Forgotten War is Don Bentley’s masterpiece so far. Not only does he up his game in the action department, but he cleverly entwines the adrenaline with the emotional receptors that make Forgotten War the grandest yet most personal Matt Drake mission yet.
Matt Drake’s tranquility is shattered once again when his best friend, Frodo, is arrested for a murder he supposedly committed in Afghanistan in 2011. With Afghanistan falling under Taliban control and the arrest details redacted, Drake has to work the case on his own, his leads taking him back to where it all started. At the same time, Drake’s in-laws come to him seeking help in rescuing his wife’s cousin who traveled to Afghanistan for a wedding and is now trapped in the country in the midst of chaos and evacuation. With the whole world flying out of the fallen country, it’s gonna take Drake more than a few miracles to work his way in there and successfully pull off two different missions, but both equally important.
Don Bentley outdoes himself with the action sequences. They’re best described as beautiful symphonies of precise and calculated aggression with the uncertain chaos of Murphy’s Laws. Drake finds himself manning all sorts of weapons in his engagements, varying from the close quarters MP5 to the thumping demonic DShK heavy machine gun depending on the mission parameters. Each shootout puts you in the driver’s seat with Drake so you feel the adrenaline course through your bloodstream, with descriptions so vivid and crisp you can’t help but read each action sequence again and again to relive their sheer awesomeness and badassness.
Yet, it’s how Don Bentley ties the kinetic nature to the heart of the narrative that fully cements Forgotten War as one of the finest action thrillers. While Drake has undoubtedly faced personal stakes in his missions before, none of them have felt as poignant. Fall of Afghanistan, Frodo’s arrest, and a young girl trapped; all factors brilliantly highlight Drake’s psyche in unique aspects. Drake’s sentiments about Afghanistan echo those of servicemen and servicewomen who’ve served in the country and now feel disillusioned and he finds some solace in the shared strength of his fellow soldiers despite all that has gone wrong. In addition to his quest to exonerate his best friend and confidant, he also undertakes the unofficial and desperate mission to rescue his wife’s cousin. As Drake’s about to become a father, the barbaric concept of a helpless child stuck in a lawless land rubs him the worst possible way and it’s this feeling that Don Bentley captures so eloquently that one can’t help but wholeheartedly support Drake’s craziest plans so far in the face of evil for the pursuit of justice.
The Forgotten War is a multi-layered thriller that puts as much emphasis on the action as it does on the characters that drive the action forward. Timely, emotionally-charged, and breathtaking, it has everything going for it to be on my top 3 list for 2023 and I’m not even worried that the year hasn’t even started yet.
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