All the grey cats

by Craig Thomas

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Adventure

495 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1988

About the author

David Craig Owen Thomas was a Welsh author of thrillers, most notably the Mitchell Gant series.

The son of the Western Mail rugby union writer, JBG Thomas, Craig was educated at Cardiff High School. He graduated from University College, Cardiff in 1967, obtaining his M.A. after completing a thesis on Thomas Hardy. Thomas became an English Teacher, working in various grammar schools in the West Midlands, and was Head of English at the Shire Oak School, Walsall Wood.

After unsuccessfully trying script writing for radio, Thomas wrote part-time, with his wife as editor, in two fields: philosophical thoughts in books of essays; and techno-thriller genre, which although invention is often attributed to the better-known Tom Clancy, many feel that Thomas was its true originator. Most of Thomas's novels are set within MI.6 and feature the characters of Sir Kenneth Aubrey and Patrick Hyde.

His best-known novel which brought him to global prominence, Firefox became a successful Hollywood film, both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. After writing his third novel, 1960s Cold War espionage thriller Wolfsbane, he left teaching altogether in 1977. His later books include Snow Falcon and A Different War. Shortly before his death he finished a two-volume commentary on German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Thomas and his wife Jill had lived near Lichfield, Staffordshire, but moved to Somerset in 2010. He died on April 4, 2011 from pneumonia, following a short battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 68.

Reviews

[Philip Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another competent thriller featuring veteran spy master Sir Kenneth Aubrey. After narrowly escaping being framed in the great previous novel, "The Bear's Tears", Aubrey is offered a way back into MI6 favour by arranging the defection of an Easy German. All does not go well. To make matters worse, the defector is the son of Brigitte Winterbach, apparently a long time adversary who blames Aubrey for her father's death. Meanwhile, British traitor Babbington is now helping his KGB masters by hatching a plot to seize Nepal for the USSR.

Aubrey's usual sidekick, the Aussie Patrick Hyde, is replaced here for action man duties by young army officer Tim Gardiner. It turns out that bachelor Aubrey adopted Tim after the events of earlier book, "Wolfsbane". This the first we've heard of him and I don't recall any further appearances. A bit odd given the recurring characters that do feature prominently, a nice feature of this series.

I always enjoy the author's combination of Cold War espionage and classic Buchanesque action. Nepal is a different setting and provides a good backdrop for Gardiner's 'man on the run' daring do. Four stars is generous as it's all a bit laboured at almost 600 pages. The backstory with Brigitte is sketchy and underdeveloped. Likewise, Gardiner's sudden appearance is a bit too convenient. His real father's fate after "Wolfsbane" is only mentioned in passing. The next volume is teed up up nicely with a cliffhanger concerning Hyde. Like they used to say at the end of a Bond film, "Aubrey will return...in The Last Raven".

[Bob Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't read a Craig Thomas book in a while, so it was good to read one again. Had forgotten how much detail and how slow the pace of his books are. The story an old spy and his background in the service and then a new hero is the base of the book. Sir Kenneth Aubury is the old spy who from previous stories has fallen down the pecking order. He has almost decided to retire when he gleans information that his bete noire is involved in an audacious scheme. His desire to get one over his most competitive enemy drives him to the forefront of this tale. At the other end of the scale is Tim Gardener a disgraced ex Royal Gurkha Officer who seems to be facing dismissal. The fact that he is related to Aubury is the link between the two. What follows is a classic Secret Service tussel with Gardener as the point man.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

ponderous sequel to the far better The Bears Tears

[Craig Helliwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent cold war spy stuff