THE POET GAME

A young Irani spy is sent to New York to coordinate an intricate web of terrorism and espionage following the 1992 World Trade Center bombing. Sami Amir, like most good spies, is adept at moving between opposing worlds. The son of an American mother (whom he never knew) and an Iranian father (whom he rarely met), Sami was raised in a Catholic boarding school on the outskirts of Tehran. Although a Muslim, his features are fair enough and his English is good enough for him to pass for a Greek or an Italian, and with no family to speak of, he’s free to travel without anyone curious about his whereabouts. The perfect CV for a spy? That’s what they thought at —the Office,— a secret government agency in Tehran where Sami is transferred after an unhappy stint beating up dissidents in the army. Trained as an overseas operative, he’s sent to New York quietly, on his own passport, and told to meet his contacts and wait for instructions. New York is a confusing place at the best of times, but for an Arab spy-without- portfolio it’s like Babel once the tower has toppled. Sami soon discovers many of his contacts are Muslim terrorists connected to Section 19, an extremist fringe of Iranian intelligence that has been fighting the Office for power since the 1979 revolution and may have been behind the World Trade Center attack. Now Section 19 is planning a wave of activity for the Christmas holidays. Sami is supposed to keep his eyes open and report home, still unsure whether Section 19 is his ally or his foe. The extremist group is not sure either—which means no one is willing to turn his back on Sami until after the fireworks. Merry Christmas, everyone! A run-of-the-mill potboiler/first-novel, spiced up with some nice Manhattan locations, but nothing special overall.