The Once and Future Spy

Rating:
Summary: A first effort, one to try and forgive?
Review: "The Publisher's Review" was kind to end its assessment of the book with, "...but a little silly."

"Silly" began about page five and reappeared frequently during the remaining 285 pages. We're looking here at "silly" at the high school composition level, and the plot is strained and worse even than the writing.

This was copywritten 13 years ago, and Littell has become a somewhat better writer in the interim. I just finished his latest, "The Company," and it was worth about 3 1/2 stars. I'll skip anything else by him.

The old phrase, "the book's not worth the candle," is too kind for "The Once and Future Spy."

Rating:
Summary: A Little Too Ambiguous...?
Review: Bottom line, I liked the premise and enjoyed the read - that is, until I reached the end. I confess, I don't yet quite get it. In six months, once I have had a chance to reflect on the book for a little longer, "Whose truth, what truth?" may help the book come into better focus. But at this point, I simply am not sure how to interpret the end. For instance, where did large parts of the story take place - in the "real world" or in Silas' head? What was Snow's motivation for doing what she did at the end - was she mistaken about her information (re: Huxstep) and more convinced that something wasn't quite right with Silas? Ambiguity is a given in the world of intelligence, but this was a bit too ambiguous for my tastes.

Fellow fans, help me out. If you can, I may come back again and revise my rating upwards. If not, then let's let a 3-star rating stand for a good book make a little too complicated for its own good.

Rating:
Summary: Weird
Review: No, "Weird" is not a term usually associated with a book review, but it's difficult to think of a better one-word description here.

This book is so convoluted, and much of it rather illogical,
that it is hard to believe the same author has written the
complex, detailed and fascinating book, "The Company." This one must have been some sort of practice run.

As we read through it, there are interesting parts, but we keep
thinking as we go along that the author will surely bring it all
together in a satisfying way. But he never does. There is an
ending of sorts, but the story never quite comes together. And many of us will not be wishing there was more, we will, instead,
be wishing we had spent our time more profitably.

The story, on the surface, is about an ultra-secret project by
a handful of CIA operatives working outside even that organization, with the direction and approval of the Attorney General, and the aim of this project is to sow discord in the

heart of one of our Muslim enemy countries, while also bringing
into disrepute everything that country stands for. A laudable
goal, and a very nice starting point for this type novel.

But the author insists on intermixing with that story another,
and parallel, story about Nathan Hale during our Revolution
against the British Empire. The Hale story is quite far-fetched, so it detracts rather than adds to the central theme.

With the shifts in both era and story, this is not exciting, but
rather distracting. Not a very well-put-together story and ultimately dissatisfying.