The Taba Convetion -- Author Guest Post & Book Review

Title: The Taba Convention
Author: Stephen Ayers
Genre: Political thriller
Pages: Oversize paperback, 308
Published: 2011
Opening Lines: "Peace in the Middle East had always seemed impossible, a dream that could never approach reality."

"Two deadly adversaries, one horrific conspiracy against Middle East Peace.

"Disillusioned with the continued killing in the agency, Jordan Kline resigns to take up hotel management studies. Now the General Manager of the Sands Eilat hotel, Jordan enjoys life with his girlfriend Irit in the Red Sea resort town.

"An ex colleague is taken out on the Arava road, the long desert road leading from the Dead Sea to Eilat. On his way back from Tel Aviv, Jordan witnesses the dying man's last words. They are words that will push Jordan reluctantly back into the world he had turned his back on.

"Jordan unravels a deadly conspiracy that threatens to engulf the Middle East in war. He becomes the most hunted man in Israel. Forced to use all his cunning, Jordan must stay one step ahead of men that kill to fulfill their deadly ambitions. The only problem is that Jordan does not know who they are, and time is running out as the historic date of the Taba Convention approaches."
~ Jacket copy


Thoughts: I need to preface this by saying that political thrillers are usually not my cup of tea. I admit, going with my hubby to see the newest Jason Bourne movie was fun, but I've never felt the overwhelming desire to actually read the Bourne books. Needless to say, I was rather surprised that I was willing to take on this book request. I say this because I am unsure how much my inexperience with political thrillers will cloud my review.

The Taba Convention follows Jordan Kline, a retired Mossad agent, in his new job as a hotelier. After stumbling on a brutal car accident involving an old fellow Mossad operative, he is drawn into a thick political plot. After some digging, he discovers that this plot is meant to stop the Taba Convention, which would set back the peace treaty in Israel/the Middle East. Feeling responsible, Jordan charges headlong into the action to try and stop the conspiracy.

Good basis for a plot, considering all the stuff that has been happening in the Middle East for a long time; however, I felt that the author didn't give Jordan enough incentive to actually throw himself into this conspiracy. A lot of the book, Jordan talks about this retirement from the Mossad and wanting to close that bloody chapter of his life. He is fully content and happy in his life as the Sands GM and with his girlfriend. So, for me, I could not see why Jordan would drop everything to take on this fiasco. I found myself constantly asking myself why he was doing what he was doing. In addition, I wondered by Alex and Shalom were so quick to join Jordan on his crusade. Aside from overriding boredom after leaving their previous jobs, I couldn't come up with a reason. However, I did wonder whether some of Shalom's reasons had to do with his age.

I felt the book started out pretty slow, and I found myself kind of lost and confused at the beginning. For me, it took nearly 100 pages for it to pick up. Usually, if a book takes that long to catch my attention, I'll put it down. However, I admit, I'm glad I read further. When the book finally picked up, it was a thrill ride! I was surprised at the depth of the plot! Okay, I knew full well that it was a big deal, but the big guns involved where a surprise to me.

Now, to address my biggest pet peeve of all: grammar! I found the grammar, as far as quotes lasting over multiple paragraphs and commas when addressing someone, to be a pain in this book. I don't profess to know how the grammar system works in Canada, but please have some consistency! Half the time, in a dialog over multiple paragraphs, each paragraph would have an ending and closing quotation. The other half the time, the ending quotation would be left off. It was really confusing! In addition, on the same page, it wasn't consistent whether the comma before the name of the person addressed would appear or not. It was ridiculous! I cannot blame the author for that, since it is purely an editing issue.

I also felt that the author spent too much time describing things that weren't integral to the plot. This added to the slower feel of the book. This, however, is easily a first-time-writer mistake. It is easily corrected with maturing as a writer.

Aside from those issues, after getting through the first 1/3 rd of the book, it was a lot more enjoyable. It wrapped up a bit too easily, but I still liked Jordan winning in the end! After reading the author's quest post, I am rather curios to see what happens in the next book with the Nazis, and how Jordan is able to convince Irit that getting back into this stuff is a good idea.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen
Current Pages: 20172
Current Progress:

56/50 books





Guest Post by Stephen Ayers


I cannot emphasize enough the huge, exhilarating feeling of self-fulfillment that I felt when I finally received the proof copy of The Taba Convention. Eighteen years in the making and I had the physical copy in my hands!

I started writing to explore my ‘inner self’, as being a hotel manager I was always with my ‘outer self’, with guests, employees, suppliers, travel agents and others. Hectic days went by and I did not have the chance to see if I had the creativity, the talent and patience to write. I wrote the book purely for myself, for the fun and experience.

Mali, my wife suggested that I print out a few copies and give them to friends to read. Imagine my reaction when they all called to push me to publish, that they enjoyed it so much I should continue writing books about Jordan Kline. Without Mali’s support and patience, and the encouragement of all my friends, the books would not have seen the light of day.

And so the Jordan Kline series was born. It is a trilogy that follows Jordan Kline an ex-Mossad legend turned hotelier after becoming disillusioned with the continued violence. He is a very reluctant hero who has turned his back on violence, and yet is drawn back into action because he has to do the right thing, the honorable thing.

I created ‘Jordan the hotelier’ to give me the opportunity to weave day to day life in hotels into the stories as well as amusing anecdotes from my career as an international hotel manager.

The books also progress with the relationship that Jordan enjoys with Irit, his girlfriend. In Taba she is girlfriend, in The Righteous Within she is his new bride, and in The Kharta Conspiracy I introduce their daughter Noah. It was fun to witness their relationship as it progressed, and I am sure that Jordan pulled me along as I wrote about him.

The books are all action thrillers, but even though they follow Jordan and Irit, they are each very separate and unique plots.

In The Taba Convention Jordan learns of a plot to destroy a peace convention, and must stay one step ahead of the conspirators, though he doesn’t know who they are. He becomes the most hunted man in Israel. The book is so relevant today with the upheavals in the Arab world, and especially relevant in that one of the scenes that takes place in ‘Taba’ is actually at the Netafim border crossing near Eilat, the scene of the latest and deadly terror attack on Israel from the Egyptian Sinai.

I followed Taba with The Righteous Within, a completely different story that deals with a Nazi plot, born in the dying days of World War Two and set to put in motion the annihilation of Israel at the beginning of this century. It is a horrific plot concocted by German Generals long in their graves to exact revenge for the fall of the Third Reich.

As a four year old child in Israel many years ago, I had the privilege to meet and play with Gertruda Babilinska, an amazing Catholic lady, a Righteous among Gentiles that devoted her whole life to saving a Jewish boy from the Nazis, accompanying him to Israel after the war and bringing him up in the Jewish traditions. It is these memories that prompted me to create the deadly plot of The Righteous Within.

The third book, which I am writing now, deals with an offshoot of the Neturei Karta, an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect that, while living in an area called Mea Shearim (Thousand Gates), still does not recognize the state of Israel. They are virulently anti Zionist in thought, but respect the status quo and are non violent.

I created an offshoot called The Kharta Brotherhood who adopt violence in their quest to overthrow the government and the state. In the third book a lot of the action takes place in Canada and the U.S, and again Jordan and Irit must unravel the plot and save the day.

I could go on and on, but I do invite you all to explore my website www.stephenwayers.com where there are the stories behind my books, excerpts, synopsis, my bio, pictures from places in my books in the gallery, and more. Of course, I invite you to read The Taba Convention, and look forward to publishing The Righteous Within this October.

If readers not only enjoy my books, but also experience an insight into the challenges of life in Israel today and the incredibly interesting inner world of the hotel industry, then I have achieved my goal!

All the best, Stephen





Sinn

No comments:

Post a Comment

I comment in the thread. Please subscribe to receive my comments and the things other awesome people have to say ^_^

Search

Categories

'70s (1) '80s (1) '90s (1) 1 skull (7) 100 followers giveaway (2) 14 (1) 1980's horror (1) 2 skulls (21) 2011 in review (1) 2012 (1) 3 skulls (29) 3 stars (1) 4 skulls (33) 4 stars (1) 5 skulls (50) 5 stars (1) 50 books in 2011 (1) 5skulls (1) 80s nostalgia (1) a court of mist and fury (1) a court of thorns and roses (1) a local habitation (1) a perfect blood (1) a rush of wings (1) abuse (1) adam nevill (1) adam neville (1) adrian phoenix (2) adults only (3) after the ending (1) alice's adventures in wonderland (1) alien invasion (1) alien invation (1) aliens (3) aliens: earth hive (1) ally condie (2) alma katsu (1) amanda ashby (1) amy lukavics (2) anastasia (1) andrea cremer (1) ania ahlborn (3) annie walls (1) antarctica (1) antebellum (1) anthology (1) apocalypse (2) apocalypse watch 2012 (9) arc (2) ashfall (1) audio book (8) author interview (3) autobiography (1) award (3) bag of bones (1) batman (1) bdsm (5) beast fable (1) beautiful creatures (1) beautiful darkness (1) beauty and the beast (2) becca fitzpatrick (1) bentley little (1) best of 2011 (1) bethany griffin (1) beverly kills (1) biography (1) bird box (1) bisexuality (1) bite club (1) black magic sanction (1) blog award (1) blog layouts (1) blogoversary (2) blood rights (1) blood rights vampires kristen painter (1) blood rites (1) bloodfever (1) bloody mary (1) bob marley (1) Book Beginnings (2) book blogger hop (5) book challenge (7) book club (1) book review (146) book review suzanne collins (5) book review urban fantasy (2) book reviw (1) book tour (6) brenna yovanoff (1) brian asman (1) brian keene (1) brother (1) bullet for my valentine (1) business (1) c.e. murphy (1) caitlin r. kiernan (1) cameron dokey (1) cameron roubique (1) campy horror (2) Candace Welsh (1) cannibalism (1) carrie ryan (3) carrie vaughn (2) catching fire (1) catholic (1) catriona ward (1) cenobites (1) censorship (1) charlaine harris (2) charlene teglia (1) charlie higson (1) cherie feather (1) cherokee nattion (1) Chic and Sassy Designs (1) children of paranoia (1) china (1) chivalry (1) chris wooding (1) christopher moore (1) cinder (1) cinderella (2) civil war (1) claimed by the wolf (1) claire thompson (1) classics (3) clive barker (1) cold (1) comedic horror (3) comfort food (1) comfort foods (1) comic (2) coming of age (1) commenting (1) contagious (1) contemporary (3) conversation (1) cooking (1) courtly lover (1) Courtney Crumin and the Night Things (1) courtney summers (1) coyote (1) coyote blue (1) craig johnson (1) crime fiction (1) crime thriller (1) crossed (1) crossover (1) crow (1) cuckoo song (1) cyborg (1) D/s (1) dan wells (1) dana fredsti (1) Daniel Volpe (1) dante (1) dare (1) dark fantasy (2) darkfever (1) dathan auerbach (1) daughter of smoke and bone (1) daughters unto devils (1) David Clement-Davies (1) david hahn (1) david oliver relin (1) david tischman (1) days of blood & starlight (1) dd barant (1) dead (1) dead beat (1) dead light (1) dead on the delta (1) dead until dark (1) deadly night (1) dean koontz (2) dearly departed (1) death masks (1) deliverance (1) demon hunts (2) demon possession (2) demonic (1) demons (3) devil (1) diana rowland (3) DID (1) dirty little secret (1) disaster (1) disco deathtrap (1) discount armageddon (1) discussion (1) disliking a book (1) disqus (1) DMC: Devil May Cry (1) DNF (1) dnf skull (2) dreamfever (1) dresden files (3) duncan ralston (1) dust and decay (1) dying bites (1) dystopian fiction (7) e-book (1) e.l. james (3) eat slay love (1) edgar allan poe (1) education (1) elissa wall (1) elizabeth reuter (1) ellen potter (1) Emily Lloyd-Jones (1) England (1) erin a craig (1) ernest cline (1) erotica (10) even white trash zombies get the blues (1) exorcism (1) extreme horror (1) f. paul wilson (1) fae (6) faefever (1) faeries (2) fahrenheit 451 (1) fairies (1) fairy tales (3) fantasy (5) feed (1) female protagonist (1) fiction (8) fiction with zombies (5) fifty shades darker (1) fifty shades freed (1) fifty shades of grey (1) fighting to survive (1) film tie-in (1) final girls (1) fire baptized (1) first days (1) first days: as the world dies (1) flds (1) flesh and bone (1) follow friday (36) following (1) fool moon (1) Fragile (1) frances hardinge (1) FrankenDom (1) frostbitten (1) frozen (1) funny (1) furiously happy (1) gabriel's inferno (1) gabriel's rapture (1) game reboot (1) gargoyle (1) garth ennis (1) garth nix (1) geek (1) georgina kincaid (1) gerald's game (1) gfc (1) ghost hunters (1) ghost shadow (1) ghost story (4) ghost trackers (1) ghost walk (1) ghostland (1) ghosts (1) giveaway (7) godsmack (1) google reader (1) gothic (3) government (1) Grady Hendrix (3) grant wilson (1) graphic novel (8) grave peril (1) graveminder (1) greg mortenson (1) grim (1) guest post (3) gypsies tramps and thieves (1) halfway to the grave (1) Halloween (1) hammer of thor (1) haunted asylum (1) haunted house (4) heather blake (1) heather graham (2) Heather Morris (1) heavy metal (1) hellraiser (1) henry james (1) high school (1) hillybilly (1) historical (1) historical fiction (4) history (3) holiday (1) Holocaust (2) home before dark (1) horns (1) horror (37) horror/urban fantasy reading challenge (12) horror/urban fantasy reaing challenge (1) horrorstör (1) howard chaykin (1) humor (1) hush hush (2) IKEA (1) imm (1) in my mailbox (1) in the blood (1) infected (1) internet blackout (1) irresistibly sweet blog award (1) isaac marion (1) islam (1) isolation (1) it takes a witch (1) jane was here (1) jason hawes (1) jaye wells (1) jeaniene frost (6) jeff hirsch (1) jeffery deaver (1) jennifer blood (1) jenny lawson (1) jesse petersen (3) jim butcher (10) jodi lynn anderson (1) joe hill (2) jonathan maberry (3) joseph spencer (2) josh malerman (1) jrr tolkien (1) juneau (1) k (1) kami garcia (2) karen marie moning (5) kate williams (1) Katherine howe (1) katie alender (1) kelley armstrong (1) kenya wright (1) key west (1) kim harrison (3) kindle (1) kitty and the dead man's hand (1) kitty and the silver bullet (1) kitty thomas (1) kresley cole (1) l. frank baum (1) laini taylor (2) Lale Sokolov (1) late night (7) Laura André (1) Lazy Sunday (1) leaving (1) lee hunt (1) lee roland (1) lesbian (2) lia habel (1) liebster blog award (1) liesel hill (2) limerick (1) Lisa Unger (1) lit rpg (1) little red riding hood (1) living dead in dallas (1) lolita (1) longmire (1) lost and forgotten languages of shanghai (1) lovecraftian (1) madeline sheehan (1) mages (1) magic (1) malice (1) man fuck this house (1) margaret stohl (2) marilyn mason (1) marissa meyer (1) mark of the demon (1) married with zombies (1) masque of the red death (1) matched (1) matched series (1) matt baglio (1) matt shaw (1) MC (1) Melissa Marr (1) mental illness (2) meteor (1) Michael Vey the Prisoner of Cell 25 (1) middle east (1) midnight blue-light special (1) mike mullin (1) mike pace (1) mira grant (1) Mockingjay (1) monstrumology (1) monthly wrap-up (2) moon called (1) motorcycle (1) movie casting (1) movie review (1) muisc (1) my book boyfriend (3) my life as a white trash zombie (1) my wishlist saturday (1) mystery (11) mythology (2) naomi novik (1) native americans (1) nazi germany (1) necromancy (1) neil gaiman (3) nerd (1) new adult (2) new blog (1) new orleans (1) new year (1) night huntress series (1) nightlife (1) nightshade (1) non-fiction (4) nos4a2 (1) nyc (1) old kingdom series (1) on my wishlist (1) one grave at a time (1) opinion (1) order of the gash (1) pakistan (1) pale demon (1) parallel dimensions (1) paranormal (2) paranormal romance (11) partials (1) pass slowly (1) patricia briggs (2) paul kane (1) percy jackson (1) persistence of vision (2) peter clines (1) peter straub (3) philippa gregory (1) pinterest (1) plague town (1) podcast (2) podiobook (1) poison princess (1) police (1) political thriller (1) post-apocalyptic (10) post-WWI (1) promo (2) promo blitz (3) proven guilty (1) PSA (1) puppy (1) quote (1) r (1) R.A.K. (1) rachel morgan (1) random acts of kindess (1) ravenhurst (1) ray bradbury (1) ray chen smith (1) re-read (1) reading challenge (2) ready player one (1) red-headed stepchild (1) resident evil 6 (1) retelling (6) retellings (3) review (7) rhiannon frater (3) richard paul evans. 3 skulls (1) richelle mead (3) rick riordan (1) rick yancey (3) riley sager (1) rob thurman (1) robbie dorman (1) Robin L Rotham (1) rockabilly (1) romance (2) rosamund hodge (1) rosemary and rue (1) ruiyan xu (1) rumpelstiltskin (1) rusty fiischer (1) ryan c. thomas (1) s. evan townsend (1) s.g. browne (1) salem witch trials (1) sandman (1) sara gruen (1) sarah j maas (2) sarah kernochan (1) schools (1) sci-fi (7) scott sigler (2) sean mcdonough (1) seanan mcguire (4) seether (1) serial killer (1) sexuality (1) shadowfever (1) shaman (1) Shawn Sarles (1) sherlock holmes (1) sight (1) silk (1) simon holt (1) sinnful 2¢ (3) slasher (4) slasher horror (2) slavery (1) slippage (1) smallpox (1) song (1) SOPA (1) Soulstice (1) soundtrack (1) speculative fiction (1) spinning silver (1) stacey jay (1) stacking the shelves (1) stalker (1) steampunk (2) stephanie meyer (1) stephen ayers (1) stephen king (3) Stephen King project (1) steve perry (1) stolen innocence (1) stop online piracy act (1) storm born (1) stylish blogger award (1) submission (1) succubus blues (1) succubus on top (1) summer knight (1) summer reads (1) supernatural (1) supernatural suspense (1) susan beth pfeffer (3) susanne winnacker (1) suspense (3) sylvian reynard (2) T (1) taking on the dead (1) tami jackson (1) TAPS (1) TBR pile (1) tears don't fall (1) teaser tuesday (39) technical difficulties (3) ted naifeh (1) texas chainsaw massacre (1) the auction (1) the babysitters coven (1) The Bone Collector (1) the car thief (1) the cold dish (1) the dark and hollow places (2) the dead and the gone (1) the dead girls of hysteria hall (1) the dead-tossed waves (2) the demon of renaissance drive (1) the divine comedy (1) the donner party (1) the eleventh plague (1) the enemy (1) the forest of hands and teeth (2) the game (1) the haunted (1) the hobbit (1) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (1) the house of salt and sorrows (1) the hunger (1) the hunger games (2) the isle of blood (1) the jazz cage (1) the kneebone boy (1) the lady of the rivers (1) the last house on needless street (1) the monstrumologist (1) the other life (1) the physick book of deliverance dane (1) the replacement (1) the rite: the making of a modern exorcist (1) the sandman (1) the sight (1) the summer i died (1) the taba convention (1) the taken (1) the talisman (1) the tomb (1) the vampire of new york (1) the women in the walls (1) the wonderful wizard of oz (1) theme song saturday (65) Theme Thursday (15) theodore weesner (1) theories (1) this is not a test (1) this world we live in (1) three little birds (1) thriller (6) tiger lily (1) toby venables (1) tomb raider 2013 (1) tomes of the dead: viking dead (1) top ten tuesday (1) trevor shane (1) trickster god (1) truth or dare friday (2) twilight (2) undead (1) undeniable (1) underneath (1) unrate (1) update (6) updates (1) urban fantasy (54) vacation (1) valentine's day (1) vampires (10) vanyel ashkevron (1) versatile blogger award (1) vicki pettersson (1) video game review (3) video games (1) vikings (2) viper moon (1) vladimir nabokov (1) volcano (1) voodoo (1) waiting on wednesday (1) war of southern independence (1) war of the roses (1) warm bodies (1) water for elephants (1) werewolf (1) werewolves (4) western (1) what maisie knew (1) whispered truth (1) white night (1) winner (2) winners (1) witch (2) wrong turn (1) wyoming (1) YA (17) YA adventure (3) ya comedic horror (1) YA contemporary fiction (1) ya dark fantasy (1) YA dystopia (1) YA fantasy (6) YA fiction (22) YA historical fiction (1) ya horror (6) ya issues (1) YA mystery (1) YA paranormal romance (2) ya post-apocalyptic (14) ya retelling (1) ya retellings (1) YA romance (4) ya sci-fi (1) YA series (14) YA supernatural (1) YA supernatural romance (2) YA suspense (2) YA urban fantasy (2) ya with zombies (1) yellowstone national parl (1) zombie month (12) zombie music and movies (1) zombie queen of newbury high (1) zombies (24) zombies don't cry (1)

Archives

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Grab my Badge

Sinnful Books
 

Follow Me!

Follow on Bloglovin
Follow on Bloglovin

Followers

Linky Followers

Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Contributors

My Photo
"If you’re a freak like me, Wave your flag! If you’re a freak like me, Get off your ass! It’s our time now, To let it all hang out!" I am a recovering English major, closet bibliophile, breve addicted, zombie lover with a rockabilly and heavy metal fetish.
MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected