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Loading... Red Sparrow (original 2013; edition 2013)by Jason Matthews
Work InformationRed Sparrow by Jason Matthews (2013)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. There are some aspects of the novel I found almost too hard to believe: the existence of Sparrow School and Dominika's ability to sense the trustworthiness of people based on the color of an aura chief among them. But the novel does a good job with tradecraft. Many of the supporting characters (Benford, Gable, Korchnoi) I found more interesting than the main protagonists. The ending of the novel is thrilling. Just outstanding. Great stuff for spy novel fans. If you can get past the implausibilities, you've got yourself a fantastic spy novel read. Highly recommended for thriller fans. Quality story. Excellent writing and research, with superb characterisation throughout, clever descriptive intelligent storytelling from first to last page. A real page turner with an authentic feel unsurprising with the Author's background. A ballsy brave fearless heroine on a par with my all time favourite female character Lisbeth Salander. Completely and utterly recommended. I don't read many spy thrillers, but I liked this a lot. The author is, apparently, a spy or former spy and the story details do seem realistic. The sex and fights only resemble reality in some vague way, but I suppose most real spys don't spend a lot of time banging each other. It has recipes in it [!], and I think they added an extra dimension.
Although Matthews may have a rose-tinted view of the C.I.A., he is terrifically good on the turf wars and enervating bureaucracy of espionage. There are several digs at the F.B.I. — including an operation in Finland botched by the excitable feds — which his former colleagues will doubtless cheer to the rafters. Belongs to SeriesRed Sparrow (1) Has the (non-series) sequelAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Drafted against her will to serve the regime of Vladimir Putin as an intelligence seductress, Dominika Egorova engages in a charged effort of deception and tradecraft with first-tour CIA officer Nathaniel Nash before a forbidden attraction threatens their careers. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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I spent the first two-thirds of this book getting really pissed off at the way a white, male, middle-aged ex-spook created this paragon and exploited her. Then Matthews' story took off in a way that made me forget how annoyed I'd been and I just enjoyed the ride. After all, there are so many stories out there about impossibly beautiful, intelligent and resourceful men having ripping adventures and getting one up on the bad guys. About bloody time we got a fabulous female spy. Domenika is a critical thinker, brilliant in a crisis, has drive, ambition and a temper to boot. She's also crazy gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to be just like her? So read and enjoy, rest assured your feminist principles will only take a slight knock. ( )