"Shadow Over Babylon" is the first book by David Mason and it's a gripping read very much in the style of Frederick Forsythe or Tom Clancy. The story revolves around a group of British ex-Special Forces men who are hired to assassinate Saddam Hussein and the planning and organisation involved to infiltrate Iraq, shoot Hussein and then escape. They draft in a sniper, Danny MacDonald, who is a deer stalker and we are introduced to Danny at the beginning of the book as he explains about shooting to a deer hunter. This aspect of the book - the technical detail of the sniper's craft - is fascinating and not something I've read elsewhere.

As the book progresses we learn more about the characters and the plans that they are making to carry out this difficult task, although we don't know the full plot at any time - as it unfolds we understand why they organised things as they did. There is a parallel story taking place in the American NRO (National Reconnaisance Office) as they find themselves tracking the team and trying to work out who they are and what they are doing. Big brother was definitely watching them!

The book has some technical detail but perhaps less than a Tom Clancy book - which isn't a bad thing. There is also more characterisation of the men involved in the mission - why they are doing it, how they handle the stress and violence - and even a couple of little romantic storylines for three of the main people involved.

And do they succeed in killing Saddam Hussein? Well, you'll have to read it to find out, but it's a really great read and there's a little twist in the tail which I wasn't expecting and was fun. Enjoy the story and the plot and the characters - this is an excellent debut novel by someone who clearly knows an awful lot about what he's describing and it's great fun to read a book with British special forces, rather than American ones, with the humour and amusing conversation of the Brits.

RELEASE NOTES:

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