Peter
Hanington is a former radio producer for the Today programme, latterly rising
to be its Assistant Editor. Taking on board the old adage to write what you
know, he’s set his debut novel in the world of the foreign correspondent and
the political machinations inside the BBC. We have William Carver, a gifted but
deeply flawed veteran correspondent, an inveterate drunk who the hierarchy are
trying to force into early retirement; Rob Mariscal, the editor of Today, an
embittered man who strikes fear into those under him; and Patrick Reid, a young
whippersnapper of a producer, still very green and idealistic.
Patrick
is dispatched by Mariscal to Afghanistan, his first foreign posting, with
orders to reign Carver in. The foreign correspondent is onto something with a
story concerning a recent bombing, in which a prominent Afghan businessman and
politician was murdered. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t want this
story told. At risk of giving away too great a spoiler, they have their claws
in Rob and get him to try to put a stop to it. What plays out is a conspiracy
thriller set against a realistic portrayal of radio journalism and foreign correspondence
in the 21st century.
There are
aspects of this novel that I liked and others that I didn’t. Having been a
current affairs journalist myself, and having worked for the BBC - albeit for
only a short time and not on Today - I was impressed by his no pulling punches
approach to writing about the corporation. While this is no hatchet job on the
BBC, and BBC journalists are shown doing a good and thorough job, the
stultifying bureaucracy which so too often stifles them is ably demonstrated,
particularly in the earlier sections. So too is a reporter’s life in
Afghanistan, that sense of surrealism and privilege that representatives of a
first world media organisation can’t fail to demonstrate when operating in what
is in essence a third world country. Finally, Carver’s relationship with his
fixer, Karim, is well drawn. Hanington does a service to fixers everywhere with
his portrayal of Karim, for as in this novel, they are often as gifted
journalists, sometimes more so, than the apparent star.
There is
one other aspect I should mention, something that might only appeal to fellow
journalists. I might be imagining this, but to me both Rob Mariscal, and a
minor character, the pompous news correspondent John Brandon, appear to be
mischievously based on real people. Mariscal made me think of a certain former
Today editor who now makes a living as an outspoken columnist. Brandon
meanwhile brought to mind someone who once liberated Kabul on his lonesome. Of
course, as I say, I could be imagining this.
Some
aspects of the novel weren’t so satisfying, however. The book is very male.
Early on, Carter has a producer whose role is also to reign him in, but he
wears her down and she flies back to Blighty. This leaves a gap for Patrick and
hence he comes. While there is nothing wrong with this per se, and I’m
certainly not suggesting the author needed to shoe-horn in a female character
out of some politically correct notion of box ticking, it did feel a bit like,
“Well, now the women are safely out of the way, we can get on with the job of
real journalism.” Another issue I had is while I enjoyed this book immensely,
it was a bit of a slow burner; there were times when I put it down and had to
actively remind myself to return to it.
That all
said, A Dying Breed is certainly a compelling thriller, and if you have any
interest in the news business at all it is well worth a read.
4 out of
5 stars
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