8 replies to this topic

[WC]

Who here has read any Len Deighton novels, and if so, what do you think of them?

Does anyone know why specifically he named his two trilogies Berlin Game, Mexico Set and London Match; and Spy Hook, Spy Line and Spy Sinker? Are there any specific reasons (ie - is there something that alludes to any of these terms in the books) or did he simply think it would be a clever group of three words?

Thanks

[Flavius]

I can recommend Deighton very highly. He's a great writer and the Game/Set/Match & Hook/line/sinker trilogies are well worth reading.

It's best to read them in order, I think, as the titles are relevant as more than just a gimmick. Unfortunately explaining away the title relevance might be a bit of a spoiler. Lets just say that the titles reflect the direction the plot is taking.

If you want to get the whole picture, read 'Winter' first. It's an excellent novel about the rise to power of the Nazis. Many of the characters within, or their chldren, pop up in the series from Berlin Game onwards. After Berlin Game the series is set in the mid 1980s and the final phase of the cold war. It's all a very nice touch, because we get to see Germany split in 'Winter' and then see so much Cold War action in the later books.

There's some other good Deighton books too. 'Goodbye Mickey Mouse' is a great one about WW2 fighter pilots, and he's written a couple of history books as well.

'Game, Set and Match' was turned into a great TV series with Ian Holm as the lead character, british spy Bernard Samson. For once they followed the books closely- the plot is so intricate that they had to, really.

[WC]

I can recommend Deighton very highly. He's a great writer and the Game/Set/Match & Hook/line/sinker trilogies are well worth reading.

It's best to read them in order, I think, as the titles are relevant as more than just a gimmick. Unfortunately explaining away the title relevance might be a bit of a spoiler. Lets just say that the titles reflect the direction the plot is taking.

If you want to get the whole picture, read 'Winter' first. It's an excellent novel about the rise to power of the Nazis. Many of the characters within, or their chldren, pop up in the series from Berlin Game onwards. After Berlin Game the series is set in the mid 1980s and the final phase of the cold war. It's all a very nice touch, because we get to see Germany split in 'Winter' and then see so much Cold War action in the later books.

There's some other good Deighton books too. 'Goodbye Mickey Mouse' is a great one about WW2 fighter pilots, and he's written a couple of history books as well.

'Game, Set and Match' was turned into a great TV series with Ian Holm as the lead character, british spy Bernard Samson. For once they followed the books closely- the plot is so intricate that they had to, really.

Thanks for the tips. I shall look into it. Actually, I don't mind spoilers when it comes to books, so if you wouldn't mind explaining the relevance of the titles, I'd be very grateful.

[Flavius]

O.K. here goes (its been ten years since I read them, so I'll try to get this right! ).

Berlin Game is about the initial manouevering between MI6 agent Bernard Samson, an expert on Germany, and his east german sponsored rival, an english traitor. Samson's father spied in Germany before & during WW2. Samson spent most of his youth there and is an expert in operating in East Germany.

The 'Game' is the unfolding plot where Samson attempts to uncover the traitor in MI6 who is working for the east germans. By the end of the book he unmasks the traitor, but at great personal cost.

'Set' is the unfolding game between these two. The traitor flees to East Germany at the end of 'Game'.

'Match' is where Samson starts to out smart the traitor's plans and leads to something of an equilibrium between the two. The trilogy ends with Samson on an equal footing with his opponent.

'Hook', 'Line' & 'Sinker' is set in 1987 (the first trilogy is set in 1983). The traitor is succesfuly set up as an expert on the U.K. living and operating in east berlin at the beck and call of the east germans and russians. An ongoing sparring match continues between the traitor and Samson. By the end of 'Line' the traitor decides they have something special to offer Britain (and Samson) after all. There is a twist here so big I really can't even hint at it!!!!

'Hook' is very clever, in that it tells the whole series, from start to end, from the perspective of the traitor. Despite knowing the plot direction of the series, it is a very easy read and provides some interesting revelations.

'Winter' is a pre-quel to all of this. It covers the lives of two german brothers, born at the turn of the century. One becomes a top nazi. The other marries a jewish-american girl and ends up working for the American OSS. Bernard Samson's father pops up a bit as an MI6 agent. Samson's dad fights a long battle against the nazis, first operating in germany in the early thirties and re-appearring frequently. His popping in and out of Nazi Germany via Switzerland is eerily reminiscent of Bernard's popping in and out of East Germany in the 1980s.

'Winter' is two things; an excellent history lesson, explaining how the nazis came to power and functioned, and a book that sets up some of the characters for the final acts of the cold war during the 1980s in the Game and Hook trilogies.

There's even another trilogy by Deighton, called 'Faith', 'Hope' & 'Charity'. I haven't read that one yet, but I believe it follows Bernard Samson's career post 1987, into the last two years of the cold war. I've been meaning to read it, but I keep putting it off as the plot is so intricate in these books I fear I'll have to start all over again by re-reading 'Winter' onwards! There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Deighton is a great author. I recall reading in the forums somewhere here that he met Fleming in the early '60s and that they got along quite well.

[spynovelfan]

'Set' is the unfolding game between these two. The traitor flees to East Germany at the end of 'Game'.

And some of the book is set in Mexico.

'Match' is where Samson starts to out smart the traitor's plans and leads to something of an equilibrium between the two. The trilogy ends with Samson on an equal footing with his opponent.

And it's mostly set in London. The three titles come from the main locations and the tennis term 'game, set and match'.

[WC]

'Set' is the unfolding game between these two. The traitor flees to East Germany at the end of 'Game'.

And some of the book is set in Mexico.

'Match' is where Samson starts to out smart the traitor's plans and leads to something of an equilibrium between the two. The trilogy ends with Samson on an equal footing with his opponent.

And it's mostly set in London. The three titles come from the main locations and the tennis term 'game, set and match'.

Sure, sure. Mexico and tennis terms are the obvious ones. I was actually wondering if they had any significance in spy-speak terms. Like how a cobbler is someone who makes passports, for example.

BTW - Flavius - thanks for the summary of each of the novels. It's good to be able to see them all as a whole and how they all fit together thematically.

[spynovelfan]

Could be some spy jargon, but I don't think so. Espionage as the Great Game, yes, but I don't think 'set' and 'match' are used. Hook and line are both sometimes used in espionage: a hook is just bait, usually information used to get someone to defect, and a line can refr to a ratline, ie an escape route, or a cell that works without cutouts, so you could follow a spy line back to the big boss. But sinker isn't a word I've heard. I think it's just a sense of suspense building up from using the common expressions 'game, set and match' and 'hook, line and sinker'. Any particular reason you're so interested in this?

I think Deighton was on top of his game in his first few novels and the first trilogy.

[WC]

Could be some spy jargon, but I don't think so. Espionage as the Great Game, yes,  but I don't think 'set' and 'match' are used. Hook and line are both sometimes used in espionage: a hook is just bait, usually information used to get someone to defect, and a line can refr to a ratline, ie an escape route, or a cell that works without cutouts, so you could follow a spy line back to the big boss. But sinker isn't a word I've heard. I think it's just a sense of suspense building up from using the common expressions 'game, set and match' and 'hook, line and sinker'. Any particular reason you're so interested in this?

I think Deighton was on top of his game in his first few novels and the first trilogy.

No particular reason. It's just clever to see how authors use common everyday expressions and turn it into something else.

What's Len Deighton's writing style like compared to other authors - eg Fleming, Clancy, Benson, Le Carre, Gardner etc? Is he good in pure literary terms?

[spynovelfan]

What's Len Deighton's writing style like compared to other authors - eg Fleming, Clancy, Benson, Le Carre, Gardner etc? Is he good in pure literary terms?

He's a brilliant writer. I think his early stuff has a lot of similarities to Ian Fleming (though I know some people who would disagree). The unnamed protagonist of his first four novels - called Harry Palmer in the Harry-Saltzman-produced films - is always billed as the 'anti-Bond', but I think that's a gross oversimplification. Palmer is of a different class from Bond, of course, and he doesn't wear tailored suits. However, he's a former military man. He loves fine food. He lives in London, works for British intelligence, flirts continuously with his beautiful secretary, has a boss he often disagrees with, makes laconic jokes, travels the world saving England from the baddies, and so on. The tone and style of the books are often very similar, although Deighton usually subtracts crucial plot elements while Fleming adds extraneous ones (I love both approaches). Deighton's sweep is very much like Fleming's - I can't think of any other spy novels of the period that luxuriate in detail so much, and that explore other cultures so thoroughly. Fleming had THRILLING CITIES. Deighton had LONDON DOSSIER and CONTINENTAL DOSSIER.

If you're looking for an exact match, well, obviously it's not here. But AN EXPENSIVE PLACE TO DIE, in particular, seems to me especially like Fleming. It features a British agent investigating a brothel in Paris, which turns out to be a front for intelligence agencies. Here's a scene from it that mentions Bond, which takes place in a Parisian nightclub called Les Chiens. It was published in 1967, so it's pretty baroque! But it gives a good idea of early Deighton, I think.


'On a staircase, a wedge of people were embracing, laughing like advertising photos. At the bar, a couple of English photographers were talking in cockney and an English writer was explaining James Bond.

A waiter put four glasses full of ice cubes and a half-bottle of Johnnie Walker on the table before us. 'What's this?' I asked.

The waiter turned away without answering. Two Frenchmen at the bar began to argue with the English writer and a bar stool fell over. The noise wasn't loud enough for anyone to notice. On the dance floor a girl in a shiny plastic suit was swearing at a man who had burned a hole in it with his cigarette. I heard the English writer behind me say, 'But I have always immensely adored violence. His violence is his humanity. Unless you understand that you understand nothing.' He wrinkled his nose and smiled. One of the Frenchmen replied, 'He suffers in translation.' The photographer was clicking his fingers in time to the music. 'Don't we all?' said the English writer, and looked around.

Byrd said, 'Shocking noise.'

'Don't listen,' I said.

'What?' said Byrd.

The English writer was saying '...a violent Everyman in a violent but humdrum...' he paused, 'but humdrum world.' He nodded agreement to himself. 'Let me remind you of Baudelaire. There's a sonnet that begins...'

'So this bird wants to get out of the car...' one of the photographers was saying.

'Speak a little more quietly,' said the English writer. 'I'm going to recite a sonnet.'

'Belt up,' said the photographer over his shoulder. 'This bird wanted to get out of the car...'

'Baudelaire,' said the writer. 'Violent, macabre and symbolic.'

'You leave bollicks out of this,' said the photographer, and his friend laughed. The writer put a hand on his shoulder and said, 'Look my friend...' The photographer planted a right jab into his solar plexus without spilling the drink he was holding. The writer folded up like a deckchair and hit the floor. A waiter grabbed towards the photographer, but stumbled over the English writer's inert body.

'Look here,' said Byrd, and a passing waiter turned so that the half-bottle of whisky and the four glasses of ice were knocked over. Someone aimed a blow at the photographer's head. Byrd got to his feet saying quietly and reasonably, 'You spilled the drink on the floor. Dash me, you'd better pay for it. Only thing to do. Damned rowdies.' The waiter pushed Byrd violently and he fell back and disappeared among the densely packed dancers. Two or three people began to punch each other. A wild blow took me in the small of the back, but the attacker had moved on. I got both shoulder-blades rested against the nearest piece of wall and braced the sole of my right foot for leverage. One of the photographers came my way, but he kept going and wound up grappling with a waiter. There was a scuffle going on at the top of the staircase, and then violence travelled through the place like a flash flood. Everyone was punching everyone, girls were screaming and the music seemed to be even louder than before. A man hurried a girl along the corridor past me. 'It's those English that make the trouble,' he complained.

'Yes,' I said.

'You look English.'

'No, I'm Belgian,' I said. He hurried after the girl...'