Preston & Child – Angel of Vengeance – Comment

 I have been following the Pendergast series for many years, and admittedly the latest, Angel of Vengeance, takes the reader on a time travelling jaunt to 19th century Manhattan, inclusive of a unique gothic/science fiction flavor that is both intriguing and highly entertaining. This tale begins with the novel Bloodless, followed by The Cabinet of Doctor Leng, ending with Vengeance, the grand finale.   

Doctor Enoch Leng must be one of the nastiest evil geniuses rivalling even Hanible Lector. The doctor’s goal is to capture the correct formulation of eternal youth. We know he has achieved his goal in the 21st century because of Pendergast’s beautiful ward, Constance, who hasn’t aged for well over 100 years. Constance goes back in time to exact vengeance for her siblings that Leng, back in the day, murdered in pursuit of halting the aging process. 

Diogenes, Pendergast’s evil brother, comes back from the dead, travelling in time to assist his brother and Constance to prevent Leng’s plan and slew of murders. Diogenes is a particular treacherous psychopath with superior intelligence and a twisted taste for the finer things in life. In going up against Leng, his actions stand out as gruesomely brutal and creative.  

To appreciate the novels fully, one must achieve that literary reading state of “suspension of disbelief.” In this world just about anything is possible and is written in such a way that one can imagine the most outlandish scenes as entirely believable. It’s all part of the fun.  

When completing The Cabinet of Doctor Leng, and realizing the novel was a cliff hanger, and knowing we would have to wait for the sequel, my feelings of disappointment can be described as an understatement. Waiting the 12 or so months for the final installment was in all honesty, well worth the wait.  

Indeed, these novels are pure entertainment.  

USAID and Gaza. Opinion.

 

The Trump administration since the clang of the bell, has entered the ring swinging wildly and hitting hard with a slew of Executive Orders. Elon Musk leading DOGE is closing USAID, to many a well-known tool of the CIA to instigate regime change in democratic countries who do not wholly align with the goals of the permanent government, and a dreadful waste of taxpayer money, has been cheered and welcomed by the MAGA movement who are sick and tired of America's endless wars overseas. So far so good. This week, however, a giant wrench has been thrown into the works, and that is Trump's dangerous intentions of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, announcing the removal of 1.8 million (?) Palestinians, displacing them into Egypt and Jordan, or to any nation that will take them.  

International war criminal and orchestrator of the planets 21st century genocide in Gaza, Israeli PM Benjaman Netanyahu, visited Washington DC, like a conquering hero of our modern times. The obvious obsequious behavior from the DC Blob and particularly President Trump, was truly cringeworthy and difficult to watch. For many observers around the planet, Israel has the US government under its thump. In fact, it is well known that to gain entrance into Trump's administration, the price of admission is absolute fealty to the nation state of Israel. Now with President Trump's announcement to ethnically cleans Gaza, the world has responded negatively, including all major countries in the Middle East.  

The idea of a "two state solution” has been proposed for decades including past US administrations. In present time, after a year of unmitigated slaughter in Gaza, President Trump shocked the planet with his solution of simply displacing the Palestinians out of their homeland and into another country. As said, most of the international community views this idea as ludicrous and a recipe for disaster for all concerned. Trump is truly the great "circuit breaker” for the DC establishment and is well known for his "shoot from the hip" ideas to mix things up, and at times leading to real deals and solutions. It is possible this is one of them.  

The United States government, including my own country, Australia, and the UK, is beholden to the Zionist cause for a greater Israel. To be sure, I have not figured this one out entirely. It has become obvious that the three countries mentioned above have put the interests of Israel above the interests of their own. Unfortunately, because of this strange smarmy obligation to Israel, all are complicit in genocide.  

Common sense should dictate the logical goal of peace and diplomacy in the middle east, though the US has never been a peaceful country since at least WWII. The country's economy is driven by the military Industrial complex where war is exclusively for profit.  

I admire what the Trump administration is doing with DOGE, revealing a deep underbelly of government corruption and inefficiency, some of this corruption connected to regime change and war, though Israel and the middle east is one huge powder keg ready to explode, and displacing Palestinians from their land will only contribute to the possibility of WWII.