The Afghan Frederick Forsyth Published by Corgi Books ISBN 9780552155045
M any action thriller writers use the central idea in their books of a protagonist, or main character, who fights for good against an antagonist, or opponent, who aims to stop him.
However, Frederick Forsyth's novel, The Afghan, gives this idea a little twist; his hero pretends to be a bad man - and watches as bad things happen - so that good can defeat evil in the end.
The hero is a retired, former US Special Forces soldier, Colonel Mike Martin, who has fought in war zones, including Bosnia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland.
After the West suspects that a terrorist attack is being planned by al-Qaeda, Martin is asked to take on what may be his most difficult mission; he must pretend to be Izmat Khan - a Taliban freedom fighter known by many people simply as 'The Afghan' - so he can help prevent the attack.
With Khan held prisoner by the West, Martin - a skilled linguist who has lived among the tribesmen in Afghanistan for many years - takes his place and attempts to fool the al-Qaeda terrorists into revealing their target.