Reviews

The Ipcress File by Len Deighton

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futurelegend's review against another edition

3.0

This was a groundbreaker in its day; a grittier, darker, more morally ambiguous kind of spy thriller than the glamorous escapist fantasies of James Bond. The unnamed protagonist is notoriously not called Harry Palmer as he is in the film (he specifically denies being called Harry), nor is he the young Michael Caine's chirpy cockney (he's from Burnley). He's not particularly likeable either, but then neither is anybody else, very much. It's a murky old world and it's impossible to tell who's a goodie and who is a baddie. Nothing is so clear-cut.

Reading it today it feels dated. It's long been eclipsed by the cerebral spies of John le Carré. It was an enjoyable read but no more. I'd suggest that you'd do better to stick to the films. If you do go ahead, don't expect an easy read; it's pretty dense and you need to pay attention because it twists and turns more than the roads blasted out of the atoll where so much of the action takes place.

brvmama's review against another edition

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4.0

The story meanders along for most part of the book. You start wondering, about the sub plots and loose ends. Suddenly, things start to happen and loose ends are tied conandoyle style.

martyfried's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm actually rounding up to 4 stars because I might not have put enough attention into it to fully appreciate what was happening. It was pretty confusing, and I found my mind wandering sometimes and not really paying attention. This is especially bad with an audiobook, as the narrator has no idea I'm not listening, unlike a printed book. I did go back many times, but it didn't do that much good.

I had some trouble keeping up with the characters, but that might not matter, as they often didn't seem to be who I thought they were anyway.

So, the characters were confusing and not what they seemed to be, the plot was confusing and maybe not what it seemed to be, and the ending was confusing, but by that time, I had kind of given up and just wanted to finish already, so I didn't try to figure it all out. But the dialog was interesting, and I did finish, so that counts for something. All in all, I probably wouldn't recommend it to any sane people, not that I know any.

kfrench1008's review against another edition

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2.0

I liked the movie version and I've liked other Deighton novels, but this one was not good. The plot meanders all over the place and some scenes are just pointless. I know that he was trying to show that espionage work is not glamorous like Bond but that doesn't mean the book should be pure drudgery.