This Cobra doesn’t bite!!. Review on Cobra, The - Frederick Forsyth

Frederick Forsyth is without doubt one of the greatest writers of thrillers in the world today. His novels like the classic Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protocol, The Devil’s Alternative, The Fist of God have proved his abilities as a master writer of thrillers. His works have been known for its authentic research. So authentic, that the killers of Rajiv Gandhi reportedly used the technique described by him in the Negotiator to assassinate Rajiv!

Forsyth’s latest novel is The Cobra. His previous novel Afghan was a hit and his fans were eagerly looking forward to his latest release. In fact, in the course of his research for this novel, Forsyth had gone to Guinea and was trapped in a coup and lucky to get out safely.

Plot

Forsyth’s novels have centred around Nazis, Soviets and of course the Al-Qaeda. Since there are no new enemies, he picks up the cocaine smugglers of Colombia as the villains. The story is about a retired secret agent Paul Devereaux, also known as the Cobra. The plot of the novel centres around Devereaux’s bid to end the cocaine trade by taking on the drug dealers.

Introduction

The story starts with President Obama (not mentioned by name, but it is very obvious) deciding to take on the drug trade and recruits Devereaux to do his bidding. The initial report on the cocaine trade is well-researched and provides some real interesting information.

Characterisation

Forsyth’s characters are memorable. How can fans forget the Jackal or that matter Major Mike Martin? In his previous novel, he resurrected a character from an older novel. Now in The Cobra, he resurrects two of them – from a previous novel The Avenger (which by the way was not one of his good works). Unfortunately the characterization is very poor – we never get into the skin of the lead character. It is confusing who is the lead character – the cobra or his sidekick Cal Dexter!

Build up

The story takes off well, documenting the extensive preparations the hero makes to take on the drug traders. Like all Forsyth novels, this is well researched and well presented. As the fight against the drug dealers intensifies, the story picks up very well and is interesting to read.

Suspense/Thrill

Suspense and thrill are the hallmark of a Forsyth novel, but unfortunately the novel lacks this element. There is no suspense, as we known how things are going to proceed. The action sequences are well-written, but are quite ordinary and there is no element of suspense, things become predictable!

Ending

The ending is a big disappointment! In fact, President Obama and his aides won’t be pleased with how the novel depicts him towards the end. The climax of the novel is surprising no doubt – but extremely disappointing! This kind of an ending is not expected in a Forsyth novel and the climax spoils what ever little good elements are there in the novel.

Overall opinion

My overall opinion is that this is definitely not one of Forsyth’s best efforts. He is better off dealing with spies and terrorists. He totally disappoints with the characterization and the ending is a big let down. As a fan of Forsyth who was eagerly waiting for this novel, I am very disappointed. I won’t recommend this novel to his fans.

If you are not a fan, then don’t even bother reading this – it will give you a wrong image of Forsyth. If you would really like to read Forsyth, you can read The Day of the Jackal or even The Devil's Alternative, they are among his best works.

Here’s hoping that we get to see the magic of Forsyth in at least his next effort.