Review of Preying in Iran

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Preying in Iran" by Eric Wentz.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Preying in Iran: A Tapestry of Wounds is an espionage and action fiction novel by Eric Wentz. Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm arrives in Fort Bragg, California, to report for his new mission. He is to meet with Icarus, the only man who can help decipher the Dorabella Cipher, a letter that even its true origins might not be what it appears. Eurasia is wrought with age-old tensions, however, which traffickers are more than ready to exploit. Chisolm, under the identity of a Russian archaeologist, travels to Nagorno-Karabakh to consult with Icarus. While there, he is tasked with the recovery of women and children being trafficked by a mysterious, elusive character.

I’m a sucker for a good espionage novel based on actual events, and Preying in Iran delivers well on this aspect. That, combined with the linguistic approach, ratcheted up my interest in the novel. Some plotlines and character endings were hard to stomach, especially when you had wound up rooting for a character, only for them to get the short end of the stick. My favourite parts of the story mainly had to do with the history lessons and the deciphering of the puzzle, extending even to the conjectures the characters made and how Wentz ensured they had a credible foundation.

The plot twist at the end of the book left me reeling. Truly, though it’s hinted at in the middle stages, with clues scattered throughout it if you really pay attention, the identity of a key player in the goings-on of the book had me quite nonplussed. Despite myself, I liked how simply complex one of the antagonists was. The mental illness evident in their characterization never whitewashes them at all; I never empathized or felt much sympathy for said character, though I found their utilization in a villain role excellent.

Honestly, I think the novel could have gone without the half-hearted romantic segments. Of course, Grant, our protagonist, is absolutely divine. How do readers know this? His impact on the women in the story is nothing short of atomic. The kicker is that his perspective of them is mostly detached, that is, until the very late stages on the book, wherein he briefly and anticlimactically admits to a ‘feeling’ for one of the female characters. The women themselves are impressive, if only in the sense that they do have noteworthy qualifications, but this is made redundant, as all their accomplishments are given over to the priority of Chisolm’s mission and to support his cover, never giving them a scene without his presence.

While well written, this novel was not free of errors. I doubt the book has been professionally edited due to the number of mistakes I saw. This was easily my least favourite part of the book.

Preying in Iran was a constantly shifting narrative that managed to portray the horrors of Eurasia, particularly with respect to the inter- and intrareligious disputes between Islam and Christianity and the historic and ongoing enmity between the Azeri and the Armenians, as well as the prejudices faced by the Hazara people, all the while keeping readers captivated. That said, I think it can be improved in the editing arena, as numerous errors were found. So saying, I rate this book four out of five stars.

This book will be a hit for readers who enjoy spy novels with well-done historical elements. Readers who are averse to profane, gory, religious, and sexual elements would be better off looking elsewhere.

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Preying in Iran
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[Chandrakant Patel]

It’s great to hear that you enjoyed reading “Preying in Iran: A Tapestry of Wounds” by Eric Wentz.

[Cara Wilding]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Preying in Iran" by Eric Wentz.]

Preying in Iran: A Tapestry of Wounds is an espionage and action fiction novel by Eric Wentz. Lieutenant Commander Grant Chisolm arrives in Fort Bragg, California, to report for his new mission. He is to meet with Icarus, the only man who can help decipher the Dorabella Cipher, a letter that even its true origins might not be what it appears. Eurasia is wrought with age-old tensions, however, which traffickers are more than ready to exploit. Chisolm, under the identity of a Russian archaeologist, travels to Nagorno-Karabakh to consult with Icarus. While there, he is tasked with the recovery of women and children being trafficked by a mysterious, elusive character.

I’m a sucker for a good espionage novel based on actual events, and Preying in Iran delivers well on this aspect. That, combined with the linguistic approach, ratcheted up my interest in the novel. Some plotlines and character endings were hard to stomach, especially when you had wound up rooting for a character, only for them to get the short end of the stick. My favourite parts of the story mainly had to do with the history lessons and the deciphering of the puzzle, extending even to the conjectures the characters made and how Wentz ensured they had a credible foundation.

The plot twist at the end of the book left me reeling. Truly, though it’s hinted at in the middle stages, with clues scattered throughout it if you really pay attention, the identity of a key player in the goings-on of the book had me quite nonplussed. Despite myself, I liked how simply complex one of the antagonists was. The mental illness evident in their characterization never whitewashes them at all; I never empathized or felt much sympathy for said character, though I found their utilization in a villain role excellent.

This has all the ingredients for a good read! I'm a sucker for a good espionage novel as well, and if you can intersperse actual events - all the better! I can understand that feeling of disappointment when something bad happens to characters you like, but I can also appreciate that it adds more reality and unpredictability to the story. I'm intrigued by the plot twist you mentioned at the end, and how you were able to "see" the scattered clues throughout the book. I just read one recently, where everything came together and I had that "ah-ha!" moment, remembering all the little details and I thought...genius! I very much enjoyed reading your review and looking forward to reading more from you!