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Spy Line (1997)

Spy Line (1997)

Book Info

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Genre
Rating
3.97 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0345420179 (ISBN13: 9780345420176)
Language
English
Publisher
ballantine books

About book Spy Line (1997)

Every time I read an installment in the Bernard Samson series I think, "Okay, THIS one is my favourite, I swear." Deighton's "Samson Saga" is made up of consistently good thrillers with an excellent narrator and lashings of Deighton's famously detailed descriptions, and Spy Line is no exception. In this installment we find Bernard living in a squalid corner of Berlin, on the run from London Central, considered a traitor for reasons that may have been provided in the previous installment, Spy Hook (but don't take my word for it; I read that one a while ago and may just be assuming reasons were provided there). But naturally, London Central is able to track him down and send him on a mission that will help clear his name, and perhaps shed some more light on what has happened to his wife, Fiona.I enjoyed this book from the get-go, with the very first sentence making me laugh, and Bernard's characteristic dry-witted narration moving the story along nicely. One thing I really like about the narration is Bernard's natural use of German. After all, he grew up in Berlin and is fluent in the language. The text contains German dialogue that is often paraphrased by Bernard immediately afterward, so you get the atmosphere of the language and the benefit of knowing what the person said, not to mention a bonus German lesson. The dynamics of the various intelligence services are also well done: Bernard observes that the British take greater pains to keep secrets from the Americans than they do from "just" the KGB.In terms of predictability, I was occasionally just ahead of Bernard in the deductions department, but the breathtaking, page-turning climax leads me to cut that sort of thing some slack. And I would suggest that you not read the dust jacket on any hardcover editions, if you do not appreciate spoilers of key (surprising) plot points.I would definitely recommend this book to Deighton fans and those who like twisting, turning plots (but it would help if you read the rest of the books first).

Oh dear, I went back in didn't I?Absolutely infuriating reading. Bernard just lets things happen to him, the plot is only moved on by long discussions in which tiny bits of info are eked from inscrutable characters. A pretty unbelievable slight return by the big bad of the last book just made me want to punch something. Anyway. I'm going to have to read the third one now aren't I which I hold no hope for either.

Do You like book Spy Line (1997)?

As utterly atrocious as this book's predecessor, Sky Hook, was -- and it was horrible -- this book is a serious improvement on it. The last book left the reader with all sorts of unanswered questions and was obviously written for the sole purpose of getting readers to buy the sequel, which really pissed me off. So I bought the sequel, which pissed me off even more, and a lot of these questions were finally answered. British spy Bernard Samson is back and remains largely clueless about so much. He's still obsessed with his wife, Fiona, and her defection to the KGB and misses her a lot, even though he's got a great new girlfriend in Gloria, who is hot, young (at 22, half his age), smart, loves him and his kids, dotes on him, is good at parties, etc. He's an idiot. The book generally starts with him being on the run from the Service, who has set him up, but he later comes in and returns to work, only to be sent to an Austrian stamp collecting auction. Yep. And there's a murder. Yep. Weird. Later, he's taken through the Iron Curtain, where he meets Fiona for the first time in a long time and she tells him she's still working for the Service and is about to come back out of Russia, back to Britain. This leaves him in a quandary. Still, later his boss and Fiona's sister go to Berlin and insist he go with them to act as a cover for their affair. While there, he's supposed to bring someone out of Russia and he realizes it's Fiona. There's a gunfight, and I never figured out why. Totally arbitrary. Then there's the reappearance of Bret from the previous book. Annoying prick. At least Samson's dry wit is on display here, something which was lacking in the previous book. This is the fifth book in what is either a six or nine book series. As okay as this book was, I don't think I'll pick up the next book. I'm thoroughly unimpressed with this author and I think I'll stick with Forsyth for my spy books. Not really recommended, and certainly not as a stand alone book.
—Scott Holstad

The second book in the second Bernard Samson trilogy, in which Samson manages to get out of the trouble he got into in Spy Hook, and is sent to Vienna to pick up a package from a stamp auction. As usual, what is supposed to be a straightforward assignment turns out to be far more complicated – in this case, to the point of taking one of the central points of the series storyline and turning it completely on its head. This installment really delivers the goods as a spy yarn, to include some genuine surprises and an exciting ending, albeit one that raises more questions for the next installment, which I’m looking forward to reading.
—John Defrog

Spy Line is the fifth of the nine book set featuring Bernard Samson. Various loose ends which hung prominently in view in Spy Hook were tied up in a most dramatic manner in this book.Bernard proves again that he is the coolest man on the planet, and despite the fact that he says he is afraid at times, we don't really believe it. This book reveals some of the Le Carre like twists and turns of the plot, and London Central proves to be even more Machiavellian in its thinking than either Bernard or we, the readers, believed possible.
—Victor Gibson

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