Scott’s Comments (group member since Aug 09, 2016)

Scott’s comments from the Espionage Aficionados group.

The Day of the Jackal

The Day of the Jackal (if it qualifies) if not, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

I have most of the old Doc Savage pulps (inherited) and have had a blast reading thru them and even reviewed a few. some hold up, others not so much. the word on the street is that Shane Black and The Rock/Dwayne Johnson are bringing him to the big screen.

Oh and what a glorious time the 60's & 70's were for espionage writers; Le Carre, Deighton, Forsyth, Higgins. sometimes we are not aware of the Hey day until it is gone from us. forever.

So much so that your comment is echoed by Follett's American editor Neil Nyren: "Eye of the Needle didn't do anything radically new or ground-breaking. what it did do was several things, all excellently."

" Very glad to see a contemporary author carrying on the hard-boiled crime tradition."
agreed. huge film-noir fan and always up for the literary equivalent.

Feliks wrote: "Got a title from our group's genre looming up ahead on your 'to be read' slate? Action, adventure, espionage, intrigue, war, historical fiction, suspense? Let us know about it!"

Feliks, what is your opinion of the Philip Kerr’s first three Bernie Gunther novels? (I stumbled upon the BERLIN NOIR trilogy containing March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem and picked it up on the cheap)

Feliks wrote: "Nope, not essential at all. This is a common point of confusion with readers.

Yes, George Smiley is the protagonist of 'Murder of Quality' but not at all in his professional capacity as a control..."

just a quick aside, I read A 'Murder of Quality' anyway. even though it added nothing to Smiley's espionage saga, I found this a fascinating in-site to his personality: Smiley himself was one of those solitaires who seem to have come into the world fully educated at the age of eighteen. Obscurity was his nature, as well as his profession. The byways of espionage are not populated by the brash and colourful adventurers of fiction. A man who, like Smiley, has lived and worked for years among his country's enemies learns only one prayer: that he may never, never be noticed. Assimilation is his highest aim, he learns to love the crowds who pass him in the street without a glance; he clings to them for his anonimity and his safety. His fear makes him servile - he could embrace the shoppers who jostle him in their impatience, and force him from the pavement. He could adore the officials, the police, the bus conductors, for the terse indifference of their attitudes. we get so little information regarding Smiley other than others views of him I found this illuminating.

Feliks wrote: "Welcome, glad to have ya.

re: LeCarre just let me harp on my constant refrain: read the Smiley books in order. 'Call for the Dead' first, then 'Cold', then 'Glass' and on from there. Its the most ..."

Took your advice and went back and started with 'Call for the Dead' and am reading in order. however, one of the "Smiley's" conspicuous by its absence is 'A Murder of Quality'. it is essential to the JLC/Smiley mythos?

Thanks Feliks. I had the "Tinker' BBC miniseries and 1965 Criterion collection "Spy who came in' Blu Ray begging to be watched and my OCD would not allow me to watch either without reading them first,hence the reason I skipped around on LeCarre. thanks for the suggestions,I will add to my wish list and go back and read them in order (thanks again OCD) ....I feel LeCarre at his best actually transcends the spy genre and can hold it's own among finer literature ("A Perfect Spy" was astonishing)

Hello all,Scott here. just joined the group yesterday as I am loving the Spy/ Espionage genre even though I've barely dipped a toe in yet. I've made the "mistake" of starting with LeCarre and worry everything else will be a pale imitation. hence this post..after reading Tinker Taylor, the Spy who came in from the Cold and a couple other,I'm looking for suggestions that rival the master. (Day of the Jackal was pretty fine also) thanks in advance.