Every character and situation in Gerald Seymour's novel The Walking Dead (2007, Corgi Books, 559 pages) forms part of a meticulously plotted buildup to a crucial few moments on a British street when courage, convictions, life and death hang in the balance.
Which is faster -- a speeding bullet or a suicide bomber's finger on the detonation button? This question arises many times. Will Seymour give his readers a definitive answer?
Ibrahim Hussein, an idealistic young man from Saudi Arabia, has accepted a “sacred” mission. “There were a dozen of them.... Common to them all, the bright light of their Faith burned in their eyes.”
In a bizarre catwalk-like scene, Ibrahim and other eager recruits must demonstrate how they walk for “the Scorpion”, a resistance fighter adept at inspiring young suicide bombers. He arranges for them to be strapped into explosive vests and told where to walk on a journey into the next world to meet with “awaiting virgins”.
His enemies refer to the Scorpion as the Twentyman since each explosion kills “at least 20, usually many more, but that's a minimum”. This “terrorist” wants someone who “walks well” (unobtrusively) to travel to a distant land and inflict deadly mayhem there.
“The enemy called them ‘suicide-bombers' and feared their dedication. For himself and his fellow fighters, they were useful tactical weaponry, valued for the exactness with which a chosen target could be destroyed.”
“Not rejected, but chosen”, Ibrahim wins the walking contest and experiences a “complex web of emotions”. He wants to make his father proud by seeking revenge, by striking back at evil forces and showing the world the determination of faith.
Some things that men passionately believe prove unpleasant. “You know what happens to a martyr? I saw it on a website. If he has a vest or a belt, his head comes off. The head is taken off. It is how they knew which were the martyrs on the trains in London. They had no heads. In Tel Aviv, they found the head 15 feet from his body, on a table, and he was still smiling.”
David Banks is an armed protection officer denounced and ostracized by his colleagues for a momentary suggestion that suicide bombers may be “brave and principled”. Can he redeem himself? Should he even try?
Meanwhile, Dickie Naylor, a retiring guardian of public security, bemoans a lack of excitement and achievement in his career. A nagging, vindictive wife deepens his discontent. Suddenly racing to find a terrorist cell and stop a suicide bomber, Dickie relishes his last chance to “make a difference”. He's a man of principles, but how far can he detour from proper conduct?
“The tins had been dropped into a plastic bag, mouths were wiped with handkerchiefs and fingers sucked clean…. The two men – not unkindly – hoisted up the prisoner and linked his hands back over the ceiling hook. And he screamed. Naylor fled into the dusk, and ghosts scrambled round him.”
Which character has Seymour designated as his hero? The answer is: none and all. Ibrahim, Banks, Naylor and others have heroic moments, but also wilt woefully. Even Julian Wright, a troubled teacher on jury duty, faces temptation and makes a wrong decision, but finds himself hailed as a hero.
Masterfully, Seymour makes his characters human, each a unique blend of honor and foibles, which raises The Walking Dead high above most terrorism novels. Readers can't miss the message that everyone has mixed motives and capacity for good or evil. One group's terrorist may be another's freedom fighter. Seymour reinforces this theme with passages from a diary by his most remote character, the long dead Cecil Darke, who in 1936 abandoned a safe home to join a miserable Spanish war.
A former TV reporter, Seymour has written an impressive list of novels. They include: The Glory Boys, Field of Blood, Killing Ground, A Line in the Sand, The Untouchable, Traitor's Kiss, The Unknown Soldier and Rat Run.
The Walking Dead contains some tedious moments and passages that could have been shortened or deleted. But it's not a tedious novel – not by a long shot.
Will the story end with a big boom that kills dozens of innocent (or not-so-innocent) people? To find out, start reading.
Approval rating: 81 per cent.
For more information: www.rbooks.co.uk or www.booksattransworld.co.uk.
(October 5, 2009)
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