Rating: 
Summary: A First-Rate Political Suspense Thriller!
Review: So far as captivating page-turners go, few writers of popular fiction can top Ken Follett when he is at his best, and though I've not read all his novels, I definitely consider Triple (a political thriller) to be one of the best of those I've read. (Other favourites of mine are A Dangerous Fortune and The Third Twin--and I am eager to read The Pillars of the Earth). Briefly (and without giving anything away), the plot centres around three secret agents--one from Israel's Mossad, one from Russia's KGB, and one from Egypt's Intelligence Agency. It involves the arms race between the Israelis and the Arabs and takes place in 1968. I really can say no more other than to mention that one of these groups has an idea for ensuring that it remains a competitor in that race, and the method the agent has for bringing that idea to fruition (and this is what the novel is all about) is complex and really quite ingenious. Stripped to its most basic level, this could be said to be something of a cat and mouse story. However, there is so very much more to it than that, for Follett is a master storyteller who not only excels in deftly handling relationships between individuals (no mean feat in itself!) but is simply brilliant at creating characters that the reader cares about and hence in writing novels that one hates to reach the end of. Though not a light read, this novel is certainly enlightening. I, for one, learned a fair bit about Middle Eastern politics and something about nuclear weaponry. Further, I felt Follett did a splendid job of conveying the political situation from the points of view of both the Israelis and the Palestinians in a manner that simultaneously evoked both sympathy for and censure of both sides. It's a sensitive topic (perhaps even more so now than in 1979 when the novel was first published) and one in which Follett's skill as a writer really shines through. Highly recommended to fans of Ken Follett in general, to fans of the spy genre in particular, and to anyone who enjoys a consumately written (and insightful) thriller!
Rating: 
Summary: Are you kidding me?
Review: This has got to be the worst book Ken Follett ever wrote. The story is ridiculous. Would the KGB, at the height of the cold war, really let some English woman on one of their prized spy ships, give her free reign to move around, and relate to her all the details of their top secret sources and methods? Please. And of course a flight attendant has the skills to outwit a ship full of hardened KGB agents, and figure out how to destroy the ship, all in a few hours. Hello! And by the way, Ken, diesel fuel cannot be ignited by a cigarette. The style was completely naive and painful to read as well. Endless exposition outside of the action, a rough draft of a book at best. If you like spy novels, read "The spy who came in from the cold." That's how spy novels should be written. People giving 5 stars for this tripe? Can you say "shill"?
Rating: 
Summary: Modern-day high octane thriller.
Review: Thriller was not the book that won me over to Follet's capers. It, however, secured me in the faith that he is the master of his very much European style of espionage that Chandler did not master in his time. I always believed that this book was destined to be a Hollywood film. If that happens, please do not ruin it with an old overweight actor as was the case with The Key to Rebecca, also a great story but a terrible film.
Rating:
Summary: Follet is constistently good
Review: Triple is a spy novel set in the mid-60s when Israel is rushing to beat the Arabs in a race to build an atomic bomb. This book as all the action, suspense and romance you'd expect from Follet. His research is excellent and this book is very believable. As one of Follet's earlier novels, it definitely stands the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: Follet is constistently good
Review: Triple is a spy novel set in the mid-60s when Israel is rushing to beat the Arabs in a race to build an atomic bomb. This book as all the action, suspense and romance you'd expect from Follet. His research is excellent and this book is very believable. As one of Follet's earlier novels, it definitely stands the test of time.
| 
