A Spy Inside The Castle, M.B. Courtenay, author
Ethan Briar’s claim to fame is that he sees patterns. He is good at predicting future events based on them. He can recognize danger and often sees through the charade people often project about themselves. While giving a speech for SOVERINT, the counterintelligence company for which he works, he warns the world of coming danger. Incredibly, the leader of Germany, Armin Frei is assassinated during his speech, and suddenly Ethan is in the crosshairs of the investigation. Did he know it was going to happen? It seems that the President of the United States, James Dalton, was supposed to be in Germany with Frei, but he was a no-show. No one knows exactly why he did not go, so the questions fly. Did someone know what was going to happen and prevent him from going? Is Russia behind the murder? Is there a sinister plot afoot to take down world leaders?
When Ethan is presented with an offer he cannot refuse, to join Nightshade and find the existence of the possible mole that revealed information leading to Frei’s murder, he agrees and travels to Castlemartin, on the Isle of Skye, to try and ferret out the answers to the question of who is compromising the world’s national security and why. When Ethan arrives at the manor house, it seems like it is out of a Victorian novel. He meets an odd cast of characters, some who claim to have a history that goes back to the 1500’s. There is definitely a feeling of otherworldliness in some of them. One seems to have risen from the past and claims to have lived for centuries. Another sleepwalks. Another is the daughter of Nigel Carlisle, the man whose spirit is embedded into ARCLIGHT, a super computer that can predict the future with accuracy. He is also the man whose book, “The Order of Power” is the bible of the way the world operates. His popular theory is that we are all in a closed labyrinth, and it grows and changes as necessary. If something is eliminated, it returns in another form. We may feel that we are altering events, but we are just putting them on pause. There is a pattern for everything and a plan that exists that is unalterable and will continue. Is this idea welcomed or adhered to by all?
Ethan is introduced to the mind-altering world of ARCLIGHT and realizes he is in danger.
We are introduced to a world of codenames, Venom, Snowdrop, Foxglove, Revenant, Architect, Imperialist and more. There are so many questions. What is Der Kreis? Who is Faust? Who is Lucian? Who is Revenant? Who is malevolent? What is The Vehm? Who is trustworthy? It is really hard to determine where there is safety. Who is the enemy or how many enemies are there? People are sacrificed for the cause with or without reason or guilt.
Is it possible to destroy ARCLIGHT? Does it need to be destroyed? Is it predicting the future or determining it? Are we all merely puppets inside the labyrinth? The conclusion is a little open-ended which makes way for the next book in the series. Is the war between Arclight and Der Kreis or Carlisle and Faust over? Are there still enemies afoot?
The book is really confusing with words I really didn’t understand and concepts that were beyond my ability to flush out. I suspect so much was included in this first of the series to try and draw the reader into the mystery for the next book when some of the ideas will be further explained. I kept reading hoping it would become a bit clearer in this book, but to be honest, I was confused even when the novel ended. The only thing I was fully sure of was the need for the next book because the world was still in danger from what lurks in the darkest corners of our minds. I believe the main concept is that we are all in the labyrinth, but we are being controlled within it. Who is controlling it, that is the question? Once in the labyrinth, there is no escape. It self-perpetuates, morphing into whatever it needs to be at any given time. The person who controls the patterns in the labyrinth has all the power. Are there dark forces in power? I am not sure if I understood the book’s message, but I would still recommend it because there may be many more books to come in the series that will explain the questions I have now. The confusion could very well be the concept of the carrot and the stick!