21 replies to this topic

[Scrambled Eggs]

I've just finished Charles Cumming's excellent "A Spy By Nature". Impressed.

Reading the online reviews of ASBN, there are references to Cumming being one of a "new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where Le Carr

Edited by Scrambled Eggs, 06 July 2007 - 08:20 PM.

[Roebuck]

David Wolstencroft's stuff isn't blindingly original, but he is very readable.

http://debrief.comma...te=Contact Zero

[00Twelve]

Ted Bell's "Hawke" series. It definitely takes its roots from Ian Fleming, but the series is a really good read.

[Qwerty]

Seeing that two of the authors (Cumming and Wolstencroft) from the 2006 Fleming Penguin reprint intros have been mentioned in this thread, you may be interested in the work of a few of the others listed on the following page: http://commanderbond.net/article/3750

[OmarB]

Some good suggestions here. I'll have to check them out. Right now I'm likeing Robert Ludlum's "Covert One" series. He's dead now and the books are written by other people from stuff he's plotted out. It's not A bad series, the first book is the weakest. The series's name is Covert One yet the main character doesnt join the organization or isnt even aware of it till the last few pages ... though he does work with some of the members of the Covert One team throughout the book.

[Scrambled Eggs]

Thanks for the suggestions all.

Seeing that two of the authors (Cumming and Wolstencroft) from the 2006 Fleming Penguin reprint intros have been mentioned in this thread, you may be interested in the work of a few of the others listed on the following page: http://commanderbond.net/article/3750

That's why I picked a copy of Cumming! Most of the other writers on there aren't really spy novelists though.
I think I'll give Wolstencroft a go.

[Qwerty]

Thanks for the suggestions all.

Seeing that two of the authors (Cumming and Wolstencroft) from the 2006 Fleming Penguin reprint intros have been mentioned in this thread, you may be interested in the work of a few of the others listed on the following page: http://commanderbond.net/article/3750

That's why I picked a copy of Cumming! Most of the other writers on there aren't really spy novelists though.
I think I'll give Wolstencroft a go.

I've got so many books in line lately that I need to read. After that I'd like to give some of these authors a go as well.

[autquisest]

Have you checked out Barry Eisler? He

[Loomis]

Can anyone recommend other spy novels from the past ten years that are worth taking a look at?

Well, not from the past ten years, but back in the '80s Bryan Forbes wrote an absolutely cracking spy thriller called THE ENDLESS GAME, which he made into a TV movie a few years later:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099501/

The followup, A SONG AT TWILIGHT, is also a terrific read. Both books feature great characters and gripping plots with very clever twists and turns, and would make a terrific big screen franchise in the right hands. I gather Forbes wrote a couple of further books in the series, but I haven't read them.

Unfortunately, THE ENDLESS GAME and its followups seem to be out of print, but I'd say they're well worth tracking down.

[OmarB]

Ok, not really a spy novel, more of a military techno-thriller, but it still rules. "Act Of War" by Dale Brown. Post 9/11 nuclear attack on the US, army scientist with an invented exosuit sent to assemble a task force to batttle the threat.

Easiest way to describe it is Iron Man meets Tom Clancy, though Dale's not as good as Clancy. His style's more workmanlike but it gets the job done.

[OO4]

I found The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie quite enjoyable.

[RazorBlade]

I found The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie quite enjoyable.

That Hugh Laurie? The TV HL? From WOOSTER AND JEEVES? Or HOUSE?

[Yellow Pinky]

Yes, THAT Hugh Laurie!

And the thing is, it really is a cracking good spy novel, although it is quite tongue in cheek in its delivery, which may turn some off. That said, at its core, the plot and motivations are based in a solid espionage setting. It's mainly that the protagonist's first-person form of storytelling is rife with humor.

[Trident]

Yes, THAT Hugh Laurie!

And the thing is, it really is a cracking good spy novel, although it is quite tongue in cheek in its delivery, which may turn some off. That said, at its core, the plot and motivations are based in a solid espionage setting. It's mainly that the protagonist's first-person form of storytelling is rife with humor.

YES!

Laurie's 'The Gun Seller' is absolutely fabulous! I tremendously enjoyed it. A kind of sequel ('The Paper Soldier') is said to come up September '07 and I'll check it out as soon as possible.


Another good one, although not dealing with a spy but a terrorist is 'The Lion's Game' by Nelson DeMille. Almost 900 pages of action and suspense told in the slightly ironic voice of a former NYPD detective attached to the Joint Terrorist Task Force, a combined unit of police, FBI, CIA and the The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. The JTTF is expecting a Boing with the top terrorist Assad Khalil who surrendered himself to a US embassy. A few hours before eta the radio connection to the plane breaks down...

I also can recommend most of Daniel Silva's books. His 'The Mark Of The Assasin' and 'The Marching Season' both feature the CIA operative Michael Osborne. His style is a mixture of action and solid research. From 'The Kill Artist' on Silva settled with the Mossad agent Gabriel Allon (five or six books up to now). Sometimes his prose mimicks LeCarr

Edited by Trident, 17 July 2007 - 07:53 AM.

[HawkEye007]

Ted Bell's "Hawke" series. It definitely takes its roots from Ian Fleming, but the series is a really good read.

I was just about to recommend the "Hawke" series! Those are some of the best non-Bond spy books I have ever read. Even though they are not techinically spy novels per se, I would also recommend any of the Clive Cussler books. And of course anything by Robert Ludlum would be worth your time.

[Scrambled Eggs]

Never would have occured to me to give Hugh laurie's book a go. Thanks all, some interesting suggestions.

[Four Aces]

Try the Presidential Agent Series by WEB Griffin. There are three books in the series now: (1) By Order of the President (2) The Hostage (3) The Hunters.

I found everything in the books credible. The remote locations are well researched also, as I have been to most of the places covered in the books, to include 4o. de Fevreiro airport in Angola, where in fact a 727 was in fact stolen a few years ago. The plane has not been found to this date. The characters in this series have a very uncanny resemblance to some real world players. I'll leave it at that.

Enjoy the read. Start with book 1.

Cheers,

4A

[WC]

I've actually just written my own spy novel. It should be out late September/ early October of this year. Watch out for it.

I'll keep y'all updated lol.

[Kilroy6644]

Even though they are not techinically spy novels per se, I would also recommend any of the Clive Cussler books. And of course anything by Robert Ludlum would be worth your time.

I LOVE Clive Cussler! My experience with Ludlum is limited to Bourne and Cry of the Halidon, but I'll recommend him blindly. Dad always liked reading him; I'm just not up to speed yet.

[dinovelvet]

I'm not really a spy novel buff, but I enjoyed the Splinter Cell novels (the first two of which were written by Bond veteran Raymond Benson, under the pseudonym David Michaels). So if you enjoyed Benson's stuff you might want to take a look. Its very CIA techno-y type stuff (the books are under the Tom Clancy banner!), and I should mention that the books are based on a videogame, but don't let that put you off, the books do take on a life of their own.

[[dark]]

Stella Rimington's Liz Carlyle novels are rather good. I've read the first two - At Risk and Secret Asset - and was quite impressed. (I may, admittedly, be biased though, as when I was reading them, I was working opposite MI6, and simply relished being able to read the books at my desk and look out my window to see where, exactly, the action was taking place.)

Given Rimington's background, the books feel a touch more grounded in reality than most in the genre. For instance, Carlyle is yet to battle a giant squid; though I am yet to read the third book in the series, Illegal Action, which has just been released.

[manfromjapan]

Again, not strictly in the spy genre, but I would strongly recommend the Creasy series of books by AJ Quinnell. The first of the series, MAN ON FIRE, was recently made into a great movie starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Scott. I have read all but one of them and they are all terrific, with great characters and plots. Really fast reads too. The first book is readily available, but the follow-ups are pretty rare and expensive if you find them. Nevertheless, the other books are A PERFECT KILL, THE BLUE RING, BLACK HORN and MESSAGE FROM HELL. Frustratingly, another title was published only in Japanese, TRAIL OF TEARS, and he was working on a prequel to MAN ON FIRE when he died.