Thursday, July 17, 2008

Have Yourself a Bloody Little Christmas

"The Spy Who Came for Christmas,"
by David Morrell

Think Rambo having a Christmas Eve change of heart -- well, in part at least.

Think a geopolitical way to look at the biblical story of Christ's birth.

Think terrorism on a snowy stage on the holiest night of the year.

"The Spy Who Came for Christmas" is all of the above. When a planted American spy decides he can't go along with the latest assignment the Russian Mafia has called on him to carry out -- to kidnap a baby, a baby that's suppose to be a symbol of world peace -- the action goes at a pretty crisp pace, for the most part.

There's Arab bad guys and spousal abuse and alcoholism and Soviet Communism and religion all mixed together in a story that teeter-totters between Christian principles and graphic violence. When this is made into a film -- maybe a made-for-TV one at least -- there will be blood all over the screen.

The only slow part is when the good-guy spy tells a way-out version of the Journey of the Magi; they become spies for Persia intent of causing disruption of Herod's rule. Interesting -- but gosh does it take a long time to tell.

Calling "The Spy Who Came for Christmas" a page-turner would be a bit of a stretch, and it's an admittedly okay yarn. But Morrell's name and Christmas in the title is sure to be a winner in the marketplace. -- bz

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