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A review by saareman
Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton
3.0
The WOOC(P) Files #4
Review of the Penguin Modern Classics paperback edition (April, 2021) of the original Jonathan Cape hardcover (1966)
Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in a film still from Billion Dollar Brain (1967), image sourced from Classic Movies Photos Blogspot.
Billion-Dollar Brain had more of a simplified plot for Deighton's nameless protagonist (named "Harry Palmer" in the Michael Caine film adaptations) who works for a similarly anonymous British secret service known only by its initials WOOC(P). There were still some twists, but much less banter with the spy chief Dawlish. I LOL'd at this exchange though, where Dawlish hints at the "Palmer" character's often expressed lack of enthusiasm for the spy game:
The biggest surprise in retrospect (and which now reads as cringey) was secretary Jean's role back at head office. In the new 2022 television adaptation of the first book [b:The Ipcress File|171624|The Ipcress File (Secret File, #1)|Len Deighton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1295903974l/171624._SY75_.jpg|2155765] (1962), both Jean and secretary Alice are turned into very formidable agents in their own right.
Billion-Dollar Brain is the 4th of my Len Deighton re-reads (I first read almost all of them in my teens) after having learned of the Penguin Modern Classics republication of all of his novels which were published during 2021 as outlined in an online article Why Len Deighton's spy stories are set to thrill a new generation (Guardian/Observer May 2, 2021).
Trivia and Link
This 4th book Billion-Dollar Brain was filmed (the 2nd Secret File/Harry Palmer book Horse Under Water was skipped over in the film adaptations) as the 3rd Harry Palmer film Billion Dollar Brain (1967) directed by Ken Russell. The 4th and 5th films still starred Michael Caine, but did not use Deighton's novels as the source material.
* It probably had a capability that would be bested by a modern day laptop.
Review of the Penguin Modern Classics paperback edition (April, 2021) of the original Jonathan Cape hardcover (1966)
A billion dollars doesn't buy what it used to. - epigram used for Billion-Dollar Brain
Michael Caine as Harry Palmer in a film still from Billion Dollar Brain (1967), image sourced from Classic Movies Photos Blogspot.
Billion-Dollar Brain had more of a simplified plot for Deighton's nameless protagonist (named "Harry Palmer" in the Michael Caine film adaptations) who works for a similarly anonymous British secret service known only by its initials WOOC(P). There were still some twists, but much less banter with the spy chief Dawlish. I LOL'd at this exchange though, where Dawlish hints at the "Palmer" character's often expressed lack of enthusiasm for the spy game:
When I said I'd told Harvey Newbegin that I only worked for WOOC(P) part-time, Dawlish said: 'Well you certainly weren't lying about that, were you?'Perennial Russian nemesis Colonel Stok makes his usual shady appearance. The so-called "billion-dollar brain" (actually costed at $300 million, with 1/2 for development & 1/2 for actual construction*) didn't really feature all that much and as opposed to a James Bond type ending where the agent would likely have blown up the apparatus and the complex that housed it, the ending was instead a very human based one of naïve faith and ultimate betrayal.
The biggest surprise in retrospect (and which now reads as cringey) was secretary Jean's role back at head office. In the new 2022 television adaptation of the first book [b:The Ipcress File|171624|The Ipcress File (Secret File, #1)|Len Deighton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1295903974l/171624._SY75_.jpg|2155765] (1962), both Jean and secretary Alice are turned into very formidable agents in their own right.
Billion-Dollar Brain is the 4th of my Len Deighton re-reads (I first read almost all of them in my teens) after having learned of the Penguin Modern Classics republication of all of his novels which were published during 2021 as outlined in an online article Why Len Deighton's spy stories are set to thrill a new generation (Guardian/Observer May 2, 2021).
Trivia and Link
This 4th book Billion-Dollar Brain was filmed (the 2nd Secret File/Harry Palmer book Horse Under Water was skipped over in the film adaptations) as the 3rd Harry Palmer film Billion Dollar Brain (1967) directed by Ken Russell. The 4th and 5th films still starred Michael Caine, but did not use Deighton's novels as the source material.
* It probably had a capability that would be bested by a modern day laptop.