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A review by msand3
The Ipcress File by Len Deighton
1.0
Ugh. This is the worst kind of spy novel, where the spy is bounced around from chapter-to-chapter like a pinball and encounters new characters that appear and disappear into thin air (“thin” being a key word, as the characters are paper thin), who drop important information into his lap that he never seems to gather on his own.
“I have to track Raven!”
*random character appears*
“We’ve already found him, sir! Just go to this location…”
“Cheerio!”
Then we get the Cold War clichés piling up in a shaggy dog narrative...political assassinations, atomic bombs, mind control…I just didn’t care about any of it from the very beginning.
Spy novels are very hit-or-miss for me. I love Greene, Fleming, and the little I’ve read of Forsyth. The couple I’ve read from Ludlum, Clancy, and le Carré are ok. I rank this with the Buchan’s [b:The 39 Steps|153492|The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)|John Buchan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391320797l/153492._SY75_.jpg|2422487] and Childers’ [b:The Riddle of the Sands|406575|The Riddle of the Sands|Erskine Childers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320486384l/406575._SY75_.jpg|395911] as almost unbearably dull.
“I have to track Raven!”
*random character appears*
“We’ve already found him, sir! Just go to this location…”
“Cheerio!”
Then we get the Cold War clichés piling up in a shaggy dog narrative...political assassinations, atomic bombs, mind control…I just didn’t care about any of it from the very beginning.
Spy novels are very hit-or-miss for me. I love Greene, Fleming, and the little I’ve read of Forsyth. The couple I’ve read from Ludlum, Clancy, and le Carré are ok. I rank this with the Buchan’s [b:The 39 Steps|153492|The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)|John Buchan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391320797l/153492._SY75_.jpg|2422487] and Childers’ [b:The Riddle of the Sands|406575|The Riddle of the Sands|Erskine Childers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320486384l/406575._SY75_.jpg|395911] as almost unbearably dull.