The Valley of Death

Gwynne Huntington Wales
iUniverse (2007)
ISBN 9780595418893
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (9/08)

“The Valley of Death” details the events of a two-week espionage operation conducted by the CIA, the British Embassy, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office in November of 2002.  A report from a British agent that Iraqi terrorists had brokered a deal to recover and deliver a supply of VX nerve gas triggered an all out campaign. These agencies combined their high-tech resources in an effort to track the identity of the Iranian arms dealer and his Al Qaeda customer.

The story begins in a remote area of Northeast Iraq, an area deplete of any life, and takes the reader from Iraq to Turkey, Iran, Israel, and other Middle East locations along the Caspian and Arabian Seas. The plot revolves around agent Jan Vandermeer and his partner Sophia as they match the latest intelligence technology against the rigors of a remote terrain, inhabited by their enemy. 

A romantic thread is carried throughout the plot as Aardvark and Sophia are caught up in a relationship that threatens to endanger the completion of the mission.  Wales introduces the difficulties involved arising from the differences in cultures, religions, and values in establishing an idealistic, intimate relationship.

Intrigued by the works of Le Carre and Deighton, Wales became steeped in the stories about British intelligence during the Cod War.  William F. Buckley’s series “Blackford Oakes” opened to him the genre of world espionage.

Gwynne has portrayed his protagonist, Aardvark, as a dedicated patriot, working in difficult situations, for no recognition, risking his life and career if things go wrong.  Wales has made his characters genuine and believable, allowing their frailties to be seen. His dialog is tailored to the individual character and moves the plot along in an informational and entertaining mix of subtle humor and reality.

As a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, a former Navy officer with advanced flight training, and a career in the legal profession specializing in international corporate law, Gwynne Huntington Wales has a background that adds credibility to “The Valley of Death.” Gwynne’s creative, inventive, and often vivid, imagination brings freshness to the reality of the complexities of communications technology and the risk involved in international espionage.

I especially appreciated his thoughtful detail in describing the terrain, and the desolation of the remote areas surrounding the action setting of the story.  The debriefing rooms, the ambiance of hotels, and the cultural differences within the cities visited, added to the immense pleasure I received as I was confronted with smugglers, roadblocks, and the ever-present danger of a leak of lethal poisonous gas from the canister designed to release deadly germ warfare.

“The Valley of Death” gives serious thought to the question of “What If?  What if the media is wrong and there are hidden, in the lakes and streams of the vast remote areas of the Middle East, highly dangerous biological Weapons of Mass Destruction?  Gwynne Huntington Wales engages in a genre of fiction that will fill the gap for those who love espionage and spy thrillers no longer written at the end of the cold war.  The action, dialog, and locale of “The Valley of Death” make the novel a natural for a Hollywood movie.  Compelling.  Riveting.

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