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Summary: good, typical follett
Review: a good read, typical follet. some of the other books are better though (i highly suggest them.)
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Summary: Eye
Review: It was a true paper turner. A wonderful love story. Almost fell for the enemy. Great read.....The Ending was the best and very unexpectedIrene of Berkeley
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Summary: Espionage, WW2, England
Review: This book is not only great as far as espionage is concerned but it also takes you back to the days of England in 1940s and its beautiful landscape, country roads, and towns... Interestingly romance has found a part of its own in this novel and adds greatly to the flavor. It is certainly one of the best espionage thrillers ever.
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Summary: Sex, Spies, Action, Espionage. What more can you ask for?
Review: Eye of the Needle, October 31, 2002
Reviewer: Bob from Yokota AFB
Well, first of all I'm going to point out that this was a great book. Eye of the Needle had all the components, which makes any good book. The book had tons of action, and suspense. Follett's book always kept me guessing unexpected events occurred throughout the book. Anyone who says that they guessed what happened throughout the book is telling a lie. I highly recommend that everyone who likes good novels to read this book.
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Summary: You can't put this book down once you open it.
Review: Your fingers will be so dug into the cover, you won't be able to shake it loose. The writing is superb. The story is superb. The characters are superb. Read this. If you like suspense or thrillers, there really isn't anything else to say. This is a classic. It doesn't get any better than this. Oh, by the way, it's about a cat-and-mouse game to catch a cold-blooded-Nazi-secret-agent-killer in Britain during World War II before he can pass along intel to his homeland that could turn the war tide for the worse.
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Summary: A Wildly Entertaining Thrill Ride
Review: Ken Follett established himself in the thriller genre with this novel, first published in 1978. It was an instant bestseller and later made into a movie with Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. The premise: Henry Faber (codename: "Die Nadel") an individualistic and ruthless German agent (one of the last German spies not scooped up by MI5) is assigned to investigate whether or not Lt. General Patton's First United States Army Group is massing in East Anglia for the expected invasion of Calais, the area the German High Command expects the Allies to assault. Faber discovers that Patton's Army is a phony. The Allies are deceiving German intelligence with fake messages, troop concentrations and dummy barracks (which look real to German reconnaisance aircraft). However careful as Faber is, the British counterintelligence agents Percival Godliman and Fred Bloggs, a history professor and policeman respectively, are a brilliant team that discover "Die Nadel" and are hot on his trail. Eluding the police and the Home Guard and killing any and all who suspect his identity, Faber heads north to make a rendezvouz with a U-boat. His escape is thwarted by bad weather and he is washed ashore on Storm Island, a nearly deserted piece of rock in the North Sea, where Lucy Rose, a beautiful, but frustrated wife of a legless RAF pilot lives. In time, she discovers Faber's true identity.... I don't usually like thrillers, but this one kept me up. I read it over 20 years ago and have read it a few times since. Follett is a good story teller and his research for the story is wonderful. His portrayals of the German leaders, Hitler, Rundstedt and Rommel are superb. I liked the film version too, though I believe it would be ideal for a remake (my choices for Faber would be Ralph Fiennes and for Lucy Kate Winslett or Helena Bonham Carter). Time hasn't dimmed this book. It still holds up and is a classic of World War II espionage. Enjoy.
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Summary: Unforgetable Spy Novel
Review: The Needle
Ken Follet
Henry Faber alias, The Needle, is a German spy who works for Germany during World War II. He is tall, handsome, intelligent, well built, German aristocrat who works fast, in a shrewd manner, cleanly, and without leaving a trace. He is very close to Hitler. When a person becomes a danger to his identity or whereabouts, he uses an "stilletto" to utterly kill without almost any evidence. The Needle or Die Nadle, discovers a British military secret that if given to the Germans on time would, no question about it, make the Germans win the war. Then the British find out about it, then starts the run, hide and go of The needle. All the Allied and British military intelligence are looking for him with no results But nobody but a woman, Lucy Rose, who lives in a stormy and far away island , can get to him... The novel is excellently written and keeps the reader interested until the end. It also depicts all the knowledge about military intelligence, spies and world War II that the author masters. I strongly recommend this book as a novel to entertain, and "A Place Called Freedom", also written by Ken Follet
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Summary: His best spy book
Review: Ken Follett has done a wonderful job of centralizing the plot of a novel around the life and work of the bad-guy. Rather than write a typical "good-guy" spy-thriller, he has introduced a whole new view of the spy-thriller. The novel is remarkable and one of my top three favorites produced by Follett. His ability to write a novel about the enemy's number 1 spy was entertaining and, in my opinion, the hallmark of his writing career. Nadel is a ruthless spy. No family no loved ones. Just the way he likes it. It allows him to concentrate on the matter at hand. Killing opposition spies. This was absolutely amazing and a quick fun read. If you have read some of Follett's other books such as "Pillars of the Earth", "Key to Rebecca", "A Dangerous Fortune", then you know what his style of writing is. Although different in content, his style is almost invented within these book covers. If you've read other works of Follett's, then you'll enjoy this book as being on par, but on a different course than those aforementioned. Eye of the Needle is a unique spy-thriller well deserving of 5 stars. I would suggest those books above, along with this one if you're looking for a good weekend/vacation reading. Please see my reviews of the other novels as they may help you to choose which you want to read first. Great Reading!!!
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Summary: One of the Best of the Type
Review: Ken Follett was probably the best of this type back in the 70's; I would even go so far as to say that was his best period outside of The Pillars of the Earth. This book gives you a very good story that I found difficult to put down. Follett is great at developing his characters; you really get a feel for them. He also always gets the facts correct and is very generous with the historical items. He also writes a book that does not talk down to the lowest common denominator of the audience. This book is very good and one that should be read before many others of the same type.
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Summary: Superbly written; quite an emotional tale
Review: This was the novel that gave Follet star quality status in publishing circles. Not only was it a best seller but it also was adapted into a movie, starring Donald Sutherland. Here are some reasons to read THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE: (1) PRECISION: you like reading about cool, precise heroes or anti-heroes or villains who are painfully precise in their plans, the best at what they do and are totally "stone cold."; (2) WWII BUFF: you love to read about the "big thrills" of WWII; this has it since the German spy discovers D-Day plans and tries to get back to Germany to warn the High Command (i.e. his tap was taken after he was shortly exposed); (3) TAUT THRILLS: if this turns you on, Follet is right up there with Forsythe, Higgins and other masterful spy thriller novelists.; (4) MOVING LOVE/LUST TALES: Follet has always been unusually good at the subplot love stories in his tales; the intimacy level is higher than some people encounter in their real lives; the details of the lovemaking is hot. I still remember, at one point, the female interest asks the male love interest why he never married and he replied to something along the lines as: "I never loved any woman enough to marry them."; and (5) LOTS OF COMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHARACTERS: especially for the villain who seems to overcome almost all of them. Follet also does a good job of centering the story on the villain so that you like him and then switching over to another character later. The transition works for a number of reasons but saying more would spoil the story.
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