books within books

[Feliks, Moderator]

You know you're reading an toothsome and intricate espionage-genre book when

a) the plot or theme hinges on some other obscure, no- one's-ever-heard-of-it-book to come to a conclusion of its own (example: John LeCarre referencing 'The Adventures of Simplicissimus' from the 17th c. in his 'A Perfect Spy'; Umberto Eco's 'Name of the Rose'; or Ken Follett re-using 'Rebecca'

[Feliks, Moderator]

b) typical tale-of-intrigue title: 'The 39 Steps'. Something inscrutable, some clue which is explicated in the plot as it unfolds but otherwise just makes a curious title

[David]

Sure hope for some answers. Currently rereading Devil's Alternative, which has stories within stories. Great novel.

[Feliks, Moderator]

aha! That's certainly an interesting yarn. What are the published books that Forsyth refers back to in this tale? I forget.

[David]

Feliks wrote: "aha! That's certainly an interesting yarn. What are the published books that Forsyth refers back to in this tale? I forget."

Ah, I may be confused. I usually read two books at a time, one hard, one E, and perhaps it was the police/detective book that was referencing a different book. Of course, I view stories within stories as many different plots, with subplots within them, taking place though out the novel, all carefully woven together as the book concludes.

[Feliks, Moderator]

Len Deighton's 'Horse Under Water'

The book title is a clue in a Times crossword
The chapters are each titled with clues from the same crossword
The hero of the book is trying to finish the same crossword as he makes his way through the espionage plot

There's also footnotes --every few pages-- which lead to appendix 1 and appendix 2 at the end.

Damn fun!