Much Given

LOCAL AUTHOR

Dylan Patrick Grant’s Cold War spy novel Much Given follows the adventures of three main adversaries, American Marine intelligence officer Michael Alexzinski, KGB officer Vladimir Koransky, and FBI agent Blake Hazleton. The novel takes place during the Vietnam War. Koransky, a KGB agent based in the United States is tasked with a covert spy operation that will give the Soviet Union an advantage over the United States. However, as is always the case, things go wrong and chaos ensues. As a result, both Alexzinski and Koransky are forced into a battle of wits, the result of which will determine which superpower will emerge as a winner. In addition, there is betrayal on the personal side, as well when Blake Hazleton, the FBI agent tasked with rooting out the Soviet spy becomes obsessed with Alex’s wife Ann.

Much Given is a superb political espionage thriller that mixes in the elements of romance. Grant does a fantastic job developing all of the main characters while keeping the reader engaged with the unpredictable high-stakes plot. I was hooked from the first pages of the book and kept my breath until the end. The plot evolves very quickly. Just like with a typical espionage novel, there are elements of betrayal, crosses, and double crosses, with the reader not knowing the ultimate motivations of the main cast until the very end. One more thing I found interesting is that most of the book is written in the present tense. By using this technique, the author immerses the reader headfirst into the story line.

I enjoyed reading Much Given. If you enjoy spy novels, then I highly recommend you take a look at this novel. Also, Grant says that the novel is the first in the Alexzinski family trilogy, so I look forward to reading the second book when it comes out.