Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold

A review of 'The Veteran' by Frederick Forsyth

Note: The following review was originally published at Amazon.co.uk on 12th. July 2017.   Link to original review: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RCOEK6NDB7XVS?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srphttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RZTWKY4II75TP?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

This is a collection of four stories and a novella by Frederick Forsyth. A common theme throughout the work seems to be revenge, justice and consequences and how just deserts can be brought on wrong-doers for their actions.

'The Veteran' is a legal thriller about the murder of an elderly former soldier and the efforts to defend the accused men in court. Forsyth is accurate on almost-all the legal and procedural detail, which is a difficult feat. The story also has a terrific twist that you are unlikely to foresee. In fact, I didn't even sense that a twist was coming. It just hits you right at the end.

'The Art of the Matter' and 'The Citizen' are the weaker of the stories. 'The Art of the Matter' is about an art gallery fraud and the revenge taken by the victims. The basis of the fraud is, perhaps, predictable, and the manner in which the revenge is taken is far-fetched and requires suspension of disbelief, but the tale is entertaining enough. Likewise, 'The Citizen' has a rather predictable twist but it's still a fun story.

'The Miracle' is not strong in terms of plot, but the writing is excellent and the story is interesting and well-written.

'Whispering Wind', the novella, is about a scout for the U.S. 7th. Calvary, Ben Craig, who in the story is the only white man to survive Little Bighorn. I'm assuming that this is an entirely fictitious character as I cannot find any record of him from the actual event. Craig assists an Indian girl and is taken prisoner by the Army, and eventually goes on the run. Again, as with 'The Veteran', the twist in the tale is unforeseeable, but greatly enjoyable, and I was very touched by this emotional story. Easily the best in the collection, it is well-researched, a terrific plot, excellent characterisation, amazing descriptive writing, with very believable dialogue. I would very much like to see a film adaptation of it.

This collection has caused me to revise slightly my view on Frederick Forsyth as a writer. I never thought I would give him the full five stars for anything other than The Day of the Jackal, but here it is. This is very good.