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stephang18's review
3.0
A true spy story, not a thriller filled with blood. You can learn something about quantum computing.
jaybatson's review
4.0
Very fun book. This spy / action thriller is good because it reflects real-world possibilities among large states seeking to one-up the other via possession of unique technology (which also has the potential to be hugely disruptive).
It's also good because it accurately represents the current state-of-the-art in quantum technologies, which makes it credible.
Not only all that, it's super well-written. It's my first exposure to this author - whom I know from when appears on MSNBC Morning Joe. I've also read some of his stuff at WaPo; now I'm also interested in reading more of his novels.
For me, this is a nice new author to explore.
It's also good because it accurately represents the current state-of-the-art in quantum technologies, which makes it credible.
Not only all that, it's super well-written. It's my first exposure to this author - whom I know from when appears on MSNBC Morning Joe. I've also read some of his stuff at WaPo; now I'm also interested in reading more of his novels.
For me, this is a nice new author to explore.
lisabee's review
3.0
I'm conflicted, so 3 stars. He's no LeCarre, and his characters seem of a lower intelligence than you'd expect from people who make deception their livelihood. But he tries so hard to get realistic human motivation in that ended up sticking with him the whole way through.
clambook's review
3.0
I think I now comprehend the basic concept of quantum computing. Aside from that tentative achievement, I sort of enjoyed the account, despite its considerable improbabilities. A warts-and-all profile of the CIA is always welcome.
robosquid's review
3.0
I did not find this book particularly engaging, and it was certainly not thrilling. The characters were two dimensional, the dialogue uninspired and the action distinctly absent. The political machinations and the parts on quantum computing were very good but that did not make up for the flatness of the plot. I read to the end though.
brettt's review
2.0
Lots of news writers think they have a novel in them, but Washington Post columnist David Ignatius actually has -- ten so far. Nine are espionage thrillers, including his latest, The Quantum Spy, and they all take advantage of Ignatius' career focusing on international events and issues.
Quantum Spy hinges on the development of a "quantum computer," which will have information processors that use the properties of quantum mechanics to make themselves faster than even the best super-computers available today. Different researchers in the United States hunt down different routes to find one that works, while Chinese spies look for information from them and try to build from that research.
CIA agent Harris Chang is part of the U.S. effort to counteract Chinese operations and perhaps find sources to learn about China's own research into quantum computing. He's on an arc for big things within the agency, although there's still an undercurrent of mistrust regarding his Chinese heritage. Harris is the son and grandson of immigrants but grew up in the US and had a distinguished career in Iraq.
When a recruitment operation goes awry some of the blame attaches to him even though the fault was another officer's. The ripples from the failure spread outward, as Chinese intelligence learns who Harris is and simultaneously sews misinformation designed to bring him under suspicion and reaches out to him to try to bring him to China's side. Harris is curious about his family past, which the Chinese handler seems to know, but is not at all tempted to work for the enemy. Nevertheless, suspicion against him mounts and he struggles against what he knows to be an unfair judgment. Harris will have to work against his own colleagues as well as Chinese spies in order to clear his name, uncover the real mole and help close the trap on a foreign intelligence chief his boss wants to suborn.
Ignatius' other novels have a reputation for simple storytelling, direct movement, and plausible, clearly explained "MacGuffins" that drive the plot. Quantum Spy bats one for three, as he helps outline in pretty understandable prose exactly what kind of leap quantum computing could be for the country that develops it first. But his characterizations are either inconsistent, as in Harris Chang's case, or flat, as in the case of the eventual mole. Harris is either a great blooming espionage talent, a hopelessly naive lunkhead or a troubled young man disconnected from a past he wants to find. His role doesn't change organically so much as based on what a particular scene calls for. The mole and other characters that have pivotal roles come in way too much like generic entries from central casting, espionage thriller office. Their actions and motivations read more like entries from a file card than people making choices or responding to others.
There's an interesting cat-and-mouse game buried in The Quantum Spy and an interesting parallel between scientists trying to drag sense our of the randomness of the quantum universe and spies trying to drag sense out of the turns and counterturns of the espionage game. But the only way to find those things is to try to drag sense out of the mare's nest of a novel they're in, and that's work that a better story wouldn't ask of its readers.
Original available here.
Quantum Spy hinges on the development of a "quantum computer," which will have information processors that use the properties of quantum mechanics to make themselves faster than even the best super-computers available today. Different researchers in the United States hunt down different routes to find one that works, while Chinese spies look for information from them and try to build from that research.
CIA agent Harris Chang is part of the U.S. effort to counteract Chinese operations and perhaps find sources to learn about China's own research into quantum computing. He's on an arc for big things within the agency, although there's still an undercurrent of mistrust regarding his Chinese heritage. Harris is the son and grandson of immigrants but grew up in the US and had a distinguished career in Iraq.
When a recruitment operation goes awry some of the blame attaches to him even though the fault was another officer's. The ripples from the failure spread outward, as Chinese intelligence learns who Harris is and simultaneously sews misinformation designed to bring him under suspicion and reaches out to him to try to bring him to China's side. Harris is curious about his family past, which the Chinese handler seems to know, but is not at all tempted to work for the enemy. Nevertheless, suspicion against him mounts and he struggles against what he knows to be an unfair judgment. Harris will have to work against his own colleagues as well as Chinese spies in order to clear his name, uncover the real mole and help close the trap on a foreign intelligence chief his boss wants to suborn.
Ignatius' other novels have a reputation for simple storytelling, direct movement, and plausible, clearly explained "MacGuffins" that drive the plot. Quantum Spy bats one for three, as he helps outline in pretty understandable prose exactly what kind of leap quantum computing could be for the country that develops it first. But his characterizations are either inconsistent, as in Harris Chang's case, or flat, as in the case of the eventual mole. Harris is either a great blooming espionage talent, a hopelessly naive lunkhead or a troubled young man disconnected from a past he wants to find. His role doesn't change organically so much as based on what a particular scene calls for. The mole and other characters that have pivotal roles come in way too much like generic entries from central casting, espionage thriller office. Their actions and motivations read more like entries from a file card than people making choices or responding to others.
There's an interesting cat-and-mouse game buried in The Quantum Spy and an interesting parallel between scientists trying to drag sense our of the randomness of the quantum universe and spies trying to drag sense out of the turns and counterturns of the espionage game. But the only way to find those things is to try to drag sense out of the mare's nest of a novel they're in, and that's work that a better story wouldn't ask of its readers.
Original available here.
ragsr's review
1.0
A little disappointing. The book has cardboard characters, not much development, and is a pretty standard USA vs. China Tom Clancy knock-off. The quantum computer at the heart of the book was a little bit of a MacGuffin. I was hoping that something about the computer would lie at the resolution but no, this was just another irrelevant tech item (you could replace quantum computer by biotech, social network, big data analytic, fake network, or your preferred device and get something similar.
strickvl's review
2.0
An interesting premise, bolted to the floor through pedestrian plotting and the most workmanlike prose I've read in a long time.
dianed's review
I am used to seeing David Ignatius on TV as a reporter but who knew that he also was a mystery writer. This is a great spy story - a new secret technology, the CIA, NSA and Chinese Intellegence. Before the end everyone seems to be the traitor but even when you know who it is you wonder if everything will work out.
I listened to this book on audio and the narrator added to the story.
I listened to this book on audio and the narrator added to the story.