Review: The Prague Ultimatum by James Silvester

The Prague Ultimatum - James L. Silvester

Published by: Urbane Publications  (20th April 2017)

 

ISBN: 978-1911331384

 

Source: Netgalley 

 

Rating: 3*

 

Synopsis: 

Fear stalks the newly reunified Czechoslovakia, the terror wrought by international terrorism and violent extremists overshadowing the forthcoming fiftieth anniversary of the Prague Spring, and threatening to burn the country in its wake.

 

Into this arena steps Captain Lincoln Stone, a disgraced British officer, humiliatingly scapegoated by his government for his role in the disastrous on-going Syrian Conflict. Plucked from his purgatory, Stone is teased with exoneration by British Foreign Secretary Jonathan Greyson, in return for his 'off the books' aid of Czechoslovak Prime Minister, Miroslava Svobodova. Stone, resentful of his treatment and determined to prove himself, is driven by deeper motives than the casual platitudes of his superiors, and finds himself at the epicentre as the country descends into chaos.

 

Cut off from the international community and isolated in the face of an expansionist Russia, and with the sinister Institute for European Harmony ever present behind the scenes, Czechoslovakia's fate, and that of the world, hangs on the outcome to the Prague Ultimatum.

 

Review:

The Prague Ultimatum has an interesting lead character in Lincoln Stone. Disgraced but bright back into service with the promise of exoneration dangling like a carrot on a stick, he grudgingly throws himself into proving his worth. I found him great to read, and his interaction with the other characters a highlight. 

 

I'll admit I really struggled with the plot. There are many twists and turns - if this was a rollercoaster I'd have been puking by the third chapter! It wasn't that I couldn't keep up, I think maybe the military language, combined with some names I found hard to read kept putting me off. I kept picking this book up and putting it down, for several weeks, eventually abandoning it at 50% read. Other reviews have given between 3 and 5 stars, so some purple obviously loved it. I'm sorry I'm not one of them :-(

 

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.