What do you think?
Rate this book
The Persian Project: A Novel
Acclaim for Previous Thrillers by Mark Irving
The year is 1978 and Iran is in turmoil. Political, religious and societal forces have coalesced to threaten the Shah’s reign, and imperil U.S. interests in the area at the height of the Cold War. Despite disarmament talks with the Soviet Union, the U.S. fears deception, and has taken steps to monitor Soviet activity in the area.In a timely and perceptive prequel to his popular Clint Jagger series of international thrillers, award-winning author Mark Irving mines his public affairs experiences and expertise in Tehran in the mid-1970s to create a work of fiction that brings alive the people, places and events of that period, and the threat of a nuclear catastrophe in the Middle East. Irving introduces the indefatigable Jagger, the former Special Ops veteran of Vietnam, who has settled in the Colorado Rockies to escape his wartime demons. Savoring the solitude of his new lifestyle, Jagger reluctantly accepts a special assignment from his former Marine commander to investigate the failure of secret underwater detection devices monitoring Soviet activity in the Caspian Sea.Arriving in Tehran under cover as a telecommunications consultant, Jagger finds himself ensnared in political intrigue and civil unrest, and mistreatment at the hands of the sadistic commander of infamous Evin Prison. He is released in time to witness the Shah’s departure and the Ayatollah’s arrival. When the U.S. Embassy is overrun and the hostages taken, he is asked by the National Security Agency to remain in Iran, a mission that thrusts him into a series of life-threatening situations from the Elborz Mountains to the steps of ancient Persepolis, while surrounded by a cast of memorable characters.The locations move from Iran to Italy, Switzerland, England and the U.S. and back to Tehran for an explosive climax that foreshadows current events. Action, suspense and intrigue abound in this novel by an astute writer of authentic thrillers.
The year is 1978 and Iran is in turmoil. Political, religious and societal forces have coalesced to threaten the Shah’s reign, and imperil U.S. interests in the area at the height of the Cold War. Despite disarmament talks with the Soviet Union, the U.S. fears deception, and has taken steps to monitor Soviet activity in the area.In a timely and perceptive prequel to his popular Clint Jagger series of international thrillers, award-winning author Mark Irving mines his public affairs experiences and expertise in Tehran in the mid-1970s to create a work of fiction that brings alive the people, places and events of that period, and the threat of a nuclear catastrophe in the Middle East. Irving introduces the indefatigable Jagger, the former Special Ops veteran of Vietnam, who has settled in the Colorado Rockies to escape his wartime demons. Savoring the solitude of his new lifestyle, Jagger reluctantly accepts a special assignment from his former Marine commander to investigate the failure of secret underwater detection devices monitoring Soviet activity in the Caspian Sea.Arriving in Tehran under cover as a telecommunications consultant, Jagger finds himself ensnared in political intrigue and civil unrest, and mistreatment at the hands of the sadistic commander of infamous Evin Prison. He is released in time to witness the Shah’s departure and the Ayatollah’s arrival. When the U.S. Embassy is overrun and the hostages taken, he is asked by the National Security Agency to remain in Iran, a mission that thrusts him into a series of life-threatening situations from the Elborz Mountains to the steps of ancient Persepolis, while surrounded by a cast of memorable characters.The locations move from Iran to Italy, Switzerland, England and the U.S. and back to Tehran for an explosive climax that foreshadows current events. Action, suspense and intrigue abound in this novel by an astute writer of authentic thrillers.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2010
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 11, 2010
I began this book eager to get into what appeared to be a great adventure/thriller story. A former Special Ops veteran reluctantly accepts a special assignment of investigating a secret underwater detection device - Sounds pretty coo, right? That’s what I thought!
Well, opening the book up, I was assaulted by two curse words in the first scene. I instantly began to grow apprehensive. I don’t like reading books with curse words. But, knowing that some people didn’t think those specific words all that bad, and trying to understand the author – that this was a story on war and he wanted to be authentic – I decided to press on. When I finally reached the end of Chapter one, I had read over ten curse words…two of them being the F-word. Now, maybe some people can accept it, but I don’t want to hear the F-word, let alone read it!
Because of this, I won’t be finishing this book. I signed up to read and review this book, but I cannot finish it to the end knowing that there may be more F-words or other foul, four letter words. I am sorry to give this book one star without finishing the book, but the curse words made it impossible for me to continue.
To the author’s credit, I will say that the book was very well written and, flipping sporadically through the pages, it seemed to have a strong, action-filled story plot with believable characters. Maybe this book will appeal to others who don’t mind curse words layered into the story.
Well, opening the book up, I was assaulted by two curse words in the first scene. I instantly began to grow apprehensive. I don’t like reading books with curse words. But, knowing that some people didn’t think those specific words all that bad, and trying to understand the author – that this was a story on war and he wanted to be authentic – I decided to press on. When I finally reached the end of Chapter one, I had read over ten curse words…two of them being the F-word. Now, maybe some people can accept it, but I don’t want to hear the F-word, let alone read it!
Because of this, I won’t be finishing this book. I signed up to read and review this book, but I cannot finish it to the end knowing that there may be more F-words or other foul, four letter words. I am sorry to give this book one star without finishing the book, but the curse words made it impossible for me to continue.
To the author’s credit, I will say that the book was very well written and, flipping sporadically through the pages, it seemed to have a strong, action-filled story plot with believable characters. Maybe this book will appeal to others who don’t mind curse words layered into the story.
June 5, 2012
Rather a straightforward international intrigue book written in the time of the takeover if Iran by the ayatollah kolmeini. Nothing special.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews