Play Book Tag discussion
August 2018: Espionage
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Announcing the August tag
Charlotte wrote: "I'm so excited that espionage won! I have a TON on my TBR for this tag and nothing for the others.I'm going to start with:
Without Remorse by Tom Clancy
[book:Patriot G..."
Both of those T. Clancy's will keep you reading past your bed-time, just a warning!
Rachel wrote: "Joanne wrote: "I will be reading the new one by Daniel Silva The Other Woman I was on the wait list at the Library and it just came in and there is only one person ah..."Would love to hear your feed-back-When I first got sick I was looking for an author to occupy me. Clancy was my first dive into espionage- that was 5 years ago. Even those he has passed, the authors he was chosen to carry on the story have key my interest.
I'm a fan of espionage books, so I am happy with this month's choice. This year I read The Honest Spy by Andreas Kollender and can happily recommend it. It is set in WWII Germany and is based on a true story.
Another good one set in WWII is The Saboteur by Andrew Gross.
I'm a fan of Olen Steinhauer and have read and recommend The Tourist, The Nearest Exit and An American Spy. They are a trilogy and listed in order.
Another favorite which I recommend is a trilogy by Tom Rob Smith beginning withChild 44.
The Good German set in post WWII Berlin is another I recommend.
I am thinking that perhaps I will read Operation Mincemeat.
LibraryCin wrote: "I have three that I think also all fit other challenges, so the more likely options for me are: - The Alice Network / Kate Quinn
- In the Garden of Beasts / Eric Larson
- The Woman in White / Wil..."
All great reads!
KateNZ wrote: "Not a genre I read a lot, so I’m short on recommendations. But for non fiction, there’s the fascinating story of Nancy Wake, a Kiwi/Aussie girl who ended up as a very successful spy in France in ..."
Could you tag those first few you mentioned-tried to find them without luck!
Barbara wrote: "I'm fifth on the list for the The Alice Network at the library. I know I'll enjoy it, I recommended it to my mother who's already read it. I have Agent 6 on my MP3 ..."
The Kill Artist is a great choice!
Barbara wrote: "J.W. wrote: "This might be a month I have to sit out on the tag. I have nothing marked as TBR for the espionage tag in at least the first five pages of books. I would have loved either of the other..."I agree with Barbara-I am right now reading Cloud Atlas as a buddy read and Dysropia(2 birds one stone), but even though I am not enjoying it, I am learning why! Lol!
LibraryCin wrote: "Susie wrote: "I thDaniel Silvaink I’ll read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I have only read one Le Carre, The Constant Gardener, and I really enjoyed it."That's who I think of when I think of spies, but I did..."
try Daniel Silva
I have one recommendation tagged espionage.City of Stairs (one of my favorite trilogies)
Some I am considering:
The Rook
Six of Crows
An Ember in the Ashes
In Farleigh Field
Amberlough
Digital Fortress
Cryptonomicon
The Alice Network
Curtsies & Conspiracies
The Atrocity Archives
The Nightingale
Poison Study
Timeline
The Passage
LibraryCin wrote: "Idit wrote: "ooh - tagmash. that's a handy tool. will go explore LibraryThing right now (becasue I need some more time wasted browsing about reading instead of reading lol).."If you need help on ..."
Thank you! It took me a while but I've figured it out. so much fun
I think I'm going to read The Quiet American by Graham Greene, or Instanbul Passage by Joseph Karrron. I'm also thinking about Le Carre, possibly Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, or back to his early days with Call for the Dead and/or The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
It's not something I read very often, so I don't have any recommendations to offer.I do have one idea - for people who want something that's related to espionage, but from a whole different angle:
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography is about encrypting and cracking codes - there's a whole lot about the breaking of the german codes in WWII. I don't really remember much about the book, but it's very interesting, and is more of a well written popular science than a spy book.
as for what I will read -
I found three books by women that could work (looking at people shelving them):
Agent in Place
The Birds Fall Down
Death at La Fenice
Also - I thought it will be interesting to read about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - and instead I found this: The Book of Daniel - which looks very interesting
other than that - there's The Thirty-Nine Steps on my shelf at home; Eric Ambler books (like Passage of Arms) or Graham Greene books (like The Human Factor or The Quiet American)
lots to choose from
Anita wrote: "There is no point in waiting any further to announce because this month's winner won in a landslide. Despite all the great chit chat about faith and poetry (and science for that matter), the winner..."I am not at all surprised.
Alan Furst writes good spy novels, and John le Carré wrote good oness as well.
Jason's suggestion, The Bourne Identity is one of Ludlum's best novels--long and complex. I read the first 3, but by the time the 4th came out I was done my Ludlum phase (I have read many of his books as I went on a binge in the early 1990s and read all he'd written up to that point). The Parsifal Mosaic is also very good and is a standalone novel.
The Woman in White is good, and if it's been shelved that way counts, even though it's more of a detective book--I recommend it.
If you like Ken Follett, his Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller and one of his better spy thrillers.
My dad really liked anything by Tom Clancy during his espionage reading days, such as Red Storm Rising; he wrote technically very accurate stuff.
The Nightingale is good, not as violent, and is shelved 22 times as espionage!
If you like Scifi, starting with The Vor Game, there are some espionage centred books in this series by Lois McMaster Bujold.
There are also y/a espionage books...
I might read The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies, but am not sure yet.
Idit, I thought of recommending The Code Book too but it's more about codes themselves and breaking codes than about the espionage involved. Could still work but would be a lose interpretation. The book also covers breaking the codes of forgotten languages which is not espionage at all.
LOVED The Nightingale. If I can find either of these two books on my shelves, I'll join in, maybe I can find another that fits. I'm sure if I looked, I'd find plenty. :)Eye of the Needle
I Am Pilgrim
Sounds like it is a spy-type theme.
Jason - I agree - it’s a bit of a cheeky interpretation of espionage - but in reality code breaking and codes in general is one of the biggest parts of spying (and I’ve checked - some people tagged it as spy/espionage - so it’s legit
Even though I don’t read this genre a lot, i generally enjoy it.Several RECS:
Old Ken Follett is always good: The Key to Rebecca/The Man from St Petersburg
Code Name Verity
The Alice Network
The Crown (HF, not typical spy)
I will always make the recommendation for the Night Soldier series by Alan Furst. It’s set in the same world, but doesn’t need to read in order. The setting is pre-WW2 and the resistance movements in the various countries. Furst captures the mood so expertly and its interesting to read about events before the war actually started.
If interested in Israeli history - there's books about Sarah Aaronsohn and NILI - who were spies for the british against the turks in Palestine. I think Hahtoolah? reviewed one book - Spies in Palestine: Love, Betrayal and the Heroic Life of Sarah Aaronsohn
and there's also The Woman Who Fought an Empire: Sarah Aaronsohn and Her Nili Spy Ring
I read neither, but grew up on her story - and she is an interesting woman
I can't imagine how many days and months of my life back in the 80s was taken up reading book after book of Ludlum and Clancy. Yet I can't picture going back for them. Both historical spy fiction and more current high tech espionage is more satisfying to me.Over the decades I've tried a lot of writers but rarely got the high levels of buzz that would lead me to reward more than 3 stars. These include a lot on the Listopia list and more: Charles McCarry, Nelson DeMille, W.E.B. Griffin, Frederick Forsyth for old school. More recent trials include Robert Goddard, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn. Stepehen Coonts, David Hagberg, Ted Bell, Alex Berensen, Brent Ghelfi Robert Olen Butler, David Downing, Barry Eisler, Joakim Zander.
Over my history of reading spy books, I got the most reliably good satisfaction out of Len Deighton. But the Cold War can be depressing, even with the warm heart of his hero Bernie Samson. With a more recent writer like Philip Kerr, featuring a policeman Bernie Gunther in Nazi Germany who gets dragooned into SS missions, we get a cynical hero who can make us laugh at the toughest times. Another favored author with a setting in WW2 is Alan Furst, who focuses on atmospherics and has heroes who are more average people who step up to the plate. And I shouldn't fail to press Martin Cruz Smith on new readers, who made a lot of great stories featuring a Russian policeman inveigled into KGB schemes, the downtrodden Renko (you may remember the movie Gorky Park based on his first big hit with the series).
Recommendations and smorgasbord:
--Berlin Game--Len Deighton
--Stallion Gate—Martin Cruz Smith
--The Other Side of Silence—Philip Kerr
--Field Grey--Phillip Kerr
--The Saboteur--Andrew Gross
--The Polish Officer—Alan Furst
--Los Alamos--Joseph Kanon
--Shibumi—Shibumi
More literary recommendations:
--Warlight —Michael Ondaatje
--The Sympathizer-- Viet Thanh Nguyen
--Kim --Rudyard Kipling
--Our Man in Havana—Graham Greene
--The Mauritius Command—Patrick O’Brian
--Mother Night—Kurt Vonnegut
Recommended non-fiction books
One paints the history of the CIA's beginnings in WW2 and the other about a Revolutionary War hero who turned traitor and spy:
--Sub Rosa : The O.S.S. and American Espionage --Stewart Alsop
--Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution —Nathaniel Philbrick
To consider for my reads:
--Sweet Tooth—Ian McEwen
--Restless—William Boyd
--Spook Country—William Gibson
--Moscow Rules—Daniel Silva
--A Coffin for Dimitrios—Eric Ambler
Colleen wrote: "LOVED The Nightingale. If I can find either of these two books on my shelves, I'll join in, maybe I can find another that fits. I'm sure if I looked, I'd find plenty. :)..."I did not realize The Nightingale was tagged espionage! It's been on my TBR for some time, so I will definitely read it!
Michelle Moran's Mata Hari's Last Dance would also qualify, for lovers of historical fiction..... That's the best in my opinion of the four Mata Hari books that have shown up in this last couple of years. I gave it 5 stars and top ten in 2016.
Joanne wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "I'm so excited that espionage won! I have a TON on my TBR for this tag and nothing for the others.I'm going to start with:
Without Remorse by [author:Tom Clancy|389..."
Yay! I love books like that.
Joanne wrote: "All great reads! ..."Thank you! I would love to get to all three of them, but I'll have to see!
Idit wrote: "Thank you! It took me a while but I've figured it out. so much fun..."Good to hear! It is kind of fun to play around with, isn't it!?
Amy wrote: "Michelle Moran's Mata Hari's Last Dance would also qualify, for lovers of historical fiction..... That's the best in my opinion of the four Mata Hari books that have shown up in this last couple of..."I also loved "The Nightingale" and it definitely fits, in my opinion!
"Mata Hari's Last Dance" would be an option for me, but the others I've listed also fit other challenges right now, so they'll take priority!
Michael wrote: "I can't imagine how many days and months of my life back in the 80s was taken up reading book after book of Ludlum and Clancy. Yet I can't picture going back for them. Both historical spy fiction a..."Thanks Michael. This list is very helpful for me since I know little about the genre and don’t have many ideas regarding what to read. I appreciate your recommendations
Barbara wrote: "J.W. wrote: "This might be a month I have to sit out on the tag. I have nothing marked as TBR for the espionage tag in at least the first five pages of books. I would have loved either of the other..."This is exactly why I joined this group! I have read eight books since I joined in April that I would never have found if it weren't for these monthly tags. I haven't decided what I will try for espionage yet but I've read some Tom Clancy before so he's a possibility.
Decathlon challenge for August posted!
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy rec by Jen and Karin
Etiquette & Espionage rec by annapi and KateNZ
The Thirty-Nine Steps rec by Barbara
Also, I can recommend The Venetian Affair, which is a fast-paced, intelligent, retro-contemporary cold war espionage action novel set in Paris and Venice. The author, Helen MacInnes, has written several cold war era, espionagetastic novels set in Europe.
I know next to nothing about this genre, so I’m really appreciating all the recommendations! I may stick with the 1001 list- I have Day Of the Dolphin and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on the shelf.
I'm going to try to get The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery from my new-to-me local library. (I need to talk to them next time I go in. I can view the catalog, and I can sign in, and I can view a 'place hold' button... but I can't actually place the hold....)
Nicole R wrote: "Decathlon challenge for August posted!"Well, given the Decathlon challenge for this month and the fact that I don't want to fall behind again, maybe I will participate after all. I am thinking Warlight might be my choice.
OK, my new problem is this. I ordered three books from the library for espionage. They’re all on my TBR. But I just looked them up and all three of them are extremely low ratings. It’s hard to tell which one is worst of the three! Sounds like folks I know in some of you rated these things so incredibly low. Hard to know which is the best of the three to waste my time on. Just in case any of you have comments, the three are George Washington secret six; the ex-pats; and the Tudor secret. If you read one of these and you know what that their bearable or unbearable, I’d appreciate a heads up.
Amy wrote: "OK, my new problem is this. I ordered three books from the library for espionage. They’re all on my TBR. But I just looked them up and all three of them are extremely low ratings. It’s hard to tell..."Amy I'm reading the Ex-Pats now for Jen's backpack across Europe event on her blog. I'll let you know how it is when I finish it.
Amy wrote: "Michelle Moran's Mata Hari's Last Dance would also qualify, for lovers of historical fiction..... That's the best in my opinion of the four Mata Hari books that have shown up in this last couple of..."This is what I was going to read for the Decathlon-but after checking, my library does not have it. May check the used-book stores because it looks like it would good for me-
I haven't seen it mentioned yet in conversation here, but Code Name Verity was an amazing YA story set during WWII and centering around female friendship with a strong espionage undercurrent to it. It's a book I read several years ago (one of my top books of the year when I did), but it's a story that has stuck with me.
@amy, I read Ex-pats and liked it for a compelling thriller-y read. I hated the Tudor Secret and unfortunately it was pick for my F2F book club — I don’t think anyone liked it.
Jolene, that’s helpful. Earlier today I came up with a book recommendation for you for the Decathalon. But now I can’t remember it. It’s going to have to come back to me. Maybe it was something you recently said you wanted to read and I was going to second that as a recommendation for you that I thought you’d really like it. It will have to resurface to mind.
So many choices! I really want to go with a nonfiction for espionage, so I have narrowed it down to:The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
A Spy in Canaan: How the FBI Used a Famous Photographer to Infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
I will not read them all, but we'll see what I get through. My library has the first two on audio with only a short wait, so I will probably get to those for sure.
I would also like to get to Warlight but the library waitlist is ASTRONOMICAL right now! lol
Hebah wrote: "I haven't seen it mentioned yet in conversation here, but Code Name Verity was an amazing YA story set during WWII and centering around female friendship with a strong espionage und..."My Library does have this one, so a good option for me-thanks
Recommendations:The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
The Tommy & Tuppence series by Agatha Christie ... I've read only a couple: The Secret Adversary and N or M?
I haven't read these but they fit the tag and I'll choose among them:
Six Days of the Condor by James Grady
The Time in Between by María Dueñas
The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin
Further espionage recomendations-Death in Kashmir by M.M. Kaye
set in 1940s Kashmir
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Young Adult set in Egypt during the reign of Hatshepsut
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Contemporary Swedish with journalist protagonist and, well, the girl with the dragon tattoo...
Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen
YA fantasy two book series by Tamora Pierce
Given the decathlon challenge ... can everyone please try to be very clear in re recommending titles (vs just mentioning them).
I voted for this tag w/out checking the books and lo .... I haven't read many. Most have been mentioned already.
Agree with Michael on The Sympathizer (which makes it a recommendation)
Grave Mercy was a fun audio. Definitely not your typical espionage ... it's a fantasy world with court intrigue, but definitely includes spying.
That's it for me. FYI - the Dexter books are tagged as such, but are NOT if anybody is considering those.
I will only have time for Warlight as I'm doing booker. Didn't plan to read this one, but guess I will.
Last year I read a really good book about the Dreyfuss Affair (1894-1904 in France). I recommend it for this tag:An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
Joy D wrote: "Last year I read a really good book about the Dreyfuss Affair (1894-1904 in France). I recommend it for this tag:An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris"
Thank you, Joy! I was thinking I might try this one.
Jason wrote: "James Bond is my go to espionage. Doctor No is probably my favorite..."Just to be clear for the decathlon - Jason, does this mean that you would recommend any James Bond book? (I assume this means Ian Fleming.)
Yes, Ian Flemming James Bond first 9 books. That's all I have read so all I can recommend.
Jason wrote: "Yes, Ian Flemming James Bond first 9 books. That's all I have read so all I can recommend."Thanks! I will probably read Diamonds are Forever (#4), since that will be a triple hit for me - monthly tag, Decathlon, and Listopia (Titlemania III - Whole-Sentence Titles)!
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Assignment in Brittany (other topics)The Salzburg Connection (other topics)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (other topics)
Etiquette & Espionage (other topics)
Girl in Disguise (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Gail Carriger (other topics)Ally Carter (other topics)
Robert Harris (other topics)
Robert Harris (other topics)
Robert Harris (other topics)
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The Bourne Identity & The Scarlatti Inheritance by Ludlum were both pretty good!