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mikewa14's review against another edition
4.0
A bit long winded but entertaining
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-trinity-six-charles-cumming.html
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-trinity-six-charles-cumming.html
barts_books's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, quick paced spy thriller but ultimately lacking in depth.
fossen's review against another edition
3.0
Comparisons and marketing can often hurt a book more that help it. The Trinity Six is a case in point. When you start comparing a book to LeCarre's Karla Trilogy, you start raising the bar pretty high - and it's a bar set too high for Charles Cumming's somewhat perfunctory thriller. If anything, this feels more Dan Brown than Len Deighton, with a professor protagonist, huge swaths of poorly-disguised exposition and backgrounding, and a series of twists and turns always laid out in the last sentence of a chapter.
Honestly, as the novel wore on and the comparisons wore off, I warmed to The Trinity Six. There are a number of characters and relationships that start in cliche, but then grow into a life of their own. Had I encountered this in mass market paperback at a checkout stand, I may have reacted with pleasant surprise. It's a fun romp that occasionally breaks out of the airport paperback mold, but only occasionally.
(This is an Advanced Readers Edition I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.)
Honestly, as the novel wore on and the comparisons wore off, I warmed to The Trinity Six. There are a number of characters and relationships that start in cliche, but then grow into a life of their own. Had I encountered this in mass market paperback at a checkout stand, I may have reacted with pleasant surprise. It's a fun romp that occasionally breaks out of the airport paperback mold, but only occasionally.
(This is an Advanced Readers Edition I received through a Goodreads Giveaway.)
nattygsmith's review against another edition
3.0
Fun spy novel! Which made me want to go back and read some John Le Carré. Perfect summer reading for someone who enjoys things like Jason Bourne.
ceejay63's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
nigelbrown's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I remembered CC being a little better than this. For someone who constantly reminds people that he’s an academic the protagonist makes many dumb decisions’ but don’t worry, just like real life, all’s well that ends well.
A good rule of thumb for me, on determining whether a writer has ability, is his talent for writing bedroom/love scenes. In this case I found Cummings seriously lacking.
It is, however, an exciting, fast paced page turner, so it’s not all bad.
A good rule of thumb for me, on determining whether a writer has ability, is his talent for writing bedroom/love scenes. In this case I found Cummings seriously lacking.
It is, however, an exciting, fast paced page turner, so it’s not all bad.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
There's something irresistable about the idea of spies and spying. Not that betraying your country is a commendable career path, but the whole covert sneaking thing thrills me. Especially the old school hanging around car parks exchanging manila envelopes type of sneaking. The Trinity Six is a fast-paced modern version of the spy novel with more gun fights than actual sneaking around, but it's fun and doesn't take itself too seriously.
The writing is clunky and the female characters cardboard cutouts, but the plot is solid and entertaining. The hero, Russia expert Sam Gaddis, is refreshingly incompetent and has no heroic qualities whatsoever. He's broke, he's an absent father, he's constanly lusting after the pretty young women surrounding him and has a habit of introducing himself as an "academic". As in "Hi, my name is Sam Gaddis. I'm an academic. Could I please look at your top secret files?" In his attempts to uncover the mystery of the sixth Cambridge spy he stumbles around London, Moscow and Berlin, smokes a lot, gets plenty of sex, takes out a Russian bad guy and uncovers a surprising amount of information while doing it. He may not have a future in the MI6, but I like him all the better for it.
The writing is clunky and the female characters cardboard cutouts, but the plot is solid and entertaining. The hero, Russia expert Sam Gaddis, is refreshingly incompetent and has no heroic qualities whatsoever. He's broke, he's an absent father, he's constanly lusting after the pretty young women surrounding him and has a habit of introducing himself as an "academic". As in "Hi, my name is Sam Gaddis. I'm an academic. Could I please look at your top secret files?" In his attempts to uncover the mystery of the sixth Cambridge spy he stumbles around London, Moscow and Berlin, smokes a lot, gets plenty of sex, takes out a Russian bad guy and uncovers a surprising amount of information while doing it. He may not have a future in the MI6, but I like him all the better for it.
tinnytree's review against another edition
3.0
Exciting at times and I enjoyed the cold war history lesson but some of the writing was very average and I just couldn't like the main character or any of the other characters.
didactylos's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, really carefully crafted and not at all what I was expecting after reading his others. Kept me guessing until the last pages. Having recently been to Vienna it was nice to visualise some of the settings.
mose_poe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5