The Assassin's Mark by David Ebsworth
The dead are sacred. Impartial. Unbiased. So Franco runs his tours on the strength of them. And just being able to run them shows that the Nationalists are legitimate. Winning.
It is hard to imagine going on a tour of northern Spain during the Spanish civil war in 1938 and being guaranteed a safe passage? Was that possible when the war was still raging? On the one hand there was plenty of evidence of the abject poverty and devastation although the tourists generally had lavish accommodation, experiencing the wonderful Spanish cuisine whilst others starved.
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Living in this luxury inoculates us from the horrors of it all.
The tours had been organised by Franco and boasted of witnessing atrocities in defeating and annihilating the Reds. A one-sided lesson.
It's even harder to imagine being taken hostage and used as a pawn in a deadly political game. Seeing history in the making or being a part of the history where your life is endangered. This is what makes the book riveting from beginning to end.
It is deemed a crazy assignment for Jack Telford, a socialist reporter, 30 years of age, working for Reynold's News, down to earth, sensitive and determined to discover the real truth not Franco's propaganda. He is an interesting character, extremely credible but haunted by his father's suicide. His father's ghostly presence and his taunting of Jack's pacifistic views eventually drive him over the edge.
It's unusual for battlefield tours to be organised while the war's still being fought. But it did happen.
Jack's companions, on first sight appear to be fascists with affiliations towards Franco and Hitler but all is not what it seems. This is what I liked about the story. The reader discovers the truth at the same time as Jack and usually it is too late to do anything about it. Trust no-one. Betrayal is the key word:
Not everyone on this little adventure is exactly what they seem. An enigma but who is able to unravel it?
His editor Sydney Elliott wants the real story not propaganda and Jack decides to write about the common man-the people's revolution not about Franco.
You never saw such a gap between rich and poor. Ordinary people fighting a feudal aristocracy and a feudal church.
The itinerary covered towns such as San Sebastian, Durango, Bilbao, Santander, Gijon, Ovieda and Guernica.
At the start of the tour Jack is disturbed by the inexplicable and gruesome death of one of the tourists which has a profound effect on him and he imagines a hooded figure holding out the poisoned apple towards him. Suspense builds up with the revelation that a man half-hidden in the shadows appears to be watching the group closely and following their every move.
The suspense is chilling and the first major climax happens at the Cueva de la Santina in Covadonga, a religious shrine where the dwindling group are held hostage by the Machados and treated like bargaining chips or hostages of war by the Vice Consul in San Sebastian, Fielding. Tourists under threat. The panic and fear feels real beyond words.
Ironically, Jack's article emerges from this terrifying experience as he surprisingly gains the trust and friendship of the Machados with his Esperanto, learning the full extent of their hardships and brutal losses, their persecutions. It's a painful story but a necessary one to tell.
There are hints of assassinations shrouded in mystery until the end. The guide, Murphy was tied to the rails, arms spead-eagled, crucified in a sitting position against the railings with his fascist uniform removed by the Machados. He was a sitting target, a sacrificial lamb. A human barricade.
What a startlingly shocking and pessimistic outlook for Jack and companions. The brutal conclusion was that in war there was simply one truth: You identified your mortal enemies, those who would KILL you without hesitation, and you killed them first? Simple survival ethics-KILL OR BE KILLED. With this realisation Jack's world became an empty void. Terror, bedlam and hysteria dominate this climax which is frighteningly credible.
More martyrs dying for a cause, a touch of romance and rivalry between a Reuters journalist, Carter-Holt based on Kim Philby's early espionage career that Jack is paradoxically attracted to and repelled by. The final climax culminates in a visit to Santiago to meet Franco in person and a mad cap plan involving an Agfa camera that is foiled. Is this the attempted assassination? The Assassin's Mark?
At the end, Jack's life becomes meaningless and his soul becomes shattered and destroyed. He is driven on by his demons to fight instead of remaining the pacifist coward sitting on the fence. He had been gullible and drawn into a web so he put into practice his maxim of: kill or be killed.
His article was published and he successfully managed to expose the lies being perpetrated by Franco's propaganda team in relation to the legitimate Republic Government.
We live like animals. We have lived like this for five hundred years.
This simply is moving, realistic and frighteningly accurate. This was the ultimate sacrifice and you'll have to read it to understand what I mean!
Just heard that interest has been shown by a London-based film company in adapting this wonderful novel into a short, six-part tv series. the project is still under consideration august 2015. "Brilliant if we can tell the story of the Spanish Civil war through a tv drama." Dave. More good news is that a sequel is on the way: Telford's Odyssey. Watch this space..............
Publisher: Silver Wood Books. ISBN: 978-1-781-32-100-3.
Also available as an ebook: ISBN: 978-1-78132-101-0.
Copyright 2013. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this review is used.
It is hard to imagine going on a tour of northern Spain during the Spanish civil war in 1938 and being guaranteed a safe passage? Was that possible when the war was still raging? On the one hand there was plenty of evidence of the abject poverty and devastation although the tourists generally had lavish accommodation, experiencing the wonderful Spanish cuisine whilst others starved.
Living in this luxury inoculates us from the horrors of it all.
The tours had been organised by Franco and boasted of witnessing atrocities in defeating and annihilating the Reds. A one-sided lesson.
It's even harder to imagine being taken hostage and used as a pawn in a deadly political game. Seeing history in the making or being a part of the history where your life is endangered. This is what makes the book riveting from beginning to end.
It is deemed a crazy assignment for Jack Telford, a socialist reporter, 30 years of age, working for Reynold's News, down to earth, sensitive and determined to discover the real truth not Franco's propaganda. He is an interesting character, extremely credible but haunted by his father's suicide. His father's ghostly presence and his taunting of Jack's pacifistic views eventually drive him over the edge.
It's unusual for battlefield tours to be organised while the war's still being fought. But it did happen.
Jack's companions, on first sight appear to be fascists with affiliations towards Franco and Hitler but all is not what it seems. This is what I liked about the story. The reader discovers the truth at the same time as Jack and usually it is too late to do anything about it. Trust no-one. Betrayal is the key word:
Not everyone on this little adventure is exactly what they seem. An enigma but who is able to unravel it?
His editor Sydney Elliott wants the real story not propaganda and Jack decides to write about the common man-the people's revolution not about Franco.
You never saw such a gap between rich and poor. Ordinary people fighting a feudal aristocracy and a feudal church.
The itinerary covered towns such as San Sebastian, Durango, Bilbao, Santander, Gijon, Ovieda and Guernica.
At the start of the tour Jack is disturbed by the inexplicable and gruesome death of one of the tourists which has a profound effect on him and he imagines a hooded figure holding out the poisoned apple towards him. Suspense builds up with the revelation that a man half-hidden in the shadows appears to be watching the group closely and following their every move.
The suspense is chilling and the first major climax happens at the Cueva de la Santina in Covadonga, a religious shrine where the dwindling group are held hostage by the Machados and treated like bargaining chips or hostages of war by the Vice Consul in San Sebastian, Fielding. Tourists under threat. The panic and fear feels real beyond words.
Ironically, Jack's article emerges from this terrifying experience as he surprisingly gains the trust and friendship of the Machados with his Esperanto, learning the full extent of their hardships and brutal losses, their persecutions. It's a painful story but a necessary one to tell.
There are hints of assassinations shrouded in mystery until the end. The guide, Murphy was tied to the rails, arms spead-eagled, crucified in a sitting position against the railings with his fascist uniform removed by the Machados. He was a sitting target, a sacrificial lamb. A human barricade.
What a startlingly shocking and pessimistic outlook for Jack and companions. The brutal conclusion was that in war there was simply one truth: You identified your mortal enemies, those who would KILL you without hesitation, and you killed them first? Simple survival ethics-KILL OR BE KILLED. With this realisation Jack's world became an empty void. Terror, bedlam and hysteria dominate this climax which is frighteningly credible.
More martyrs dying for a cause, a touch of romance and rivalry between a Reuters journalist, Carter-Holt based on Kim Philby's early espionage career that Jack is paradoxically attracted to and repelled by. The final climax culminates in a visit to Santiago to meet Franco in person and a mad cap plan involving an Agfa camera that is foiled. Is this the attempted assassination? The Assassin's Mark?
At the end, Jack's life becomes meaningless and his soul becomes shattered and destroyed. He is driven on by his demons to fight instead of remaining the pacifist coward sitting on the fence. He had been gullible and drawn into a web so he put into practice his maxim of: kill or be killed.
His article was published and he successfully managed to expose the lies being perpetrated by Franco's propaganda team in relation to the legitimate Republic Government.
We live like animals. We have lived like this for five hundred years.
This simply is moving, realistic and frighteningly accurate. This was the ultimate sacrifice and you'll have to read it to understand what I mean!
Just heard that interest has been shown by a London-based film company in adapting this wonderful novel into a short, six-part tv series. the project is still under consideration august 2015. "Brilliant if we can tell the story of the Spanish Civil war through a tv drama." Dave. More good news is that a sequel is on the way: Telford's Odyssey. Watch this space..............
Also available as an ebook: ISBN: 978-1-78132-101-0.
Copyright 2013. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this review is used.
Thanks for the review, Carol. It's much appreciated. If any of your readers are interested or want to know anything else about the story, I send out a monthly e-newsletter and can be contacted about this on... davemccall@talktalk.net. My website is www.davidebsworth.com. Since the first tour took place on 1st July 1938, I'll also be doing a 75th Anniversary "day by day" itinerary from the actual events and locations starting on Sunday 30th June. Best regards to all.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. Look forward to the next novel!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic book about an amazingly arrogant venture of Franco's - organising battle field tours while the war still rages. Carol's blog says it all. A must read for anybody interested in the Spanish Civil War and/or thrillers!
ReplyDeleteJohn