In a world where travellers are made walk barefoot through airport security in case there’s a bomb in their heels and we’re told 100ml of liquid is dangerous, what happens when a man capable of making bombs that weigh a tonne is torn out of retirement and forced to resume his old trade?
Carnage. That’s what.
Pat O’Carolan has been a farmer these past twenty years, living on a remote smallholding with his ghosts and occasional visits from his beloved niece. When he’s forced by Somali terrorist turned extortionist The Accountant to make a series of bombs using materials stolen from forgotten IRA caches, Pat joins the War on Terror as only he knows how.
New terror meets old terror in a deadly clash with only one winner.
*May Contain Spoilers*
Alexander McNabb delivers, yet again, a harrowing tale of bravery, courage, and chaos in his novel, A Decent Bomber. Though I don't claim to be a lover of war stories or terrorist plots, I always enjoy McNabb's stories and writing style. Oh, and his characters, of course.
Pat O'Carolan has changed since his early days of rebellion and bomb making. Haunted by his past, he has lived for twenty years on a farm, trying to make peace with ghosts. Pat is a man who created destruction and lost what he loved. Readers may not like his troubling past. It's quite hard to like a man who deals death with handmade explosives. It's easier to like a man who regrets doing so. Pat is such a brave, strong, deadly character who slowly wins over his readers. Especially when they witness his relentless protection of his niece, saving her from terrorists and understanding her heartache when the woman she loves dies. Readers will see the heart of Pat as he remembers losing his own partner.
Though Pat is the main character, readers will also connect with his niece, Orla, who plays a very important role in the novel. Orla accidentally gets swept up in her Uncle's dangerous world and after surviving a bombing that her dearest Roisin died in... well, as they say, 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' She's determined, heartbroken, courageous, and stubborn as all hell. Readers will feel her loss, share her wariness, and understand her need to see this through.
The plot of A Decent Bomber is tangled and a bit confusing. The main gist is that Pat is pressured into making bombs for a terrorist group from hidden caches of supplies that the IRA didn't turn over to the proper authorities. After making them, Pat knows that he cannot let them go off, eventually the terrorists will realize that he designed the bombs to not go off, and fix them so they do. With his niece by his side, and all his old friends being murdered, Pat must right the wrong and save the innocent. Though the details become muddied to a reader not used to such detailed terrorist plots, the writing style of McNabb explains it so that it is easier to understand. The high volume of characters sometimes got a bit confusing but the important players are bold enough to follow along with. A Decent Bomber is a thrilling action-packed novel that chills readers to their core. With torture descriptions and draped heavily in death, this novel is not for the unseasoned reader.
Rating: 3.5/5 Cups
