Escape to Perdition by James Silvester ~ Review and Giveaway

Many thanks to the publishers Urbane Publications for sending my review copy and allowing me to host the competition.

Sometimes the only choice is an escape to perdition....

Prague 2015. Herbert Biely, aged hero of the Prague Spring, stands on the brink of an historic victory, poised to reunite the Czech and Slovak Republics twenty-six years after the Velvet Revolution. The imminent Czech elections are the final stage in realising his dream of reunification, but other parties have their own agendas and plans for the fate of the region. A shadowy collective, masked as an innocuous European Union Institute, will do anything to preserve the status quo.

The mission of Institute operative Peter Lowes is to prevent reunification by the most drastic of measures. Yet Peter is not all that he seems a deeply troubled man, desperate to escape the past, his resentment towards himself, his assignment and his superiors deepens as he questions not just the cause, but his growing feelings for the mission target.

As alliances shift and the election countdown begins, Prague becomes the focal point for intrigue on an international scale. The body count rises, options fade, and Peter's path to redemption is clouded in a maelstrom of love, deception and murder can he confront his past to save the future?

 My Thoughts:

To all intents and purposes this book would never be the usual type of book that I would read. History and Spies and Politics. None of these things excite me, maybe it is because the reality scares me. This therefore is actually a difficult review for me to write.

Firstly, I greatly admire the Author for his passion and obvious meticulous research of the area. I cannot tell you as a mere lay person how much is based on facts and how much is fiction. I would say that my knowledge of the Velvet Revolution is none. However that didn't matter, after I had centered myself and got a few chapters in.

I was drawn in to the murky world of international politics. There is a certain richness and quality to the writing that is second to none. The scenes playing out in my mind as sepia. I could almost place myself there in the bar and almost smell the coffee from the shops.

The Author has a turn of phrase that almost puts you, as a reader in amongst the throng of it all. The character of Peter Lowe is appropriately named and for all of the things that he did, I found him almost impossible to dislike. Keep your eyes peeled also for another character that goes by the name of Rasti. Never one to judge, a true friend to Peter.

I found this book scary, scary in the sense that so much of it could be real. So much of it could happen, maybe it does happen. It is as intelligent as it is well written and well perceived.

There were so many twists and turns in this book. Just as you thought that things were calming down, something else happened to try to ruin and overthrow everything. As unpredictable and unstable as I perceive the politics of the region to be.

 This book builds and builds to a crescendo of emotions and although I imagine the ending is almost inevitable, I guess it is up to each reader to decide whether Peter really has found his Escape to Perdition.

I would love to hear from people that have read this book. It comes highly recommended from me and not only that, it would make a wonderful book for a reading group. So many things to discuss and debate.


About the Author:

James Silvester works in the field of Human Resources. He is also a former DJ for modradiouk.net. He can play the Harmonica. Escape to Perdition is his first novel


I am delighted to be able to be hosting a giveaway with the chance to win one of five paperback copies of Escape to Perdition. I would be delighted if you would enter and become entranced with this novel as much as I am.





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