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sjoerdbol's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
p3rian's review against another edition
3.0
First spy novel. Really enjoyed reading it for the novelty of the genre, not the story necessarily. Would be interested in reading The Day of the Jackal.
bookaneer's review
2.0
Mr. Forsyth is one of my fave authors in his genre, besides Mr. Clancy of course. He's not relying too much on technology, but more to suspense, spy works, and his orientation is not to the Yankees, but to the Brits. That's why you'll find that in several of his novels he provide quite extensive description on the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), SAS (the best special force in the world next to Delta Force & Sayeret Matkal), Century House (now Vauxhall Cross) and Foreign Office politics, etc.
The Deceiver tells about a senior agent (the head of Deception, Disinformation and Psychological Operations (Dee Dee and PsyOps for short), Sam McCready. He's one of the main characters in Forsyth's books that I find not really interesting. Compared with the hotshots in "The Negotiator", "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Fist of God", McCready seems too...dull.
This book is consisted of four stories (It's basically a flashback of McCready's most successful operations as a spook): the dangerous hand over of a top secret military document from a Soviet spy IN East Germany, the suspected defector from the KGB which leads to mutual distrust between SIS & CIA, the cooperation between Qaddafi (yes, that Libyan dude) and IRA to attack US interests in Europe and an eventful governmental transition of a British former colony in the Caribbean started by the murder of the governor.
My fave is definitely the second story. Great twist at the end.
Overall, this is not my fave Forsyth book. Perhaps because the psyops thing (that supposed to be the center of this book) does not meet my expectation, who knows?
The Deceiver tells about a senior agent (the head of Deception, Disinformation and Psychological Operations (Dee Dee and PsyOps for short), Sam McCready. He's one of the main characters in Forsyth's books that I find not really interesting. Compared with the hotshots in "The Negotiator", "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Fist of God", McCready seems too...dull.
This book is consisted of four stories (It's basically a flashback of McCready's most successful operations as a spook): the dangerous hand over of a top secret military document from a Soviet spy IN East Germany, the suspected defector from the KGB which leads to mutual distrust between SIS & CIA, the cooperation between Qaddafi (yes, that Libyan dude) and IRA to attack US interests in Europe and an eventful governmental transition of a British former colony in the Caribbean started by the murder of the governor.
My fave is definitely the second story. Great twist at the end.
Overall, this is not my fave Forsyth book. Perhaps because the psyops thing (that supposed to be the center of this book) does not meet my expectation, who knows?
manavisharma's review against another edition
4.0
This book is four short spy stories linked together and is positively enthralling! I was skeptical of the format at first but Forsyth pulls you in and gets you invested in each story anew and takes you on a wild ride from Berlin to a tiny Caribbean island. A recommended read for anyone interested in spy novels!
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
3.0
The protagonist Sam McCready is an unconventional one. Details are sketchy as I read this a few years back. I do remember three separate plot lines being laid bare before a committee for one man's defense. Worth a read for the Cold War espionage plays.
uncle_duke's review against another edition
4.0
"BUSH-GORBY - COLD WAR OVER - OFFICIAL ... All them international crises. Thing of the past. What a lovely idea ... time to change the bait." Very Good Read.
angelahayes's review against another edition
4.0
Frederick Forsyth novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his work. He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I was drawn to at the time. So, my love affair with his books began, and over the years I have read everything he’s written- keeping up with any new release/s.
As my mother has been in and out of hospital quite a lot over the past year and a half, I am keeping her supplied with books to read, and buddy reading them with her, or reading them to her when she isn’t well enough to read for herself. We have gotten through quite a lot of books in this time and it has been wonderful to discuss each one with her as we read/finish. It has been a great bonding experience for us, and Mr. Forsyth is our current author of choice- and we have both really enjoyed revisiting all his books, again.
Mr. Forsyth has a great knack for writing wonderfully suspenseful and exciting read, there is always great tension, action, drama, some danger, intrigue, and lots more to hold your attention. I can always count on him to deliver an intriguing read.
As my mother has been in and out of hospital quite a lot over the past year and a half, I am keeping her supplied with books to read, and buddy reading them with her, or reading them to her when she isn’t well enough to read for herself. We have gotten through quite a lot of books in this time and it has been wonderful to discuss each one with her as we read/finish. It has been a great bonding experience for us, and Mr. Forsyth is our current author of choice- and we have both really enjoyed revisiting all his books, again.
Mr. Forsyth has a great knack for writing wonderfully suspenseful and exciting read, there is always great tension, action, drama, some danger, intrigue, and lots more to hold your attention. I can always count on him to deliver an intriguing read.
jesujuwonlo's review
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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