Review of The Queen of Intelligence

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Queen of Intelligence" by Harvey Havel.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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Sherry Aspen is a beautiful blonde and blue-eyed girl with a seemingly perfect life. In addition to her magnificent beauty, she has a rich boyfriend and is going to college to become a medical doctor at Yale. Her world comes crashing down when, at a sorority party, she finds her sex-deprived boyfriend cheating on her. While Sherry is aghast, everyone blames her. And her boyfriend, unremorseful, kicks her out. Sherry now has to pick up the pieces of her life. Fate somehow leads her into the employ of the Company, otherwise known as the CIA. At the CIA, Sherry undergoes the most brutal training. When the Company decides to send her to Afghanistan to help fight the terrorist movement, Sherry has to use everything at her disposal to stay alive, but will it be enough? When fighting terrorists covertly, one misstep may be the difference between life and death.

While The Queen of Intelligence by Harvey Havel stays true to its description as a 9/11 conspiracy book, the political side of the book is a little underwhelming. What seemed to permeate the book was an atmosphere of objectifying women, especially Sherry. A single chapter could not pass by without mention of Sherry’s beauty and sexuality in a derogatory manner. At times, the narration focused on Sherry, but at some points, it seemed like a strange man was narrating, explaining how women like Sherry never looked at men like him. Those parts of the narration were jarring and uncomfortable to read.

The sexual content of this book was excessive. At the start of the book, we meet a kind of Sherry who gets deeply offended by a cheating boyfriend. Even though many people tell her that men often behave that way, she vows not to accept such behavior in her marriage and, as a result, loses the many privileges her boyfriend afforded her. But as the story progresses, she becomes a character who has indiscriminate sex just to get by and makes one foolish decision after another. One would expect more intelligence from a supposed “Queen of Intelligence.” Although she did some interesting things, Sherry was a disappointing character at several turns.

There is potential for The Queen of Intelligence to be a book of true espionage, action, and suspense. There were points where the author showed skill and writing prowess, particularly in introducing new characters and intersecting their stories expertly with Sherry’s. However, Havel opted not to name the additional characters he introduced. Instead, he called them by their titles (the Analyst, the Pashtun, the Prince, and so on). This writing choice can be disorienting for readers, causing them to be unable to get a good handle on the characters and, by extension, the story.

The sparse action scenes scattered throughout the book, along with moments where Sherry showed steel and a proper backbone, were not strong enough to carry the entire book (600 pages worth). The tone of objectification (of women), the absence of characters’ names, the distasteful erotic scenes, and the overwhelming errors were simply too overpowering. But there is hope yet. The plot is original and can entertain readers who enjoy stories of espionage. With expert editing, the book can be a masterpiece; as a result, my rating is 2 out of 5.

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The Queen of Intelligence
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[Favour Ugwu Chidinma]

Poor Sherry!
I hope she fights through and come out alive. Honestly, the book will come with an intriguing parts making it more interesting to read. Nice review.

[Mhiz Vyi Vyan]

I am intrigued with the character, Sherry, I will love to know if she turns out okay. I enjoyed this review thoroughly.