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23rd out of 427 books
—
360 voters
The Fourth Protocol
It is a time of political unrest in GreatBritain. And behind the Iron Curtain an insidious plotis being hatched, a plan so incendiary that eventhe KGB is ignorant of itsexistence--Aurora, the sinister brainchild of two of theworld's most dangerous men: the general secretaryof the Soviet Union and master spy KimPhilby.
The wheels are in motion, the pawnsare in place, and the...more
The wheels are in motion, the pawnsare in place, and the...more
Paperback, 443 pages
Published
1996
by Arrow Books
(first published 1984)
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Since I had seen the film countless times, I read the book with eager anticipation. The book is a FAR more finely-woven plot than could ever be accommodated within the space of a 90-minute film, and therefore FAR more satisfying. The wealth of detail offered by Mr. Forsyth is an educational experience, whether the sections and sub-sections of the secret services, or the S.A.S. Regiment, but best of all the pin-prick analysis of the 1980s' Labour Party is wonderful to behold. The involvement of t...more
At first, I was more than a little worried that I wasn't going to like this book. 2010 is a long way from 1984, when this book was published, and the author is grinding some axes that are no longer in the toolshed at all (to stretch a metaphor). Also, part of the thrill of reading a book like this when it comes out is the thrill of finding out how some parts of the current governments do their thing -- the melding of realistic details with behind-the-scenes looks at the various Soviet apparatich...more
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Frederick Forsyth is one of my all time favorite novelists and my favorite of all "spy novelists". The Fourth Protocol is my favorite spy novel of all time. It definitely falls into the "Commando Spy" category but is far better written than most.
I love spy novels of most types and the Commando spy novels (of which I refer to the 007 novels as) are particular favorites of mine but I also like the more behind the curtains novels that LeCarre writes. This book of Forsyth's is a fantastic cross b...more
I love spy novels of most types and the Commando spy novels (of which I refer to the 007 novels as) are particular favorites of mine but I also like the more behind the curtains novels that LeCarre writes. This book of Forsyth's is a fantastic cross b...more
The British never well and truly recovered from the embarrassment that was Kim Philby it seems. It was Philby and a few others who dealt the most severe blows to British intelligence during the era of the Cold War. What makes the espionage thrillers of this era interesting is the impeding sense of danger in the horizon and the fact that there are always eyes and ears open & listening to what you do and say. I like Fredrick Forsyth's take on intelligence agencies, there isn't a lot of gung-ho...more
O Quarto Protocolo, conhecido na História como o Tratado Internacional de Não-Proliferação Nuclear, foi assinado por Estados Unidos da América, Grã-Bretanha e URSS a 1 de Julho de 1984. Tinha como principal função proibir a divulgação de materiais ou de tecnologias suscetiveis de permitir a construção de armamento nuclear a outros países que não possuissem tais tecnologias.
Considerado um clássico da literatura de espionagem, este livro é narrado em duas esferas. De um lado, a URSS que desenvolvi...more
Considerado um clássico da literatura de espionagem, este livro é narrado em duas esferas. De um lado, a URSS que desenvolvi...more
Gostei. É raro pegar neste género de literatura mas, por acaso, deste autor, já tinha lido o "Chacal" há muitos anos, e lembro-me que tinha gostado da construção do enredo e da forma como me prendeu até ao fim.
Este livro, embora focado num tema diferente, está também muito bem delineado e tem todos os ingredientes para manter o leitor agarrado às páginas (a tensão entre a URSS e o Reino Unido na década de 1980, a actuação dos serviços secretos dos dois países, cenas de espionagem e contra-espion...more
Este livro, embora focado num tema diferente, está também muito bem delineado e tem todos os ingredientes para manter o leitor agarrado às páginas (a tensão entre a URSS e o Reino Unido na década de 1980, a actuação dos serviços secretos dos dois países, cenas de espionagem e contra-espion...more
L'ho letto nel 2003, quando mi era capitato sotto le mani, per caso, al supermercato. L'avevo acquistato perchè l'unico altro romanzo di Forsyth che ho letto, "L'alternativa del diavolo", non mi era spiaciuto. Pur nella superficialità del genere, aveva il pregio di creare un'autentica "attesa" e di non trascurare la caratterizzazione dei personaggi.
Ma "Il quarto protocollo" è stata una vera delusione. Ricalca in modo pedissequo il precedente, ma in modo molto meno "curato" e frettoloso, se così...more
Ma "Il quarto protocollo" è stata una vera delusione. Ricalca in modo pedissequo il precedente, ma in modo molto meno "curato" e frettoloso, se così...more
Trust a master story teller to write an epic! I can't even begin to imagine the kind of research required for writing a novel like this. Immensely eventful. gripping and a complete page turner. This kind of a story and plot demands extreme craft over the topics like politics, international relations, covert operations and government administration. Something as simple as how to make a bomb stretches for 4-5 pages. May be called overtly descriptive, but somehow fits into this novel's style and ge...more
This is my first British-style spy thriller, and I have to say it stacks up pretty darned good next to the American equivalent. There are no Mary Sue characters, no great intuitive leaps of logic, no silly foolishness from the Bad Guys, and only a smidgeon of authorial politics coming into it. However, it does make me sad to see that every author of this sort of stuff that I've come across is Right Wing to some extent or another. I wonder what a Left Wing spy thriller would look like, and I wond...more
Spies!
Love this stuff and Love Frederick Forsyth. Eons ago, when I lived in Poland and was starved for reading material, I picked up one of his books called "Icon". Cool Cold War spy stuff. Nothing too Tom Clancy, with way too much technical information. Nope, this book is just chock-a-block with...meetings! No lie, but seriously, it's really great. Mostly British MI5 and MI6 versus KGB intelligence. Counterintelligence. Detective work that spans the globe. Not a lot of shoot-em-ups. Just burn...more
Love this stuff and Love Frederick Forsyth. Eons ago, when I lived in Poland and was starved for reading material, I picked up one of his books called "Icon". Cool Cold War spy stuff. Nothing too Tom Clancy, with way too much technical information. Nope, this book is just chock-a-block with...meetings! No lie, but seriously, it's really great. Mostly British MI5 and MI6 versus KGB intelligence. Counterintelligence. Detective work that spans the globe. Not a lot of shoot-em-ups. Just burn...more
Spies!
Love this stuff and Love Frederick Forsyth. Eons ago, when I lived in Poland and was starved for reading material, I picked up one of his books called "Icon". Cool Cold War spy stuff. Nothing too Tom Clancy, with way too much technical information. Nope, this book is just chock-a-block with...meetings! No lie, but seriously, it's really great. Mostly British MI5 and MI6 versus KGB intelligence. Counterintelligence. Detective work that spans the globe. Not a lot of shoot-em-ups. Just burn...more
Love this stuff and Love Frederick Forsyth. Eons ago, when I lived in Poland and was starved for reading material, I picked up one of his books called "Icon". Cool Cold War spy stuff. Nothing too Tom Clancy, with way too much technical information. Nope, this book is just chock-a-block with...meetings! No lie, but seriously, it's really great. Mostly British MI5 and MI6 versus KGB intelligence. Counterintelligence. Detective work that spans the globe. Not a lot of shoot-em-ups. Just burn...more
This is Forsythe's most successful book about the Cold War. His research into the inner workings of the Soviet goverment was so astonishingly detailed and accurate that he came under the attention of the CIA! This book included several of the most intriguing and fully developed characters that Forsythe ever created. A terrific read which was regrettably made into a movie that managed to leave out all of the romance and subtlety of the book and dull the edges of the story. Forget about the film,...more
C1984: FWFTB: Moscow, country-town, jigsaw, MI5, revolution. When I decide that I like an author – I tend to devour everything that she/he has written. These books all seemed so much more pertinent when the Berlin War was still standing! There is no flowery paragraph-long descriptions in this book. The language used is almost terse, to-the-point and brutal. On reflection, it is probably highlights the tension running through the novel. The dedication is interesting in a way and to his son – “For...more
As most of Forsyth books, Fourth Protocol too has 3 parts, a background, the meticulous planning/the plot (none can beat him in this) and the Execution itself. The story starts with a group of few high men led by a former Super spy Kim Philby (an Englishman himself) and the general secretary of Grand Russia himself sitting remotely in a dacha (a Russian country house or villa) hatch a plan so sinister that even the KGB is unaware of it, the motif being destabilization of Britain. The effect of w...more
Dec 07, 2007
Silvana
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
military-espionage,
used-to-own
This is probably Forsyth's best work since "The Fist of God". I absolutely heart the plot, which is totally gripping.
The story is (a) simple (conspiracy) actually: It is about a plan, called the Aurora Plan, initiated by the Russians (and a Brit defector) to topple the incumbent British (conservative) government, by using a smuggled nuclear device in order to assure the Labour Party (already infiltrated with commies supporters) to win the next general election, thus make the UK to have its first...more
The story is (a) simple (conspiracy) actually: It is about a plan, called the Aurora Plan, initiated by the Russians (and a Brit defector) to topple the incumbent British (conservative) government, by using a smuggled nuclear device in order to assure the Labour Party (already infiltrated with commies supporters) to win the next general election, thus make the UK to have its first...more
Die hard fans of the master of conspiracy will not be satisfied with this book. The story-line begins at a lame pace and prods itself to the center where we find a sequence of happy accidents leading to a nibbling finish.
The overall canvas is quite deep but the characters don't seem to come together. The only outstanding character who single handedly seems to save the world is Sir Nigel but other novels bring him in a better light.
A good read but not on the level of the day of the jackal.
The overall canvas is quite deep but the characters don't seem to come together. The only outstanding character who single handedly seems to save the world is Sir Nigel but other novels bring him in a better light.
A good read but not on the level of the day of the jackal.
A classic cold-war espionage tale. Very much in the mold of Tom Clancy, this great spy tale by Frederick Forsyth certainly belongs in the same class as Clancy's best. It is an entertaining tale of nuclear threats, a terrorist plot engineered by a faction in the Soviet government, and some great police work by an enterprising British agent who finds himself up against an unknown foe in a game with high stakes. This book is a great read, with a good plot and solid characters. Well done.
If you are passionately interested in espionage thrillers, this is a great read. The characters, plot, political details, espionage insights - all combine to form a suspenseful and entertaining read.
However, unlike The Day of the Jackal and The Devil's Alternative, Forsyth does lose the momentum of the plot while he digresses on numerous occasions to detail factoids from history and other stuff. If you like Forsyth's meticulous attention to detail, this will not hinder your enjoyment of the book...more
However, unlike The Day of the Jackal and The Devil's Alternative, Forsyth does lose the momentum of the plot while he digresses on numerous occasions to detail factoids from history and other stuff. If you like Forsyth's meticulous attention to detail, this will not hinder your enjoyment of the book...more
Indelible thriller. I must have read it 25 years ago. It had me hooked with the scene where a chemist is engaged to identify a piece of metal smuggled into England for unknown reasons. The chemist describes it as a polonium 'initiator' used to set off an explosion. The detective asks something along the lines of ".. some kind of anti-personnel weapon?" and the chemist replies "It's anti-personnel all right; polonium is what sets off a nuke."
It took me a while to get hooked to the story.
I got confused with all the different abbreviations for several (british) agencies, so at some point i didn't know who is doing what or where that person belonged to. Would I have a better knowledge of England I might have had it easier.
Nevertheless, it was a good read. It's neither too complicated, nor the language too difficult. Definitely liked the two stories coming together, and how at the end the actions have been explained with a little unexpe...more
I got confused with all the different abbreviations for several (british) agencies, so at some point i didn't know who is doing what or where that person belonged to. Would I have a better knowledge of England I might have had it easier.
Nevertheless, it was a good read. It's neither too complicated, nor the language too difficult. Definitely liked the two stories coming together, and how at the end the actions have been explained with a little unexpe...more
A well-written, well-crafted spy thriller, this book successfully combined the paperchase with more active passages. The ideology was over-simplified, though: "if you're not Conservative you're helping the Commies!" There was very little ambiguity, or even an attempt to understand viewpoints other than Thatcherism.
The formula Forsyth used in Day of the Jackal is applied to this novel and not surprising the end result was another excellent read. In both novels the pace of the plot starts out slow while an intricate web is woven and then the pace builds and eventually becomes an all out deadly race to beat the clock.
I liked this story about the race to stop a Russian spy destroying an army air base. An MI5 agent is
kicked out for his fears an attack on British soil during the Cold War. He joins MI6 to hunt down a
Russian spy from plotting to destroy a US Air base and bring about World War 3.
kicked out for his fears an attack on British soil during the Cold War. He joins MI6 to hunt down a
Russian spy from plotting to destroy a US Air base and bring about World War 3.
I had high expectations for this, which many call Forsyth's best. It was tedious beyond belief with detailed government meetings in both Russia and Britain, not to mention a ten page document (from Kim Philby) about the infiltration of Britain's Labor Party. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Good Cold War era spy book. I like how thorough Mr. Forsyth is, that he does not leave loose ends dangling. While the book was not exactly what I thought it would be, there are some indeas in it that are relevant even today in the UK and USA. The way our politics are manipulated by evil on high, and so forth. Good read.
The Soviets plan to alter the outcome of a UK election using a deadly weapon. Can the British secret service foil the plot?
Very well written with believable characters, but I found the ending too convoluted.
Not a bad read - but not one of Frederick Forsyth's best books.
Very well written with believable characters, but I found the ending too convoluted.
Not a bad read - but not one of Frederick Forsyth's best books.
I don't know if Freddie Forsyth will ever get to be cool again, but in his day he knew how to create interesting plots and thrillers. For those who hanker for the tropes of Cold War, preposterous archetypes and all that frosty paraphernalia, here's your nostalgia fix.
May 09, 2013
Angel Serrano
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
821-111-1-3-literatura-británica
Con un estilo cercano al periodismo, incluyendo el género epistolar como refuerzo de la credibilidad en la historia se nos muestra cómo el Kremlin plantea trasladar una bomba atómica al corazón de Gran Bretaña de incógnito y poner al Oeste de rodillas.
Simply fantastic - I had been recommended this book and finally got round to reading it and I wished I hadn't waited that long (Sorry Dan!). Frederick Forsyth has such a great style of writing with such attention to detail that you can visualise the scenes in your head and are almost there in the room with the characters. Thoroughly enjoyable!
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From Wikipedia:
Frederick Forsyth, CBE (born 25 August 1938) is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger and recently The Afghan.
The son of a furrier, Forsyth was born in Ashford, Kent. He was educate...more
More about Frederick Forsyth...
Frederick Forsyth, CBE (born 25 August 1938) is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger and recently The Afghan.
The son of a furrier, Forsyth was born in Ashford, Kent. He was educate...more
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Personally, I feel FF has always strived to surpass his plotting of 'Chacal'. I had read onl...more
Apr 07, 2012 02:51am