Monday, March 14, 2022

Never

Title: Never
Author: Ken Follett
Published: November 9th 2021 by Viking
Format: Hardcover, 816 pages
Genre: Political Thriller

First Sentence: Seen from a plane, the car would have looked like a slow beetle creeping across an endless beach, the sun glinting off its polished black armour.

Blurb: In the Sahara Desert, two elite intelligence agents are on the trail of a powerful group of drug-smuggling terrorists, risking their lives--and, when they fall desperately in love, their careers--at every turn. Nearby, a beautiful young widow fights against human traffickers while traveling illegally to Europe with the help of a mysterious man who may not be who he says he is.

In China, a senior government official with vast ambitions for himself and his country battles against the older Communist hawks in the government, who may be pushing China--and its close military ally, North Korea--to a place of no return.

And in the United States, Pauline Green, the country's first woman president, navigates terrorist attacks, illegal arms trading, and the smear campaigns of her blustering political opponent with careful and deft diplomacy. She will do everything in her power to avoid starting an unnecessary war. But when one act of aggression leads to another, the most powerful countries in the world are caught in a complex web of alliances they can't escape. And once all the sinister pieces are in place, can anyone--even those with the best of intentions and most elite skills--stop the inevitable?

Never is an extraordinary thriller, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and a delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: My very first Follett and I absolutely loved it. I literally picked it up to get a feel and I couldn’t look away.

The one mistake I made was reading this book at the same time the fighting in Ukraine is going on and though the book helped me to understand options and escalations, there was no break between real world and fictitious (or is it) possibilities.

I love a book which sends me on Google searches and down rabbit holes. They expand my awareness and hopefully will make me a bit more knowledgeable on subjects which have previously been beyond my reach.

Will I continue with Follett, there is that possibility, but first I need to destress with some brain candy before I take another leap.

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