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Anyone have any recommendations for other classic spy novels like le Carre’s? I’ve read some Greene and Deighton, which were both mentioned in the article, so I
by nocoiner 3y ago
Anyone have any recommendations for other classic spy novels like le Carre’s? I’ve read some Greene and Deighton, which were both mentioned in the article, so I suppose I should revisit those, but would be interested in any other works with a similar scene and setting.
One of my favorite le Carre tidbits - apparently in the UK and US versions of “Tinker, Tailor,” a character in one version takes a ferry in Hong Kong, but takes a tunnel in another version.
Apparently after the original UK release, one of the readers asked le Carre why the character didn’t just take the (relatively recently opened) tunnel between Kowloon and the mainland, le Carre went white in the face and promptly rewrote that part in the forthcoming US version for its subsequent release and had the character take the tunnel instead (as anyone would have done in those circumstances, given the two options).
Terrific writer and storyteller. Must have had a hell of a life.
- jgalt212 3y agoMost Alan Furst novels are good. They are largely the same, but the despite being cookie cutter, the cookie is pretty tasty. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49941.Alan_Furst https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49941.Alan_Furst
- jhbadger 3y agoYeah, I like them but he does seem to write about occupied Paris a bit too often. When he focuses on places less covered in WWII fiction like Bulgaria, Romania, or Greece, it is a bit more interesting.
- BeetleB 3y ago> Anyone have any recommendations for other classic spy novels like le Carre’s? Probably not comparable, but Frederick Forsyth's novels are great. He wrote The Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protocol, etc. If you want a taste for his books, I would suggest The Devil's Alternative.
- nocoiner 3y agoVery perceptive recommendation - I love Forsyth’s novels. I feel like they’re a little bit of a guilty pleasure, but damn, that guy can write a thriller.
- lelanthran 3y agoI always recommend The Dogs of War as a first Forsyth novel, and No Comebacks as a first Forsyth reader. No Comebacks: 1. Are all short stories, so good for the reader who is not yet invested in Forsyth 2. Starts with the titular story, which (IMO) is a pretty good capture of Forsyth plot and story-telling.
- szopa 3y agoI find it hilarious how Dogs of War is different as the book and the movie. The movie is a classical '80s thing with big guns and explosions. The book on the other hand gets into great detail about the logistics of organizing a coup, holding accounts, export licenses for arms, etc. Forsyth would've probably preferred to write it as a non-fiction book, but making it a work of fiction vastly extended his life expectancy.
- wombatpm 3y agoRobert Ludlum had many that were great. The original Bourne Identity got my family hooked. Beware the post death authorized books David Morrel also had some good ones. Brotherhood of the Rose was great.
- travisgriggs 3y agoParsifal Mosaic was one of my favorite Ludlum books outside the obvious Bourne books (which actually got a little tired after the 3rd or 4th when he was “returning” as the mentor)
- what-no-tests 3y agoRobert Ludlum's "The Prometheus Deception" has so many plot twists...my favorite of his. Also Le Carre's "The Russia House" is my favorite, and has such great prose. More of a love story maybe, but the subtexts are really a thing of beauty in that work.
- stonogo 3y agoI was an avid Ludlum reader in my youth and recently revisited them. I was blown away by the cultural shift since then. His protagonists spends half the books arranging to use payphones and rent cars in an anonymous way. I can't tell if the job has got easier or harder since those largely stopped being possible.
- mensetmanusman 3y agoOr the dozen hand signatures required at the Swiss banks to unlock vast resources…
- wkat4242 3y agoSame with Tom Clancy's. He wrote some pretty genius books with original stories and then it turned into a bunch of series that were nothing than drivel by other authors, like "op center". Even now they stamp his name on games and series he had nothing to do with. I wish that would be illegal, writing a book under the name of someone who had nothing to do with it. Ps the second Bourne book was soooo much better than the movie and so completely different. From the major events with characters (not wanting to spoil) to the setting in Hong Kong.
- selimthegrim 3y agoYou must mean the book? I didn’t recall this scene from the miniseries.
- travisgriggs 3y agoI like all of his George Smiley novels. But perhaps the most haunting for me is The Looking Glass War (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Looking_Glass_War https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Looking_Glass_War). I had just urned 50 when I read it and was actually surrounded by a lot of people ranging 60-80. While a spy novel, it’s almost more of dark comic tragedy on the power of nostalgia. I easily find the storyline transferrable to some of the “established” organizations I’ve done work for. Aging is hard. I wish there were Ben more books and stories like this one.
- LeonB 3y agoAgree, it is very much a dark tragi-comedy.
- bloak 3y agoI thought it was common knowledge that John le Carré's "The looking-glass war" (I agree with your recommendation of it) was inspired by the story of Lionel Crabb (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Crabb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Crabb) but neither Wikipedia page seems to refer to the other.
- robertlagrant 3y ago> Aging is hard. A story I read as a kid, The Positronic Man, by Asimov, really revealed this to me. Because the protagonist lives a long time, it covers a few different human characters, and his final words in the book really hit home.
- timoteostewart 3y agoRobert Littell’s spy novels up through Vicious Circle are wonderful. He wrote The Company, which has been adapted for the screen.
- denton-scratch 3y agoThere may be more than one show called "The Company"; I'm not sure. I watched one episode of a show of that name, and really liked it. I think it was in two episodes, and I missed the second. Ever since, I've been waiting for it to be repeated.
- l3x 3y agoGraham Greene's The Quiet American has a similar feel. About an American spy in Vietnam. Edit: Also, Mick Heron's Slow Horses series, based on a group of outcaste MI5 spies in London. (The first book was made into a TV series on Apple TV).
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago> (The first book was made into a TV series on Apple TV). There have now been 2 seasons of Slow Horses (apple TV series) and more are planned. I haven't read the books, but this is a good series.
- thazework 3y agoIt's not a spy novel by any stretch but if you enjoyed TSWCIFTC you'll like For whom the bell tolls. The character portrayals are similarly ambiguous (among many other reasons to read that book)
- hackandthink 3y agoKim Philby's "My Silent War" is a good read. Sometimes autobiography, sometimes fiction. (the guy literally had a hell of a life) https://books.google.de/books/about/My_Silent_War.html?id=duU2kp3RS0gC&redir_esc=y https://books.google.de/books/about/My_Silent_War.html?id=du...
- rdubrock 3y agoCharles Mccary is kind of an American John le Carre. The Tears of Autumn is especially good
- jonjacky 3y agoThe Soul of Viktor Tronko by David Quammen (1987) - from the heart of the Cold War. American interrogators try to figure out if a Soviet defector with startling revelations is telling the truth. Quammen has become well known as a writer on nature and the environment, but he started his career writing spy novels. His earlier novel The Zolta Configuration (1983) is set in the atom bomb project during WWII. I recall Oppenheimer and his circle are characters.
- nocoiner 3y agoGreat suggestions! I read those after I read a spectacular book by Quammen about either pandemics, or the pandemic. I think it must have been more general, but I read it during the pandemic, so it blends together. (If you don’t know the book I’m referring to, I highly recommend it - look up quammen and pandemic, and it’ll be at the top of the list. Part of the book I remember best is where it tells a fascinating factionalized story of how HIV may have moved out of Africa.) I don’t think I finished reading Zolta, though. I should pick that back up.