In 1999 the presiding Russian President, modeled somewhat on Boris Yeltsin, dies of a heart attack. An interim president is appointed and presidential elections are scheduled for the end of the year. The leading candidate is Igor Komarov, an ultra-right-wing populist politician whose political program includes getting crime under control and improving living standards for the average Russian.

In reality, Igor Komarov is insane, and intends to make himself dictator and abolish democracy in Russia. He also intends to exterminate Jews and Chechens and other minorities, revitalize the Russian military and try to restore the old Soviet Union by re-occupying the former Soviet satellite countries.

In other words, Hitler II is about to become President of Russia.

This is an interesting scenario, and perhaps not totally improbable. And it is upon this interesting scenario that Frederick Forsyth brews an equally interesting story about how the British and the Americans go about trying to sabotage Igor Komarov's election.

Unfortunately, the whole story becomes rather contrived. A complex plan is concocted (the obvious simple solution is rejected for reasons that don't make sense) and then everything slowly but surely falls into place. One keeps reading not so much because you want to know if the good guys or the bad guys will win, but because you're curious about exactly how complicated a scenario Frederick Forsyth has dreamed up!

The bad news is that the plot is so contrived that the story becomes unrealistic. We all know that in reality that very complicated plans never work as expected - something always goes wrong at some point, but not in "Icon".

Another problem is that there is a cynical element in the story. An innocent person is sacrificed in a completely unnecessary way. Also, some of the flashbacks seem to be unnecessarily cynical.

The best parts of this book are actually the very detailed and interesting pieces of background information. For example, the story of Aldrich Ames, who betrayed many CIA agents to the Russians, is fascinating. The political situation in Russia and daily life in Moscow in the mid- to late 1990's is also intriguing, as is the information about the KGB and the Kremlin, etc.

I was torn between giving three or four stars to "Icon". What tipped the scales downward was the ridiculous "Council of Lincoln", in which Frederick Forsyth indulges in some major-league name-dropping. A secret club with Margaret Thatcher and George Bush Sr. among the members? Good grief!

Still, "Icon" was a fairly interesting read, although perhaps not so much for the reasons that Frederick Forsyth intended.

Rennie Petersen


Icon - a masterpiece of spy fiction   September 13, 2005
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is a true masterpiece. It is the first Frederick Forsyth book that I have read and certainly won't be the last. The detail in this book is incredible, all of it highly believeable and gripping from the first page to the last. I am planning a second read of it (which I have never done with a book before) when I take a week off work to concentrate fully on it!!


A notch above the usual spy novel trash   December 17, 2002
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

When I read a spy novel by the likes of Frederick Forsythe or John Le Carre, the excellence of such a work reminds me how much trash is written by other authors in the same genre.

Forsythe unfolds the events in ICON's first half by switching back and forth between two timelines. The first, in 1999, finds the British Embassy in Moscow coming into possession of the "Black Manifesto". This document, written by Igor Komarov, reveals his secret plan for his rule of Russia once he wins the presidential election scheduled for January 2000. Since Komarov is far ahead in the polls, and his Manifesto espouses both military aggression against surrounding countries and genocide against certain Russian minorities, the Brits are understandably worried. The second timeline, from 1983 to 1994, follows the upwardly mobile career path of CIA officer Jason Monk, as he becomes case officer for several key spies within the Soviet military, intelligence and scientific communities. Over time, Monk watches helplessly as his agents are betrayed by the real-life CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, and subsequently captured, tortured and executed by the sadistic KGB Colonel Anatoli Grishin. The second half of the book has Monk, separated from the CIA since 1994, returning to Russia in 1999 on behalf of Western interests to discredit Komarov and destabilize his campaign for the Russian presidency. In the process, he matches wits with Grishin, now serving as Komarov's Chief of Security.

One of the strengths of this novel, besides the intricate plot and fine cast, is the (apparently factual) history of the Aldrich Ames betrayal, an absolute fiasco on the part of the CIA. This sort of background information adds immeasurably to any novel, yet isn't a part of many. In my mind, this writing technique is one of the reasons why Forsythe is at the top of his profession.

ICON proceeds at a crisp, clear and riveting pace. It was a book that was difficult to put down in deference to life's more mundane responsibilities. My only criticism, and one that prevents me from awarding 5 stars, was the heavy-handed ending lacking the finesse of what came before. It was as if Forsythe suddenly found himself faced with a publisher's deadline, and he had to achieve closure quickly. The final confrontation between Monk and Grishin was both clumsy and anticlimactic. Despite these closing flaws, however, the novel is top drawer.


Another Class Act   November 18, 2002
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Another well-constructed and well-written book from the master. Forsyth has exploited the fragile political situation in Russia beautifully to come up with a great yearn.

If there are criticisms to be made then one would be the reliance on coincidence to keep the story moving and a second would be that too much seems to go the way of the "good guys".

Still, if it's an action-packed read you're after, this will fit the bill perfectly!


really great book   March 7, 2001
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The author is telling a story which could definitely be a true story! If some aspects were gone otherwise, we could have faced the next world war 3! He builds up the suspence and you just can't stop reading. Hope there'll be a new book of Forsyth real soon. I'll certainly buy it!