The Execution Channel
MacLeod tries something new with this near-future thriller. Set in a world with rampant terrorism (including nuclear attacks) and American offensives throughout Central Asia.
Principally told through the eyes of James Travis, a middle aged IT professional with incriminating links to a foreign power, and his daughter Roisin who’s a peace protester camped outside RAF Leuchars (now a USAF base in all but name).
Things kick off when Roisin photographs something unusual on the base just before an explosion wipes the base out. At the same time James’ cover is blown.
Everything gets murky and mucky from there on in as politics and power come to bear.
It’s a world where disinformation on the net is co-ordinated by governments, manipulating soldier’s blogs and feeding stories to bloggers with strong enough a reputation in order to manipulate public perception.
It is, to tell the truth, full of interesting ideas but ultimately falls of being an exceptional piece of work as the story never feels like it pulls together to give a really powerful payoff. Also the only character I thought was anywhere near nuanced enough to be interesting was the daughter and even she seemed a touch on the underwritten side at times.
I suppose I sound a bit disappointed with this, but please don’t get me wrong it’s a pretty strong read – it just could have been extraordinary.