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197th out of 436 books
—
372 voters
Old Boys (Paul Christopher #09)
In his magnificent new novel, Charles McCarry returns to the world of his legendary character, Paul Christopher, the crack intelligence agent who is as skilled at choosing a fine wine as he is at tradecraft, at once elegant and dangerous, sophisticated and rough-and-ready. As the novel begins, Paul Christopher, now an aging but remarkably fit 70ish, is dining at home with...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
April 26th 2005
by Penguin Books
(first published 2004)
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The "Outfit", The Insiders Name For The CIA, 20 Mar 2006
"THE BRITISH ARE generally considered the nonpareils in foreign-intrigue literature. Although they didn't invent the genre, they perfected it, and are credited with the first spy novel that can be considered serious literature, Erskine Childers' still enthralling 1903 classic, The Riddle of the Sands." Morton Marcus
The most enthralling spy novels, I think come from the British. This is my first introduction to Charles McCarry. I know not w...more
McCarry was always one of my favorites in the age of the Cold War thriller (in books like The Last Supper and The Tears of Autumn). This one is maybe not as good as Le Carre’s one about “old spies” (Absolute Friends) but it’s good and I enjoyed it a lot. Basically it’s the story of 5 old spies, superannuated from the CIA, who join forces to find another one of them who’s disappeared and been reported dead in Western China. They don’t believe it and set out to find him. They’re all 60ish or more—...more
Well, maybe 2 1/2 stars.
This espionage thriller is strong on plot and setting: the story starts with CIA retirees reuniting to search for a comrade who may or may not be dead (and who may also in turn be searching for his mother, who ALSO may or may not be dead). Add to this sundry mercenary killers, a shadowy 'Gray Force' led by 'Kevin' :) the requisite Islamic nutcase with very deadly weapons, and the original manuscript of an apocryphal story from the life of Jesus. And Nazis, too. McCarry ke...more
This espionage thriller is strong on plot and setting: the story starts with CIA retirees reuniting to search for a comrade who may or may not be dead (and who may also in turn be searching for his mother, who ALSO may or may not be dead). Add to this sundry mercenary killers, a shadowy 'Gray Force' led by 'Kevin' :) the requisite Islamic nutcase with very deadly weapons, and the original manuscript of an apocryphal story from the life of Jesus. And Nazis, too. McCarry ke...more
One of life's minor pleasures is reading a book that has been on your shelf for years. I have had Charles McCarry's Old Boys for six or seven years. It's not that I didn't want to read it, but it was the first McCarry I acquired. Having bought it, I realized it was a series book and that I would have to go about purchasing the, then out of print and hard to find, earlier books. I spent some time tracking down used copies and then Overlook Press reprinted his books. So, I've now caught up and cou...more
McCarrey has written as series of good espionage stories with two characters, Paul Christopher and Horace Hubbard. Years ago Paul’s mother Lori, living in Germany was kidnapped by a Nazi. She managed to have him killed and escaped with a scroll about early Christianity with an interesting twist that Paul is really a Roman agent who planted Judas in with the disciples. Now at least 50 years later Paul has disappeared looking for his mother and Horace gets some old ex spies to try to fnd her. They...more
Paul Christopher is the subject of this book, but he's missing and being sought by a group of former spooks lead by his nephew Horace Hubbard, who had been disgraced from the service in an earlier book.
This McCarry novel reintroduces Lori Christopher and Zarah Christopher, and leads the Old Boys all over the world playing a deadly game of mystery and intrigue suggested by Paul Christopher before his disappearance.
McCarry really impresses me with his subplots and knowledge of falconing, Cold War...more
This McCarry novel reintroduces Lori Christopher and Zarah Christopher, and leads the Old Boys all over the world playing a deadly game of mystery and intrigue suggested by Paul Christopher before his disappearance.
McCarry really impresses me with his subplots and knowledge of falconing, Cold War...more
As a fan of Charles McCarry and a believer that an espionage novel can transcend literary bounds - "The Last Supper" being an example of this - I found this book to be beyond awful. I can't count the number of times I put it down in frustration, only to return in the hopes that a glimmer of the characters and writer I had enjoyed so much in previous works would appear. None of them do. The premise is weak, the plot barely conceived and poorly fleshed out. A number of times I found myself insisti...more
I'd heard lots about McCarry and this series, and was interested this. At times Paul Christopher is a bit too enigmatic for me to really grasp, but his cousin's devotion is touching-- indeed the whole family is devoted, in an isolated, loner kind of way. I particularly liked learning so much about falconry and hawks.
Like Ross Thomas and Graham Greene (at least, Greene's espionage fiction), McCarry relies on wit and solid characterization to carry his story. In this case, the subplot involving Saul of Tarsus as Christ's "handler" is one of the funnier and more fascinating leitmotifs in spy fiction.
After a long time away from writing about Paul Christopher, McCarry returns in masterful form. All the usual suspects are here, along with the typical byzantine plot and surprises. In reading this I felt like an old friend with whom I had lost touch had returned.
Perhaps the best espionage book I've ever read. By far the best Charles McCarry out there IMHO. However please note, if you are an easily offended Christian, you might want to pass on this one.
This was, surprisingly, excellent. I initially though "Oh, not another spy story!", but it's so well written, with a very dry wit. Definitely worth a read.
This was an excellent book by Charles McCarry. Very readable and interesting.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
The main downside to the end of the cold war was the demise of the intellectual spy novel. This one solves that problem.
Old Boys by Charles McCarry (2005)
The best spy writer ever....
Excellent Read!
A great spy tale!
"Old Boys is like the best parts of ten John le Carr� novels all put together." � Time
Listen to Old Boys on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Listen to Old Boys on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
A really entertaining, intelligent spy novel. John LeCarre meets Ross Thomas. Exotic settings, danger galore, quirky characters, black humor.
Pure fun, basically.
Pure fun, basically.
This is a new author for me deemed to be the best espionage writer today. You can tell he definitely use to be a spy for the CIA. It was a good mystery!
One of my favorite McCarry books--I whipped right through it.
Jun 06, 2013
Darius Ostrowski
added it
May 01, 2013
Kathleen
marked it as to-read
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McCarry served in the United States Army, where he was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, has been a small-town newspaperman, and was a speechwriter in the Eisenhower administration. From 1958 to 1967 he worked for the CIA, under deep cover in Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, his cover was not as a writer or journalist. He is married with four grown sons. His family is from The Berkshires ar...more
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