This is a classic spy book, one of the first written. It was uncomplicated and easy to follow; very different from the spy books of John Le Carre. I enjoyed it a lot and found it entertaining. I thought it was interesting that it was this author's first book. The interview I heard with the author said that he started it with the idea of-- what if you came back from lunch and everyone in the office was dead. What a great premise. ** stop here for spoilers*** The man who is code named Condor works for a branch of the CIA that reads books and compares them to what is happening to see if any of them might have any truth in them. He spends his time writing reviews for the company and isn't really a spy like we think of it. So, when a man in his department finds a discrepancy in the books, he tells his co-worker. Condor tells him to ignore it, but it turns out that it is a big deal. The people uplink find out that someone is looking into it, and they make the big hit. His whole office is dead and he is on the run. He finds a girl in a coffee shop and takes her hostage. She finally believes him that he is seeking refuge from bad guys who will kill him. He also is running from the CIA because when he comes to turn himself in, he is shot by the mole. It's a great story-- short and worth the read. Quick read and interesting premise. Considering the book's publication date, the author gets points from me for having the female character actually do something in a fight and for saying something vaguely positive about a gay bar. Other bits of anachronism are probably accurate for their day--getting info from an airline and the DMV by making up a story over the phone, and an airport chase involving guns. Man, those were the days. :-/Weaknesses: a bit too much exposition; unnecessary introduction of new subgroups within the CIA (the psychologist and his implied minions, for instance, and so late in the book: why?); and an unbelievable coincidence that triggers the action scene that drives the third act. The writing was workmanlike. In many ways it reminded me of the first Bourne book, a novel that's almost all chase while the lead tries to dope out what's going on behind the scenes, written in prose that doesn't impress--in fact, I'd put this prose a little ahead of that in Bourne.You could do worse than download this to your Kindle to get you through a couple hours in a doctor's waiting room.
Do You like book Six Days Of The Condor (1974)?
This is a classic Spy Novel. I read it years ago, but enjoyed reading it again.
—reshma
I read this book a long time ago, yet some of the scenes are still with me.
—zlisha
An interesting enough book. Nothing spectacular.
—Iansgrandma
