“The Twelve is the best first novel I’ve read in years. It crackles. It grabs you by the throat. This is some guy to watch out for in a dark alley.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Someone once said, ‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’. I suppose there could be something in that but of course, it all depends on your own individual situation and experience. In my case it’s having spent 12 years in the British Army and serving two tours in Northern Ireland. Those two four month tours gave me a different view point on The Troubles, as they were called.
The Twelve is the story of a haunted IRA hit-man, Gerry Fegan who while serving time in the Maze prison became haunted by the ghosts of his victims. Each one wanted vengeance on the person who ordered, or stood back and did nothing when they could have prevented the deaths. It’s an interesting story line in its own right, although I personally wouldn’t have sympathy for Fegan, who if real would have been nothing but a vicious, sadistic thug who enjoyed killing for its own sake.