![]() (Most of the links in this post come from the Guardian not because of its political leanings, but because of its interest in civil liberties beyond that of much of the UK press.) At the same time, the Guardian has reported that counter-terrorism would be kept safe from the government's massive programme of cuts: the UK will still be spending billions on surveillance of its citizens. The bombers were identified on CCTV footage, but only after the attack itself took place. The inquests into the deaths of those killed in the 7/7 bomb attack on the London underground are happening as I type: clearly the new powers and surveillance, almost all in place in 2005, were unable to save these lives. As with the curtailment of liberty elsewhere in the Western world, the excuse used is the fight against terrorism, which is at first sight a reasonable idea but is less so when the possibility of emergency powers being abused (as has happened on a small scale with local councils using anti-terrorism powers to track down benefit fraud) or when it fails to halt attacks. The theme is personal freedom, and the way in which the British public have allowed their politicians to whittle away at personal rights to an unprecedented degree: the United Kingdom is now the most heavily surveiled nation in the world, so that our rulers know more about what we do (theoretically) than those of North Korea or China. Porter is one of the best thriller writers to emerge in the last decade. The comparisons to le Carré and Deighton are not just thematic, too. ![]() The agenda may be different, but a similar sense of outrage comes through. Most of Porter's work has made me think him the natural heir to Len Deighton but the campaigning nature of The Dying Light is more akin to John le Carré's recent novels, such as A Most Wanted Man. ![]() The development of the systems which allow this and the accompanying erosion of civil liberties are Porter's main concern.He mentions the way in that events he was describing as he wrote the novel turned out to be true as he was writing, not a comforting prospect for someone writing a dystopia. ![]() Kate is told that she is Eyam's heir, completely unexpectedly and when Eyam's lawyer is killed by a sniper driving down an English country lane and she discovers that child pornography has been planted on Eyam's computer to discredit him, she realises that she has inherited not just his possessions but a dangerous secret worth many deaths to those who wish to keep it hidden.įrom this point on, The Dying Light is a political thriller with a conspiracy theory at its centre, set in a dystopian Britain in which every move is watched by the authorities. Eyam, was a civil servant involved in security at the highest levels, but he resigned and hid himself in a tiny town on the Welsh borders before making a sudden trip to South America to be killed in a terrorist bomb attack. It is set in a near future Britain, where high-powered lawyer (and former spy) Kate Lockhart returns to the country after several years working in the States for college friend David Eyam's funeral. It is obviously a thriller readable as a standalone story, but is additionally intended as a contrast to his previous novel Brandenburg and as something of a political call to arms. Henry Porter's fifth novel is intended, so the author tells us in the afterword, to fulfil three purposes. Originally published on my blog here in October 2010. Absorbing, eerie, and unsettlingly realistic, The Bell Ringers is a fearless work from a talented novelist at the top of his game. But Eyam has left her more than just his wealth she is also the heir to his dangerous secrets and unfinished business. Now his former lover has been named as the benefactor of his estate. Once the prime minister's head of intelligence, and one of those who knew about Deep Truth, David Eyam suffered a fall from grace and then died in a terrorist bombing. In the interest of security, the divide between private and public has crumbled, and freedom has given way to control. But quietly-and largely unknown to the public or even most in government-things have become undeniably Orwellian: cameras with license plate recognition software record every car's movements a sophisticated top-secret data-mining system known as Deep Truth combs through personal records and identifies petty criminals as well as those disposed to "antigovernment" beliefs. There are concerns over the threat of terrorism, the press is feisty, and the prime minister is soon to call a general election. In Henry Porter's novel, The Bell Ringers, England in the near future appears largely unchanged.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |