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I don't normally read spy thrillers of this type, and this was the first of Forsyth's books I've read, but I loved it! I grabbed this book from my husband one day when I was bored, and was drawn in immediately by the tense prose and gripping plotline. I won't give a synopsis, you can get that above. But I will say I read this almost straight through from start to finish.No one seems to know how much of this novel is really true, and in the end, that doesn't matter, because it's writen so well that it might as well be true. The plot is crafted around a war that really happened, and the author spoke with those who had taken part in the war, giving his work an authenticity hard to match. If you're looking for an intelligent novel of this genre, then this one is hard to beat. Don't hesitate!

I've just finished yet another re-reading of The Fist Of God and once again I found it a gripping read. Set around the time of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq in 1990-1991 the story consists of several strands which come together through the novel as the existence of a secret weapon by Saddam is discovered by the allies.

The central character is Major Mike Martin of the SAS who can pass for an Arab (having been brought up in Iraq with a half-Indian mother) and his brother Terry, an Arab historian who nevertheless helps SIS with identification of Saddam's weapons. The story includes the American CIA and an American bomber pilot, the British SIS and SAS and also the Israelis and their complicated plot to rob an Austrian private bank. Jericho, the Iraqi insider who is initially feeding information to the Israelis, is unmasked at the end of the book - and in fact I had forgotten who it was in this reading and was surprised again.

Forsyth doesn't spend a lot of time on characterisation - this story is about detailed plotting with fascinating insights into how the Army, SAS and Intelligence communities work (at least fictionally). There's also some politics but it's not too overt (as, say, in a Patrick Robinson novel). It's hard to tell how much of the story is fact and fiction, many of the characters are real historical figures, but it's a brilliantly crafted and engaging story which is one to enjoy again and again.

Ich habe folgende die Bücher von Frederik Forsyth in angegebener Reihenfolge gelesen "The Odessa File - The Day of the Jackal - Avenger - The Fist of God" und obwohl gerade die ersten einen höheren Bekanntheitsgrad besitzen würde ich die beiden letzten nicht schlechter bewerten. Im Gegenteil, auch in diesen beiden Bücher schafft es der Autor über das ganze Buch hinweg die Spannung aufrecht zu erhalten und jedes Mal neuen regionalen und politischen Boden zu betreten. Speziell mit "The Fist of God" und dem aktuell fortwährend andauerden Konflikt im Irak ist dieses tolle Buch aktueller denn je ...Absolut empfehlenswert, spannend und kurzweilig!!!

I read the "dogs of war" when I was a kid. Ever since I was after books of FF. It was written so realistically and detailed that I always thought: "This is the way to practically do it." Then, many years later I got a hold of the Fist of god. I have not been in Kuwait at the time of the events. However, I was sitting in my NBC suit in the immediate vicinity to the most important Israeli Early Warning station in the Middle East presumed to be a target. I saw the Al-Husayns coming in. The background of this story is almost too close to pass as fiction. I bought the book for the first time when passing through Kuwait as a tourist a few years later. I always carried it with me on my tours in various troubles countries of the Middle East. Up to now I have flashbacks of these times when I read the book again. I enthusiastically lend it to people I believed sharing my views. Obviously they are as enthusiastically as I about the book as I never got it returned. So I bought the book several times. By far the best of all I read by FF. Only one more to go (No comebacks) then I read them all.

I've been reading a few of Forsyth novel such as 'The days of the Jackal', Odessa File and Dogs of war. But this one has to be my favourite. Being a former military man myself, it really interest me how accurate and knowledgable the author was on the military intricate strategy in mass desert warfare which are made up of alot of separate operations which have the same objective...to make sure the fist of god was never operational. There was really no hard concrete evidence it exist, but there was also no hard concrete evidence that it didn't. As the saying goes 'Absence of evidence, is not evident of absence. I watch and observed the gulf war event with great interest and as much as possible with out prejudice and bias to any side. This book does bring the other (fictionally ?)missing puzzel which make up the bigger picture of how the conflict was negotiated with extreme prejucide. On the books, the character build up of the key people in the novel was most impressive, giving the reader an almost sympathetic attachement with the character along the journey of the story. The author's ability to tie in all the individual character to one plot in the end, produces an adrenalin climax and a good closure. Highly recommended to those who missed the actions, you know who you are.