''The Cobra'' is a 2010 thriller novel by British writer
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. 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 Alter ...
, about the international cocaine trade. In it, an unnamed
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
-like (said to have a wife named '
Michelle' and a deceased
Kenyan father)
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
colludes with an unnamed
Cameron-like (having a wife named '
Sam')
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
to put an end to the international cocaine trade and brings in ex-
CIA Director
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community.
Beginning February 2017, the D ...
Paul Devereaux who is basically given ''carte blanche'' to accomplish this task by any means necessary. The book re-introduces some of the characters from Forsyth's book ''
Avenger
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
''.
Plot summary
The prologue shows a young boy dying of a drug overdose in a slum in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The boy's grandmother works as a maid in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. When the President inadvertently hears of this, he decides to end the international
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
trade. Paul Devereaux, who previously appeared in the Forsyth novel ''
Avenger
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
'', is tasked by the U.S. President to end the international cocaine trade. He recruits lawyer Cal Dexter, the main character in ''Avenger'' and a highly decorated
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that h ...
who served in the élite
tunnel rat
The tunnel rats were American, Australian, New Zealander, and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War.
Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afgha ...
unit, to help him with this task. Together they set up a joint Anglo-American task force operating from 2 converted grain carriers transformed into
Q-ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
s to intercept cocaine shipments, destroy the ships and to detain the crews on a remote island. Both teams have access to a
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
that provides them with target information and other intelligence. Dexter also recruits a
Blackburn Buccaneer pilot to shoot down the cartel's cocaine-carrying airplanes. He also obtains a list of corrupt officials who allow the cocaine to enter their country and exposes them. When the actions of both task forces and the pilot lead to major international cocaine shortages, Devereaux starts a disinformation campaign aimed at turning the international drug cartels against each other. Since this leads to out-of-hand gang wars with innocent bystanders getting killed, Devereaux is eventually asked by the White House to stop all operations. Dissatisfied by the White House decision, Devereaux cuts a deal with a drug lord promising him the cocaine captured by the task forces. He tells Dexter the location of the captured cocaine and tells him to destroy it. However, it turns out to be fake and Cal Dexter finds out about this and has the Buccaneer pilot destroy the cocaine-carrying ship before it reaches its destination. In the epilogue, Devereaux's assassinated body is discovered: the drug lord, Don Diego Esteban, has taken his revenge on him for breaking his deal.
Reception
The novel has been lauded for its background research, but the ''Washington Post'' reviewer found the characters lacking in depth, and the plot often unconvincing, "a fantasy that spins out of control".
See also
*''
Clear and Present Danger
''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...
'',
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...
's 1989 novel with a similar premise
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobra, The
2010 British novels
British thriller novels
Novels by Frederick Forsyth
Novels set in Guinea-Bissau
Novels set in Washington, D.C.
Novels set in Colombia
Novels set in Madrid
Novels set in Hamburg
Novels set in London
Novels set in Virginia
Books about cocaine
Cultural depictions of Barack Obama
Cultural depictions of David Cameron
Bantam Press books