Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

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The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John le Carré

8 reviews

ms_gouldbourne's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read this book in about two hours, and once I got started I absolutely couldn't put it down. There's something extremely compelling about John le Carré's style of prose - it's fairly sparse, navigating the complex subject matter with an efficiency and briskness that made the story easy to read in spite of its weightiness. The character of Leamas was sketched out in few words, yet he still felt utterly real to me. I did guess some of the twists and turns ahead of time, but that didn't detract whatsoever from my enjoyment of the story, and I found the final note to be poignant and intelligent. I've never read any le Carré before, but I doubt this will be my last outing with him!

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lizdaniii's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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chriswoody94's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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noonjinx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Almost perfect. Fully of moral ambiguity and grubby detail. The story of a broken middle aged spy on his last mission; cynically used by both sides which confirms his weary, nihilistic view of the world. It doesn’t really make any difference who wins, but innocent people get trampled in the race. Le Carré is one of the best character writers I’ve ever come across.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

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mbrighty's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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geilie's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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samchase112's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

This elaborate and tense spy novel was certainly very interesting, but honestly I was just not into the story. I didn’t care about any of the characters or their situation at all, so it was hard to root for a certain outcome. The first half I spent being very confused, but I was able to understand better what was happening once Leamus got picked up in London. The aura of mystery and fear was well-written here, I just was not the right reader.

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