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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A GRIM WARNING Jun 22, 2009
The cover got my attention. The rivetting story within kept it until the last sentence, when I consoled myself with that glass of wine Dehesh was so fond of. Chet Nagle's Iran Covenant spooked me! It is a fast moving thriller, but also an urgent warning to the West to take heed of events in Iran, to challenge those who lust for power at any price, in the guise of religion, or the consequences for the free world will be dire. I identified with the characters and really cared what became of them, which is the mark of a fine writer. Iran Covenant is ever the more relevant these days when Iran's ruling clergy are tightening the screws and the stakes couldn't be higher for Israel. A very convincing story.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A Page-Turning Thriller Jun 11, 2009
Chet Nagle has written a page-turner of a political thriller that is entirely believable. The characterization, including that of the villain, is excellent. In particular, the scenes between the two major characters, the American Adams and the Israeli Karlski, are wonderful, full of humor and fast-paced dialogue.
The torture scenes were vividly, nauseatingly horrible and I can't imagine anybody condoning torture after reading them. From that perspective, perhaps this book will help those who support the so-called "enhanced interrogation" techniques realize they are war crimes and should be prosecuted.
The swiftly-moving plot propelled by its ticking clock is chilling. The author's expertise in the operations of the U.S. Defense Department and his insider knowledge of the Middle East convinced this reader of their authenticity. The subject matter -- US/Iran/Israel relations -- could not be timelier. One only hopes that the situation Nagle has fictionalized remains just that -- fiction.
This book cries out for a movie adaptation.
Imminent Domain Jun 09, 2009
A very exciting story. Interest builds to the very end. I'd love to tell how it ends, now that I know. The author has a profound knowledge of the current middle east situation. It definitely gives uneasy afterthoughts. Hard to put down.
A great read. Apr 10, 2009
What a great read. Shades of Tom Clancy. I am a retired Naval Officer and an old Navy pilot and I can tell you my palms were sweating during parts of the action. This is a plausabe plot with well defined characters. My highest praise has to be that I stayed up past midnight to finish this book, and I always go to bed at ten PM. I give it the highest Navy verbal commendation - "Well Done"!
A Five-star Read! Apr 06, 2009
Chet Nagle is by any standard an expert on the Middle East and, in particular, on matters involving the current tensions between Iran, on the one hand, and Israel and the U.S., on the other. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and carrier pilot who flew missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and then went on to a quiet but respected career in intelligence and defense work, Nagle is the real deal when it comes to understanding the dangers, methods, weapons and dynamics of the terrorism that is being plotted by Iran's leaders and which presents a mortal threat to the people of the State of Israel and its biggest ally, the U.S. His work placed him in some of the top corridors of power in Washington and the capitals of the Middle East, and he gained first-hand experience in how things work behind the scenes and "beneath the radar." Add to Nagle's substantive credentials his remarkable gift for telling fascinating stories, and you have the formula for a colorful, spell-binding suspense novel of the first order.
Iran Covenant starts fast, with a scene in Tehran, raising the spectre of biological warfare aimed at the Israeli population, and the reader becomes quickly acquainted with the level of hatred and cold-blooded focus of the terrorist mind. Moving quickly to the Palm Restaurant in Washington, the author introduces us to Deputy Secretary of Defense Jeremiah Adams, a seasoned, no-nonsense realist who becomes the main protagonist and gives us an earthy glimpse into how things really work in the Pentagon. Adams is met at the Palm by an Israeli counterintelligence operative, Gideon Karlski, who is connected at the very top levels of the Israeli Defense Forces. Karlski has disturbing news about intercepted communications coming out of Iran, radio messages that are far from clear but seem to suggest some sort of attack on Israel. Iran Covenant is off and running.
As the author deftly shifts scenes among Washington, Tehran, a missile launch complex in Bandar Abbas, Iran, and Tel Aviv, the evidence begins to mount that a deadly attack is being prepared. The palpable hatred borne by the highly-placed Iranian terrorist, Dehesh, is generously exposed, and the weapons of choice and the means of delivery, all designed to obliterate Israel, begin to come into focus. The reader begins to feel a knot in the stomach as the plan is revealed, and the clock seems to tick louder and louder as Jeremiah Adams and Gideon Karlski, using the combined intelligence-gathering resources of their respective governments, try to pinpoint what kind of weapon will be used and how and when it will be delivered and/or detonated. The accumulating evidence is at once surprising, extraordinary and yet wholly believable.
Military and international political considerations receive much deserved attention, as Israel, convinced that an attack by Iran is imminent, wants to launch its own preemptive strike to knock out the enemy's weapons-making and delivery capabilities. The reader is treated to colorful and incisive dialogue involving the Pentagon, the White House and Israeli leaders, the kind of discussions that are suggested by newspaper headlines in recent months but are generally hidden from public view. Iran Covenant portrays in highly dramatic -- but clearly authentic and timely -- terms the shape that such discussions would take and the reasons they must be kept under wraps. Those discussions also reveal the nature and extent of the "covenant" from which the book derives its name.
While Adams and Karlski and a host of counterintelligence operatives are still desperately trying to ascertain the specifics of the Iranian plot, Israel and the U.S. begin preparations for a joint military operation designed to neutralize the threat. Nagle's knowledge of the state-of-the-art communications capabilities, weaponry and delivery systems available today provides a richly-detailed description of how such a preemptive strike would be carried out. Meanwhile, the ticking of the clock seems increasingly loud and urgent, and the tension, pace and action of the final chapters irresistibly invite the reader to stay up late. With Iran Covenant, staying up late can be richly rewarding.
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