Veil of Civility: a Black Shuck thriller in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

May 09, 2013 Steven Konkoly rated it really liked it

Ian Graham delivers a slick, well-executed thriller with Veil of Civility. The novel’s plot flows extremely well, with no gaps, and just enough backstory to explain the motivations of a fascinating cast of characters. There’s a lot to like about this novel, and I found myself constantly stealing time to continue reading.

Declan McIver, former IRA commando turned legitimate business owner in the United States, finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy ripped from today’s headlines. An invitation fr Ian Graham delivers a slick, well-executed thriller with Veil of Civility. The novel’s plot flows extremely well, with no gaps, and just enough backstory to explain the motivations of a fascinating cast of characters. There’s a lot to like about this novel, and I found myself constantly stealing time to continue reading.

Declan McIver, former IRA commando turned legitimate business owner in the United States, finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy ripped from today’s headlines. An invitation from an old friend catapults McIver into a cat and mouse chase on par with Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series. His adversaries are relentless, employing technologies and ruthlessness that will leave you breathless. Spanning two continents, the chase is brilliant and worth the price of admission alone. Graham doesn’t let McIver off easy. Not in the least. The author paints a painstakingly realistic picture of how difficult it would be to go “off the grid” with the wrong people looking for you. He kept me in suspense throughout novel, never giving me the sense that McIver could rest, or that I could rest…I had to keep reading!

Declan McIver and his nebulous former IRA unit, Black Shuck, is exquisitely crafted from what appears to be exhaustive research on Graham’s part. Linked to a top-secret (and existing) Russian spetsnaz unit, Black Shuck is a devastatingly scary and utterly enthralling concept. Graham’s research is a strong point, and as a reader, I highly appreciated the way he weaved this research into the story. Though purely fiction, he integrates aspects of history into a speculative array of backstory that is so convincing, that I found myself hopelessly immersed. Graham spends considerable time delving into Declan McIver’s background, giving the reader a well-redacted history of Ireland’s turbulent recent history. I’m hoping that Graham plans to bring McIver back for future novels. He is by far one of the most interesting and crisply drawn thriller characters I’ve read in a long time.

Veil of Civility succeeds on many levels. As a political thriller, it far exceeds expectations. Behind the gut wrenching at of terrorism at the story’s core, there is a sinister plot afoot, embroiling senior politicians and law enforcement agents. With unexpected plot twists lurking everywhere, these behind the scenes manipulators nudge (in many cases push) the plot forward toward its unthinkable conclusion. This is a conspiracy of the highest order, set in motion to satisfy a powerful agenda.

Ian Graham succeeds brilliantly with his first full-length novel. He’s captured the essence the political thriller genre, topping off his effort with enough technothriller aspects to satisfy the most demanding genre readers. I look forward to Graham’s future endeavors and plan to read his collection of short stories, Patriots and Tyrants, which features characters from Veil of Civility.
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Feb 02, 2015 Stephen England rated it it was amazing

In the fall of 2012, I received a preview of this book, and it was on the basis of that preview that I called Ian Graham "one of the rising stars of the thriller genre".

I'm pleased to say that Veil of Civility not only lives up to that recommendation--but indeed, far exceeds it. In his first novel-length outing with ex-PIRA paramilitary Declan McIver, Graham has blown the doors off the genre, delivering a thriller focused on an Islamist threat from Chechnya from that comes off as remarkably pres ...more

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Feb 02, 2015 Samuel rated it really liked it

A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR.

"F*** the revolution. They don't talk about the glory of killing for the revolution. What's the glory in taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where's the glory in that? Where's the glory in bombing a Remembrance Day parade of old age pensioners, their medals taken out and polished up for the day. Where's the glory in that?"- Paul David Hewson

We live in a world which is influenced, for better or worse by history, politics a A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR.

"F*** the revolution. They don't talk about the glory of killing for the revolution. What's the glory in taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where's the glory in that? Where's the glory in bombing a Remembrance Day parade of old age pensioners, their medals taken out and polished up for the day. Where's the glory in that?"- Paul David Hewson

We live in a world which is influenced, for better or worse by history, politics and increasingly, religion. The author of this conspiracy thriller, Ian Graham is interested in the three and how they interact, such in the current war on terror which has been influenced by all three of these things. His first full length novel "Veil Of Civility" reflects this. With a focus on themes such as international terrorism past and present and the increasing political corruption of Public Life, the narrative of this thriller is enriched and helps prevent this book from becoming just another story about a man on the run. Now to the review. What happens when a man fighting for his future, has to return to his past?

We start the book in September 2004 with a little known real life event. A mysterious group of Chechens cross the US-Mexico border and melt into the population. They have murder on their minds and are perfectly happy to wait for the right time to strike. We then cut to sometime in the present day where a Chechen Jihadist is smuggled out of one of Russia's most remote prisons. We then cut to the protagonist of the novel, Declan McIver as he goes about his daily life, with a bit more caution than your average businessman. Elsewhere, the terrorist sprung from Russia arrives in the USA and is met by the 2004 sleeper cell. He already has a target and a plan for them to implement. At a high-profile speech in a Virginia University, they set off a bomb in order to isolate a former Mossad Officer turned lecturer who had previously apprehended the Chechen. They follow him to his residence, quickly overwhelm the security and behead him. Unfortunately for the terrorists, Declan McIver, who happens to be a friend of their victim witnesses the whole thing and manages to kill several members of the cell. This raises the alarm bells of a Senator and an FBI agent, both who would prefer to bury the matter and decide instead to bury McIver through a subtle, insidious conspiracy, which explodes into a blood soaked nightmare for everyone involved.

In terms of plot, Veil Of Civility is solid enough. Not many plot twists but the author's writing style succeeds greatly in keeping interest. This book, is basically Jack Higgins writ large, but with a decent portion of Vince Flynn thrown into the mix. It's far more complex and engaging than many of the 21st century Jack Higgins novels, but preserves what was great about them. The settings and action are also very good, not to mention down to earth and perfectly plausible, which at times is few and far between in the genre this book is a part of. From the escape McIver makes from a law enforcement manhunt after the plotters take the gloves off to a destructive climax through the corridors of a suburban Junior High School, Veil Of Civility equals and sometimes surpasses even the likes of Flynn and Thor in terms of action and pace, the latter which starts slow but soon becomes bullet-like in its speed. As for research, the author has done his homework on the issues and subjects that make up the narrative. From the NSA's growing surveillance capabilities to the history of conflicts such as the First Chechen War and The Troubles, along with the motivations of their participants, Veil Of Civility will satisfy and may even surprise some of the more jaded conspiracy thriller fans out there.

Now for the characters. The standouts are as follows. First, there's Declan McIver. Sean Dillion has nothing on this guy. McIver is a man who has tried to move on and live with the decisions he made early in his life as an Irish Republican militant. While he would concede the conflict he fought in became a lot more morally ambiguous than he would have liked, he never lost sight of why he joined the PIRA in the first place (which for him, was to get the abused, marginalized Northern Irish Catholic Minority the political standing it deserved along with avenging a horrible personal loss) and he's pretty satisfied with the end result. Hence, despite his past, Declan comes off as a far more sympathetic and likable character than your traditional post 9/11 anti-hero like Scott Harvath. Unlike others who fall into the trap of letting their past define them, McIver came to terms with what he did during "The Troubles" and as a result, is a more balanced individual, which, in a genre where the "tortured, damaged hero type" is popular, I find refreshing. He also defines himself in other ways. He's not a CIA officer or Tier One Operator. But he has some training, and unlike the men who come after him, his experience in terrorism/unconventional warfare, allows him to be a lot more flexible and dance around their heavy handed attempts at destroying him.

Next, it's the antagonists who steal the show from several of the other secondary characters. First we have Ruslan Baktayev, the Chechen Terrorist leader. Mad as a hatter is an understatement. He's depraved, rabid from his years participating in one of the most brutal wars ever waged in human history and is willing to go to horrifying lengths to accomplish his agenda. Then we have the conspiracy who push the plot of this novel. Caring only about greed, power and as McIver begins to put the pieces together, saving their own skin regardless of the innocents they've endangered and the abuses of power they've committed. They're not over the top antagonists, something which the conspiracy thriller genre has been notorious about and the author characterized them suitably.

Overall, Ian Graham's Veil Of Civility is a great conspiracy thriller. I might need to go read the short story collections with give background into the characters, but overall, this is a perfectly good start in a series with great potential. With a surprisingly well constructed blend of influences from Higgins and Flynn, this book is an exciting, well researched but down to earth story about a man who refuses to be defined by his past, and is willing to fight for the future and freedom he deserves from those in power who want to steal it from him.

RECOMMENDED READING. ...more

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