The Madmen of Benghazi
A Malko Linge Novel
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3.7 • 23 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
THE MADMEN OF BENGHAZI, available for the first time in the U.S., is a gripping, racy, ripped-from-the-headlines espionage thriller set in volatile post-Qaddafi Libya.
Gérard de Villiers (1929–2013) spent his five-decade career cultivating connections in the world of international intelligence, which allowed him to anticipate geopolitical events before they occurred—and to masterfully blend fiction with an insider’s knowledge of international affairs. Published from 1964 until his death in 2013, his bestselling SAS series of 200 spy novels, starring Malko Linge, was long considered France’s answer to Ian Fleming, with Malko as his James Bond.
Its hero, Malko Linge, an Austrian aristocrat, spends his time freelancing for the CIA in order to support his playboy lifestyle.
When terrorists try to shoot down a plane carrying Libyan prince Ibrahim al-Senussi, it is clear that someone wants him dead. But the CIA has its own plot for the prince: Now that Qaddafi has been overthrown, al-Senussi is their best bet to set up a constitutional monarchy and stem the Islamist tide in Libya. The CIA, which needs Malko as much as he needs them, sends the Austrian aristocrat to Cairo to learn more about al-Senussi’s plans by seducing his companion, a ravishing British model. This mission is enormously appealing, but also proves enormously dangerous, as the same madman of God who is trying to kill al-Senussi also takes aim at Malko.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
De Villiers (1929 2013), the author of about a hundred spy novels featuring Austrian nobleman and freelance CIA agent Malko Linge, makes his U.S. debut with this entertaining entry first published in France in 2011. Malko goes to Cairo to find out who is trying to kill Ibrahim al-Senussi, the grandson of Libya's King Idris, whom Muammar Qaddafi overthrew in 1967. Now that Qaddafi has been deposed, al-Senussi is the prospective head of the new Libyan government. Malko accepts his mission with gusto, as it involves seducing Cynthia Mulligan, a London model and al-Senussi's mistress, to gain information. Malko soon gets on the track of a ruthless Islamist, Abu Bukatella, who doesn't want a modern monarch backed by the West to rule Libya. The book is short, blazingly fast, and full of explicit sex. Readers may wonder why American publishers waited so long to bring the series to this country.
Customer Reviews
Decent story, appalling characterization
This is basically soft porn disguised as a thriller. The characters - particularly the women (or rather: the woman) are so poorly drawn it's both laughable and infuriating. The action is not particularly exciting as it's generally motivated by the stupidity of the players. I found myself wanting them to fail so they'd be put out of my misery. I don't know if it's the fault of the translator or the French author but the dialogue is at best "clunky". With a team of dedicated screenwriters this could make a decent film but as a novel it belongs at the bottom of a birdcage