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brettt's review
2.0
The Spanish Civil War was both a preview and a concentrated form of a clash between two of the vilest ideologies ever invented by fallen humanity -- fascism, as the catspaw of its most extreme version called National Socialism and the Stalinist strain of the poison of Communism and Marxism. In the late 1930s, devotees of both dueled in Spain, allowing the Nazis to "field test" many of the weapons they would later turn on the rest of Europe and allowing Soviet dictator Josef Stalin a number of access points to up-and-coming political folks in Western Europe and the United States. They wrecked the country without much thought for the people who lived there -- many of whom spent the war dodging bullets and trying to live in the midst of all of these people supposedly fighting on their behalf.
Into the midst of this sordid slice of 20th century history, thriller writer Stephen Hunter sends Robert Florry, a shabby would-be writer coerced into spying for England's MI-6 intelligence agency. Florry is supposed to link up with his former Eton classmate, Julian Raines, who is writing about the war while also fighting in it and who may have been recruited as a Soviet spy. Florry is supposed to learn what he can about Raines' connections and loyalties, and act accordingly. The amateur spy's mission will be made that much harder by the presence of a Russian spymaster and former New York City gangster who's a part of one of the many Communist groups using the Spanish war for their own ends, as well as a young Englishwoman who is there to help the Nationalist cause and with whom Robert is falling in love.
Hunter is best known for his series of books about covert military sniper Bob Lee Swagger and wrote Tapestry of Spies (formerly The Spanish Gambit, after a chess strategy) earlier in his career. But as a movie critic for The Baltimore Sun at the time, he has plenty of writing experience and Spies features him already well in command of his pacing, narrative and style. He may write airport novels, but he writes them at a higher level than a lot of authors; one of the reasons the Swagger series gained notice and a movie deal.
Spies, though, does suffer from the fact that its bleak context settles into the characters and renders them as unpleasant as their circumstances. None of the people involved are the slightest bit likable, and even those who may be on the side of right are folks you'd not care to spend time with -- nor are you at all assured they're on the side of right for anything like the right reasons. In the end, Spies is an excellently-prepared dish that still isn't anything you want to eat or that you enjoy if you do.
Original available here.
Into the midst of this sordid slice of 20th century history, thriller writer Stephen Hunter sends Robert Florry, a shabby would-be writer coerced into spying for England's MI-6 intelligence agency. Florry is supposed to link up with his former Eton classmate, Julian Raines, who is writing about the war while also fighting in it and who may have been recruited as a Soviet spy. Florry is supposed to learn what he can about Raines' connections and loyalties, and act accordingly. The amateur spy's mission will be made that much harder by the presence of a Russian spymaster and former New York City gangster who's a part of one of the many Communist groups using the Spanish war for their own ends, as well as a young Englishwoman who is there to help the Nationalist cause and with whom Robert is falling in love.
Hunter is best known for his series of books about covert military sniper Bob Lee Swagger and wrote Tapestry of Spies (formerly The Spanish Gambit, after a chess strategy) earlier in his career. But as a movie critic for The Baltimore Sun at the time, he has plenty of writing experience and Spies features him already well in command of his pacing, narrative and style. He may write airport novels, but he writes them at a higher level than a lot of authors; one of the reasons the Swagger series gained notice and a movie deal.
Spies, though, does suffer from the fact that its bleak context settles into the characters and renders them as unpleasant as their circumstances. None of the people involved are the slightest bit likable, and even those who may be on the side of right are folks you'd not care to spend time with -- nor are you at all assured they're on the side of right for anything like the right reasons. In the end, Spies is an excellently-prepared dish that still isn't anything you want to eat or that you enjoy if you do.
Original available here.