I've been trying to widen my reading a bit. Seems like I've been sort of stuck in fantasy and science fiction (also reading many of my "go to" detective fiction novels). Nancy Pearl's (NPR) recommendations for summer reading sounded like a well advised plan so I began to work my way through them.
The Defectors is, as promised, a "classic" 1950's spy novel. I was a bit young to remember all the anxiety about Russian spying in the U.S. but certainly remember the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis. Thus, reading about the "insider's" view of Russian spy-craft was interesting. I haven't really be reading any spy novels for a long time---not since Ian Flemming's James Bond books. Generally I found it somewhat slow going. The plot line is intended to keep tension tight by making it difficult to know where reality lies. Indeed I felt the tense but did not find it particularly thrilling. I had a little trouble following the plot because much of it was transacted through dialogue. Kannon sometimes lost me...who was speaking. It's rather classic period dialogue, just think James Bond. However, it was somewhat frustrating for me to have to return and reread dialogue to untangle just who said what.
The visual images and history of Russia did however make this a worthwhile use of time. Especially right now as we try to understand the Russian hacking and propaganda that appears to have influenced the 2016 presidential election. If Kanon is correct about the expertise of the Russian intelligence services then we do indeed need to be worried.
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