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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
This has been a slump of which I have never quite experienced. What’s started out as a relatively average reading experience quickly became quite fascinating in subject matter but tedious in the way it was told. Probably having more to do with my inexperience with the genre than the quality of the story, I did still really enjoy the modern spy thriller as it was written. I’ll be intrigued to see how it keeps up in the sequels!
0/10 would recommend!! It had a lot of blatant sexist/misogynistic language and a rape scene or two. Believe it or not writing about people’s trauma as a plot point is pretty f***ing broke.
First of all; the recipes? What is all that about? There they are between all the chapters. Being mostly Russian, I'm guessing if you tried making them all, following the given list of ingredients, you'd be in the specialist Heart Department of your local hospital having your arteries replaced inside the day. They become so pointlessly irritating, I can hardly concentrate on what's going on in the in between chapters for hoping they don't eat anything! I really can not see a point in it all, apart from to irritate me. What is he thinking he's achieving with it?
The colours thing too, I'm not onboard with that at all. Synesthesia, it would seem to be called. It just reminded me of Greg Bear's Eon, with the avatars on their shoulders. She doesn't really seem to use any advantage it might give here either. The dust from contact with a foreign agent showing up under ultra violet light seems to work a whole lot better.
Then Finland. Scandinavia? Not in any atlas produced a millimetre east of West Quaddy Head (look it up), as someone purportedly stationed in Europe, Eastern-Soviet Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean, would surely have picked up an inkling of. Though, to be fair, he may well be aiming the book more at the US market, than me...
That aside, the book isn't too bad, though I understand (not having seen it) the film either isn't very good on its own, or isn't very good compared to the book. It is pretty neat having the Russian lady come over to the US' side (clearly this would be a much more difficult task now, than it was then). Unfortunately, the bits where there should be real tension, there isn't. A tightening, but he doesn't turn the screws on it anywhere near enough. The US officer, this Nate person, even though he's trusted to run the US' top mole in Russia, has no idea that she might be a Russian agent! That didn't work. Surely he'd been trained in such things. Even straight out of Spy School. Though if he was straight out of spy school, he wouldn't have been in charge of the US' top mole in Russia, see? Sure, she's playing a very subtle game, but she's still Russian! And, how many Spy books have you and I read where some grizzled old Cold War Warrior opines "In the spy game, there's no such thing as a coincidence."? And yet, Nate still needs convincing. He is, and I would imagine the film proves this (hence the casting of a nobody in his role), the weak link in the whole book. He's way too naive for an agent in this setting.
But... it rattles along just fine and while the Russian scenes are by the numbers, they're pretty good. I bought it, because I seem to have bought the second in what turns out to be a Red Sparrow trilogy, Palace of Treason, thinking that - Palace of Treason - was a one-off, only finding out it wasn't at a later date. Why am I always the last to know? Maybe that one will bring the bacon home.
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The colours thing too, I'm not onboard with that at all. Synesthesia, it would seem to be called. It just reminded me of Greg Bear's Eon, with the avatars on their shoulders. She doesn't really seem to use any advantage it might give here either. The dust from contact with a foreign agent showing up under ultra violet light seems to work a whole lot better.
Then Finland. Scandinavia? Not in any atlas produced a millimetre east of West Quaddy Head (look it up), as someone purportedly stationed in Europe, Eastern-Soviet Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean, would surely have picked up an inkling of. Though, to be fair, he may well be aiming the book more at the US market, than me...
That aside, the book isn't too bad, though I understand (not having seen it) the film either isn't very good on its own, or isn't very good compared to the book. It is pretty neat having the Russian lady come over to the US' side (clearly this would be a much more difficult task now, than it was then). Unfortunately, the bits where there should be real tension, there isn't. A tightening, but he doesn't turn the screws on it anywhere near enough. The US officer, this Nate person, even though he's trusted to run the US' top mole in Russia, has no idea that she might be a Russian agent! That didn't work. Surely he'd been trained in such things. Even straight out of Spy School. Though if he was straight out of spy school, he wouldn't have been in charge of the US' top mole in Russia, see? Sure, she's playing a very subtle game, but she's still Russian! And, how many Spy books have you and I read where some grizzled old Cold War Warrior opines "In the spy game, there's no such thing as a coincidence."? And yet, Nate still needs convincing. He is, and I would imagine the film proves this (hence the casting of a nobody in his role), the weak link in the whole book. He's way too naive for an agent in this setting.
But... it rattles along just fine and while the Russian scenes are by the numbers, they're pretty good. I bought it, because I seem to have bought the second in what turns out to be a Red Sparrow trilogy, Palace of Treason, thinking that - Palace of Treason - was a one-off, only finding out it wasn't at a later date. Why am I always the last to know? Maybe that one will bring the bacon home.
Blog: Speesh Reads
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Great story with a rich plot! The action, the manipulation, the romance, and the incredibly strong female lead all make this book a captivating and enthralling read.
2019: I've never been much for Spy Thriller novels, but I have to say I liked this one. Maybe because it rings a bit of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, maybe because I like that this female lead is complicated. Granted, we could still have more from her as a character, but I'll hold that for the sequels. She is too contained as a character to have her anger kick up yet. Maybe this is a little old school (US good, Russia bad), but I think we get at least a little complexities from the turned spies (the assets), though, again, I want more from all of the characters. Clearly Matthews is pulling from his wealth of knowledge in plot, detail, & setting, but not in character development. Fingers crossed for some authorial growth in the coming series.
This was such a good book! I enjoyed the character development and the writing style. I love that at the end of every chapter there are recipes, some sound so yummy that I’m slightly tempted to find a full recipe (with measurements) and make them.
A terrific spy novel in the classic style of Cold War thrillers, but taking place in the modern era. Matthews is an ex-spy himself, and many of the scenes were so realistic they were scary.
Um livro de espiões moderno, intenso, muito atual, extremamente convincente (na minha opinião) e realista, o que o torna significativamente mais assustador. Acompanhamos do lado norte americano Nate Nash, um operativo da CIA que cuida e acompanha um informador experiente que apenas conhecemos como Mármore, aprendemos sobre a estrutura moderna dos serviços secretos russos, sempre inspirados na KGB e stasi, e do lado russo acompanhamos a personagem fascinante de Dominika Egorova e o seu percurso familiar em que foi ensinada a desconfiar do governo, do percurso em que é doutrinada pelo governo, a cruel e violenta escola de pardais para onde é enviada de modo a se tornar operativa, a manipulação que fazem dele e depois o contacto com Nash e a reviravolta esplêndida que acontece de traição em que o papel dela se torna vital na arte da manipulação.
Gostei muito e estou ansioso por ler os outros 2 livros
Gostei muito e estou ansioso por ler os outros 2 livros
Chilling and timely. I listened to it, so I wonder if part of my lack of enthusiasm is that...but at the end of the day, I cared about only one of the main characters...and not enough to continue the series.
The portrayal of Putin made my skin crawl..and I assume it's close to correct.
Was surprised and disappointed to discover that the gimmicky recipes at the end of each chapter have no ingredient lists...just the direction. Some of them sounded interesting and I wanted to try them.
The portrayal of Putin made my skin crawl..and I assume it's close to correct.
Was surprised and disappointed to discover that the gimmicky recipes at the end of each chapter have no ingredient lists...just the direction. Some of them sounded interesting and I wanted to try them.
3.5
The books alternates between chapters with engaging stories and good characters development, with really boring ones full of uninterested characters. There is a lot un unnecessary description that seems to be there just to fill up space since it doesn't serve any purpose.
Overall, it's entertaining plot and I like the ending enough to make me want to continue with the series.
The books alternates between chapters with engaging stories and good characters development, with really boring ones full of uninterested characters. There is a lot un unnecessary description that seems to be there just to fill up space since it doesn't serve any purpose.
Overall, it's entertaining plot and I like the ending enough to make me want to continue with the series.