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booksandstarshine_620's review against another edition
4.0
This book was given to me free of charge through the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, so sorry this review took some time to fully write. Life got in the way :/
I am not usually the first to pick up a book with a spy/espionage theme, but I entered in the off chance that I would end up maybe winning and liking this one - and I did.
The plot is very intriguing and well thought out. The characters were very believable and the book makes for a quick read. I began reading without much knowledge of the CIA and how it works but I found myself very fascinated and wanting to know more, all the way to the last page.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in spy/tech, espionage, paranoia, betrayal and the like :)
Happy reading!
Firstly, so sorry this review took some time to fully write. Life got in the way :/
I am not usually the first to pick up a book with a spy/espionage theme, but I entered in the off chance that I would end up maybe winning and liking this one - and I did.
The plot is very intriguing and well thought out. The characters were very believable and the book makes for a quick read. I began reading without much knowledge of the CIA and how it works but I found myself very fascinated and wanting to know more, all the way to the last page.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in spy/tech, espionage, paranoia, betrayal and the like :)
Happy reading!
flogigyahoo's review against another edition
3.0
David Ignatius was, until now, one of my favorite thriller writers. I liked all of his previous novels. The Director, his latest, is well written and he's done a hell of a lot of research in the field of computer hacking and hackers. But there's too much of it and not enough action. As a matter of fact, his protagonist, the Director of the CIA, in the only chapter in which there is action is held incommunicado and helpless. There's far too much information about geeks, geeky computer language that's way beyond what a normal person needs to know about computer hacking. The other characters come across as stereotypes and even The Director is hard to read. He goes about his business with very little explanation of what he's doing or thinking. The end is just blah. It takes place over the course of one chapter in which things could go this way or that. I gave it 3 stars because the writing is so good and that's actually what held my interest to the end. Sad to say, but after reading it, had I known, I would have given it a pass.
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
David Ignatius packs quite a punch with this novel, which explores the world of Intelligence and the race to plug a leak that could be devastating. Mixing thrills and political intrigue, the author pulls the reader into the middle of a story that could be pulled from the headlines, if ever America’s secrets were to see the light of day. After working his entire professional life outside the Washington inner circle, Graham Weber is put forward as the new Director of Central Intelligence. Upon his confirmation, Weber makes waves from the outset, wanting to clean up the agency by ‘opening up all the doors and windows to air things out’. Little does he know, that while there may be issues, this is an insider’s game. When a young Swiss hacker reaches out to consular staff in Germany, he tells a tale of how the CIA is vulnerable and that US Intelligence is candy that many hackers have already begun pilfering. Weber puts his resources into validating this claim, though the hacker disappears before a full investigation can be completed. From there, concerns about the larger hacker issue come to the surface and Weber learns that there might be a mole within the US Administration (or the Agency) feeding others ultra-secret information. Still new and smelling like an outsider, Weber’s time at the Agency could be short-lived, unless his political and intelligence witch hunt yields some results quickly, while he dodges those with sharpened knives aiming for his back. Well-paced and easy to get hooked, Ignatius has written a wonderful novel that takes readers who enjoy political thrillers on a wild ride.
This is my first David Ignatius novel, but I intend on securing more in the coming months. The entire concept was interesting and the elements of a stellar novel emerged as I continued to read this piece. Graham Weber becomes the protagonist from the early pages of the book, but the reader learns that he is by no mean the Intelligence guru that one might expert from someone heading up the Agency. His naïveté adds something to the overall development of his character, though he has a determination that many outside the inner workings of espionage and covert missions would likely share. However, he is not ignorant to either the need for secrecy or the importance of keeping America from being the laughing stock of the Intelligence community. The various other cogs in the wheel keep the reader hooked from the early going as the leaks and hacker angles are explored a little more. One must wonder if there are people like this in ‘real life’ who might be as ruthless and cutthroat when it comes to saving their own hides. Ignatius paints them in such a light that the reader cannot help but want to know more. The story stands on its own and keeps getting better the more momentum it gains, which only goes to show that Ignatius is tapped into the genre and its inner workings. While I do not profess to being highly knowledgeable about anything related to spies, intelligence sharing, or even national secrets, I felt as though Ignatius penned the novel in such a way that any reader could fell well-versed enough not to get lost among all the topics being discussed, which helps expand his reader base. I am eager to see what else he has written and how I might learn from him, given the chance.
Kudos, Mr. Ignatius, for such a wonderful novel. I am sure to find more of your work and tell others to give your novels a chance.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
This is my first David Ignatius novel, but I intend on securing more in the coming months. The entire concept was interesting and the elements of a stellar novel emerged as I continued to read this piece. Graham Weber becomes the protagonist from the early pages of the book, but the reader learns that he is by no mean the Intelligence guru that one might expert from someone heading up the Agency. His naïveté adds something to the overall development of his character, though he has a determination that many outside the inner workings of espionage and covert missions would likely share. However, he is not ignorant to either the need for secrecy or the importance of keeping America from being the laughing stock of the Intelligence community. The various other cogs in the wheel keep the reader hooked from the early going as the leaks and hacker angles are explored a little more. One must wonder if there are people like this in ‘real life’ who might be as ruthless and cutthroat when it comes to saving their own hides. Ignatius paints them in such a light that the reader cannot help but want to know more. The story stands on its own and keeps getting better the more momentum it gains, which only goes to show that Ignatius is tapped into the genre and its inner workings. While I do not profess to being highly knowledgeable about anything related to spies, intelligence sharing, or even national secrets, I felt as though Ignatius penned the novel in such a way that any reader could fell well-versed enough not to get lost among all the topics being discussed, which helps expand his reader base. I am eager to see what else he has written and how I might learn from him, given the chance.
Kudos, Mr. Ignatius, for such a wonderful novel. I am sure to find more of your work and tell others to give your novels a chance.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
clambook's review
4.0
Well-researched on techniques of cyber hacking, international banking and the politics of national security. Less successful as a thriller due to superficial characters and highly improbable plot.
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