The Foot Soldiers: A Sunday Times Thriller of the Month (Jonas Merrick series)

Prompt delivery. Condition of book as described

I am one of many who keep an eye out for new Gerald Seymour books, and read them at the first opportunity. I enjoyed this, as I have all the others.I do have one reservation about this one, and that relates to the women in the story, who were all in some way victims of men, or driven by love for a man. I have no problem with one or two such characterisations, but the theme was strong here, and made me uncomfortable. I will be surprised if it has not provoked similar thoughts in others, particularly female readers.Anyway, still a great read, and please keep them coming.

Gerald Seymour consistently creates extraordinary spy thrillers. For some reason, he has never quite caught on in the USA. However, since stumbling acrosss Harry’s Game, I have waited eagerly each year for his next effort. The Foot Soldiers doesn’t disappoint. In sum, the irascible, unlikely hero, Jonas Merrill of MI5 returns. This time, having been transferred to Counter Espionage, he is seconded to MI 6 to uncover a leak that endangered a defector of little practical use to MI 6, and his protectors. Merrick’s focus is on the elitist MI 6 Resettlement Team who evaluated and placed a GRU defector. We then move to the Russian obsession with punishing defectors, a spy service’s rather cold blooded assessment of the usefulness of its foreign agents run by agency Officers, and a parallel plot involving the terror of discovery faced by another in place Russian asset.We meet long of tooth Russian professional military contractors faced by mirror image British PMC’s. We learn about the harsh reality of espionage and counter espionage. All of which leads to two very exciting chases, both eventually resolved. Seymour’s subject matter knowledge and research seem remarkable to me. (Or Seymour’s remarkable ability to create worlds that seem so very real). His characters are fascinating and multi-dimensional. His subjects are invariably topical. There are always unexpected twists and turns and a fair amount of subtle foreshadowing. Seymour’s characters aren’t Bond like super heroes. They are everyday people with the usual flaws and challenges facing a totally unforgiving environment. From Northern Ireland, to Orgnaized crime, to alienated, angry, unassimilated young men, to police officers, counterspies, and spies, his characterizations are in depth and fascinating. Again, and in conclusion. He is one of the few writers whose work I always eagerly await.. Recommended enthusiastically…..along with all of his other novels.

Gerald Seymour has an amazing ability to create a great plotline and turn it into a very pedestrian novel. Too much detail, and also his slightly awkward writing style, stops his novels from flowing - true of this novel and others. Rather than helping build up the tension, this saps the life from the storyline. Because it does not move fast enough, it becomes too easy to see the next step. Rarely does the does Seymour's writing take you by surprise. In the case of this novel, what should be a page turner becomes a chore to read. A decent editor would help resolve this, and 422 somewhat turgid pages would become 300 pages of tense excitement. The plot is excellent - so three stars rather than one or two.

Simply put: This is vintage GS. I found the first book in the series somewhat ‘difficult’. I can’t clearly say ‘what’, but it wasn’t the usual, the way it’s liked best.The plot, characters and arc of this story are most excellent. I read it in 3 sittings and it held my attention well. You find yourself rooting for some characters, despising others, and being frustrated at still more of them but; ultimately, they all play their parts perfectly. What you need, in a great tale.JM is a cantankerous and sometimes banal old bug.ger. However, he’s crafted in such a way as to make the story brilliant. His genius is most pleasing, and the tom-foolery with making others believe him dumb, ha!The cast of characters are all top grade. The smallest part to the big players - all walks of life and levels of genius, or not; you invest thought in them, think about what’s happening - brilliant stuff, yes?GS has produced a book of quality, tenacity and cunning. The ‘hero’ is all manner and levels of many characteristics - too many to list. But, he’s believable, durable and, now, enjoyable.I felt enjoyment at the annual instalment of ‘Gerald Seymour’, and he’s still got literary flexibility and quality flowing from his fingers. I look forward to the next JM instalmentThank you, Mr Seymour. A pleasure, as always to read your work.

Dark and competent espionage fiction, well up to standard. Not a book for adrenaline junkies: the pace is well varied but decidedly measured, and there is a large cast of characters to follow. The tone of the dialogue is somewhat in the manner of Mr Le Carré, but that shadow falls over every practitioner in the field (Mr Seymour's voice is more his own in his thrillers). Your reviewer would have liked the writing to be a little brisker and the copy-editing a little less so, but this remains a classy piece of work.

Riveting storylines and extremely well written and researched. So far from the fast paced novels of its type but fascinating in the way that the author keeps you slowly on your toes waiting for the next turn in the saga. Excellent.

A good read but would suggest you read the first book in this series before this one.

I have been a fan of Gerald Seymour from the beginning. Over the years, I found that he has been writing in an increasingly staccato style that sometimes bordered on irritating and repetitive. Always, however, the contents of his books made up for it. This book showed a welcome decrease in this manner of writing. As such, the story had a better flow of narrative and action sequences. It was very compelling, and rated hours' long attention at each sitting. I really enjoyed this book and found its storytelling and character development more reflective of Mr. Seymour's earlier books.

Sorry, I have loved all your books but these two were boring. I say again ‘sorry’ because all your other books I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I have been a fan of Gerald Seymour for years. I purchased a paperback of 'The Foot Soldiers' some months ago, but could not get around to reading it. I finally got the chance to read it recently and was hooked from the first page. I finished the book in two sessions. It is a gripping tale of espionage, and the crochety British security specialist, Jonas Merrick, who is treated with barely concealed disdain by his colleagues, who serves just desserts to the bad guys.

Fair price, for one of my favorite writers

Gerald Seymour had me on a string to the denouement and fearing it would be the last I would hear of Jonas.