Author name: Judith

“There was no fault I could find in this book. The writing was excellently executed, and the editing was exceptionally done. Reading the author’s bio confirmed that he was the perfect person to tell Ricardo’s story. Since I could not find any issues, I’d rate the book a perfect five out of five. Ideal readers would be folks interested in Iranian history and the connection of the United States to global diplomatic matters.”

While violence inevitably erupts in Ricardo’s life, Berg avoids thriller-style suspense in the novel’s first half, instead emphasizing the human costs of conflict and the injustices that fuel rebellions. Thriller elements and revelations emerge more prominently later, though they are not as compellingly drawn as Ricardo’s journey of growing up, searching for a father, and finding a cause. Still, Berg crafts a suspenseful, emotional tale with complex family dynamics and a resonant inquiry into the uses of violence. “Where others settle for belief, we must seek clarity,” Ricardo warns, one of many urgent insights.”

“What makes Shadows of Tehran compelling isn’t just daring sequences but its profound personal exploration of resilience in the face of relentless loss.” | “The novel hints at espionage and conspiracy, weaving in
the possibility that David, far from being an absent parent, may have orchestrated more of Ricardo’s fate than he ever realized. While Berg’s prose is direct and fast-paced, Shadows of Tehran does not sacrifice
emotional weight. Some of the novel’s most affecting moments come in Ricardo’s quieter moments—his struggle to belong, his guilt over the lives lost in his fight against tyranny, and his realization that war, in all its forms, is never truly over. “

This is a very impressive debut novel, and Ricardo wears his hero cape stylishly, figuratively speaking; hopefully, it won’t eventually verge into the cartoonish if subsequent stories follow. This line captures his ethos well: “You thought you could drown me in fear, but you only taught me how to breathe underwater.” Berg says that the story is largely autobiographical, and that he himself was Ricardo Rosen. Surely an interview would be fascinating.

Berg has earned entrance to this genre club—readers will hope for further adventures.