I Am Pilgrim: A Thriller

Brief summary and review, no spoilers. This lengthy novel goes back and forth between our two main characters: an American high-ranking ex-spy who will go by the code name Pilgrim and a Saudi Arabian born mujahideen fighter known as the Saracen. At the start of the book, we know that Pilgrim had retired (at an early age) and has written a book about investigative techniques and basically how to commit crimes without detection. He thinks that no one will ever figure out he is the author, but when a wily NY City police detective named Ben Bradley and his wife do their own checking, they figure it out and Pilgrim (who they find out was born with the name Scott Murdoch) is asked to help solve a mysterious crime that occurred in a rather ramshackle NY hotel. The reason Bradley finds Scott and asks him for help with the case is because it's obvious that the killer had read Scott's book and employed his techniques. Scott is both perturbed and impressed that Ben has figured out who he is, and once he finds out about Ben's heroism during 9/11 he decides he'll help. Meanwhile, we go to the chapters that tell the story of the Saracen, and how he witnessed the brutal execution of his beloved father at the hands of the Saudi police on orders from the Saudi royal family. The father had been trying to expose their corruption. With a deep-seeded hatred, the young boy decides to join a fundamentalist Muslim group and from there, goes on to help the Muslim freedom fighters during their war with the Russians. As his tale continues, we learn about his intelligence, the tragedies in his life and the reasons he has become so embittered against the United States and Israel. He comes up with a brilliant plan to kill as many Americans as possible - I won't divulge that plan although you learn it rather quickly in the book because it's better for the reader to find that out when the author intended we find that out. Meanwhile, the head of the intelligence services in the United States finds out about the Saracen's plans, and Scott is recruited to find him and foil his efforts before catastrophe. He reluctantly agrees and once again becomes a covert agent, this time on his own albeit with the top USA intelligence forces behind him. The story goes back and forth between Scott and the Saracen and goes back and forth in time. In this way we get background as to both characters and see what makes them tick. As the story continues it becomes a nail-biter as we follow Scott as he trails the Saracen in a mad rush to prevent the mass destruction and at the same time, we also learn more about the murder in the NY City apartment building as that mystery still looms. The chapters about Pilgrim are told from his point of view, whereas the chapters about the Saracen are told in third person. Both are very effective narration forms for this novel and really keep the action moving. I very much enjoyed this book. I thought it was a page-turner although it took me a long time to finish; it's a long book and there is a lot of going back and forth in time to various subplots and histories. I learned a LOT about currently investigative techniques and the book does a wonderful job showing us how the spy business has changed since the days when Russia was our enemy; the fight now is very different especially with the adversaries willing to give up their own lives for a religious cause. Another thing I really liked about this book is that I thought it gave a balanced view of some of the possible causes of Muslim extremism and a sympathetic view of many in the Muslim community. It also critiqued American interrogation techniques such as water-boarding and showed the power and scope of America's intelligence community - not a lot is private anymore. Recommended. I look forward to reading the next novel by this author.

With books like this one…I wish there was way to give a higher rating than 5-stars. Given the 22+ hours on the audio version and some 600+ pages on the printed copy, I’ve held off on “Pilgrim” since it first came out 11-years ago. However, after coming across an available audiobook at the library recently, I was nearly addicted to the novel by the end of the first chapter. The novel follows more than one story, with all of them interconnected. Even so, the main protagonist is Scott Murdoch, a young, legendary, and near-burned out member of a government group that is several layers beyond the secretive CIA. When a vengeful terrorist plans to destroy the Western Word with a smallpox virus that he has “reinvented,” Murdoch (who goes by various aliases) abruptly returns to the fold. Just a head’s up on this adrenaline packed novel….if unexpected twists and turns could cause whiplash to readers, “Pilgrim” would need to have a warning sign at the beginning of the book. All in all, while this is a lengthy novel regardless of whether one is reading it on a kindle or listening to the audio version, this engrossing and well-written story is well worth the time.

I'll start with the not so good. This book was way too long. WAY too long. There were far too many hints of upcoming plot twists - or hints of bad things to come for the hero, but they weren't half as nuanced, or ultimately compelling as I suspect the author thought. Many reviews have suggested that there are far too many "perfect" intelligence agents in todays literature - and if you believe that, you will definitely have that complaint about this book. But honestly, I've read a few books about "ordinary" spies, detectives, whatever - and they are quite simply - boring. This book is not boring. Honestly, this book scared me. It is a plausible storyline that could be all too real in this world. It brought to life the failings of unimaginative intelligence agencies, the dangers potentially lurking out there for our country, not necessarily because of what we have done, but because of who we are allied with. In doing this the story brings in some depth that is lacking in so many books these days. Through the unquestionably excellent word pictures this author creates, I travelled not only to multiple foreign locations, but to historical and current (but important) events that impact the story and our world today. This is a book worth reading, and I find myself hoping that it is made into a movie. It combines some of the action thrills that pervade so many movies today, but it also has a great deal of intellectual puzzle solving built in to the story, and that is what appeals to me more than Tom Cruise type action scenes. In all the worry about nuclear weapons, this book gives us something more sinister, and harder to eliminate in the form of biological warfare. It takes you into the life and mind of an extremist who is not only determined to have an effect on the world order, but also into the ease with which a highly motivated, intelligent, patient extremist actually COULD have a serious effect on the world order. Yes, there are some implausible issues in the book - but they are pale in comparison to the overall plot and story telling expertise of this author. I would also pose a warning - because of the length of the book (and the way it drags in some spots) it is tempting to skip past whole chapters. Don't. You need the detail and the background the author builds up. This is a plausible, imaginative, cautionary story for our times. Worth the money and the time. Oh - and I'd love to see Battleboi in a book of his own some day!

Cannot recommend this enough! A page turner to be sure. Crime scene, unexpected evidence, unreal knowledge from the main character, world travel. This novel has it all!

Hayes weet op een unieke manier een fictioneel verhaal neer te zetten in de echte wereld, dat zo goed is uitgedacht en onderbouwd met echte feiten dat het zomaar echt gebeurd zou kunnen zijn. Hierdoor begon ik zelf te denken over hoe het verhaal zich in het echt zou uitspelen, en dan blijkt dus dat dit boek helemaal niet zo vergezocht is als het misschien allemaal lijkt. Wel is het redelijk gestereotypeerd, en mogelijk zullen niet al die stereotypen bij iedereen in goede aarde vallen. Iets wat ik origineel verwachtte als kritiekpuntje, maar uiteindelijk juist het tegenovergestelde is geworden, is de manier waarop het verhaal wordt beschreven. Zeker in het begin lijken er meerdere compleet van elkaar losstaande verhaallijnen te zijn, die soms heel lang achter elkaar worden beschreven, waardoor je de andere verhaallijnen 'mist'. Het is dus belangrijk om goed te blijven nadenken en niets door elkaar te halen. Naar het eind toe wordt echter steeds duidelijker hoe alles bij elkaar komt, en heb je echt momenten waarop het 'klikt'. Juist het feit dat je nu zo veel achtergrond hebt, die in het misschien regelmatig onnodig leek, zorgt ervoor dat de karakters goed tot leven komen. Het verhaal begint goed, was daarna wat minder interessant, maar eindigt zeer intrigerend. Het duurde misschien even voordat het écht goed werd, maar uiteindelijk heb ik er meer dan genoten van verwacht, en zelfs nu het boek uit is blijf ik aan het verhaal denken. Zeker de moeite waard als je het niet erg vind dat het een wat dikker boek is.

Produto perfeito e recebido adequadamente.

Una de esos libros que no quieres soltar ni para dormir!! Muy bien escrito y muy entretenido... super recomendable !!

A veces demasiado irreal, sobre todo el “machote” del personaje principal, pero la historia engancha, que es lo que cuenta en este tipo de libros, y el estilo es mejor que el de la media.