I'm quite sad to say that I didn't even finish reading this. It's incredibly rare for me not to finish a book. After perseverng with it for days and days I realised I didn't actually care what happened in the end. It's a shame because this had the potential to be very good. The story of a western Al-Qaeda operative after his release from Guantanamo and his journey to return to his "family" in the Saudi Arabian desert. The book also charts the stories of a multitude of other characters tryingto stop him from completing his journey. I think it was the sheer number of characters involved and the jumping around from one of their stories to the next that really got me down. I found the story difficult to keep up with and kept forgetting each character's back-story. I'm not going to let this put me off the author, however, as I have enjoyed his previous novels. ( )

very poignant and close to today's truth - what we should be thinking about.... ( )

A very good thriller based on the so-called "war on terror", but with greater sympathy than most for the "terrorist". One has to admire him more than many of his hunters. ( )

Another book which is difficult to get into initially but which repays the effort in the end. This tells an interesting (and frightening) story of a terrorist's long journey from initial indoctrination to capture in Afghanistan and interrogation at Camps X-Ray and Delta in Cuba, followed by escape when his significance isn't realized by his US captors. By the time his importance is realized, it is a long battle to find out where he is and neutralize him before he can undertake his deadly mission for which he was groomed. En route, the book asks and answers some interesting questions about the nature of terrorism and the efforts and technology needed to defeat it. Not an easy read but worthwhile. ( )