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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed the way this was written... but I'm a sucker for a good Spy Story. I hope the movie lives up to it.
Absolutely awesome read, very thrilling and exciting! I quite liked that Matthews added a very personal touch of adding the recipe for the dishes discussed during the chapter at the end of it! It made for a great book to read after the one I had on gastrophysics and also spoke to my interest in cooking!
This was the first spy book I have ever read, and I thought that the characters and plots were built very intricately. I particularly liked that each of them had an introduction about how they got into their current position. Dominika and MARBLE were the two that I found particularly intriguing, it might be due to their multidimensionality and the fact that I am not very familiar with the Russian culture.
Onto the second one of the series!
This was the first spy book I have ever read, and I thought that the characters and plots were built very intricately. I particularly liked that each of them had an introduction about how they got into their current position. Dominika and MARBLE were the two that I found particularly intriguing, it might be due to their multidimensionality and the fact that I am not very familiar with the Russian culture.
Onto the second one of the series!
slow-paced
The author used the phrase “her bosom heaved” in a fight scene. *eyeroll* For all of the descriptions of Dominika’s blue eyes and full breasts and ballerina legs, I still have no idea what Nate looks like. Did he have chiseled abs? Strong arms? Anything? I found it distracting.
Really 3.5 I feel it hits too close to home in the wrong way
Książka nie powala, ale przy filmie to majstersztyk. I trochę mnie zabolało w serduszku
I'll admit, I mostly picked this up because of the movie based on this book that was due to come out soon and I like comparing the two. I haven't seen the movie yet, so while this book was mostly a snoozefest, I can see the potential with the movie adaptation. There are some interesting ideas here, but the author was somehow too preoccupied with writing a spy thriller to actually develop any of them. That's the biggest shame here since there were a handful of scenes that got me excited and are the only reason this 1.5 book gets the rounding up treatment.
In terms of characters, there were two protagonists who were set up quite well and got a fair amount of development. I even liked them for the most part and thought that the scenes with either or both of them were the most interesting. However, there are quite a few secondary characters in this book as well and they were significantly less interesting. Still, we got to see their viewpoints as well for some reason which really slowed the pacing down. I'm not sure why the author was so scared of having some mystery in a spy thriller.
I'm also using the term 'thriller' very loosely here since after a while this becomes such a stock standard progression of events that nothing is a surprise anymore. From a story perspective, this was some very ordinary storytelling and I really hope the movie doesn't follow the book's example. We also need to talk about the 'recipes' at the end of each chapter. Why? There was absolutely no reason for them and they weren't even useful since they didn't have measurements. Speaking of useless things, the female protagonist has a form of synesthesia which while interesting, turns out to be a complete red herring while being technically magical in a setting that's supposed to be modern-day Earth, complete with a cringe-worthy Putin.
Dammit, I think I talked myself into changing my mind on that rounding situation. The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it. And that reminds me, there's probably more time spent on fruitless 'surveillance' and 'tradecraft' than there is on interactions with our two protagonists. Then you also have the issues of poor writing, lack of suspense, pointless scenes, excruciating repetition of aura colours and the dullending second half. Yea, I talked myself into it; it has to be a 1 star. Shockingly, I won't be recommending this book to anyone. Rather go watch the movie and hope to be entertained by some good acting and fun action scenes.
In terms of characters, there were two protagonists who were set up quite well and got a fair amount of development. I even liked them for the most part and thought that the scenes with either or both of them were the most interesting. However, there are quite a few secondary characters in this book as well and they were significantly less interesting. Still, we got to see their viewpoints as well for some reason which really slowed the pacing down. I'm not sure why the author was so scared of having some mystery in a spy thriller.
I'm also using the term 'thriller' very loosely here since after a while this becomes such a stock standard progression of events that nothing is a surprise anymore. From a story perspective, this was some very ordinary storytelling and I really hope the movie doesn't follow the book's example. We also need to talk about the 'recipes' at the end of each chapter. Why? There was absolutely no reason for them and they weren't even useful since they didn't have measurements. Speaking of useless things, the female protagonist has a form of synesthesia which while interesting, turns out to be a complete red herring while being technically magical in a setting that's supposed to be modern-day Earth, complete with a cringe-worthy Putin.
Dammit, I think I talked myself into changing my mind on that rounding situation. The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it. And that reminds me, there's probably more time spent on fruitless 'surveillance' and 'tradecraft' than there is on interactions with our two protagonists. Then you also have the issues of poor writing, lack of suspense, pointless scenes, excruciating repetition of aura colours and the dull
Having not seen the movie, I had no idea what to expect from this story. The characters were rich and deep with great chemistry, and I was a huge fan of the way the author showed Dominica's ability to love her country while hating what its become. Perhaps one of my favorite things about the series is the descriptions of food at the beginning of each chapter. I want more!
I hadn’t heard of Red Sparrow before seeing a preview for its movie adaptation but it looked so interesting I decided to pick the book up before watching the movie.
“It’s a spy movie, for Christ’s sake.”
A true spy novel, Red Sparrow is a story of espionage that follows modern day American and Russian agents as they pursue each other across the world. Matthews’s CIA background is quite clear through the sheer amount of detail that helped bring this story to life. On the other hand, sometimes the details became overwhelming to the point of slowing the story down. I also was surprised and confused to see a recipe at the end of every chapter. (If someone can explain the purpose of this, please let me know!) That being said, in the end I was entertained and found myself excited to see how it would translate to screen.
This was a case where the movie was well adapted from book to screen, condensing some sections and removing some storylines entirely. The more tightly edited plot and faster pace of the movie was more to my liking but constricted the amount of time necessary to build chemistry between the main characters. And the ending took a twist that I did not expect!
I won’t go into more details so as not to spoil anything, the blurb gives you all the information you need going in. I will say that both the book and movie are decidedly graphic, with both sex and torture scenes that may make some uncomfortable. Fans of spy thrillers will enjoy digging into the details of the trade in the book. If you prefer your spy stories with more action and a faster pace, try the movie instead.
“It’s a spy movie, for Christ’s sake.”
A true spy novel, Red Sparrow is a story of espionage that follows modern day American and Russian agents as they pursue each other across the world. Matthews’s CIA background is quite clear through the sheer amount of detail that helped bring this story to life. On the other hand, sometimes the details became overwhelming to the point of slowing the story down. I also was surprised and confused to see a recipe at the end of every chapter. (If someone can explain the purpose of this, please let me know!) That being said, in the end I was entertained and found myself excited to see how it would translate to screen.
This was a case where the movie was well adapted from book to screen, condensing some sections and removing some storylines entirely. The more tightly edited plot and faster pace of the movie was more to my liking but constricted the amount of time necessary to build chemistry between the main characters. And the ending took a twist that I did not expect!
I won’t go into more details so as not to spoil anything, the blurb gives you all the information you need going in. I will say that both the book and movie are decidedly graphic, with both sex and torture scenes that may make some uncomfortable. Fans of spy thrillers will enjoy digging into the details of the trade in the book. If you prefer your spy stories with more action and a faster pace, try the movie instead.
Red Sparrow is written by ex-CIA agent Jason Matthews. He uses authentic spy terminology and scenarios, which creates a very believable and readable novel. It is so believable, I found myself wondering how Mr. Matthews was allowed to reveal the techniques he did. Red Sparrow is pretty even paced, holds the reader’s attention, and gives characters that we care about. The first novel of a trilogy, that leaves the reader wanting to know more. It is a story of spy recruitment and double agents, taking place both in the United States and Europe, with a little romance thrown in. It is also a story of a Russian woman coping with life disappointments. If you liked Eye of the Needle, Red Sparrow may be for you.