THE FOOT SOLDIERS

I have been a fan of Gerald Seymour for years. I purchased a paperback of 'The Foot Soldiers' some months ago, but could not get around to reading it. I finally got the chance to read it recently and was hooked from the first page. I finished the book in two sessions. It is a gripping tale of espionage, and the crochety British security specialist, Jonas Merrick, who is treated with barely concealed disdain by his colleagues, who serves just desserts to the bad guys.

I have been a fan of Gerald Seymour from the beginning. Over the years, I found that he has been writing in an increasingly staccato style that sometimes bordered on irritating and repetitive. Always, however, the contents of his books made up for it. This book showed a welcome decrease in this manner of writing. As such, the story had a better flow of narrative and action sequences. It was very compelling, and rated hours' long attention at each sitting. I really enjoyed this book and found its storytelling and character development more reflective of Mr. Seymour's earlier books.

Sorry, I have loved all your books but these two were boring. I say again ‘sorry’ because all your other books I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Fair price, for one of my favorite writers

Gerald Seymour consistently creates extraordinary spy thrillers. For some reason, he has never quite caught on in the USA. However, since stumbling acrosss Harry’s Game, I have waited eagerly each year for his next effort. The Foot Soldiers doesn’t disappoint. In sum, the irascible, unlikely hero, Jonas Merrill of MI5 returns. This time, having been transferred to Counter Espionage, he is seconded to MI 6 to uncover a leak that endangered a defector of little practical use to MI 6, and his protectors. Merrick’s focus is on the elitist MI 6 Resettlement Team who evaluated and placed a GRU defector. We then move to the Russian obsession with punishing defectors, a spy service’s rather cold blooded assessment of the usefulness of its foreign agents run by agency Officers, and a parallel plot involving the terror of discovery faced by another in place Russian asset.We meet long of tooth Russian professional military contractors faced by mirror image British PMC’s. We learn about the harsh reality of espionage and counter espionage. All of which leads to two very exciting chases, both eventually resolved. Seymour’s subject matter knowledge and research seem remarkable to me. (Or Seymour’s remarkable ability to create worlds that seem so very real). His characters are fascinating and multi-dimensional. His subjects are invariably topical. There are always unexpected twists and turns and a fair amount of subtle foreshadowing. Seymour’s characters aren’t Bond like super heroes. They are everyday people with the usual flaws and challenges facing a totally unforgiving environment. From Northern Ireland, to Orgnaized crime, to alienated, angry, unassimilated young men, to police officers, counterspies, and spies, his characterizations are in depth and fascinating. Again, and in conclusion. He is one of the few writers whose work I always eagerly await.. Recommended enthusiastically…..along with all of his other novels.

Gerald Seymour had me on a string to the denouement and fearing it would be the last I would hear of Jonas.