The book starts with the brutal killing of an elderly man in Paris by a suicide bomber. Then all members of the killer’s family are murdered. This hard-hitting opener gives way to the introduction of Chris Ryan’s new lead character, SAS trooper Danny Black, who has just completed a gruelling tour of duty in north Africa. As soon as that job is over, Danny is ordered into another, with hardly any respite in between. Despite wanting to take some time off to check in on his family, especially on his former paratrooper father, Danny is denied leave by his superior. All he can do is to take a few hours off to look in on father, who's on a wheelchair after being injured by a gunman’s bullet in the head at the hospital in Northern Ireland, where Danny had just been born. Not knowing the whole truth, he's been only told that his mother died giving birth to him. Danny’s brother, Kyle, who had witnessed the attack, was truly messed up after that.
Danny pays a brief visit to Kyle, who’s just out of prison, and then he’s pitched straight into his new job, riding shotgun for an MI6 agent who is being inserted into war-torn Syria in an attempt to make contact with one of the rebel factions to broker a peace agreement.
In worn-torn Syria, things definitely don’t go according to plan, and Danny is given the task to put back together some very broken pieces in one of the most dangerous war zones in the world.
Masters of War captures some of the ugliness in the Syrian conflict with some descriptions that offer unforgettable gory images. Chris Ryan doesn’t spare anyone’s sensibilities nor feelings in his depiction of the daily atrocities taking place in Syria. He explores the use by governments and their opposition of the private military contracts, otherwise known as mercenaries.
There’s little attempt by Ryan to soften the impact that the war inflicts on the people, especially the women and children who are the collateral damages.
Unfortunately, the MI6 agents the author introduces - Oliver Carrington and Hugo Buckingham - leave much to be desired. Buckingham is one irritating character and it’s amazing how he can become a diplomat.
Danny, meanwhile, has his hand full trying to stay alive besides babysitting Buckingham. He finally has to come to terms with the reality of his life. Taff, his dad’s oldest friend, has become a sort of father figure to him after his own dad became incapacitated. So when Danny discovers that Taff and his men are the mercenaries engaged by one of the opposing camps in Syria, he becomes suspicious. Eventually, Danny has to make some difficult but necessary decisions regarding Taff and his people.
Unlike many thriller writers, Ryan does a superb job with his major female character, Médecins Sans Frontières doctor, Clara Macleod. Clara is well-drawn and definitely not just there to play the role of passive victim. She’s strong and gutsy, despite being caught up in the violence all around her. She’s shown her determination as a doctor amid the sufferings around her and despite being a woman caught in the crossfire, she fights on to stay alive.
Ryan writes with a profound passion on a difficult subject, and Masters of War offers readers a glimpse of the ground situation of the Syrian conflict - a sad situation that certainly has no easy solution in sight.
