Ministers of Fire is a beautifully written, restrained, and passionate work by a writer who knows the ins and outs and intrigues of the New World Order all too well. His prose is alive with insight, his characters are both recognizable from the news and internally realized. His novel has psychological depth, action, and suspense. It’s a fine work and its author is a writer of great promise.”—Robert Stone, author of Dog Soldiers and Damascus Gate
“In Mark Harril Saunders's gripping first novel, Ministers of Fire, tensions and ambiguities induce moral guilt and mortal dread…. Mr. Saunders makes his large cast of international characters come to life with quick strokes. Ministers of Fire deserves a place next to the works of such masters as Charles McCarry and Robert Stone.” —The Wall Street Journal
”Mark Harril Saunders’s first novel, Ministers of Fire is a brilliant, exciting and profound spy tale about, among other things, what it means to have faith…. (T)his is a classic CIA novel, thick with political and moral complications…. (A)n incredibly rich reading experience.“—The Washington Post
“Veteran cold warriors confront the post-9/11 world in Saunders's impressive first novel, a complex spy thriller.… While the intricate plotting and vivid action scenes are sure to please genre fans, more general readers should also find plenty to enjoy, from Saunders’s meticulous prose to his closely observed characterizations.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred review)
“Ministers of Fire is no modest first effort at novel writing. It is, to my mind, a disquieting journey into the complex world of post-9/11 political intrigue; and that intrigue is layers deep in this book, embedded in Mark Saunders‘s gorgeous handling of character, landscape, and language.”—Martha Woodroof, “The Spark,” WMRA-radio
“I haven't read as good a prologue to a spy thriller all year. And given Mark Harril Saunders' aspirations, I couldn't have expected more.… The first full chapter carries us decades ahead to China where Burling, now in a more ambiguous operation than before, and several other characters, including the missing April's husband, posture and gesture against a Chinese crowd of agents, provocateurs, diplomats, dissidents and military. Saunders does all this quite deftly. More bullets fly, ideas bound against ideas, honor ducks for cover, and hope impales itself on the world of practical intrigue.”
— Alan Cheuse, San Francisco Chronicle
“What separates Saunders' work from much of the espionage field comes in two rewarding areas; first, he creates fully fleshed characters, and second, his writing soars above the pedestrian, not only in his characterizations but also in his lucid descriptions of life in contemporary China and his intelligent take on the perils of clandestine efforts in a dangerous world where loyalty can be a liability.”
— Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Mark Harril Saunders's first novel, Ministers of Fire, is a brilliant, exciting and profound spy tale…an incredibly rich reading experience. Saunders…has a highly literate style and a deep understanding of politics and people. Ministers of Fire asks what it means to believe—in Mao, in Jesus Christ, in good intentions—as well as what it means to live in a fallen world…If Saunders sometimes tries to do too much, he also stretches the genre in the process.
—Rodney Welch
Veteran cold warriors confront the post-9/11 world in Saunders’s impressive first novel, a complex spy thriller. After introducing Lucius Burling, a brilliant and dedicated CIA agent, in 1979 Afghanistan, the story moves forward to 2002 to find him serving as consul in Shanghai. His one-time superior, Gordon MacAllister, enlists Lucius to investigate an attempt to smuggle the dissident nuclear physicist Yong Beihong out of China. Unbeknownst to Lucius, the man helping Beihong is an old compatriot from the CIA’s Afghanistan operations, Jack Lindstrom, who left the agency after his wife disappeared into the hands of the mujahideen. As Beihong and Jack journey to freedom, the Chinese intelligence chief Gen. Zu Dongren follows closely behind. While the intricate plotting and vivid action scenes are sure to please genre fans, more general readers should also find plenty to enjoy, from Saunders’s meticulous prose to his closely observed characterizations.Agent: Neil Olson, Donadio & Olson. (May)
In 1979 Kabul CIA station chief Lucius Burling survived an ambush that kills the American ambassador, but he couldn't grasp what happened or why. Then on his next mission, he fell in love with the wife of a co-agent. Fast forward to 2002. Burling is now the American consul in Shangahi. A dissident Chinese physicist may be planning to sell his country's nuclear secrets, but is this operation being carried out without the CIA's involvement? VERDICT Saunders can write, but his complex story would have been easier to follow if written in a less literary style. The narrative continually crashes to a halt with long descriptions and prose that calls attention to itself. The love triangle and the characters are fine, but suspense is lacking. Espionage novels should rock, but this one is merely karaoke.—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
