I think I'm gonna have to swim against the tide here. Or at least against the tide of (what are quite possibly reviews for the hardback version) reviews on the cover and inside of my paperback.Far from "Eerily good" or "wonderfully assured, tautly written, cleverly plotted", I found this really struggling to make 'so-so'. For me, as well as The Kinks, it's 'a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook up' mess.It starts out alright, with the main man Alec Milius being recommended for a job with the Intelligence services. He then finds work with an oil company exploring out somewhere and is involved trying to sweet-talk his American rivals, who also may be more than they seem. Both sides are playing at something they aren't and I think both sides know it. It's just that it goes on and on and on and on in the central part of the novel. I kept thinking "enough already, he's taking the bait, he's going to take the bait, let's get to what the cover says are the "gripping" bit(s)." But they never came. What we do get a lot of are unnecessary details and what I presume are the author's opinions on everything from New Zealand bar staff, to FHM, The Times, the Civil Service, cooking ravioli 'pillows' , and a lot more stuff and nonsense really way too mundane to bother with. A few pages of that and a few lines covering the rest would have done. Then on to the cloak and dagger stuff. But no. Problem is, when I'm seemingly through this middle bit and it looks like we might be getting back to, or down to the nub of it, I've forgotten what the original set-up was. Or if there was one. I can't remember now just exactly who he's supposedly working for and why. Or if there ever was a why. Or who.Then the final part, where he is really finding out how it is to be a spy, well it read well at the time. However, on reflection and in the cold light of day, it is all a bit of a damp squib. Not really worth wading through all that went before to get to. I thought of one particular plot twist that could have been worked in at the end that really would have upset the whole apple cart and sent me scurrying back to re-read the previous hours of wining and dining. It would have fitted with a lot of the personal trauma Alec Milius is going through right from when we first meet him. But it wasn't to be…though, maybe Charles Cumming is being really fiendish here and my idea (which could be his, of course) will come out in later books? There seems to be at least two more with Alec Milius as hero, maybe more, so maybe it's for me to read more and find out? Milius will need to sharpen his act up a hell of a lot though.After reading and thoroughly enjoying 'The Trinity Six', I really expected a lot more from 'A Spy By Nature'. But I got a lot less. Less plot, less suspense and tension and less of a story. The only more I got, was more fill, padding and 'flannel' - as an old boss of mine used to say. I think this is essentially a short story padded out to 500-odd pages. A back of an envelope plot stretched to breaking point. And beyond. And then some.
A Spy By Nature was like a cross between The Bourne Identity and Then We Came to the End. In other words, a mix of life in the business world and modern day espionage. The main character is Alec Milius, a recent university graduate whose life is going nowhere fast. He is, like many twenty-somethings, stuck in a dead end job and plagued by a niggling fear that he is doing nothing with his life. So when a guest at a dinner party offers his an opportunity to interview for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, he jumps at the chance.Unlike many thrillers, I did not find this book to be an easy read. I think this was largely because I couldn't decide whether I liked Alec or not. We see very early on that he lies, but it becomes more and more clear through the course of the book that he not only lies, but is a liar. His lies - to himself and others - are the things that define him most. This created a tension for the reader about whether to emotionally align with the main character or keep a safe distance.Cumming does an excellent job of capturing the dissatisfaction and lack of direction many people feel in the years immediately following college. Alec doesn't know exactly what he wants and when he begins to get a glimpse of the real him, he quickly shies away, deflecting his own attention to other people.I liked the format of the book. Secrets are kept from the reader, making us feel as blind to Alec's true intentions as those around him. I think this type of secrecy is missing from far too many popular books, but it intrigued me and kept me reading to try to figure out exactly where things stood. I also admired Cumming's restraint in character development and character introduction. In the first pages of the book, Alec makes reference to someone in his life and the reader doesn't meet the person until the book is nearly over. I had begun to wonder whether the reader would, in fact, ever actually get to meet her. An author who can keep me guessing like this impresses me.If you're in the mood for a spy thriller with a modern twist, this book could be a good choice. I read the hardcover edition, but this strikes me as a book that might be a good one to listen to on a road trip. The plot isn't overly complex, which I think makes it easier when listening instead of reading. If you like Robert Ludlum, Lee Child or Jeffery Archer, this book is a great choice for an updated look at the world of espionage.
Do You like book A Spy By Nature (2007)?
An enjoyable thriller. I found the main character intriguing. His obvious unreliability didn't seem to translate into real drama that the reader could get worked up about it, and the only two characters he really cared about never quite made off the page so it was hard to care too much when things went awry for them. This novel also suffered from an unsatisfactory resolution, in my view. This dilemma besets all good thrillers: how to tie up all the threads that have kept you hooked, without a complete loss of interest in the final chapters? Henning Mankel and Kate Atkinson's detective thrillers manage it, because they have such great, strong protagonists that we really care about. Maybe another Alec Milius (great name) book will persuade me one day...
—Jane Branson
A little disconnected, a lot too long, and kind of unkempt: a first novel, presumably unaided by much in the way of editorial guidance. There are some unnerving developments that are promising but fail to float the novel; there is some good characterization that goes unsupported by the remainder of the 2-D cast. (Americans, for example, are blusteringly forthright and blunt. C'mon.) Atmosphere is good but could certainly be more of a player. At its best this wants to be a kind of Human Factor, but without the depth or interwoven character development of the Greene novel. I'll try another by Mr. Cumming, since the basics are here, and since he does have the actual MI6 background on his résumé. Perhaps this one is the necessarily squirrely & haphazard beginning of something more elaborate to come.
—J.
2 things to say about Charles Cumming's first book:1. The main character, Alec Milius, is almost impossible to sympathise with in the first of his two outings. Thankfully I read The Spanish Game first as this might have put me off. He is pompous, deceitful beyond belief, careless of other's feelings, quick to over-react, stupidly naïve in some situations and yet incredibly perceptive in others. Some might say this makes him a perfect spy. I think he's a bit of an arse.2. All the above, stuck into a complex, pacey, typically well-written spy novel makes for a canny approach to getting the reader involved. I couldn't help but be gripped by this book. Cumming has gone on to write better books, but this is a great first one, moving between the worlds of the national security institutions and industrial espionage. Every time I am annoyed by Alec, the plot throws up something new to keep me reading, and the last hundred pages or so are full of exciting revelations and shocks. Occasionally a struggle, but ultimately enjoyable.
—Jonathan
