A Terror Threat So Real, It's Like Reading the News Headlines

The International Thriller is a new genre to me. "Trojan Horse" by David Lender introduced me to the world of espionage, computer hacking, the oil industry, radical Islam and Saudi Arabia. The story tells of a scarily real threat in today's world of oil dependence and Muslim fundamentalism.

While writing an action-packed thriller, the author managed, through the backstory, to keep my interest in the exotic Sasha, as her story and complex character unfolds and she unexpectedly finds love in the midst of all the intrigue.

Mr. Lender's writing style is dense and admittedly you need to pay attention until you learn the main characters and get into the rhythm of the alternating time settings. I did not find it as confusing as some Amazon reviews led me to believe. The pace of the novel was just right for me, slower when developing characters and relationships and faster in the action scenes.

All in all, I enjoyed "Trojan Horse" and will seek out other International Thrillers in future. ( )

Up to a point I enjoyed “Trojan Horse” by David Lender. The good news: One, the story was eerily contemporary with today's unrest in the Middle East. Two, the author's skill at sentence structure met my conscious and subconscious expectations for good writing. Three, although I thought the tale was a bit too long, the juxtaposition of the past with “current year” worked for me. Bad news: One, that part of the ending narrative surrounding Sasha hiding out in Milford lack credibility. Two, the gratuitous use of “Jesus” and “Jesus Christ” as expletives is a major turn-off for those Christian readers who believe that the Third of the Ten Commandments is still applicable despite subtle and not too subtle efforts – including perhaps the unintended effect in “Trojan Horse” – to demean or marginalize that which many venerate and hold dear. Said another way, more sensitivity by the author to the religious values of a certain proportion of readers would have caused me to rate “Trojan Horse” as four-star or better; however, the lack of that sensitivity makes “Trojan Horse” a three-star at best. ( )