The Problem of Iran: reviews of The Increment by David Ignatius and Banquo’s Ghosts by Rich Lowry and Keith Korman

With Iran so much in the news these days, it is perhaps unsurprising that two spy thrillers involving this topic should appear so close together. That both books are well written and worth reading is a bit more unexpected.

David Ignatius, a reporter for the Washington Post, is the author of several best-selling thrillers, including Body of Lies, which was recently made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russel Crowe. His credentials as a writer of political suspense novels are strong, so it is no surprise that when he turns his attention to Iran in The Increment, he does so with great skill.

When a disaffected young Iranian scientist assigned to the nuclear program decides to send information to the CIA as a gesture of discontent, he sets in motion a series of events beyond his anticipation. Hawkish members of the U.S. government read these reports as evidence that Iran is an eminent threat and begin the build-up to war. Harry Pappas, the head of CIA’s Iran desk must prevent an ill-advised military venture, which means he must find the anonymous tipster and extract him safely from Iran. With his own government unwilling to listen, Pappas turns to a shady acquaintance from British intelligence to help him avert disaster.

On the surface, Banquo’s Ghosts by Rich Lowry and Keith Korman sounds much the same. Lowry is also a journalist (editor of The National Review) and also bases his plot on the presumption that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Like Ignatius, he places an Iranian scientist at the center of his story. In this novel, Peter Johnson, a liberal journalist turned doubter is recruited by a secretive division of the intelligence community to infiltrate the Iranian nuclear program and assassinate its lead scientist.

Despite the evident similarities, these novels are actually quite different. Both are well-written and both merit reading. Ignatius’a novel is somewhat predictable, but does a good job of keeping the reader’s attention. Initially, Ignatius’s omniscient narrator is intrusive, but as the action picks up, this distraction becomes less. His point of view is significantly liberal and anti-war, but the scenario he presents is believable and reflective of his in-depth knowledge of the issues.

Lowry’s background is unabashedly conservative in orientation, but his point of view is moderated by that of his co-author, Korman, who besides being a literary agent, is a graduate of a Quaker (and thus pacifist) education. Although the overall perspective of the novel led Stephen Colbert to call it “a conservative gateway drug,” there is enough recognition of the ambiguities of the issue to make this a thinking-person’s novel.

If you must choose between these books, Banquo’s Ghosts is the more blatantly exciting, The Increment more internally reflective. Really, though, you’ll do well to make time for both. Each novel benefits from comparison with the other and with both points of view, you’ll have a fairly good picture of this particular part of the problem of Iran. 

  Reviewed by Zade

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