Simon Gervais is one of the most prolific authors in the thrillerverse with a lot of great thrillers under his belt, but The Elias Network is my favorite work of his by far. If you want a sophisticated and cool-as-cucumber espionage thriller with lots and lots of shootouts, then rest assured, Gervais hits the bullseye with this awesome beginning of a new series.
Caspian Anderson leads a double life. To most, he’s a boring translator for the United Nations. But underneath this carefully constructed facade is his reality as an elite assassin tasked to eradicate all threats to American interests as part of Onyx, a black program within the Department of Homeland Security. Not a stranger to taking out hits on individuals across the globe, he’s sent on a mission to Switzerland where he stumbles upon a web of conspiracies that trace back to high level political officials, people he had sworn to kill for. Shaken by this new reality, Caspian must hit back hard and fast to push his new foes back on the rope, while his girlfriend, who’s beginning to slowly see through his boring cover, shocks Caspian with some nifty secrets of her own.
Gervais doesn’t waste any time getting to the hard-boiled action in this narrative, one of the many things that instantly hooked me onto this incredible thriller. It’s a fast-paced spy thriller that takes the age-old adage of a spy burned by his own, and adds spicy new twists and turns to the story with a memorable roster of characters and engaging descriptions of exciting spycraft and action set to the backdrop of exotic locations. It certainly invokes a little bit of Mr and Mrs Smith vibe as neither Caspian nor his girlfriend, Liesel Bergmann, have the slightest bit of clue about each other’s personal lives, until it all comes together with shocking turns and bullet casings. The fact that you have no clear indication of where the story’s leading and how Caspian’s next encounter will turn out means you’re at the Gervais’ mercy as he takes you for a splendid adventure.
The Elias Network is a refreshing tale in that it does not simply take stereotypes as facts in painting friends and enemies, but rather dissects individuals to paint them as realistic beings with character developments and underlying values and motivations that lead to intriguing plot points as opposed to cliched good guys and bad guys. The core concept of a lone operative operating in the shadows still holds a certain charm to it and Gervais puts his own cool spin on the narrative for a highly entertaining narrative. The Elias Network is fun, sexy, and spurred on by breakneck pacing as it introduces a charismatic protagonist who you’ll want more as soon as you hit the final page. I sure can’t wait to read more of Caspian Anderson take on his opponents like a total badass.
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