The Icarus Agenda
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Five people want to change the world - and one man must pay the price...A fast-paced, brilliant thriller from the No. 1 bestselling author Robert Ludlum.
In the Sultanate of Oman over two hundred hostages are being held at gunpoint. And the world watches helplessly as the madness begins. The spirit of the Mahdi is abroad, intent on complete financial and political domination.
Evan Kendrick, a quiet Congressman, is an unlikely hero. But in his past is a violence he cannot forget.
On the other side of the world, five very eccentric, very rich people are meeting. They are the Inheritors of Inver Brass. Their aim - to utterly transform the world. They seek a new saviour, an innocent messiah. Evan Kendrick is to be their unwilling victim...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ludlum's 14th suspense caper has the earmarks of all his others: the mysterious cabal involved in global conspiracy; the surges of sudden violence; the careful veneer of local color to provide authenticity; and the rather graceless prose punctuated with breathless italicizing to keep the suspense going. The protagonist this time is Congressman Evan Kendrick, who secretly goes to Oman to rescue a large group of Americans held hostage there. Disguised as a terrorist and aided by the young sultan and a beautiful American-Arab agent, Kendrick succeeds so well that his anonymity is betrayed, and he becomes an instant hero back home, as well as a reluctant presidential candidate. After his cover is blown, however, he also becomes the target for terrorist assassination. Behind all the evildoing is a cabal headed by a man who calls himself the Mahdi, its purpose to acquire the power that money brings by selling arms to religious fanatics. And on this side of the ocean there are other secret forces at work, with awesome power at their command. While violence piles on violence, Ludlum does some high-flown moralizing. The story's underlying philosophy can be found, or at least sought, in the characteristically fuzzy statement: "The arrogance of blind belief led all the mendacities of human thought.'' Hardcore fans will have fun with this one, but it's not Ludlum's best by a long shot. 500,000 first printing; BOMC main selection; author tour.
Customer Reviews
Cheesy Cold War Throwback
Maybe I would have been more positively disposed if I had read this in the 1980’s. Reading it now (2023) it comes across as a cheesy, vanilla flavoured Cold War throwback.
A good reminder of the geopolitical issues of the period, but the pace and plot twists were mostly predictable. Not Ludlum’s most enthralling book, in my view.