The City & The City

The city is Beszel and the city is Ul Qoma, two cities in two different countries, but each occupying the same geographic space. The cities are built in and around each other, however anyone in one city (resident or visitor) is forbidden to take any notice of anyone or anything in the other city. Any failure to do so incurs the wrath of the mysterious and all-powerful "Breach". When the body of a murdered student is found in Beszel, it seems like a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crime Squad, but the investigation proves more complex and dangerous than Borlu could have imagined, leading him from one city to another and to the even more mysterious places in between.

This 2009 novel from British author China Mieville works as a complex and intriguing fantasy tale in a well-realised world, the rules by which the two cities exist together and function are well worked out and believable, but this also works as an exciting detective novel, and it delivers anything you might want from a crime novel. A gruesome murder, investigation, no shortage of suspects, action, chases, and a likeable and troubled protagonist. It also makes a point about how people deliberately ignore the more troubling aspects of where they live.

A Legacy of Spies

This 2017 novel is by John le Carre, one of the greatest British writers working.  Moving between past and present, the novel follows Peter Guillam, retired British spy and former right-hand man of legendary spymaster George Smiley, living peacefully on his family farm in Brittany, until he is summoned back to London by the Secret Service who are investigating an operation Guillam was involved in over fifty years ago.  Forced to rake over his murky past in Cold War espionage, Guillam is forced to reckon with the consequences of a life of personal and professional betrayal.

This fine novel returns to the world of Cold War spying that made John le Carre's name and features the return of his best-loved character, tubby, bespectacled, soft-spoken, but ruthless spymaster George Smiley.  The novel is a kind of follow-up to le Carre's 1962 breakthrough novel The Spy Who came in From the Cold, and also calls back to his other best known book Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1973).  Written in spare terse prose, this is nevertheless complex and emotionally devastating.  As with many le Carre novels, this deals with the psychology of a spy, and the moral and psychological consequences of that lifestyle.  This is John le Carre at his best.  

Oracle Night

This 2004 novel by acclaimed American novelist Paul Auster, is set over nine days in 1982.  New York author Sidney Orr is recovering from a serious illness, and has not written anything new in a long time.  Passing by a stationery shop, Orr stops and buys a blue notebook.  The notebook seems to unlock something inside Orr and he begins writing again.  However, while he is once more exploring his creativity, Orr's world is rocked by a string of life-changing events, some of which seem to be connected to the stories he is working on.

This short novel is beautifully written, moving between Orr's work and his "real" life.  It explores the links between life and art and how art and creativity can impact on the real world.  Orr is an interesting, if often unlikeable main character, and is surrounded by several other memorable characters.  It's definitely recommended, particularly to writers.    

Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a science-fiction novel published in 2011. It's set in a nightmare 2044, where people escape from their miserable everyday existence in a virtual reality simulated universe called OASIS. Upon his death, the reclusive creator of OASIS triggers the world's biggest treasure hunt, with the prize being worth millions of dollars and control of OASIS. Years later, OASIS devotee Wade Watts, stumbles upon a clue that launches him on a life and death quest that will take all his courage, skill, intelligence and encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s pop culture to survive.  

It's a good book, exciting and entertaining. The book has some good characters and it's well paced. The action moves along at a brisk pace It's very funny and likeable. If you enjoy the movies, video games, TV and music of the 1980s than you'll probably enjoy the books frequent references to the pop culture of the period.

The Night Manager

Meet Jonathan Pine, night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo, his job is to provide is to provide his wealthy guests with whatever they require, to be servant, best friend and confidant.  One night, Sophie,  a beautiful female guest asks him to safeguard some documents. Reading though them, Pine passes the documents to British Intelligence and, despite Pine's best efforts, Sophie is murdered. A year later, a guilt-stricken Pine is working in a hotel in Switzerland, when he comes face to face with charismatic, multi-millionaire arms dealer Richard Roper,  the man who ordered the murder. Seeking revenge, Pine comes into contact with Leonard Burr of British Intelligence, and accepts a deadly assignment.  Pine destroys his old life to create a new one, and enters a murky world of betrayal and espionage where no-one can be trusted, to bring down Richard Roper, the "worst man in the world".

Published in 1993, this was le Carre's first post-Cold War novel and is one of his most full on entertaining works. A beautifully written, involving thriller, full of glamorous high-living this globe-trotting tale focuses more on psychological complexity than conventional thriller action and violence. It was adapted into a BBC miniseries earlier this year starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie.

A Small Town in Germany

I finished reading A Small Town in Germany by John le Carre. The book, first published in 1968, is set in Bonn, West Germany during the 1960s, a town in turmoil with radical groups and riots in the streets. When Leo Harting, second secretary at the British Embassy in Bonn, goes missing along with over forty confidential files, embittered Foreign Office agent Alan Turner is sent from London to investigate. As Turner learns more about Harting's secret life, he finds himself increasingly drawn into the murky, dangerous world of Cold War espionage.  

The story is predominately told in a series of abrasive confrontations and interrogations between Turner and members of the Embassy, with a minimum of action. The book vividly depicts the enclosed world of the British Embassy (le Carre himself worked at the British Embassy in Bonn for several years, so he knew what he was talking about). It may be slow moving for some, and the nominal "hero" is pretty much a complete dick to everyone he encounters, but it is a beautifully written novel and paints a powerful, deeply cynical portrait of the 1960s spy world.

I'm a huge le Carre fan, and this isn't really his best, but it is still worth checking out, and as it goes along it becomes quite involving.