Field of Blood

by Gerald Seymour

A former member of the Organization in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sian Pius McAnally flees his political and family commitments, escaping to the Republic until, retrieved by the Organization for a key mission, he is captured by the police

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Ireland, Crime

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

Gerald Seymour (born 25 November 1941 in Guildford, Surrey) is a British writer.

The son of two literary figures, he was educated at Kelly College at Tavistock in Devon and took a BA Hons degree in Modern History at University College London. Initially a journalist, he joined ITN in 1963, covering such topics as the Great Train Robbery, Vietnam, Ireland, the Munich Olympics massacre, Germany's Red Army, Italy's Red Brigades and Palestinian militant groups. His first book, Harry's Game, was published in 1975, and Seymour then became a full-time novelist, living in the West Country. In 1999, he featured in the Oscar-winning television film, One Day in September, which portrayed the Munich Olympics massacre.
Television adaptations have been made of his books Harry's Game, The Glory Boys, The Contract, Red Fox, Field Of Blood, A Line In The Sand and The Waiting Time.

Reviews

[Mr Michael R Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Time As Good As The First

I read this some years ago but second time round I found it equally as good.
Terrific characters, great story, lots of background information if you take it in.
As someone who served multiple tours in N Ireland I found this book close to the mark sometimes but accurate all of the time.

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in your face, brutal, no holds barred story not only about the daily life of a family that wants a new beginning, but is also about the police and army personnel that have given up a 9 to 5 existence to be involved in the urban guerrilla warfare that had threatened to tear Northern Ireland apart. More specifically, the story's central character Sean McNally is a tout, but not just any tout, he is a tout of the highest order. He is super tout who has names of that go the way up the chain. He's a betrayer, a super tout, who is looking at twenty five years to life for the brutal murder of a judge from the use, of all things, a rocket launcher and he now he wants immunity for it. Will the government give it or will they wilt and send him off to prison instead? Also, who in their right mind would give such a person immunity anyway?

Another character, is Lt. David Ferris, who, as the arresting officer, was mixed up to his nuts with McNally and also with the Criminal Investigation Special (CIS) Branch.They are pushing him all the way because they want a result, they need a result and he can get it for them too. Ferris was a busy man because he's involved not only with the case, but also he is a full time officer the British army who works well and truly around the clock. He's on foot patrol with rocks and all sorts of things in his face, he's in charge of his unit leading the way and he knows that the Turf Lodge Estate where he often visits, is a melting pot of hatred against the British Army. His life is not easy. He has to face the viciousness, the violence and the abhorrence in Northern Ireland on a daily basis. That's his life.

A 'Field of Blood' as Seymour reminds us, inside the front cover, is a place where betrayers, such as, Judas Iscariot was buried. He hung himself, of course, and the thirty pieces of silver he had couldn't be returned. So it was used to buy a small field to bury him. Now, until this day, that field is called "Hakeldama" or a field of blood. So Seymour asks the question, will this be where McNally ends up or will he end up getting immunity and a new life away from friends and everyone he knows?

It was a very pyrrhic story where there were lots of losers and if there are any winners, it comes at an excessive cost. Actually, most of Seymour's are like this and it has tended to be a major theme through out his career. The good news is that if you liked this one, then you will LOVE: 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' and, of course, 'Harry's Game' (all stories about Northern Ireland). 4 Stars for this one.

Gerald Seymour has been writing thrillers for more than thirty five years. Here are a few ranked accordingly:
5 Stars ~ ‘A Line in the Sand’ and ‘Home Run’.

4 Stars ~ ‘The Waiting Time’, ‘Holding the Zero’, ‘The Dealer and the Dead’, ‘’No Mortal Thing’, The Outsiders’, ‘A Deniable Death’, ‘A Damn Serious Business’, ‘Archangel’, ‘No Mortal Thing’, ‘The Collaborator’ and ‘Killing Ground’ ,’ The Journeyman Tailor’, ‘Field of Blood’, 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' and ‘Harry’s Game’.

3 Stars ~ ‘A Song in the Morning', 'In Honour Bound’ & ‘The Untouchable’

2 Stars ~ ‘The Corporals Wife’ & 'The Unknown Soldier’.

Other similar authors that this person has read include: John le Carre, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Alan Furst, Mick Herron, Ted Allbeury and Robert Ludlum who focused on spy novels, conflicts or on espionage.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is some time since I last read Field of Blood and like many of Gerald Seymour’s novels, it was the ending which has remained with me. With Brexit looming and Westminster in a tizz over the ‘backstop’ agreement, it is as well to be reminded what Northern Ireland was like during the 1970s and 1980s.
Sean McAnally, a PIRA veteran, opted out of active service (if such an action was really possible), retiring to a lonely caravan in the South. Pulled back unwillingly to Belfast he assassinates a senior judge together with the two detective escorts. Army officer Lieutenant David Ferris identifies him leading to his early arrest. Faced with a long term in Kesh, he is turned, becoming a supergrass - a tout.
While he breaks early, naming the senior Belfast brigade members, he must give evidence in court for his testimony to be of value. He is nursed unwillingly by members of the RUC who would love to see him in jail for life and have personal issues with the organisation but need him to testify while the IRA and his community pressurise his family to force him to change his mind. Fundamental to keeping him on course is his odd relationship with David Ferris.

It is a well written, bleak, grim novel, exploring many of the issues of the period, and like many of Gerald Seymour’s novels gives much to think about.

[Liz Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was a real eye-opener as it is set in Northern Ireland during "the troubles" and gave me an appreciation of what life must have been like in the depressed areas of Belfast where unemployed men had all the time (and thanks to the Americans most of the resources) they needed to kill and maim the young British troops sent to police the province. Not only was this a page-turner but it touched many emotional chords, not least how young boys were roped into the savagery, perpetuating the hatred...and how little true understanding and common decency there appeared to be in the minds of British soldiers and politicians alike for those whose lives had been devastated by a lack of job opportunities. A book that will stay with me for a very long time.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of at least three novels I know of that Gerald Seymour has written about the Northern Ireland Troubles, the other two being Harry's Game, which I've not yet read, and The Journeyman Tailor, which I have. It is an exciting and brisk read which focuses on the phenomenon of the "supergrass", a term familiar to British and Irish audiences but less so to North American readers, and which is the term coined for former paramilitary members (the IRA and the UVF being the most prominent sources) who have decided to provide evidence against their former comrades in exchange for some measure of diplomatic immunity. The action takes place mostly in the Catholic Turf Lodge neighborhood of Belfast, and centers on one Sean Pius McAnally, IRA assassin and reluctant RPG specialist who has been fetched from a two-year hiatus in the Republic of Ireland for a hit in Belfast which he carries out effectively, killing three, but who is captured and confronted with the choice of life imprisonment in Long Kesh or "tauting" (providing traitorous information) for the Brits. Seymour does a good job of developing and laying bare for the reader the dangerous atmosphere in Northern Ireland at the time, dangerous for British troops, police, for those sympathetic to the goals of the paramilitaries and for those who wished to just go about their daily lives. Try as he does to portray the Irish republicans as humanely as possible, Seymour is less successful at doing so in this novel than he is in The Journeyman Tailor, which is for that reason at least a better novel. The British police and army characters are drawn more humanely and sympathetically than are the IRA members and those others in McAnally's immediate circle, so a bit of the stereotypes of the British as paragons of restraint and civility and of the Irish as unmannerly, uncouth, and bellicose comes through a bit too much for my sympathies, which admittedly run more green than orange.

[John Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerald Seymour will be better know for his other novel based in Northern Ireland during the war, Harry's Game. But for me, Field of Blood is the superior story.
Ginge MacInally has left the war behind and is living estranged from his family in a caravan in the republic. However the chief commander in Belfast has plans to take out a judge and 2 detectives with an RPG and as Ginge is the only volunteer that can accurately fire the thing he is called back to the north to carry out the hit.
Without going into the realms of spoilers; Ginge is arrested after the attack and flips to become a super grass. A decision which weighs heavy on him and on his wife and kids. As the IRA battle to find and silence him the tension and excitement reach palpable levels.
Seymour is a master story teller and though this is only the second book of his that I've read I will definetly be seeking out more. An absolute bargain on the Kindle at 99p by the way.

[Jak60 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole story revolves around a senior IRA terrorist turning state's evidence and entering the witness protection program. The storyline is simple enough, far from the complex, multilayered plots Mr Seymour often offers; what's striking here is how the author manages to create an immersive experience into the state of fear pervading not only the protagonist but his family and those in charge to protect him.
The undercurrents of tension - political tensions, family tensions - are palpable, in the midst of a web of betrayed loyalties, of cynical manipulations, of crushed hopes.

As usual with MrSeymour, the cast of characters is formidable; among them, I found Roisin McAnnally (the informant's wife) a most detestable character: weak, dumb, cowardly with a mean streak.

[Jim Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Gerald Seymour fan but this was the best of his that I've read. The story was gripping, shocking, disturbing as the plot transported you to the Falls Road to Long Kesh (Maze prison) to Crumlin Road as sectarian conflict, violence, social divides, deprivation assaulted the senses. This is the story of a young man turned supergrass and of the lives of provisional IRA extremists and their families, of the RUC, of the British Army.

I don't award 5 stars lightly. This is fully deserving of that accolade. Brilliant!

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story set in Northern Ireland during the 'Troubles' and focusses on an IRA member Sean McNally who has left the struggle behind and run the south only to be called back. The IRA have Op brewing that needs a skilled RPG operator and with their planned resource lifted by the security services that have to call Sean back. When he's caught following the operation and faced with a Life Sentence in Long Kesh he decides to turn informant. Most of the story explores the difficult relationships that form are broken /challenged when someone turns traitor to their cause. Will he stay the course and give evidence in court? Many people have put the reputations on line to ensure that he does, but the IRA get increasingly desperate in the their attempts to stop him. Will the pressure cause Sean to crack or has he got the resilience to go through with it.
This was a good fast paced story, that whilst being more about the psychological impact that such a decision has on all involved still built tension, had good action scenes and painted a picture of what it must have been like living in Northern Ireland during this hard times.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as Harry's Game, but still quite decent. I think it would make a better film than a book, the ending particularly feels very visual.
It didn't have me on the edge of my seat like Harry's Game, less intense and lacking the build up to the final chapter, more of a "don't do it, don't do it .." ending.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Another smooth, tense, complex tale from this great author. Like Harry's Game, a personal & street level view of the Troubles and life in Belfast under British rule. Don't miss this book or Gerald Seymour!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read...learned a lot about the supergrass informers. I dreamed I was shot last night so I think I might better get out NI for a while.

[Barry Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and tense thriller about the troubles.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of Seymour's better offerings but it still qualifies as a worthwhile read and solid character study.

[Robert Hinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Gerald Seymour writing in this novel is superb the build up of the storyline throughout the book builds up the suspense right until the end

[Koduvayur Harikrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one hell of a tear jerker. Having grown up through the troubled period of Ireland's history (even though I was in far away India), I was able to relate to many of the events described in this book. And got to know so many things that were never mentioned in those days.
This period will go down in British history as one of the darkest, nearly as bad as the wrongdoings of the colonial days. Indeed this is just another saga of divide and rule that the British had mastered during their long haul in India.
One can pretty easily guess where the book is headed in terms of the destinies of the lead characters, yet when things happen, they still shock and sadden the reader's heart. The book also drives home the fact that in any conflict no one is right - or righteous. And that there are always good people on both sides. But sadly, as in this story, the good people are usually in a minority, and often pay a heavy price for their good deeds. But then, that is the kind of life we humans have scripted for ourselves, with our narrow mindedness and petty politics.
A must read for learning what not to do, from our ugly past.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting view of Northern Ireland in the 90's. The sad tragedy of passing the torch to the next generation, the vicious circle into which Catholic Irish were born; the need to break away and offer a better life for the children. What was frightening was the early age at which children internalize the situation and know which side their parents/they are on.

[Oliver Tidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Seymour book. Brilliant. Characters, plot and writing style first rate. I have a new author to seek out.

[Robert Knowles · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good, boys own book of stories kind of read, implausible ending and the same plot line as Holding The Zero.

[Steve Markham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting examination of feelings and perceptions and how they change over time set against a rather good backdrop.

[A D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bog standard thriller.

[Rdb]

Read 126 pages.