The story is told from the first person viewpoint of the assassin (as far as I can remember he was never named). The story has a non-linear structure, jumping back and forward both in time and in location. We experience the protagonist’s early life as he is trained in martial arts and murder by his controller, in South Africa as he builds his family; we follow him as he executes human targets, and finally in 20xx where he fulfills his final mission.

For much of the story, Fraser’s brilliant writing skills--lean and rich in imagery—were enough to immerse me within each of the threads. This was particularly true in his descriptions of life in pre and post-apartheid South Africa.

As the book progressed, though, I became impatient with the amount of time spent describing the surroundings and the cultures the protagonist found himself in. Large amounts of the text seemed reminiscent of a Theroux-like travelogue and had little to do with moving the story forward. The author (through the guise of his protagonist) holds forth on politics, culture and language, reminding me of an intelligent but annoying dinner guest who, lit by one too many brandies, loudly proclaims his opinions to a captive audience.
Labeled a thriller, there were few thrills to be had because the assassin—armed with the overwhelming technology of The Office—seemed to overmatch every opponent. He was cold and calculating and detached—hard to get connected to. Except for one instance, he never seemed to be under threat of failure or discovery.

The scenes involving the submarine offered potential for some nail biting, but because they were preceded with a flash-forward that showed the assassin had survived, the challenges and struggles of the submarine’s captain and crew offered little tension—I was told they made it.

It was all too easy.

Disclaimer: This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. I may have received a free review copy. ( )

Despite a certain soft spot I have for the Bourne novels and old James Bond movies, I normally don’t read spy novels. Yet the summary of the Depths of Deception intrigued me. I read the sample, and from that moment on I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading.
A real page-turner, the story hurtles back and forth in time and space, following the life of a killer working for the Office, a sort of international secret service controlling events around the world. From the start, the author is upfront with what is going to happen: a rare instance where knowing the ending, of sorts, doesn’t affect the narrative. The narrator is reliable. What is fascinating is the author’s technique, his play with time and memory, which in my opinion is so well done that it constitutes a major strength of this book.
Without giving anything away, since this is the opening of the book, the protagonist finds himself in England preparing for a trip to Antarctica. His family is dead and it all starts with his chilling promise “soon, my darlings, soon”, the exact nature of which only becomes clear in the final pages. The next scene takes place in Antarctica, where he is alone in the cold, then zooms back into time to South Africa and to how he met his wife. This is how the story is built, back and forth between the years and continents, mainly following the story of meeting his wife and leaving the Office to have a family, his days in Antarctica years later, and his life at the Office before and after his family’s murder.
Many things make this a great story.
The story is told in the first person, past, and the character is three-dimensional and real. His take on truth is brutal and honest, and his voice is authentic and seems to whisper in your ear. His tale is a terrible one and there is no lightness about it. His anger, his pain, his sorrow are real and they often moved me to tears. This rarely happens to me and I must say that this is one of the reasons I am giving this novel full marks.
The setting is multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual, described in detail and using all senses. South Africa is the best rendered, which is no surprise since it’s the author’s native land. The contrast between its warmth and colors with Antarctica is startling and revealing.
These two main settings (including the submarine heading to Antarctica) are set against a travelogue of sorts when we follow the protagonist in his Office jobs, both before and after his family was killed. Asian countries are described in bold strokes, so that we almost smell the spices on the air and hear the beggars in the street shouting. Northern Europe countries are also rendered well, where the author lets us feel the cold and see the clean streets and cloudy skies. Everything feels real, from the mixture of languages to people’s reactions and habits. I personally really liked the wealth of information and knowledge offered in the pages of this novel about other countries and cultures.
The story itself is engrossing, a great mix of personal moments and action, with memorable characters and situations. But above all, the story holds together tightly, its thread never broken despite the back and forth in time. It all connects so well that no gaps are left, no reason or time to wonder why we have jumped back to Africa or to Asia, with each story thread vibrant and fascinating. I am impressed by this author skills and his grip on this complicated structure in such a manner that the reader is guided effortlessly, never doubting and never lost, through this complex story.
I wouldn’t be honest if I said that nothing at all bothered me in this novel. Two small things did, which are the following:
The story starts off in the UK, in a sort of post apocalyptic world. As mentioned in the summary, a neo-fascist Party has come to power in the UK, and this has led to a total breakdown of the society. People are starving, there is violence and death. America for some reason not explained has disappeared. One can’t help but wonder why Europe or some other power hasn’t risen in its stead and at least aided the UK, why if there is any other superpower (China is mentioned) why it hasn’t taken control. The story isn’t post-apocalyptic in the least, in fact very few things point to a future date, and I think it’s only confusing that these elements are present when the story itself is complex enough as it is.
The other thing is that a couple of times I felt that the hero’s abilities and training were a tad overdone. Especially in a training session of martial arts in the early chapters, but also a few other times when he meditates or does some incredible ninja-like things, I found myself wondering if that was really necessary. As a super spy, he is expected to be well trained and strong, but the great strength of the story is his very human nature, his weakness when it comes to his family. So I would have preferred it if those scenes were mellowed down, made more real, as was the rest of the story.
Nevertheless, these two complaints are minor and overall I thought this was an excellent novel. I highly recommend the Depths of Deception to readers who enjoy intelligent stories, personal journeys and page-turning action. As I said before, I rarely give 5 stars, but this was a story that met and surpassed my expectations. ( )