Devil's Juggler

Rating:
Summary: IRA typecast again
Review: As is often the case with British writers, the IRA is potrayed as a criminal gang. While this is a great read, well written and often thoughtful, Smith has not broken free of British propaganda and all his Irish characters a stereotypes of what British Intelligence would have us believe are crazed patriots. Such a shame even good books like this have the traces of MI6's dull thinking all over it, albeit unwittingly put there - I hope.

Rating:
Summary: Lasting impressions.
Review: Realistic. Well crafted. Original. Out of print. It's unfortunate too, becuase of all the "international thrillers" I have ever read, Devil's Juggler stands out in my mind as one of the few I would read again. If you have a taste for spy novels, or an interest in fictionalized accounts of the intelligence world, you will without a doubt enjoy the character of Jardine.

Rating:
Summary: absorbing, chilling characterizations, seems true to life
Review: This book pulls you into the story early on, as seemingly separate global events start coming together as chapters progress. The people seem ordinary, even moral, but their actions suggest that they can readily compartmentalize their lives into separate, even dissonant arenas. Unfortunately, it all seems so true to life; I really think the world works more this way and less according to any idealized view of right and wrong. Definitely worth reading. Well-done. I understand it's a first novel by a first-rate author.