There isn’t usually a lot of hype going in to the reading of a book that is more than three decades old when you get around to it, but thanks to the wonderful community of the Spybrary Podcast, my reading through the bibliography of Len Deighton finally arrived at Berlin Game, the first of nine novels from Deighton starring Bernard Samson.
Declassify >Agent Winchester’s Quick Review of Anna
Anna, directed by Luc Besson, cast/has three legit stars in it: Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, and Cillian Murphy. After a failed relationship ends suddenly, she is recruited by the KGB. After a year in training and two in the field, she learns the promise of freedom after five years of service is a lie. She is also a successful model between jobs, and working dual professions is hard on her.
Under the thumb of the KGB, including her handler, Alex (Evans) and intelligence officer, Olga (Mirren), she is a precise and methodical killer.
Declassify >Spoiler Free Review
Getting Caught in the Cross-Fire of SS-GB by Len Deighton: A Spoiler Free Review
From the brilliant mind of Len Deighton comes SS-GB, a thrilling novel of espionage and counter-espionage set in a world where the Germans defeated the English in WWII.
Declassify >Spoiler Free Review
Into the Shadows: Assassination Corps is Today’s Fictional Espionage (A Spoiler Free Book Review)
The nature of the business of espionage in Michael Brady’s new book Into the Shadows: Assassination Corps is like the businesses of laws and sausages… You want the results, but perhaps, you’d better not look at the mess that created them.
Declassify >Red Sparrow dares go where Marvel’s Black Widow Probably Should
Red Sparrow is a great addition to the world of cinematic spy fiction. And yet, because the film is so good and so close to the origins of Marvel’s Black Widow, it’s hard to see this as anything more than Marvel being painted into a corner.
But before I get too far into the weeds on that, let me first talk about the film on its own, based upon a novel of the same name by Jason Matthews which I haven’t yet read.
Declassify >