The Ghosts of Belfast
By paranominal
Published: November 23, 2009
Tagged with: Debut Novel, Genre, Ghosts Of Belfast, Henning Mankell, Ireland, Irish Novels, James Ellroy, John Connolly, Last Ten Years, Library Journal, Lively Pub, Neville, Product Description, terror, thriller, World Of Crime, Wow
Neville surveys the peace process and its discontents with a grim eye. Belfast’s younger generation buys overpriced coffee, crowds streets with cars, and reliably casts its votes as the world’s most cynical electorate. The old patterns persist of sectarianism, although political opportunism replaces Marxist posturing for paramilitaries gone if not straight, than into sex trafficking, drug deals, and smuggling. “The North had become the poor relation, the bastard child no one had the heart to send away.” (84) The newly rich angle to manipulate the media and the Establishment lest they let the dogs of war loose again; this proves more profitable than Semtex in egging on panic and then quelling it by stage-managed riots. This turns the goal of three dozen years of hatred, idealism, and violence.
Gerry Fegen begins his spree determined to literally and figuratively erase the demons of the twelve he killed for the Cause. By taking out those who remain who caused more bloodshed, Fegen reasons he will expiate his own crimes and silence those who haunt him from his dozen victims. This conceit features intriguingly in the narrative, and enlivens, if that’s the term, the predictably bloody action and spirited back-stabbing.
As he tracks down today’s guilty men, Fegen must relive his own killings, one by one. He turns a one-man avenger to take out all those who cling to power over the province by their ill-gotten terror and murder. The ghosts of the twelve victims, in a rare respite from the escalating bloodshed Fegen enters and exacerbates, often emerge poignantly, drawn from across the sectarian, uniformed, and civilian ranks of the innocents and the armed, both sides and all factions tangled then as now.
Characters drawn broadly, and recognizably despite their pseudonyms, from the spectrum of Ulster figures enrich this first novel by an Armagh resident. The plot’s as intricate and breakneck–truly–as you’d expect, although so quick it often rushes by the subtler characterizations that might have deepened empathy. It may be written with an eye towards the big screen; it’s labeled “the first in a series.” I admit my own jaundiced eye when it comes to the real-life inspirations for many of the villains within, but for fiction, this does drag the tone of this very dark, humorless story down very low. As the story thunders on, I felt a loss inside of nobody to care for that I’d miss when it ended. This may be intentional for this genre, but it did dishearten me. There’s a paucity of people here you can sympathize with. Nearly all seem to have made deals with rogues and devils. It’s a wasteland, no matter the infusion of Jaguars, mansions, and mobiles.
The sharp patter of the Northern Irish does not gain as much of a presence on the page as it might have; the book’s crafted for a wider audience less familiar perhaps with those it skewers. For instance, Gerry Fegen thinks indirectly via the omniscient narrator of his time in the British-run local prison known to those of his background as “Long Kesh,” but he first recalls it as the “Maze,” a term more widely used in the media and by the majority population in the statelet, but a shibboleth not employed by Republicans. Explanations may be a bit didactic out of necessity for readers abroad, yet this allows those outside the inner circle of Irish intrigue to step into dark shadows of Belfast noir.
The beleaguered, bombed city may have outwardly changed into a glossy port awash in grant moneys, but inside, it harbors its own long memories of other peoples’ sins. “The same lowlifes still fed off the misery they created, deepening the divisions whenever they could. The same hatreds still bubbled under the surface. But the city had grown fat, learning to mask its scars when necessary and show them when advantageous.”
Rating: 3 / 5
Good grief. My hands are still shaking. I don’t know what it is about the IRA and reading books on irish violence but this book seemed to capture every element of horror about it and wrap it all up in one messy package.
The premise is that Fegan has the ghosts of 12 people he’s killed following him about demanding the deaths of those who ordered or participated in their own deaths. It’s a chilling story, full of massive amounts of violence, typical irish cussing and characters that are so alive it’s frightening. I couldn’t put the book down.
Rating: 4 / 5
Even the simplest of a plot synopsis is in danger of giving away too much. A retired IRA assassin is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed and driven by them to reap vengeance upon others. I almost passed on this because I did not want to read a ‘ghost story’ and that would have been a loss. The plot rips along as the bodies pile up and the intrigues of a host of other characters all become entangled. If you like Stephen Hunter, George Pelecanos, Ian Rankin…you will want to read this book. This book is advertised as the first in a series. There are so many dead bodies by the end, you will wonder how Neville will put together a sequel. But when he does, I will buy it.
Rating: 5 / 5
A little knowledge of the history of Northern Ireland for the past 30 years will add even more enjoyment to this stunning first novel by Stuart Neville though one who does not have that information will still enjoy this book.
Many of the other reviewers have recapped the plot of this unique writing experience. Essentially, Gerry Fegan is a newly released IRA hitman who is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed both deliberately as well as those who were innocent victims of his spree. They want him to eliminate the people behind their individual deaths.
This story is one that involves superb suspense, extreme violence (be warned that some of the story is very graphic in it’s brutality), a fascinating look at the politics of peace in Northern Ireland, a touching romance and some incredible action sequences.
There a lot of characters populating this novel so pay attention to who is who and who is directing who. I found it difficult to put this book down because the story moves at a pace that keeps it interesting and full of surprises.
Fegan is one of the most fascinating leads to emerge from crime and suspense thrillers because his character is so conflicted with his motives and methods. Is he a cold blooded killer, a man in search of compassion, one who has found his true soul or something else entirely? I think each reader will find their own answer and maybe even multiple answers.
No matter what, this novel is one of the best reads this year and the book jacket states that this is the first in a series. Yeah! I can’t wait for the next one. I think most readers will have the same reaction.
Rating: 5 / 5
I haven’t finished the book yet but it’s one where I want to duck out from dinner and finish it. It’s an original voice, an IRA hard man with deaths on his conscience. A few times I go: “Ok, I got the message, you think the IRA post-peace proces is corrupt,” but other than that, I couldn’t enjoy it more.
Rating: 5 / 5