Review of The Spectacular

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Spectacular" by Billy Flynn.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Spectacular by Billy Flynn is an interesting military-political thriller that follows three main characters with conflicting goals but similar experiences in their youth. Alan Jackson is a retired SAS soldier thrust into a seemingly unending conflict with Patrick Kelly when he detonates an explosive that kills his men. He sets his sight on avenging his men and righting the wrongs that led to their death by hunting down Kelly both lawfully and illegally. Patrick Kelly is a leader in the IRA who was forged by the death of his parents during an SAS-PIRA ambush. He will do anything to chase the British from Ireland, in hopes of uniting South and North Ireland into one single nation. Nizar, an Afghan disciple of Osama Bin Laden and Omar Mullar, becomes the leader of the Taliban. He was orphaned by USSR soldiers when he was a boy and holds the same passion as Kelly in chasing foreign rule from his country. He and Kelly are drawn into global terrorism and are destined to war against Alan Jackson and the peace he stands for. Who will survive their eventual clash? Whose goals will come to fruition? These questions and more are answered in this amazing book.

The book has many themes highlighted like love, family, friendship, betrayal, politics, leadership, justice, democracy, religion, fanaticism, and determination. The author used these themes masterfully along with a healthy dose of flashback to draw a picture of the similarities and differences among the main characters, and to further the plot. I could see from the themes that all three main characters were killers in their own right. The themes that stood out to me the most were politics and war. The book follows global politics from the 1970s to present day. Although it is a woke of fiction, the author mentions several key historical events that make the book seem more real.

I loved the use of multiple POVs in this book as it highlighted the different mentalities of most of the characters in the book. The portrayal of Joseph O`Malley had me in tears despite his POV not being in the book. The other part of the book that I liked was surprisingly educational and dealt mostly in how clandestine operations operated. I enjoyed learning historical British-Ireland relations.

There were some parts to the book that I disliked during my reading. The use of multiple Point of views in the book, while unique, tended to bog down the tempo of the plot. This happened mainly due to overly similar experiences across various characters. The other part of the book I disliked was the overuse of acronyms when dealing with organizations, criminal or otherwise. Keeping up with so many acronyms was a headache. The book had a fair number of typos and grammar errors that kept slowing my reading. Due to this reason, I rated the book 3 out of 4 stars.

The book would appeal to fans of political thriller, crime-action, historical fiction, and mystery novels. It would not appeal to fans of the non-fiction genre. The book varies in pace due to flashback but is definitely worth the read. It is a standalone book that I enjoyed reading, and I am looking forward to more books from the author.

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The Spectacular
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[The frant1c reader]

Never read a political thriller but would give this one a try since I'm a fan of historical fiction and crime novels. Thank you for such a well-written review!

[sunny4life]

Nice review, comprehensive enough without giving too much of the story.

[Kavita Shah]

Goodness, that's a whole lot of POVs and acronyms. I like that it has a lot to learn and your emotions over a character who didn't have a POV only tells how good the story is. Thank you for a great review!

[Jorge Leon Salazar]

I'm not a fan of military-political thrillers. However, this one seems interesting as it explores other topics of daily life such as love, family, friendship, betrayal, leadership, justice, and religion. Great review!

[NetMassimo]

The elements mixed up in this novel make an impressive storyline that addresses important issues connected to the recent history of a number of nations. Thank you for your great review!

[markodim721]

It seems that the book has a very strong and complex plot. Thanks for the good review.

[Chukwuebuka Ifedigbo]

Wow! A political thriller with a suspense-filled plot? I am definitely reading this. Thank for this beautifully written review.

[k_madhu_jha]

There is a lot to learn from this book. Would love to read this after reading your well detailed review.