little-known intelligence agency (the DIA), who charm the girls and kill the bad guys, all the while having fun and learning to sky dive. Think of what it would be like if Tom Clancy wrote the script of Beach Blanket Bingo.

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I purchased this book, the suspicion was that it would be a great novel. I bought it under what in the 'law of books' might be referred to as the principle of 'public curiosity'. The principle of public curiosity states as follows,

Books must be bought at all times,

Bought books must be read, and

Books must not be abandoned.

The law of books is harsh. If their is anything good in books, is that they bring the best and worst out of people. Some books hurt others while some try to reduce suffering to the minimum. To be fair to myself, and to the readers of this review, I will not try to exaggerate. My experience with this book was uneventful.

The plot of the novel was very boring. Especially the story about Ross, Julie, and Elaine. I thought the novel was going to tell us more about the history of America and the Soviet Union and the mujahideen war. Instead, what I got was a love triangle among the three characters.

[Mikhael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spy vs Spy a great read about battlefield neutron weapons and defector with information about the weapons details.
Competition between competing friendly agencies & high stakes game of espionage with defector recaptured by his former bosses.
Special diagnostic mental tests performed by one side to ensure conformity.
Deep imbedded sleeper Spies activated go on missions attempting to stop the opponent’s finding out the details of the weapons program including sabotage of a persons parachute.
Neutron weapons tested far away with the aim of using radiation on the battlefield of opposing armoured forces if needed in a designated area.
These weapons used to stop vast armoured units with the invisible radiation.
A very good interesting read.

[Brian]

One of my very best novels of all time. This book is well crafted and well set

[Ronald Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book I have read by Niesewand and I very mug enjoyed it. Felt like two separate books though with the same major characters. The first half is when two agents with the DIA try to help a Russian scientist defect to the US only to have him taken back by the KGB. The KGB then decides to get even with the two agents ... It delves a lot into their personal lives and was not much of a thriller at this point but very enjoyable to read nonetheless. The second half of the book is about an attempt by the DIA to go into Afghanistan to find proof that the Russians had exploded a neutron bomb there and was more typical of a spy thriller.

[Sean]

A good novel but lets face it the main plot concept had been used up already in Fallback. It was good read but not as thrilling as the first. Newly transplanted super agent does his thing again. Good but not edge of your seat kind of stuff.

I did not read this book on my amazon kindle, I read it on paper.