A review by marsius
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

4.0

I am most struck by the plausibility of Red Sparrow. With two major exceptions, the book feels like it may have been narrative nonfiction. From the descriptions of running countersurveillance routes to the actual broad lack of action punctuated by periods of tense, highly scripted movements, some going according to plan, some not, so much feels like it could be a true story. There are two notable exceptions, though. First, though not a huge spoiler to the overall story,

Spoiler

SWAN's behavior is over-the top, and her open contempt for the intelligence community makes one wonder of Mr. Matthews himself had been excoriated by a pol at one or numerous points in his career

. Second, Ms. Egorova's use of synesthesia to somehow sense emotion and motivation in a near ESP-like fashion has become almost a bit of a trope at this point, and it undermined what was otherwise a smart, incredibly capable character. Those became enough, at various points, to undermine the novel sufficiently enough to knock off a star. Even so, I've already picked up the second book in the trilogy and am looking forward to devouring it.