The Unicorn Conspiracy Quentin Cope.

To experience excitement in the world we live in must be an utopian dream. Wonderful. To understand and experience evil, danger and to be terrorised through political supremacy and religious fanaticism leading to total annihilation of human life is not only a violation of human rights it reeks of insanity. Terror. Sheer terror.

Cope sums it up in his intense depiction of Middle East politics and religion in the 70s and how it affected the major powers in the world. In layman's language it is simply "dog eat dog" but with the sophisticated weaponry such as weapons of mass destruction coupled with human knowledge and expertise then it is murder en masse and you'll find plenty of that to engage your interest with espionage, terrorism and an abduction seasoned with touches of romance and sex. Calling it a political minefield is an understatement.

When the stakes are high in this cold war, governments and secret services around the world would justify murder, The means justifies the end. Ordinary people are pawns and victims. Safer reading about it than experiencing it for real don't you think?

The novel initially focuses on 1959 in Oman where Armstrong, the protagonist, an under-cover agent develops a friendship with the Imam of Awabi, a religious figurehead ousted from his role as a political and religious leader of the Oman Interior with a strong following but considered dangrous and wanted dead or alive. The Sultan of Oman wants him captured and the British SAS support him. The Imam's brother Tammam bin Abdulla is less scrupulous about his religion and his principles than the Imam and an extremely dangerous man. At this point Cope tells us that it is a " bubbling pot of religious fervour mixed with economic desperation and political polarization......about to boil over." Well it certainly boils over. If you like living on the knife edge then this book is for you.

The story then concentrates on the pivotal year of 1973 which sees Armstrong discovering the existence of the Unicorns and his dangerous journey from the Middle East to Africa.

One of the climaxes I enjoyed was the explosion in Dubai. Predictably, innocent bystanders are the victims of an act of terrorism.
"Then the screaming started; a sickening. pungent smell of burning flesh filled the lounge as Maxwell retched and retched until he thought he would choke to death on his own stomach fluid."

One of the many things I enjoyed about this book was the realism created and the shocking legacy of how volatile the world was and still is. The author describes his book as a work of fiction built around real events which lead to a genuine fear of the outbreak of W.W.3. Thankfully it didn't happen and he is here to tell the tale!
ISBN: 978-1478-136767 available from amazon.co.uk/es and ekindle.


Copyright 2012. Permission to use this review must be obtained from the author.

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