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Sekret
Doppel
Free online fiction from tor.com.
Told in a series of espionage transmissions, “Doppel” is the story of a British agent in occupied France. When he meets a charismatic SS officer who seems to be guarding a great and powerful secret, he must decide whether to abandon his mission and discover what the Nazi is planning. But the truth might be darker and more dangerous than anything the British—or the Germans—can imagine.
This short story was acquired and edited for tor.com by editor Kate Jacobs.
Told in a series of espionage transmissions, “Doppel” is the story of a British agent in occupied France. When he meets a charismatic SS officer who seems to be guarding a great and powerful secret, he must decide whether to abandon his mission and discover what the Nazi is planning. But the truth might be darker and more dangerous than anything the British—or the Germans—can imagine.
This short story was acquired and edited for tor.com by editor Kate Jacobs.
24 pages, ebook
First published March 18, 2014
3 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Smith
41 books442 followersLindsay is the author of multiple novels for young adults, including Sekret and A Darkly Beating Heart, as well as the comic series Black Swan. She is the showrunner and lead writer for Serial Box's The Witch Who Came In From the Cold, a Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2017. Her short stories and comics have appeared in the anthologies A Tyranny of Petticoats, Strange Romance Vol. 3, and Toil & Trouble and on Tor.com. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and dog.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 9, 2016
3.5*
Doppel was a unique story, told by sections of espionage transmissions from "Agent Keystone" (the protagonist, for lack of a better word), "Frere" (his "keeper" - the person keeping track of his movements while undercover), and "Nanny" (Special Executive Office, to whom Agent Keystone reports). It takes place during WWII, except there are some supernatural/dark fantasy elements that I loved reading about in conjunction with WWII and the SS.
The writing, again, was amazing. At least to me. Maybe instead of the "what the fuck am I reading" kick I was on earlier this year and part of last year, I'm now on a "wow this prose is amazing" kick... I don't know. I'd like to think I'm more objective than that, but so far the short stories/novelettes I've read from Tor.com have not disappointed me at all, especially regarding the writing styles.
That ending, though. Man.
I would love to see this become a series or at least a full-length book. I think Doppel definitely has enough of a plot to it for it to become a book, if not a full-fledged series.
Definitely do recommend. :) And as mentioned above, Doppel is available on Tor.com under the original fiction section. (Also, it is a bit macabre, for those who shy away from stories/books under that heading.)
* Oh - right. Why did I rate this a 3.5 instead of a 4 or a 4.5, since I gave it such a good review? Well, because if you didn't pay super close attention, even (and perhaps especially) to things that seemed unimportant, you'd miss a lot of the actual story. I'm not used to having to focus so much on a story in order to make sure I don't miss elements, and it was (and is!) definitely worth it, but that was a struggle I did have with it.
ETA: And surprise, surprise! Lindsay Smith also wrote Sekret, which has been on my TBR list for a very very long time. :) Definitely will need to check that out now!!
Doppel was a unique story, told by sections of espionage transmissions from "Agent Keystone" (the protagonist, for lack of a better word), "Frere" (his "keeper" - the person keeping track of his movements while undercover), and "Nanny" (Special Executive Office, to whom Agent Keystone reports). It takes place during WWII, except there are some supernatural/dark fantasy elements that I loved reading about in conjunction with WWII and the SS.
The writing, again, was amazing. At least to me. Maybe instead of the "what the fuck am I reading" kick I was on earlier this year and part of last year, I'm now on a "wow this prose is amazing" kick... I don't know. I'd like to think I'm more objective than that, but so far the short stories/novelettes I've read from Tor.com have not disappointed me at all, especially regarding the writing styles.
That ending, though. Man.
I would love to see this become a series or at least a full-length book. I think Doppel definitely has enough of a plot to it for it to become a book, if not a full-fledged series.
Definitely do recommend. :) And as mentioned above, Doppel is available on Tor.com under the original fiction section. (Also, it is a bit macabre, for those who shy away from stories/books under that heading.)
* Oh - right. Why did I rate this a 3.5 instead of a 4 or a 4.5, since I gave it such a good review? Well, because if you didn't pay super close attention, even (and perhaps especially) to things that seemed unimportant, you'd miss a lot of the actual story. I'm not used to having to focus so much on a story in order to make sure I don't miss elements, and it was (and is!) definitely worth it, but that was a struggle I did have with it.
ETA: And surprise, surprise! Lindsay Smith also wrote Sekret, which has been on my TBR list for a very very long time. :) Definitely will need to check that out now!!
June 12, 2017
3.5 out of five.
Oh my gosh that was creepy. Not quite as scary as I remember, but it still made me shiver, and that ending is a real cliffhanger. Very unique format of transcripts between an undercover spy in Nazi-ruled Germany and his handlers, especially for a short story, even if it was sometimes a little hard to keep track of all the names. It was also quite interesting to reread now that I know a bit more about WWII. I could definitely see it being expanded into something longer, and I'd read it.
But seriously. That ending.
Oh my gosh that was creepy. Not quite as scary as I remember, but it still made me shiver, and that ending is a real cliffhanger. Very unique format of transcripts between an undercover spy in Nazi-ruled Germany and his handlers, especially for a short story, even if it was sometimes a little hard to keep track of all the names. It was also quite interesting to reread now that I know a bit more about WWII. I could definitely see it being expanded into something longer, and I'd read it.
But seriously. That ending.
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March 31, 2014Yeck. I didn't rate this because I don't like horror story, therefore my evaluation of this individual example of the genre.
Not my cup of tea.
Not my cup of tea.
May 19, 2015
That was an interesting read. A bit macabre maybe. But intriguing enough to make me want to see more of the story.
June 3, 2017
YOU CAN'T END IT LIKE THAT!!!
I would definitely read this as a full novel, if only to get a little more resolution on that ending. The combination of creepy magic, spies, and WWII was really interesting. Also, made a lot more sense the second time around, now that I've studied WWII in school more. I actually understood all the names and events they were mentioning. Now I'm going to go back to screaming about that ending.
I would definitely read this as a full novel, if only to get a little more resolution on that ending. The combination of creepy magic, spies, and WWII was really interesting. Also, made a lot more sense the second time around, now that I've studied WWII in school more. I actually understood all the names and events they were mentioning. Now I'm going to go back to screaming about that ending.
July 1, 2020
Um, I need more please. I did not expect that ending and I loved it.
May 9, 2014
ORIGINAL REVIEW: http://acidfreepulp.com/2014/05/09/doppel-by-lindsay-smith/
"Doppel" is one of those short stories where everything at first appears very much on the surface, but really, that's not the case. Lindsay Smith's story is told in a series of exchanges between a British spy embedded in Nazi occupied France, his "nanny" (the Special Executive Office, which he reports to), and his handler.
Posing as a German businessman who has been living in the UK for a number of years, Agent Keystone is tasked with getting close to the mysterious SS-Oberführer Albrecht, who wears a Totenkopf ring on his finger (Totenkopf being the word for skull in German; it literally translates as death head).
Agent Keystone finds the Nazis despicable, but he must hobnob and be amicable with Albrecht, which leads him to feel like there are two versions of himself.
The story was written in a really engaging way. The correspondence voice between each British player is wholly its own and when Agent Keystone goes missing, the messages between the SEO and his handler point to the worst. Lindsay Smith mixes history, thriller, and mythology to pen a fun tale filled with suspense. The story is very approachable for any reader, but I advise you to pay close attention to what's going on, even if it seems odd, because otherwise you might just miss the fantastical outcome.
This story is available by the publisher as an e-book for .99 cents and online.
"Doppel" is one of those short stories where everything at first appears very much on the surface, but really, that's not the case. Lindsay Smith's story is told in a series of exchanges between a British spy embedded in Nazi occupied France, his "nanny" (the Special Executive Office, which he reports to), and his handler.
Posing as a German businessman who has been living in the UK for a number of years, Agent Keystone is tasked with getting close to the mysterious SS-Oberführer Albrecht, who wears a Totenkopf ring on his finger (Totenkopf being the word for skull in German; it literally translates as death head).
Agent Keystone finds the Nazis despicable, but he must hobnob and be amicable with Albrecht, which leads him to feel like there are two versions of himself.
The story was written in a really engaging way. The correspondence voice between each British player is wholly its own and when Agent Keystone goes missing, the messages between the SEO and his handler point to the worst. Lindsay Smith mixes history, thriller, and mythology to pen a fun tale filled with suspense. The story is very approachable for any reader, but I advise you to pay close attention to what's going on, even if it seems odd, because otherwise you might just miss the fantastical outcome.
This story is available by the publisher as an e-book for .99 cents and online.
February 11, 2016
Spy thriller with a supernatural twist set during world war II. The story is told through a series of espionage transmissions between British agents in occupied France, and the UK intelligence.
In his efforts of rescuing some British prisoners of war from Nazi camps, one of the agents meets a charismatic SS officer who seems to be guarding a great and powerful secret, that might be darker and more dangerous than anything the British, or the Germans, can imagine.
In his efforts of rescuing some British prisoners of war from Nazi camps, one of the agents meets a charismatic SS officer who seems to be guarding a great and powerful secret, that might be darker and more dangerous than anything the British, or the Germans, can imagine.
March 24, 2016
Doppel is a Lovecraftian story from WWII that made me shiver! Told through encrypted messages from an undercover officer back to his superiors in Britain, Doppel is a story about the Germans stumbling across a far older, more dangerous power than anyone thought possible. Even though the story really only hints at the truly terrible, it's enough to stick with you and raise goosebumps on your flesh!
May 21, 2014
Une nouvelle sous forme de transmissions entre espions, pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. La forme est originale, et participe à l'ambiance du texte. Mais ce qui est bien réussi, c'est cette progression lente de l'étrange, jusqu'à cette fin glaçante.
Intéressant à découvrir.
Intéressant à découvrir.
April 16, 2015
Wow. Scary. Will there be more, 'cuz I could see this being an EPIC series of books. Hope the author considers expanding on this storyline.
September 7, 2015
3.5 stars
Dopple was a little hard to follow, but quite interesting. I would love to see Lindsay write a full length book like this.
Dopple was a little hard to follow, but quite interesting. I would love to see Lindsay write a full length book like this.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews