Publisher's Weekly
While the establishment of a home government in Northern Ireland may render his material a bit dated, Eickhoff's novel about modern-day intrigues linked to the "Troubles" is an authoritative run-through of Irish history. But a complex cryptogram of Celtic political factions, Irish landmarks, alphabet armaments and arcane covert organizations initially make it difficult to fathom who is out to kill whom in this thriller, and why. (The opening passages alone scroll through such groups as Sinn Fein, Provos, Prods, PIRA, RUC, INLA, GDC, SAS, etc.) After 42 months of idyllic seclusion, ex-IRA assassin Tomas Fallon is persuaded to come out of retirement to stop the GDC, an unsavory splinter group of revolutionaries, from bringing drugs into Ireland because--in a country that Eickhoff represents as fairly awash in whiskey and dead babies--narcotics are a bad influence on children. After refusing help from an old girlfriend, lone wolf Fallon borrows a papal passport from his twin brother, Brian, a priest, and totally unaware of involvement by the American CIA, follows a trail to New York and NORAID, an Irish-American bunch that contributes monies to the PIRA. Eventually, the trail leads to an Irish powerbroker in Boston and his ne'er-do-well son. Interspersed with this tale of international skullduggery are passages of Irish poetry and folksong, anecdotes of Irish myth and legend, and a wee touch of romance. The well-crafted denouement offers hope, but there is little redemption after so many killings. Though Eickhoff (the Ulster cycle) surely did not set out to create the impression that the Irish are a bloodthirsty bunch, some readers may gain that feeling. Yeats had it right: "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone." Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Genre: Historical
While the establishment of a home government in Northern Ireland may render his material a bit dated, Eickhoff's novel about modern-day intrigues linked to the "Troubles" is an authoritative run-through of Irish history. But a complex cryptogram of Celtic political factions, Irish landmarks, alphabet armaments and arcane covert organizations initially make it difficult to fathom who is out to kill whom in this thriller, and why. (The opening passages alone scroll through such groups as Sinn Fein, Provos, Prods, PIRA, RUC, INLA, GDC, SAS, etc.) After 42 months of idyllic seclusion, ex-IRA assassin Tomas Fallon is persuaded to come out of retirement to stop the GDC, an unsavory splinter group of revolutionaries, from bringing drugs into Ireland because--in a country that Eickhoff represents as fairly awash in whiskey and dead babies--narcotics are a bad influence on children. After refusing help from an old girlfriend, lone wolf Fallon borrows a papal passport from his twin brother, Brian, a priest, and totally unaware of involvement by the American CIA, follows a trail to New York and NORAID, an Irish-American bunch that contributes monies to the PIRA. Eventually, the trail leads to an Irish powerbroker in Boston and his ne'er-do-well son. Interspersed with this tale of international skullduggery are passages of Irish poetry and folksong, anecdotes of Irish myth and legend, and a wee touch of romance. The well-crafted denouement offers hope, but there is little redemption after so many killings. Though Eickhoff (the Ulster cycle) surely did not set out to create the impression that the Irish are a bloodthirsty bunch, some readers may gain that feeling. Yeats had it right: "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone." Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Genre: Historical
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Used availability for Randy Lee Eickhoff's Fallon's Wake