Avenger begins with the nail biting experiences of Calvin Dexter as a “tunnel rat” in Vietnam, where he fights the Vietcong fighters in the extensive underground complexes of the “Cu Chi tunnels”.
After his return to the United States, Calvin goes to law school. He is offered a job by a prestigious law firm, but decides to become a public defender. Calvin settles down, marries and the couple have a beautiful daughter. But it seems that happiness in Calvin's life is transient. He looses both his wife and daughter due to the actions of a person involved with the Central American drug cartel. Calvin “avenges” the death of his loved ones by killing the ruffian. However, a realization strikes him; He comes to believe that a person who takes away the happiness of others should not die, but should be made to realize his mistake and should me made to live with the loss, same as his victims. He moves to a sub-urban town near NY, where surreptitiously he assumes the role of “Avenger”. His job is to “bring killers to justice”. The plot thickens, when the grandson of copper tycoon Steve Edmond is murdered in cold blood by Milosevich's henchman Zoran Zilic in Serbia. Steve hires “Avenger” (Calvin) to bring Zoran to justice in the court of law. Calvin's quest takes him around the world. The book becomes a thrilling read when one discovers that unknowing to Calvin the CIA is trying to protect Zoran, who is now in exile. Avenger is Fredrick Forsyth at his best. In the book he eschews psychological complexity in favor of meticulous plotting, based on detailed factual research. Avenger is just “Unputdownable”. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat Time/era of story: Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Who's the terrorist enemy here? Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - kicks The antagonists are: - communists How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes Europe Yes The Americas (not US): Yes The Americas: - South Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |