# Frederick Forsythe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196 "2012-06-05T21:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/1 "2012-06-05T21:10:09Z")
I just read “Day Of The Jackal” and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, having already seen the movie several times. (The original film.) Which of Forsythe’s other books should I consider? ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/2 "2012-06-05T22:12:37Z")
Pretty much all of them. Forsyth is simply superb at what he does, and I’d say you’ll probably enjoy all of this published work. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/3 "2012-06-05T22:21:54Z")
Dogs of War seemed ridiculous to me when I read it. But it turns out Forsyth’s research was so meticulous he was actually accused of planning a coup; and there was a foiled coup in the 70’s that involved very similar plans. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/4 "2012-06-05T22:43:09Z")
I’ve read most, (not all) of Forsythe’s books and have never been disappointed. They’re all good. I think _The Dogs of War_ remains his best work, with _Icon_ a close second, but of course those are personal preferences and may not reflect the actual literary merits of the books. Can also recommend _No Comebacks_, a collection of short stories set mostly in Ireland. Very well-written, and most of them have suprise “O. Henry”- type endings which Forsythe does very well. Also, check out the very interesting back story to _The Dogs of War._ The novel depicts a British mercenary hired by a wealthy industrialist to plan & execute a _coupe de tat_ in a small African nation, installing a puppet government which will then give the industrialist a billion-dollar mining franchise in that country. Not long after the novel was published, an actual coup was attempted in Equatorial Guinea, which nearly mirrored the novel…a case of life imitating art. It has been repeatedly rumored that the author had actually had a hand in planning the exercise, and written the book after the fact although his actual degree of participation has never been established. SS ETA; ninja’d by **Tellyworth** :o ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/5 "2012-06-05T23:45:10Z")
_The Odessa Files_ is fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/6 "2012-06-06T01:43:05Z")
I think there’s a good case to be made that _The Devil’s Alternative_ is the best thriller ever written (and _The Day of the Jackal_ is a close second). ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/7 "2012-06-06T01:47:22Z")
In addition to the ones already mentioned, I really liked _The Fist of God_ and _The Deceiver_. I didn’t really care for either _The Afghan_ or _Avenger_. _The Fourth Protocol_ was all right. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/8 "2012-06-06T02:03:34Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Dogs of War seemed ridiculous to me when I read it. But it turns out Forsyth’s research was so meticulous he was actually accused of planning a coup; and there was a foiled coup in the 70’s that involved very similar plans. In my first web chat I got to compliment him on how, in “Day of the Jackal,” the plot and reality were so intertwined that I had to do research of my own to twist them apart. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/9 "2012-06-06T04:01:36Z")
Haven’t read them all, but I’d give \*\*Dogs of War \*\*and **Devils Alternative** my top markds. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/10 "2012-06-06T05:37:37Z")
I don’t know if anyone can do twists like he can. Place a seemingly meaningless bit of information in the beginning and have the whole plot turn on it later on. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/11 "2012-06-06T16:40:27Z")
I want to throw in a plug for his collection of short stories, _No Comebacks._ And, btw, it’s “Forsyth” without an ending “e” as Google just informed me. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/12 "2012-06-06T17:51:13Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > I want to throw in a plug for his collection of short stories, _No Comebacks._ > > And, btw, it’s “Forsyth” without an ending “e” as Google just informed me. Noted. :smack: And thank you. I hate careless spelling, especially my own. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/13 "2012-06-06T18:04:08Z")
Hrm, I might have to check him out more. Day of the Jackal was probably the first ‘spy-espionage-war’ type novel I ever read; think I was 8 or 10. Really liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/14 "2012-06-07T02:47:08Z")
Read “The Shepherd”. Or if you’re a CBC fan, you’ve heard it read on “As It Happens” every late December… ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/15 "2012-06-07T03:15:43Z")
The only Forsyth I ever read was Icon, and I didn’t much like it: The good guys never really seemed to face a challenge, remaining constantly one step ahead of the bad guys, so there was no tension. Is this a common feature of his books, or is it a flaw peculiar to this one? If someone can recommend a book by him without that flaw, I’d love to give him another chance. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/16 "2012-06-07T04:09:19Z")
I loved The Fist of God. Definitely my favorite. It’s also interesting for pointing out (in a long memo) what a clusterfuck an invasion of Iraq would be. Mr Forsyth seems to have nailed that one. I was also partial to the quasi-sequel The Afghan. The only thing that brings that one down is a very random plot contrivance right near the end. Avenger was good too if you like revenge stories. The Cobra was weird. There was almost no characterization in it. Very little dialog, just scene after scene of things happening. It almost seems to be an outline more than a book, as if Forsythe just began to flesh out the idea of “what if US and UK special forces took covert and direct action against the cocaine cartels?” But it reads like he wrote a 250 page proposal for it and then decided to publish it as is. I still liked it but felt it was really missing something. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/17 "2012-06-07T13:49:19Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I just read “Day Of The Jackal” and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, having already seen the movie several times. (The original film.) > > Which of Forsythe’s other books should I consider? All of them except **The Phantom in Manhattan**. Forsythe’s attempt to wriote a sequrel to _The Phantom of the Opera_ (actually, to the Abdrew Lloyd Webber musical, not Gaston Leroux’s original novel) falls pretty flat, and is nothing like his other books. IMHO, his earliest efforts were his best – the initial trilogy of _Day of the Jackal_, _The ODESSA File_, and _Dogs of War_, along with the short story anthology _No Comebacks_. Much of that was filmed – Fred Zinneman’s film _Day of the Jacksal_ is great. Ignore the awful remake. _The Odessa File_ was good, but could have been a _lot_ better. _Dogs of War_ was just OK. They did a decent job of filming _The Careful Man_ from the anthology, but it’s hard to find. His later stuff isn’t quite as good, although I agree (and have often said on this Board) that _The Devil’s Alternative_ would’ve made a hell of a miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/18 "2012-06-07T16:17:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fred Zinneman’s film _Day of the Jacksal_ is great. Ignore the awful remake. That much I knew already. DOTJ is a movie that has held up perfectly well over time; DOTJ.2 is a prime example of an unnecessary remake that is “updated” dumbed-down junk. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/19 "2012-06-07T19:50:18Z")
All you people singing his praises: Have you read _The Phantom of Manhattan_. I found this book on a bus, brought it home and read it. I was overcharged. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196/20 "2012-06-08T04:31:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > All you people singing his praises: Have you read _The Phantom of Manhattan_. > > I found this book on a bus, brought it home and read it. I was overcharged. See the second post ahead of yours. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frederick-forsythe/624196.md?page=2)