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A review by pugnax
Horse Under Water by Len Deighton
4.0
Len Deighton's unnamed spy, first encountered in The Ipcress File, stands somewhere between the OTT hero antics of James Bond and the far more believable and prosaic world of John Le Carre's George Smiley. Horse Under Water is not quite as well known the three Len Deighton novels that were made into Michael Caine movies; which it should be.
There is more sardonic humour and a few leaps of faith, that in the real world would probably be amiss but it makes for the pacing and readability of these books.
It's also the time period. Post war Britain and all the attention to a world now sadly gone. Mention of Rootes Group cars, quaint descriptions of IBM compiler machines, French cigarettes, double de-clutching! Its a very evocative read. However, just as in James Bond novels its the food that always gets me! Aroma filled cups of coffee, warm baked bread in Marrakesh, shrimp soup... it goes on and I suppose is to be expected from the author of The Action Cook Book and various other culinary snippets.
There is more sardonic humour and a few leaps of faith, that in the real world would probably be amiss but it makes for the pacing and readability of these books.
It's also the time period. Post war Britain and all the attention to a world now sadly gone. Mention of Rootes Group cars, quaint descriptions of IBM compiler machines, French cigarettes, double de-clutching! Its a very evocative read. However, just as in James Bond novels its the food that always gets me! Aroma filled cups of coffee, warm baked bread in Marrakesh, shrimp soup... it goes on and I suppose is to be expected from the author of The Action Cook Book and various other culinary snippets.