The Bomb Man is an enthralling, fast-paced novel based on real events. Beyond that, it serves as a tribute to a rare breed of men who were thrust into a conflict they were not prepared for in Northern Ireland. The year is 1973. Catholics and Protestants are at war. IRA terrorists have unleashed a bloody bombing campaign, indiscriminately killing women and children, policemen and soldiers. Bomb disposal expert Dave Thomson has been sent to Londonderry by the British army. His job is to dismantle the countless explosive devices that are planted across the city every day. When he captures an IRA bomb-maker in the act of planting a device, Thomson crosses the line. He forces the terrorist to defuse his own bomb. A provocative act that ignites the fury of the IRA. The terrorist organization puts a price on his head. With 30 days until his tour of duty ends, there’s only one question on Thomson’s mind. Will he make it home alive to his wife and children? Or in a body bag?
A book set in the period of The Troubles is bound to stir controversy. Even though the events in this novel occurred almost fifty years ago, they still touch a raw nerve among the many whose lives were touched abhorrently and indelibly by the conflict.
This book offers insight into the circumstances that led to The Troubles. It touches on the blatant social injustice and religious discrimination that was endemic in Northern Ireland. The author also opens a window into the deadly excesses of the British Army, who exacerbated the problem and contributed to the rise of the IRA.
But this is not a book about the rights and wrongs of the conflict. It’s a novel. A story which has been inspired by the author’s father - a bomb disposal man who was posted to Northern Ireland in 1973, at the height of the bombings. Readers will see through the eyes of a British soldier and the perspective is candidly one-sided. That is not to say there aren’t other valid perspectives of what happened. As they say, there’s always two sides to a story.
That said, this book is authentic. It offers readers an accurate view of the practices and protocols followed by the British Army, a sense of how the IRA operated, and a feeling of the deep distrust between Catholics and Protestants.
