Freakish Friday

Good Evening My Fellow Book Dragons,

Autumn is coming along nicely, I hope you are enjoying it.

Our gem this evening came to me in the form of a tiny, pink baby’s rattle. It was so lovely and delicate with a name inscribed, Nadat. As I held it in my palm, the rattle it began to shake quite on its own and exploded into a few pink fragments and the ball rolled across my floor and the tale, like a genie from a bottle, poured forth.

This is Gem Maker, Daniel J. Davies’ debut, “The Bombmaker”. It is the story of Georges “Fadi” Subdallah as he goes from the Westernized life of the son of a hard working illegal alien from Morocco to millionaire to radicalized bombmaker. The best bombmaker in the world. Fadi’s life first fascinates and then mesmerizes and finally grabs One’s heart and pulls it unmercifully.

I don’t do spoilers, for those of you reading this missive for the first time, so let’s get down to what I loved.

Mr. Davies’ characters are believable, often likeable as we can recognize ourselves and those we know in this tale. Such as Fadi’s father and his French Canadian mother, hard working individuals with an eye on making things better for their children. Fadi’s friends, Eric, Marcel and his gang of hippy friends in 1970s UMass and the bullies they all find there.

Then there is 38 year old Emma Ripley, an interrogator with the Defense Department whose work is top notch, but whose personal life is an absolute disaster. An ex-husband she still loves on some level and their son whom she is terrified of screwing up because she’s never there. Can she get the truth from Fadi before it’s too late?

Mr. Davies’ story telling is high caliber, his dialogue realistic, and his characters jump off the page. This is a masterful first novel and I hope very strongly this isn’t the last we hear from him.

If you want a novel that grabs you and doesn’t let go, you must read “The Bombmaker”. If you miss the days of good political thrillers, you must read “The Bombmaker”.

Until next time, I remain, your humble Book Dragon,

Drakon T. Longwitten

I thank Author Daniel J. Davies for the review copy. My opinions are my own.