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Don't read it as spy novel. It is about moral and identity. And in a way the anti Bond.
As always, the master's work is deep he finds a way to weave a morality tale of our time into a tense thriller that sees a retired Whitehall warrior colluding with an ex special service operative and a young diplomat to try and expose bad deeds. Needless to say Le Carre ramps the tension up off the richter scale and he delivers a thoroughly literate thriller. I loved it but the big problem with finishing a Le Carre is what to read next ?
Le Carre never appreciated Fleming's work which is a shame because they are flip sides of the same great coin.
I'm currently reading The Orpheus Deception and it's a page-turner supreme. Stone doesn't have Fleming's style (who does?) but he tells ripping good yarns, bloody well.
If you've never broken open a Stone, I highly recommend that you do.
I think he's a fabulous writer albeit his rhythm and syntax take a bit of effort.
Question: will I become addicted? b-(
One of my favourites is #22 Brain Drain. Remo is hanging out at a biker bar, as part of his assignment of course. He orders a water. Naturally the dirtbag bikers, harass him, call him names. When Remo finally wearies of their noises, much hilarity ensues. Remo in very short order,returns to his water, but now surrounded by broken biker bodies. One is missing a nose IIRC, that wound up floating in another bikers now pink-coloured beer.
Lesson: don't be bothering Masters of Sinanju, especially when your dump of a biker-bar is the last place they want to be in the world anyway.
Sidenote. Warren Murphy maintains James Cameron's Terminator has been ripping off the Destroyer for years. He's got a point. We meet Mr. Gordons (named after a gin bottle), a very Terminator-like recurring nemesis first introduced in #18 Funny Money.
It's the second in a trilogy-the first being 'The Tourist' and the third being 'An American Spy'. Although they are stand alone, there is a strong continuity and I would definitely recommend reading them in chronological order.
They could be described as Le Carre but at Fleming's speed.
In Weaver, Olen has created the perfect spy for our times. Compromised and disillusioned but still harbouring an overall desire to do the right thing — first class stuff and Steinhauer is definitely up there with the greats.
I've only read the one, Kill Shot (2012) but I'm looking forward to devouring a couple more. Rapp is very no nonsense. He cuts through red tape and othe bureaucratic bs.
Just what you want in an assassin/operative working for the good guys.
Rapp is blunt instrument like Bond, but not as smooth, but then who is. Bond is the ultimate.
Very good. If you know your Rapp, then why are the two later books, considered to be #'s 1-2, in the Mitch Rapp chronology, when there was a whole bunch written before them. According to the Vince Flynn website, American Assassin is #1 and Kill Shot is #2, but they are the two latest titles. Huh?
They are prequels. American Assassin is the origin tale of Rapp, so it is first chronologically, followed by Kill Shot which is also Rapp at the start of his career. The first published Rapp book was Transfer of Power. It isn't a prequel, but an exciting read about terrorists infiltrating the White House, which two recent films about attacks on the White House probably got inspiration from. It is only recently that Vince has began telling Rapp's origins, so that is why there are only a small number yet that tell of his start. I think the next book being released by Vince is set in current times again.
Yes, Kill Shot did clearly reference American Assassin.
Also now that I think of it, it did have a bit of an origins flavour to it. Rapp seemed very much established by the time it was done though, with most, if not all of his internal agency enemies decisively vanquished.
Rapp does not hestitate to take down those who need taking down. He's pretty thorough. He appeals to my Remo Williams sensibilties. :)
I guess I will read American Assassin next, the first of the two prequels.
Oh gosh I read The Red Fox! That was decades ago, I was 12 I think. What a brilliant novel. Not merely a good spy thriller, a real novel with characters. And it reminds me that I should read more Anthony Hyde.
I am almost done Vince Flynn's American Assassin, but I have to set Mitch Rapp aside for awhile. It's engaging stuff but it's kind of gung-ho too. Need a little break from Rapp's relentless war on jihad. Plus he's continually running and exercising. It's exhausting keeping up with him.
So can you recommend a David Stone for me. I want to change things up. Try something new.
I'll revisit Rapp down the road.
As far as thrillers go, it's right up there with Fleming's best. Unfortunately, Hyde's two other novels are considerably less successful. China Lake is bizarre, self-indulgent and quite pornographic. Formosa Straits is better than China Lake, but still a few steps down from The Red Fox.
Might as well go with Stone's first, The Echelon Vendetta. Once you read it, you'll want to read the rest, and they're best read in chronological order.
And speaking of Stone, I hope something hasn't happened to the bloke. I tried contacting him through two email addresses on his website--davidstonebooks.com--and both addresses are kaput. I sent an emessage to his publisher requesting contact information, and never received a reply. Stone's last book was published in 2010. If he's got something else in the works, I'm sure he'd be promoting it on his site. Ah well, perhaps he's retired.
Was Anthony Hyde a one-hit wonder? Well, so far I haven't published one so should not judge;-).
Loved 'Trinity Six' and his new one 'A Foreign Country' BUT his best thus fare is 'Typhoon,' it is absolutely phenomenal and draws comparison with Le Carre's best; 'The Honourable Schoolboy'.
Personally, I think Cumming is the best of the new breed of spy writers and I would love to see IFP commission him to write a Bond novel. That said, I'm not sure he'd do it.
I'll order Typhoon this weekend. I love good spy novels. Le Carre is the very best for me, although I must say I am usually depressed after reading his works. Because it all seems so real and he doesn't pull punches.
So far I'm impressed with Cumming, but I'm not sure his style is right for Bond. Perhaps too literal and lacking the requisite flamboyance.
It's a shame that your only Le Carre experience is 'Russia House' because that's a little like judging Fleming by TSWLM. My strongest advice would be try 'The Honourable Schoolboy'. In my not so humble opinion, it's one of the best books of the last century — any genre and it's certainly the best Spy story ever written. As 4EverBonded said, he is the very best — my God, I can't believe I said that on a Bond site!