Summer 1999.Russia stands on the threshold of anarchy.An interim president sits powerless in Moscow as his nation iswracked by famine and inflation, crime and corruption, and seething hordes of the unemployed roam the streets.For them, only one man holds out hope.The striking voice of Igor Komarov, waiting in the wings for the presidential election of January 2000, rings out over the airwaves, mesmerizing the masses with the promise of law, order, and prosperity--and the return to glory of their once great land.

Then a document falls into the hands of British Intelligence.Quickly dubbed the Black Manifesto, it outlines Komarov's secret plan for the regime as autocratic and evil as Hitler's Third Reich.Officially the West can do nothing, but in secret a group of elder statesmen sends the only person who can expose the truth about Komarov into the heart of the inferno. Ex-CIA agent Jason Monk has a dual mission: to stop Komarov, whatever it takes, and to prepare the way for an icon worthy of the Russian people.But to do this, Monk must stay alive --and the forces allied against him are ruthless, the time frighteningly short...

Only Frederick Forsyth, the unparalleled master of the novel of international intrigue, could create this riveting thriller, as timely and unsettling as tomorrow's headlines.

弗•福赛斯（Frederick Forsyth, 1938~）

国际政治惊悚小说大师,最受情报界推崇的间谍小说作家。他的小说用新闻写作的手法,以翔实的事实调查作为基础,充满了精确的技术细节。他笔下的人物具有高智商的逻辑思维、训练有素的专业性、坚决彻底的执行力、快速的危机处理和应变能力,堪称项目策划实施的至高典范。

福赛斯本人的经历很传奇：6岁就曾试图搭载美军坦克去诺曼底参战,16岁偷偷单独驾驶双翼飞机翱翔蓝天,19岁成为英国皇家空军史上最年轻的战斗机飞行员。他能讲英、法、德、俄、西班牙等多国语言,曾任英国路透社、BBC记者,深入局势动荡地区采访时,还曾与雇佣兵、职业刺客、军火贩子等打过交道,甚至多次在流弹中死里逃生。近日福赛斯坦言,他曾为英国军情六处工作二十多年,曾在冷战时期,为英国提供比亚法拉的前线报道。

福赛斯对世界各国的政治主张、历史恩怨、宗教矛盾、民俗风情、特种部队、间谍手法、武器装备等了如指掌,他的小说素有“杀手指南”“间谍培训手册”之称。他对国际阴谋和情报的敏感与前瞻性,让美国中情局、英国密情局、以色列摩萨德等情报机构不得不时时关注着他。

2012年2月16日,英国“犯罪小说作家协会”（CWA）授予福赛斯终身成就奖——“钻石匕首奖”(Cartier Diamond Dagger)。