Rating: 
Summary: Good at the start but lagged at the finish line.
Review: As an avid fan of all the Bernard Samson books I eagerly awaited this "final" book of the series. Like all of Deighton's readers I was anxious to find out the true meaning of the many riddles found in the nine book saga and to learn what would happen to the intricately developed characters who had become almost like personal friends. Charity was up to par until the last several pages. But what happened then? Seems like Deighton got called out of town and asked his gardener to wrap up the book! The ending contains lots of inconsistencies with the previous books and leaves huge holes unfilled. Perhaps this is all a ploy by Deighton to ensure one or more books will be added to the series. I sure hope so, for if Charity is the end of the line for Bernard Samson, he went out like a lamb
Rating: 
Summary: Circles Within Circles
Review: Bernard Samson is one of my favorite espionage characters. I was delighted by this excellent completion of the Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy. The hard part about Deighton's trilogies is that they leave the reader hanging between books, dying for the next one. Charity does not resolve everything, but it certainly takes care of a lot of the dangling questions. The plot complications invite paranoia. It seems like nothing is ever what it appears to be. The only constant is that Bernard continues to play the role of the unwitting dupe in others' ploys. Since he is a good and thoughtful person, that pulls us away from having sympathy for the spymasters who dream up the plans to go awry so often. It raises the rather nice question of how far the means can and should go to justify the end. Will we ever have enough of the Cold War and its espionage? Perhaps not. If so, we are fortunate that Len Deighton has written this book. If you have not read the earlier Bernard Samson novels, I strongly urge you to begin at the beginning with Winter. You'll have two advantages that way: You will appreciate the plot development better, having known of the prior complications; and you won't have to wait for the next book to come out. If you follow this advice, I envy you. You have a lot of fun reading ahead!
Rating:
Summary: Circles Within Circles
Review: Bernard Samson is one of my favorite espionage characters. I was delighted by this excellent completion of the Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy. The hard part about Deighton's trilogies is that they leave the reader hanging between books, dying for the next one. Charity does not resolve everything, but it certainly takes care of a lot of the dangling questions. The plot complications invite paranoia. It seems like nothing is ever what it appears to be. The only constant is that Bernard continues to play the role of the unwitting dupe in others' ploys. Since he is a good and thoughtful person, that pulls us away from having sympathy for the spymasters who dream up the plans to go awry so often. It raises the rather nice question of how far the means can and should go to justify the end. Will we ever have enough of the Cold War and its espionage? Perhaps not. If so, we are fortunate that Len Deighton has written this book. If you have not read the earlier Bernard Samson novels, I strongly urge you to begin at the beginning with Winter. You'll have two advantages that way: You will appreciate the plot development better, having known of the prior complications; and you won't have to wait for the next book to come out. If you follow this advice, I envy you. You have a lot of fun reading ahead!
Rating:
Summary: Len Deighton is the master
Review: Bernard Samson is one of the great characters of modern popular fiction. The three trilogies are, collectively, in my opinion, the greatest piece of spy drama ever written, with the singular exception of le Carre's great trilogy (Tinker, Tailor; Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley's People), the high water mark of the genre. Actually, it's really not fair to compare them. Despite what the jacket tells you, the Samson epic shouldn't be read out of sequence. Start with Berlin Game and work your way through, grateful that there are nine of them (ten, if you read Winter, which probably should be read first to understand Samson's family history). Action buffs may be disappointed because the thrill is in the characterization and the mystery: nothing is as it seems and the intrepid Samson soldiers on, perhaps the last man standing on the battlefield of the cold war. When I finished Charity I was sad, and envious of those that would discover Berlin Game and have the whole journey ahead. That, to me, is the true measure of a book or books. Bravo, Mr. Deighton. Well done.
Rating:
Summary: We Want another Samson Trilogy!
Review: Bernard Samson Trusts Nobody! This is what I like about him and all the Other Characters in Len's Samsons Books. He Can Not Trust even His Own Wife! (I am not sure he trusts himself...) I hope Len comes out with another Trilogy... By the Way it is Samson not Sampson as some of your Reviewers wrote!
PS. Sorry if I made a mistake Sampson Samson...
Rating: 
Summary: This can't be the last Sampson Novel.
Review: Bernard seems more in control in this novel and this is more along the lines of the first three novels as far as action and suspense go. We do need a more closure to the saga of Bernard Sampson than this.
Rating:
Summary: This can't be the last Sampson Novel.
Review: Bernard seems more in control in this novel and this is more along the lines of the first three novels as far as action and suspense go. We do need a more closure to the saga of Bernard Sampson than this.
Rating:
Summary: Charity
Review: Charity wraps up the Faith, Hope and Charity triology and concludes 10 books with Samson/Samson/Volkmann/Gloria et al. However, all the questions are not sufficiently answers which makes me hope that there will be further books in this exciting series. As a hint to those who are somewhat disappointed in the finish of this book (I wasn't), re-read Sinker. I particularly admire the characterisation in these books; most actions books have, at most, two interesting characters. This series has many.
Rating:
Summary: Good finish to the triology -- but more left to reveal
Review: Charity wraps up the Faith, Hope and Charity triology and concludes 10 books with Samson/Samson/Volkmann/Gloria et al. However, all the questions are not sufficiently answers which makes me hope that there will be further books in this exciting series. As a hint to those who are somewhat disappointed in the finish of this book (I wasn't), re-read Sinker. I particularly admire the characterisation in these books; most actions books have, at most, two interesting characters. This series has many.
Rating:
Summary: Bernard Samson takes his bow at last
Review: I approached Len Deighton's final entry in the Bernard Samson series with some degree of sadness. In the 10+ years that I have been reading the books, my empathy with the character has become more and more pronounced.( As a measure of my devotion...my wife and I named our firstborn daughter Fiona...even though we did not like the character, we loved the name...) This particular novel was decidedly elegiac; Bernard muses on growing old, losing friends and family and trying to retain his hold on what is really valuable, all while he doggedly pursues many unsavory truths. While I was very disappointed with the resolution of the Bernard/Fiona/Gloria triangle- the marriage is clearly beyond help, and Gloria is MUCH more appealing than Fiona - I enjoyed the book quite a bit,mostly due to Deighton's masterful portrait of Bernard Samson as a tired, cynical, middle-aged seeker, tilting with windmills that all too often turn out to be monsters after all. Bravo, Len and Farewell Bernard. I'll even miss Dicky. What now, Mr. Deighton? I for one have always been intrigued by the legendary Samson Senior...might we ever get a peek at his own career exploits...?
| 
