For readers of Mick Herron
Finished Slow Horses? Meet Alexander Blackwell.
If you love Mick Herron’s Slough House novels, or the Apple TV+ series with Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, Terminal Rage is a good next read: another story about a man the system pushed aside, dragged back in the moment the people in charge need him.
What they share
Sidelined professionals
Herron’s slow horses are MI5 rejects exiled to Slough House. Alexander Blackwell is a retired FBI hostage negotiator, hiding from his past on a tiny Caribbean island, until the FBI comes looking for him.
Institutions with secrets
Both are suspicious of the people at the top. In Terminal Rage, a hostage standoff opens onto a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government.
Hostages against the clock
The first Slow Horses novel turns on a kidnapping with a deadline. Terminal Rage opens with a man seizing a Manhattan office tower and refusing to talk to anyone but Blackwell.
Where they differ
Herron writes sharp satire set in a grubby London office. Terminal Rage is a global, ticking-clock thriller that runs from New York and Los Angeles to Sydney, Cairo, Rome, Naples and Anguilla. Less office comedy, more passport stamps.
It also comes from a rare vantage point. A.M. Khalifa is an Egyptian writer based in Rome, raised in a diplomatic corps family across more than fifteen countries, and the only Egyptian writing commercial espionage fiction in English. More on that.
Terminal Rage received a starred review from Booklist, has sold more than 500,000 copies, and is narrated on audio by Scott Brick. It contains violence and sexual content, and is meant for adult readers.
Questions
Is Terminal Rage like Slow Horses?
In spirit, yes: a sidelined professional, an institution hiding something, and a hostage crisis against the clock. In tone it is different. Terminal Rage is an international, high-stakes thriller rather than an office satire.
What should I read after Slow Horses?
If you want another spy story about an outsider pulled back in, try Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa, the first book in a series. The second, Terminal Deception, is coming soon.
Is Terminal Rage British?
No. Its hero is a former FBI negotiator and the story spans four continents. The author is an Egyptian writer based in Rome.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. Scott Brick narrates the unabridged audiobook, about 10.5 hours long.