Book review – The Devil’s Hand by Jack Carr – The ex-Navy Seal turned Author!
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary – The Devil’s Hand
The novel can be said to be truly ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ as the author, Jack Carr, is a former Navy Seal – that elite band of warriors who are trained to such a degree in military combat, that if don’t win one it’s a big shame. These are the warriors who took out Osama Bin Laden, right under the nose of a sleeping Pakistani Military. In reading The Devil’s Hand, the authenticity of the author’s knowledge in unarmed combat, weapons expertise and strategic warfare is never in doubt. though he does tend to get a bit long winded about explaining them.
The protagonist in this novel is Commander James Reece, expectedly an Ex-Seal, who is now working for the CIA in a clandestine role. We are told of a backstory where his wife and daughter were killed by a terrorist and that is something that he’s still seeking revenge for. Meanwhile, the new President of US, Alec Christensen is striving to establish order in the post Covid chaos and the mess left behind by his predecessor. He is a decorated ex-soldier himself who had lost his fiancée, Jen, to the Twin Towers destruction on 9/11. Somewhere, deep inside, he seeks retribution for that as well.
In another thread, Iranian intelligence is plotting to take down the Great Satan – America, in such a manner that no suspicion can be cast on them. They plan to release a Bio-Weapon on American cities and make it look like a natural event. When President Christensen meets with James Reece at Camp David clandestinely, and hands over his list of 9/11 plotters who have so far, escaped justice, he has no idea how the paths of Reece and the Iranian plotters will cross. James Reece realizes, that like him, the President is still hurting 20 years after the devastating act and wants retribution as much as he does!
The news of the President’s secret meeting reaches his adversary, Senator Thwaite, who then sets off his own clandestine attempt to embarrass and take down the Christensen Administration with the help of a private security contractor (Masada) – read Mercenaries. They tail Reece, trying to figure out what he’s up to and what President Christensen has tasked him with. All these separate storylines, bisect at different points and converge towards an exciting climax, though somewhat predictable.
Conclusion – Book Review of The Devil’s Hand
As I mentioned before, the authenticity of the author as a subject matter expert is never in doubt. He does tend to extend conversations rather endlessly which makes the book longer than necessary. For a thriller, the plot has to be taut and the action needs to move fast. While the action sequences here moves fast enough, it is the in-between passages which tend to drone on a bit. It sounds a bit preachy at times. Certain threads in the story are a little over reliant on established clichés – All Muslims are radicalized, the glory of the West over the squalor of the Middle-East etc.
It is overall well written, if you excuse the clichés and the glorification of torture, violence and revenge. The political stand is also one that is well documented by millions – that violence begets more violence and the chain never ends. Along with the fact that for decades America has fought wars far from its geographical borders, to maintain its global supremacy, to feed its war machine/arms lobby and of course, Oil. Anyway, not to digress too much, it is fun reading if you are not a human rights activist or a Muslim.
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