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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
an interesting read from start to finish, especially if you like modern history. brilliantly written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A pretty good read. Slower paced first half than day of the jackal and not as interesting. It picks up a lot on the second half however and lots of little chekovs guns that were set up in the first half fire off nicely.
Forsyth's Day of the Jackal is an all-time classic spy thriller, a cat-and-mouse game between the unassuming detective Claude Lebel and an assassin code-named The Jackal hunting Charles de Gaulle. The Odessa File is Forsyth's next novel. Shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Hamburg-based journalist Peter Miller happens upon the suicide of the Jewish man Solomon Tauber and is given the man's diary, in which he learns two critical facts: that Tauber was a survivor of the Riga Ghetto commanded by the brutal Eduard Roschmann and that Roschmann is still alive. These details prompt Miller to begin an investigation into ODESSA, the acronym for the Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, which is cast as an international syndicate to reward and protect former SS members. ODESSA, meanwhile, worries that his investigation could compromise their project to supply Egypt with missile technology that can be used against Israel and can't understand why this young German man is so determined to avenge a dead Jew. I found the contrivances in this novel, conspiratorial and otherwise (Miller survives at one point because his British-made Jaguar's suspension is so good), to be a little over-the-top, but I was also struck by how much of the basic premise about Egypt's missile program, former SS officers, and even certain characters were adapted directly from the headlines. Forsyth took liberties to heighten the tensions in this thriller, but beneath that veneer lies weighty questions about Nazi crimes and whether people who collaborated with that regime should be able to live in society without first atoning for their behavior.
Things I learnt from the book-
1. To be successful in the world of espionage what’s important are your guts, your wits, and plot armour in that order
2. (British) Propagandists are conscious and sensitive to the whole wide world except their own ironies
1. To be successful in the world of espionage what’s important are your guts, your wits, and plot armour in that order
2. (British) Propagandists are conscious and sensitive to the whole wide world except their own ironies
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After reading a few of his books, Frederick Forsyth has become my favorite author writing in the espionage genre. But I'm just getting starting on my reading of spy novels so that could change with the next author.
"Odessa File" is a fine bit of genre fiction. Fast paced, clever, and a "two story" plot will keep readers engaged. But don't look here for very much outside the regular tropes. The bad guys are genuinely bad and not two dimensional cartoons. They're clever and fast and don't commit sadistic or foolish violence for the attention it would bring. The good guy is clever and fast but naive. For example, he drives an exotic Jaguar sports car that makes him pretty obvious.
There are two stories being told but with attention mostly to our protagonist's pursuit of the former Nazi SS officer in charge of the Riga extermination camp. The second involves a current time line and rockets in Egypt needing electronic guidance systems.
Part of the book's charm is its dated details. Set in 1964, published in 1972, it's still a world of West and East Germany and public telephone booths. A lot of the names in the book are real people, especially the politicians in Germany and Israel. Likewise, the book is true to facts about the various camps run by the SS plus exactly how the SS was organized both internally and as part of Nazi war machine more generally.
I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys spy thrillers. "The Odessa File" scores high with genre fans.
"Odessa File" is a fine bit of genre fiction. Fast paced, clever, and a "two story" plot will keep readers engaged. But don't look here for very much outside the regular tropes. The bad guys are genuinely bad and not two dimensional cartoons. They're clever and fast and don't commit sadistic or foolish violence for the attention it would bring. The good guy is clever and fast but naive. For example, he drives an exotic Jaguar sports car that makes him pretty obvious.
There are two stories being told but with attention mostly to our protagonist's pursuit of the former Nazi SS officer in charge of the Riga extermination camp. The second involves a current time line and rockets in Egypt needing electronic guidance systems.
Part of the book's charm is its dated details. Set in 1964, published in 1972, it's still a world of West and East Germany and public telephone booths. A lot of the names in the book are real people, especially the politicians in Germany and Israel. Likewise, the book is true to facts about the various camps run by the SS plus exactly how the SS was organized both internally and as part of Nazi war machine more generally.
I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys spy thrillers. "The Odessa File" scores high with genre fans.
adventurous
challenging
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No