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davidvd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Callan was previously a hitman for the government, you might call him a spy. Retired out due developing a conscience, he now wants back into The Section, but is he ready?
Loved it. Well written, great characters, even those that are little more than a voice on the telephone.
Callan is not Bond. He's as good, if not better, but he doesn't get access to experimental gadgets and resources, he doesn't get to live the high life on an endless bankroll, Quite the opposite, he's never more then a tenner from bankruptcy, which gives this book an angle I've not come across before. As Callan has to scrape up tools and rely on his wits to get by.
Recommended.
Loved it. Well written, great characters, even those that are little more than a voice on the telephone.
Callan is not Bond. He's as good, if not better, but he doesn't get access to experimental gadgets and resources, he doesn't get to live the high life on an endless bankroll, Quite the opposite, he's never more then a tenner from bankruptcy, which gives this book an angle I've not come across before. As Callan has to scrape up tools and rely on his wits to get by.
Recommended.
blonohorror's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
ianbanks's review against another edition
5.0
Callan thinks he's done with espionage, with being a blunt instrument for his old boss Hunter and is living a life of uncomfortable, but uncomplicated, mediocrity. But Hunter needs him for one last job and won't take no for an answer.
David Callan and James Bond would have worked well together, I think. Both are very good at their jobs but Bond is much better at compartmentalising his work and rationalising what he did. Callan is just as capable but finds his conscience is a stumbling block. And, of course, M would never have thought about hanging Bond out to dry the way that Hunter does about Callan.
What's different about the two spies is that while they have similar capabilities and temperaments, Callan is from the working classes and has barely had a taste of the life that Bond (from a far more privileged and comfortable lifestyle) enjoys when not on assignment. He's just as intelligent and has a more formidable intellect because he's earned everything he learned through the sweat of his brow rather than Bond's. And he gets much closer to his assignments than Bond usually does.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that I bloody love this book. It's from the genre that doesn't have a very sharp line between the protagonists and the antagonists but it doesn't overplay it.
It's also filled with some fantastic characters: Callan and Hunter are the major characters but Meares and Lonely are superbly drawn as well. And it's literate, referring to parts of history and literature that don't make you feel stupid but do make you want to look some stuff up.
I'm going to ask you to get off my lawn and say, "Does anyone else remember when we had loads of clever, popular books like this?"
David Callan and James Bond would have worked well together, I think. Both are very good at their jobs but Bond is much better at compartmentalising his work and rationalising what he did. Callan is just as capable but finds his conscience is a stumbling block. And, of course, M would never have thought about hanging Bond out to dry the way that Hunter does about Callan.
What's different about the two spies is that while they have similar capabilities and temperaments, Callan is from the working classes and has barely had a taste of the life that Bond (from a far more privileged and comfortable lifestyle) enjoys when not on assignment. He's just as intelligent and has a more formidable intellect because he's earned everything he learned through the sweat of his brow rather than Bond's. And he gets much closer to his assignments than Bond usually does.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that I bloody love this book. It's from the genre that doesn't have a very sharp line between the protagonists and the antagonists but it doesn't overplay it.
It's also filled with some fantastic characters: Callan and Hunter are the major characters but Meares and Lonely are superbly drawn as well. And it's literate, referring to parts of history and literature that don't make you feel stupid but do make you want to look some stuff up.
I'm going to ask you to get off my lawn and say, "Does anyone else remember when we had loads of clever, popular books like this?"
bookwomble's review
4.0
Callan was one of my favourite TV shows when I was a kid, and having recently watched all the surviving episodes (British TV companies in the 60s and early 70s had a habit of recording over shows in their archives due to the high costs of the tapes, hence the loss of certain episodes of Callan, Doctor Who, et al) is one of the few shows that not only is as good as I remember, but is actually better now that I better understand its themes.
Callan was a reaction to, and against, the prevailing glossy image of the spy depicted in the James Bond films and TV shows like The Man from UNCLE. David Callan is decidedly down-at-heel, living in a shabby flat and, having been forcibly retired from his job as executioner for 'The Section', working as an accounts clerk for an unpleasant wholesale grocer. Although one of their most efficient operatives, Callan had started to question his orders and had developed a guilty conscience about some his assassination jobs.
Inevitably, Callan is drawn back into the murky world of national security, but is he prepared to embrace that life again? If he does, can he live with his conscience? If he doesn't, will the Section chief, Hunter, allow him to live?
Given my love of the TV programme and that this novelisation of the pilot episode is written by the original screenwriter, it was unlikely that I would find much wrong with this book. Indeed, my only gripe is that it sticks too closely to the TV show and I would have liked to have had some more background on Callan and his smelly sidekick, Lonely. A minor complaint though. My obvious bias aside, this is a superior thriller, the more so for being a realistic and earthy depiction of the works of the security and intelligence services (at least, as far as I can tell, not being a spy myself).
Callan was a reaction to, and against, the prevailing glossy image of the spy depicted in the James Bond films and TV shows like The Man from UNCLE. David Callan is decidedly down-at-heel, living in a shabby flat and, having been forcibly retired from his job as executioner for 'The Section', working as an accounts clerk for an unpleasant wholesale grocer. Although one of their most efficient operatives, Callan had started to question his orders and had developed a guilty conscience about some his assassination jobs.
Inevitably, Callan is drawn back into the murky world of national security, but is he prepared to embrace that life again? If he does, can he live with his conscience? If he doesn't, will the Section chief, Hunter, allow him to live?
Given my love of the TV programme and that this novelisation of the pilot episode is written by the original screenwriter, it was unlikely that I would find much wrong with this book. Indeed, my only gripe is that it sticks too closely to the TV show and I would have liked to have had some more background on Callan and his smelly sidekick, Lonely. A minor complaint though. My obvious bias aside, this is a superior thriller, the more so for being a realistic and earthy depiction of the works of the security and intelligence services (at least, as far as I can tell, not being a spy myself).
kingsoakmotel's review
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sirchutney's review
4.0
An efficient, ruthless killer with a conscious comes out of retirement
If you're of a certain age and British, you'll remember the Callan TV series. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan. He is an agent of a state secret service dealing with internal UK security threats. Portrayed as having responsibilities like those of the real-life MI5, Callan's fictional "Section" has carte blanche to use the most ruthless of methods. In the story lines interrogation is by means of torture. Extrajudicial killings are so routine they have a colour-coded filing system. Callan is an assassin who stays in his isolating job because it is the only thing he is good at. But he also comes across as a sympathetic character. As compared to to his sadistic upper-class colleagues and implacable superior.
This book has had several incarnations. As 'A Red File for Callan', in the UK. As 'A Magnum for Schneider', in the US and as 'Callan' in a Corgi Books imprint in the UK. It was also re-tooled into the Callan movie.
The plot sees David Callan, an intelligence agent/assassin who comes out of retirement. His mission is to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. Colonel Hunter, his former employer, promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status as long as he follows his orders. But Callan refuses to act until he knows exactly why Schneider has been marked for death.
As with all Callan novels there are twists and turns. One of them being his conscience which gives the interweaving plot a dramatic tension. Who are the good guys? What are the characters true intentions?. It's a real page-turner
Some of the language is a little dated and its not great literature. But it is a page-turning thriller that gives the reader pause for thought.
Recommended.
If you're of a certain age and British, you'll remember the Callan TV series. It starred Edward Woodward as David Callan. He is an agent of a state secret service dealing with internal UK security threats. Portrayed as having responsibilities like those of the real-life MI5, Callan's fictional "Section" has carte blanche to use the most ruthless of methods. In the story lines interrogation is by means of torture. Extrajudicial killings are so routine they have a colour-coded filing system. Callan is an assassin who stays in his isolating job because it is the only thing he is good at. But he also comes across as a sympathetic character. As compared to to his sadistic upper-class colleagues and implacable superior.
This book has had several incarnations. As 'A Red File for Callan', in the UK. As 'A Magnum for Schneider', in the US and as 'Callan' in a Corgi Books imprint in the UK. It was also re-tooled into the Callan movie.
The plot sees David Callan, an intelligence agent/assassin who comes out of retirement. His mission is to handle the assassination of Schneider, a German businessman. Colonel Hunter, his former employer, promises Callan that he'll be returned to active status as long as he follows his orders. But Callan refuses to act until he knows exactly why Schneider has been marked for death.
As with all Callan novels there are twists and turns. One of them being his conscience which gives the interweaving plot a dramatic tension. Who are the good guys? What are the characters true intentions?. It's a real page-turner
Some of the language is a little dated and its not great literature. But it is a page-turning thriller that gives the reader pause for thought.
Recommended.
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