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mellomorissa's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mythicaltunes's review against another edition
3.0
The plot was interesting, but the writing was rather choppy and I found the ending to be anti-climactic. The characters were fun though, which is why this gets three stars instead of two. It was also nice to see a story about middle aged people, instead of younger people.
lavoiture's review against another edition
3.0
I read the whole book, and I'm still not quite sure it was about. Probably because I skimmed a lot of it because it was boring! Boring! I was on the waiting list for about two months at the library, and it was on some best-of lists from 2012, but...disappointing. Maybe if you're in love with the spy genre you'd like it a lot more than I did.
lazwright's review against another edition
4.0
This is a love story to the genre of spy novels. While I could follow the general gist of what was going on in the layers of intrigue, I would have enjoyed this book a whole lot more if I was more familiar with the authors, characters, and plots cited on nearly every page.
eldiente's review against another edition
4.0
Audio - very enjoyable trip through Europe in post-cold war era using plot lines and "tributes" to many other spy novels from other authors. The plot weakened towards the end, but overall was adequate.
grs909's review against another edition
3.0
Danger, intrigue and spies lurking around every corner. A good read with a nice appendix list of many other espionage novels/authors.
kimu's review against another edition
3.0
I made it though about half this book before I finally admitted I just wasn't enjoying it. Perhaps if I were a fan of Cold War era mystery/spy novels, I would have felt more connected to this book. Instead, it was just a big yawn for me, not enough mystery or puzzle to keep me going.
stacyslap's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy spy novels and this one was ok. The premise was good but the story became a very drug out affair for me. I did have an issue with keeping up with which character he was talking to or about at times. There was a lot of information to remember and keep straight. As far as knowing his spy novels, Dan Fesperman is expert level and I really did like the idea of a hunt based on quotes and passages of books. I wrote down the list of books referenced for further reading.
jeregenest's review against another edition
3.0
This is not a great spy novel but it is a great book about spy novels and will be greatly enjoyed by fans of the genre for that. As a celebration of the genre I highly recommend it to folks.
mmichellemoore's review against another edition
1.0
I heard about this book on "Books on the Nightstand" and was excited to read a thriller of a book about books but I don't have enough of a background in spy novels to get much out of it. I have it 100 pages and couldn't get into it....