The Devil's Alternative
Encyclopedia
The Devil's Alternative is a novel
by British writer Frederick Forsyth
first published in 1979. It was his fourth full-length novel and marked a new direction in his work, setting the story several years in the future (to 1982) rather than in the recent past.
sea captain. Recovering in hospital in Trabzon
(sometimes called Trebizond
), Turkey
, the man is visited by an Anglo-Ukrainian Shipping Clerk, Andrew Drake. The castaway, Miroslav Kaminsky, is a Ukrainian
nationalist who escaped from Lviv
after he was betrayed to the KGB
. Drake, born Andriy Drach, convinces Kaminsky that they both share the same ideal, that of striking a single blow against the Soviet Union
. Kaminsky tells Drake about Lev Mishkin and David Lazareff, two Jewish Ukrainian nationalists who may be able to help him.
Meanwhile, a chain of failures at the sole plant that makes fungicide for wheat has led to the inadvertent poisoning of the Soviet Union's wheat crop. The United States is aware of this crisis and plans to sell its food to the Soviets in exchange for political and military concessions. Hardliners in the Politburo
come up with a different strategy: to take the food from the West by invading Western Europe. The Politburo, led by Chairman Maxim Rudin, narrowly votes down the war plan; however, Rudin is dying of cancer and it is only a matter of time before the party in favor of war gains supremacy.
The news of the war plan comes to MI6
agent Adam Munro through a Russian woman he once loved, who works in the Kremlin offices and has access to the Politburo debates. This source, given the code name Nightingale, shakes both the British and U.S. political leadership. Munro is forced to call on Nightingale more and more, risking the near certain discovery and execution of the woman he loves.
Ukraine nationalists Mishkin and Lazareff, with help of Drake/Drach complicate the situation for Maxim Rudin by killing his ally in The Politburo, chief of KGB, Jurij Ivanenko. Mishkin and Lazareff are trying to escape (emigrate) from Ukraine and hijack a Russian airliner to West Berlin. They are arested because one of the pilots is shot dead during landing. Drake/Drach wants to help them because only they can reveal truth about death of KGB chief. Drake and his Ukrainian-Canadian (specifically Crimean Tatar) comrade Arthur Crimmins (renamed from Azamat Krim), along with other multi-generationals (Americans, Germans, British) of Ukrainian origin hijack a Swedish oil supertanker built in Japan and request freedom for Mishkin and Lazareff. Western Europe states threatened by ecological catastrophe near Europoort
are willing to release prisoners.
US president Matthews receives info from MI6-Munro-Nightingale that USSR will stop negotiation regarding grain and military concessions immediately if prisoners will be released. So there were only two options: a big ecological catastrophe that will hit many western Europe states, or a war that will USSR start against western Europe as the other solution for its grain problem.
At the end Munro saves the day with the third option using secret service ways of solutions.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by British writer Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
first published in 1979. It was his fourth full-length novel and marked a new direction in his work, setting the story several years in the future (to 1982) rather than in the recent past.
Plot summary
The story opens with the discovery of a castaway by an ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
sea captain. Recovering in hospital in Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
(sometimes called Trebizond
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
), Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the man is visited by an Anglo-Ukrainian Shipping Clerk, Andrew Drake. The castaway, Miroslav Kaminsky, is a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
nationalist who escaped from Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
after he was betrayed to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. Drake, born Andriy Drach, convinces Kaminsky that they both share the same ideal, that of striking a single blow against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Kaminsky tells Drake about Lev Mishkin and David Lazareff, two Jewish Ukrainian nationalists who may be able to help him.
Meanwhile, a chain of failures at the sole plant that makes fungicide for wheat has led to the inadvertent poisoning of the Soviet Union's wheat crop. The United States is aware of this crisis and plans to sell its food to the Soviets in exchange for political and military concessions. Hardliners in the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
come up with a different strategy: to take the food from the West by invading Western Europe. The Politburo, led by Chairman Maxim Rudin, narrowly votes down the war plan; however, Rudin is dying of cancer and it is only a matter of time before the party in favor of war gains supremacy.
The news of the war plan comes to MI6
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
agent Adam Munro through a Russian woman he once loved, who works in the Kremlin offices and has access to the Politburo debates. This source, given the code name Nightingale, shakes both the British and U.S. political leadership. Munro is forced to call on Nightingale more and more, risking the near certain discovery and execution of the woman he loves.
Ukraine nationalists Mishkin and Lazareff, with help of Drake/Drach complicate the situation for Maxim Rudin by killing his ally in The Politburo, chief of KGB, Jurij Ivanenko. Mishkin and Lazareff are trying to escape (emigrate) from Ukraine and hijack a Russian airliner to West Berlin. They are arested because one of the pilots is shot dead during landing. Drake/Drach wants to help them because only they can reveal truth about death of KGB chief. Drake and his Ukrainian-Canadian (specifically Crimean Tatar) comrade Arthur Crimmins (renamed from Azamat Krim), along with other multi-generationals (Americans, Germans, British) of Ukrainian origin hijack a Swedish oil supertanker built in Japan and request freedom for Mishkin and Lazareff. Western Europe states threatened by ecological catastrophe near Europoort
Europoort
Europoort is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's...
are willing to release prisoners.
US president Matthews receives info from MI6-Munro-Nightingale that USSR will stop negotiation regarding grain and military concessions immediately if prisoners will be released. So there were only two options: a big ecological catastrophe that will hit many western Europe states, or a war that will USSR start against western Europe as the other solution for its grain problem.
At the end Munro saves the day with the third option using secret service ways of solutions.