HarperCollins A Spy by Nature, Crime & Thriller, Paperback, Charles Cumming
1732 ratings
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Price: £9.99
Brand: HarperCollins
Description: For fans of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY comes this masterclass in suspense about a spy caught up in his own web of deception. HarperCollins A Spy by Nature, Crime & Thriller, Paperback, Charles Cumming - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Harper Collins
Product ID: 9780007416912
Delivery cost: Spend £20 and get free shipping
Dimensions: 129x198mm
Keywords: MI6,Political Thriller,Cold War,Espionage,Spy thrilller,MI6,Intelligence services
ISBN: 9780007416912
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Author: Gi Dalor
Rating: 5
Review: The novel tells the story entirely from the point of view of Alec Milius, an anti-hero unreliable narrator who becomes entangled, whether by his devices or others, in the world of espionage. He’s profoundly dishonest, with himself and with others; both the dominating protagonist and his own worst enemy. It is a spy novel, but there’s also elements of thriller and horror. I didn’t know where the plot was going and was kept off balance. We don’t know why other people say or do things, only Alec’s interpretation of it. There are a lot of questions where the only answer we ever receive is the one that Alec receives or believes. We’re not even given all the information that Alec holds about himself, and have to fill in the gaps. There’s a point late in the novel where we encounter for the first time a person that Alec has referenced throughout the novel. On the one hand, there’s what Alec has been saying about them throughout, much of it lies he has told others, but then what the character actually says doesn’t really marry with what we’ve been told. Throughout there’s Alec’s version and there’s the truth, and the novel is a conflict between the two. On a personal level, I’ve known someone like this. Charismatic, likeable, but you wish they would just admit their lies instead of constantly doubling down. Alec is a thoroughly unsympathetic character. To quote a Taylor Swift song, it’s exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero. Because it’s fun as well, isn’t it. And so is this novel. There’s a film being made of this novel, but you need to read the book.
Author: lullaboo
Rating: 1
Review: Many of the scenes in this book are endless; writing to fill in the time. The first 20% is taken up by Foreign Office examinations, group discussions on a set issue and psychological assessments of candidates. You wonder when the story is going to kick off. Then a party, that like a guest who won’t go home, overruns its welcome with out of date discussions on politics. It is writing to the point of boredom. I wanted to go home too. The adage ‘less is more’ has long been discarded. At about 60% the spy story picks up but the forward pulse is punctuated by too much introspection. And in case you’re not following the story, our spy reprises the events to an ex-girlfriend. You can skip several pages here as we’ve previously read this. Rather uncomfortably, protagonists and other characters are always smoking (I know they did then). This is a 40 a-day novel. Short of an idea or two, Cummings always has his protagonists reaching for the cigarettes. Avoid this book unless you’re gasping for a smoke and a dull read. Alternatively, you could chew your own shoe laces.
