Lee Child
"An action-packed page-turner which is politically incorrect, unusual, fun, frightening - and, best of all, written with an expert insider's eye."
Christopher Foyle (Chairman Foyles Bookshop)
"An irreverent and masterful blend of excitement and fun, neatly juxtaposed with a more sombre undertow of greed, violence and lasciviousness. I read this in one go and enjoyed every minute. Definitely on my recommended list!"
Caroline Vandeveen
Dear George,
What a bloody brilliant book you have write, congratulations! I read it last week and I would have preferred telling you this personally, but I didn't see you on the train, probably because of the eternal strikes at the SNCF. I really enjoyed the book, although I sometimes felt anxious and sometimes even a little sick because of that Vuk character, but I just kept on reading, as it was really fascinating.
Anyhow, I really liked it, and am very happy to have read it before the big boom! Will you still know me once you'll be rich and famous?
Sophia Matveeva
Dear George,
How are you? How is the beautiful and mischievous Cote d'Azur today? I'm writing from my desk in the heart of the city, surrounded by balding pale men and grey buildings, so it's hard to imagine that somewhere not so far away there are beautiful scantily clad people drinking rose and not giving a damn.
I read you book - and I love it! I read a lot and enjoy literature, so I know what a great treat it is to find something gripping. In fact, the Terminus made me stay up late reading in bed and made me nearly miss my stop on the tube on several occasions. The funniest moments were when I would read it on my way to work. Imagine the scene - Northern line Bank branch, 7 am, a young woman sits gripped to some A4 pages she is devouring, as she is surrounded by men in suits reading the Financial Times. Quite often I noticed the shocked faces of my fellow passengers as they glanced over my shoulders and saw descriptions of Vuk;s adventures with ladies of the night.
The browbeaten bankers would then look at me in horror. Ha!
This book is certainly a thriller and the characters are all credible and well developed. I think it was a good decision to put the Dostoyevsky discussion at the end of the book. It makes sense in the context, but perhaps the reader who only wants a beach holiday novel won't be bothered to read the intellectual discussion at the end. I thought Lucas was particularly understandable - a nice, fun guy, who like life and is too weak to open his eyes to what he's dealing with until it's too late.
Oddly enough, One of my girlfriends told me that she thinks a chap she has spent several evenings with is an Iraqi warlord, and when I ask her why she's doing this, she declines to answer and then says "oh, but Sophia, he's so much fun!"
Anyway, back to the book. The only part that I would gently criticize is when the beautiful Amra ........... choose such gentle language for the guy who is responsible for the death and torture of people she loved, I would probably say a few more disgusting things than she did. But perhaps that is just my hard communist streak emerging from underneath my Westernized gentility.
Thank you so much for sending me your work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was very happy when you told you are writing another one.
Sean Cameron (Marketing consultant, Trafford Publishing)
George,
Finished the book on Sunday. Loved every minute of it. I am prepping my recommendations, but I will be mostly in off-site meetings until Friday. I will touch base with you then. Excellent job, Michael. I mean that most sincerely.