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Fulgencio Batista
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Fidel Castro in his guerrila days
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Fidel Castro, 1960
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Distinctive profile of
a Sten gun
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Original story published under pen name Duncan Lee in 1961
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
HOME
ROMANCE
FICTION SUSPENSE & THRILLERS
MYSTERY HORROR
AUTHORS REVIEWER
PROFILES
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Killing Castro
by Lawrence Block
Power,
Revenge and retribution: a look backwards at Castro in a rare thriller
Thirty-four years old and wanted for
murder, Turner has a plan to get his life back on track. One job, one
golden opportunity plus twenty thousand dollars promised and he's off
to Brazil to put his past behind him and live the good life. Together,
Turner sets off on a mission with four other men to assassinate Fidel
Castro, each member with motivations all his own. Fenton has nothing to
lose. Cancer will get him if Castro's men don't. Fueled by a sense of
justice, Hines plans to revenge the death of his brother, a man who
fought alongside Castro and then was executed. Garth is all muscle, a
man whose lack of restraint might endanger the mission before it even
gets started. Garrison has his own plan. If the others fail, he will
finish the job from his window and then escape. As the assassination
comes together, their various motivations and personalities mix to
create tensions and for some of the members, recent encounters during
the mission put a kink into their original motivations. Can these men
hold it together long enough to accomplish their mission and can they
survive?
Hard Case Crime's publication of KILLING CASTRO makes available for
Lawrence Block enthusiasts a most exceedingly difficult work to obtain
for fans who cannot afford the high price tag of the original edition,
if one can even manage to find a copy of this rare work. Originally
published as FIDEL CASTRO
ASSASSINATED under the pen name Duncan Lee in 1961 by Monarch, a
pseudonym never used before or afterwards, this new publication of KILLING CASTRO will allow fans a
fuller insight into the totality of Lawrence Block's works. For culture
and history enthusiasts, this thriller provides an intriguing look into
the past. Published after the Bay of Pigs incident but before the Cuban
Missile Crisis, the thriller KILLING
CASTRO provides an intriguing insight into the attitudes and
thoughts at the time. Original cover art by Sharif Tarabay accompanies
this thriller, setting the tone from the sten gun to the younger
portrait of Castro.
From the perspective of readers several decades later who are
witnessing the end of Castro's regime rather than the ramp up to the
height of his power, KILLING CASTRO
is an intriguing document of cultural history now available to a wide
range of readers. Italicized chapters provide a historical perspective
on Castro. From law student dedicated to winning rights for the average
man and overturning Batista's dictatorship by legal means to a leader
who becomes more and more like the man he seeks to depose, the author
gives a chilling portrait of the corruption of power and greed when a
guerrilla warrior moves from the outsider to the one in power and
revolutionary justice becomes the norm rather than law. Lawrence Block
creates an intriguing echo between the motivations and changes in
Castro and some of the men on a mission to assassinate him. The echo is
not a simplistic parallel but rather, the author provides intriguing
variations and outcomes depending on the characters involved. Although
those who have read the entire Lawrence Block canon might not feel KILLING CASTRO measures up to his
best and most known thrillers, certainly, this book is a must have
addition to a Lawrence Block collection to treasure and an intriguing
work to ponder in the context of the entire Lawrence Block canon. Hats
off to Hard Case Crime for making this work available!
Publisher:
Hard Case Crime (January, 2009)
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Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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