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The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen: A Novel
A former soldier turned movie star turned spy must stop a catastrophic nuclear weapons deal.
This gripping thriller from Thomas Caplan propels readers around the globe-from Hollywood to Rome, the Black Sea to the Mediterranean-and to the very brink of nuclear abyss.
The novel's charismatic hero, former covert operative Ty Hunter, has become, almost by accident, the number...more
This gripping thriller from Thomas Caplan propels readers around the globe-from Hollywood to Rome, the Black Sea to the Mediterranean-and to the very brink of nuclear abyss.
The novel's charismatic hero, former covert operative Ty Hunter, has become, almost by accident, the number...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
January 10th 2012
by Viking Adult
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I thought this book was pretty good, but two things keep me from giving it five stars. First, we are fairly far into the book before the main character is introduced, and the characters that ARE introduced early on are either immediately killed off, or did not grab my interest. I almost stopped reading the book before the main character came on stage, which would have been a pity. Second, while the story does come a resolution, it is somewhat unsatisfying because the main villain escapes. I know...more
In an attempt to join the lofty heights of ‘Spy Fiction’ idols Ian Flemming (James Bond), Charles McCarry (Paul Christopher), John le Carré, Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy, Thomas Caplan and his Movie Star Spy, Ty Hunter aims for the sun, but like Icarus he rapidly falls.
The novel opens with a home invasion in one of rural Kansas City’s wealthiest homes belonging to one of the wealthiest men in the world. But this is no ordinary home invasion nor home invader.
The first approximately 40 pages dev...more
The novel opens with a home invasion in one of rural Kansas City’s wealthiest homes belonging to one of the wealthiest men in the world. But this is no ordinary home invasion nor home invader.
The first approximately 40 pages dev...more
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With a dashing hero, an attractive jewelry designer, and a megalomaniac billionaire villain worthy of James Bond, Caplan brings to you a thriller for the modern day. You'll sail on a luxury yacht and get lost in foreign locales. Filled with passion and betrayal, technology and money hungry men, this book will bring you up to a new level of story telling, and keep you there for the entire ride.
The hero: former covert operative, now number one box office movie star Ty Hunter, recruited by Washingt...more
The hero: former covert operative, now number one box office movie star Ty Hunter, recruited by Washingt...more
Ty Hunter has lived two lives already and is now going to be asked to return to his first one.....one that almost cost him his life. A severe accident while performing as a government operative almost killed him. He somehow survived and found himself on the West Coast where he did a 180 degree career change becoming an actor. Slowly he became a film star and now his face is well known throughout the U.S. All of this is about to change when the President, Garland White and the National Security A...more
I can count on one hand the number of books I have stopped reading part-way through, and this is one of them. The premise sounded interesting, but it just has not gotten my attention at all.
It did not start out well. The "introduction" by Bill Clinton was truly one of the most boring things I have ever read. It's 6 pages long! I literally could only read one paragraph, and then just stopped. It was verbose, self-aggrandizing, and meaningless.
Caplan's writing style is not appealing to me. He clea...more
It did not start out well. The "introduction" by Bill Clinton was truly one of the most boring things I have ever read. It's 6 pages long! I literally could only read one paragraph, and then just stopped. It was verbose, self-aggrandizing, and meaningless.
Caplan's writing style is not appealing to me. He clea...more
On the book jacket this book was compared to Ian Fleming. I think the writing style reminds me more of early John le Carré.
I enjoyed reading The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen and would definitely read other books by Caplan. He's written 3 previous books, none of which I've read yet. However I must admit that the action sequences in this book were not overly compelling, which is a problem for a spy adventure type novel. I found that the book deserves notice more for the literary style of the auth...more
I enjoyed reading The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen and would definitely read other books by Caplan. He's written 3 previous books, none of which I've read yet. However I must admit that the action sequences in this book were not overly compelling, which is a problem for a spy adventure type novel. I found that the book deserves notice more for the literary style of the auth...more
*First Reads Contest Winner*
Here's where I tell you I tried to like the book and maybe I will more if I give it some time, blah blah. No, I pretty much didn't like this book from the first chapter, and it only intensified. Here's why:
The writing style is convoluted. Sentences confuse themselves into forgetting what they were originally talking about. The dialogue is unnatural and forced. NO ONE talks like these characters, who are extremely verbose. No wonder it got a favorable forward from a po...more
Here's where I tell you I tried to like the book and maybe I will more if I give it some time, blah blah. No, I pretty much didn't like this book from the first chapter, and it only intensified. Here's why:
The writing style is convoluted. Sentences confuse themselves into forgetting what they were originally talking about. The dialogue is unnatural and forced. NO ONE talks like these characters, who are extremely verbose. No wonder it got a favorable forward from a po...more
I won "The Spy Who Jumped Off The Screen" by Thomas Caplan through the Goodreads Giveaway. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read other books by Caplan. This is a spy adventure James Bond type novel.Former covert operative Ty Hunter has become the number one film star in the world. Ty has just finished four films and needs a break before he decides what he wants to do.When he is recruited on a mission to intervene in the transfer of nuclear warheads, he must utilize every skill he...more
(2.5) This book wants so desperately to be a no-holds-barred thriller but it masks itself behind a semi-intricate plot with a pulpy premise. Reading it the whole time, its thinly-drawn characters and uninspiring dialogue, I wanted it to just tear off its sophisticated clothes and be an all-out action book. Yet it continually refuses to do that until near the end and for what purpose? Just to make it seem like a more sophisticated read? Some novels can have their action cake and eat it with a den...more
Ty Hunter, Hollywood star and spy, brings almost nothing to the table to help the U.S. president avoid a nuclear holocaust. Chasing cardboard cut bad guys across Europe Ty seems to achive a lot by doing little. The book's characters showed little uniqueness, eg. bad guy has these qualities, good guy has these qualities; the plot was okay but there was no a whole lot of action--just a lot of dialogue that was not very interesting. My time could have been better spent but I honestly expected the b...more
I confess I bought this book because I heard a review on NPR and because Bill Clinton wrote the forward. It's modern spy story and the story moves along well - there are good guys and bad guys and we know who they are - no mystery to that. The characters seem a bit like caricatures and the romance is quite implausible. That being said, it was an enjoyable quick read. I would categorize it as a "popcorn" book- fun, but not too filling. It appears the author will write a sequel which I will probab...more
Too bad Good Reads doesn't have any rating lower than one star.
This spy novel is banal, hackneyed, overwrought; it is virulently lousy. Forumlaic. Cartoonish characters. Sex scenes that are a great argument for chastity.
All this and an interminable introduction from Bill Clinton!
Once again I wonder if anyone at the publishing firms ever reads these things. Or is it all a matter of the connections? (In this case, Mr. Caplan, though he resembles the late Truman Capote, clearly has better connectio...more
This spy novel is banal, hackneyed, overwrought; it is virulently lousy. Forumlaic. Cartoonish characters. Sex scenes that are a great argument for chastity.
All this and an interminable introduction from Bill Clinton!
Once again I wonder if anyone at the publishing firms ever reads these things. Or is it all a matter of the connections? (In this case, Mr. Caplan, though he resembles the late Truman Capote, clearly has better connectio...more
Starting with Bill Clinton's introduction in the beginning of this book all the way to the last page, I was riveted to this story. Who wouldn't love a Hollywood type who is recruited by the government to track down missing nuclear warheads from a secret Russian site? The author had a unique way of letting the reader into the minds of his characters which was a special treat to me. Although this book took longer for me to read than most because of the long narrative passages, it was well worth it...more
The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen isn't the kind of spy thriller I normally read. I'm much more John Le Carré than James Bond, but when it was offered to me for review by the publisher it was easy to accept. She had me at "former covert operative turned international movie star." How could I resist that?!
Also appealing was the focus on loose nukes - something I don't think enough people take nearly as seriously as they should. There's a lot of nuclear material floating around out there and the p...more
Also appealing was the focus on loose nukes - something I don't think enough people take nearly as seriously as they should. There's a lot of nuclear material floating around out there and the p...more
I was lucky enough to win a copy of The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen through Goodreads, and I am so glad that I did. Caplan delivers an exciting tale of a former soldier, turned movie star, turned spy that takes the reader on a journey to stop the transfer of nuclear weapons. This story has it all: action, adventure, intrigue, drama, and even a little romance that reminds the reader of James Bond and Jason Bourne. Ty Hunter is a greating leading character and gives these other iconic characters...more
Caplan's writing style is fairly enjoyable and his meticulous research (everything from yachts to guns) is accurate and concise. That being said I was not impressed with the story or its flat characters. The overused plot revolves around stolen nuclear weapons, which is hardly inventive, and contained no surprising twists at all.
The main character, Ty, is a cliched mess, an ex-special forces solider, turned A-list actor, turned spy for the President (gee, I bet that took a long time to think up...more
The main character, Ty, is a cliched mess, an ex-special forces solider, turned A-list actor, turned spy for the President (gee, I bet that took a long time to think up...more
I really wanted to like this one -- I thought the premise sounded like a ton of fun -- but I barely managed to get through the first hundred pages in the month that I had it from the library. Let's just say the interpersonal relationships portrayed in those hundred pages did not in the slightest make me give even a quarter of a damn who lived or died. I invoked the "Life Is Too Short To Read Books That Don't Work For Me" clause and let it go to the next person on the reserve list.
DNF
DNF
2.5 stars.
Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, I say!
The basic premiss is SO strong yet unsupported, or maybe just unfinished(?), by the time you reach the conclusion. There were many directionless details.
The author said that no individual is inflicted with overall clarity so the human condition is forever battling over right and wrong. The characters do choose their own 'sides' in the story. The villian has a disturbing control of everyone's lives yet he was, for me, the most developed and understandab...more
Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, I say!
The basic premiss is SO strong yet unsupported, or maybe just unfinished(?), by the time you reach the conclusion. There were many directionless details.
The author said that no individual is inflicted with overall clarity so the human condition is forever battling over right and wrong. The characters do choose their own 'sides' in the story. The villian has a disturbing control of everyone's lives yet he was, for me, the most developed and understandab...more
The premise was interesting, and the book started off with a bang, but I gave up about half-way through. I realize that it's a thriller and I shouldn't expect a lot in the way of character development, but that was a real problem for me in this case. The characters were very one-dimensional and I really didn't care what happened to any of them. There just wasn't enough to really draw me in, and since I always have a stack of other books waiting for me I just decided to move on.
How could I resist a title like The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen by Thomas Caplan, especially when it’s got an introduction written by President Bill Clinton? Of course I couldn’t, and I’m really glad I didn’t. There’s a reason I kept humming the 007 theme under my breath while reading this novel. It’s every bit as action packed and nail biting as any James Bond novel or film. If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers then buckle your seat belt. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.c...more
I bought this on a whim after reading the summary and part of the introduction. Unfortunately, the introduction was better than the book itself.
While the premise is intriguing, the characters are two-dimensional and the dialogue is unrealistic - no one talks like that. There is no need for a character to say something and then essentially explain why he/she said it. In an attempt to be sophisticated with vocabulary, Caplan neglects character depth and personality. All villains speak with a simil...more
While the premise is intriguing, the characters are two-dimensional and the dialogue is unrealistic - no one talks like that. There is no need for a character to say something and then essentially explain why he/she said it. In an attempt to be sophisticated with vocabulary, Caplan neglects character depth and personality. All villains speak with a simil...more
I had higher hopes for this one when I saw the plot description. Story wise, there's a good one in there, tailor made for a film. The thing it would need is a damn good screenwriter. The book's major problem is the dialog. No one has an individual voice. Everyone speaks so unnaturally academically, as if they all swallowed a thesaurus. EVERY character talks this way, even a twenty-something spoiled rich kid who inherits his father's company. The dialog never rings true to the characters speaking...more
Move over Bond and Bourne, there's a new badass spy in town. Meet movie star Ty Hunter, who is actually an ex-special ops kind of guy. He tracks the nukes, fights the bag guys, loves the girl and generally has one heck of a time that all started with the Cannes Film Festival and a glamorous party on a yacht. This is fast paced thrill ride and has a definite cinematic quality to it that keeps the pages turning.
An interesting plot and storyline. Caplan develops his characters enough to compel a read through the conclusion even if a few of the characters are somewhat unbelievable (but it IS fiction). Overall a good read. He of course has left the door open to a sequel and I'm still undecided if I'll go after that one. But, I may read one of his three earlier novels. Caplan is not a bad writer.
I'm not much on spy novel of which this is one so take my comments with a grain of salt. The pace of this story is very slow, which makes reading it more painful, and it has the usual compliment of stock characters associated with such novels. There is the Russian mob presence, several characters for whom their success trumps anything, a beautiful girl who seems unattainable to the hero, himself a veteran army intelligence officer turned movie star. Well, you gert the picture.
I enjoyed the book. It was a slightly different take on the typical spy that saved the world story. There is an intro by Bill Clinton who, it turns out, is a voracious espionage novels reader. The novel sees our hero in many exotic locales and it appears that the author knows a lot but about each city and location. Recommended for a quick spy novel.
I won this copy in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. Thanks!
A somewhat boilerplate cloak and dagger story, "The Spy..." did offer some entertaining reading. While it took a good while for me to become engaged in the story, there was enough meat on the bones to keep me to the end.
Ty Hunter, former Military Intelligence now movie star is in a race against time and a determined opponent to prevent a deadly cargo from reaching the wrong hands. With the aid of the Brits, the duped fiance of the bad...more
A somewhat boilerplate cloak and dagger story, "The Spy..." did offer some entertaining reading. While it took a good while for me to become engaged in the story, there was enough meat on the bones to keep me to the end.
Ty Hunter, former Military Intelligence now movie star is in a race against time and a determined opponent to prevent a deadly cargo from reaching the wrong hands. With the aid of the Brits, the duped fiance of the bad...more
I'm surprised this book has been rated so poorly. It is a spy/action book, so you should know what to expect. It's no John LeCarre, but it still proves comparable to Fleming and Ludlum. At the very least it is a fun page-turner and a great way to spend a few hours.
A really interesting premises that gets bogged down in details from time-to-time, but manages to be a fairly entertaining story. The opening few pages are excellent, and provide some great hope that this author will continue to develop in this genre.
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Sep 02, 2012 09:30pm