The Amateur

When the wife of a CIA cryptanalyst is murdered in a terrorist attack and his superiors rule out going after the culprits, he decides to blackmail them into training him and sending him across the Czech border so he can do it himself. No sooner is he across than he finds himself being hunted by the Russians and the CIA. It's a very eighties cynical-about-the-Cold-War thriller, though some of his others are a LOT darker. Still, there are the usual twists and turns and betrayals, though I can't decide if it was clever or climsy for a character to remark, reeling off various methods of assasination, that you could scare someone to death with an x-ray machine, which our protagonist later proceeds to do. The protagonist himself is oddly show more unlikeable, even in his grief, and I'm almost certain it's intentional. There's a new film adaptation coming, and I'm curious as to how they'll update it. show less

I have just finished reading Robert Littell’s “The Amateur” for the third or fourth time, and enjoyed it as much as ever since it’s publication in 1981. Forty years ago and still a 5 star classic that works as well now as then. It is out of print, so good luck finding a copy. Even the great Chris Savage movie is no longer available. Today’s fans of the genre have no idea what they are missing….so I’ll tell you.

Sarah, a young woman in Germany becomes part of a hostage group taken in a US State Dept office by three radicals seeking release of two of their imprisoned colleagues. When the US refuses to negotiate, the terrorists choose a random hostage to execute. It is Sarah; she’s killed and the US caves, arranging the show more prisoners release, and the terrorist band escapes.

The scene shifts to Langley, Virginia. Charles, a CIA cryptologist is told by his superior that his girl friend has been killed; he watches the videotape. Weeks later Charlie blackmails the CIA into training him at the CIA’s “Farm” then transporting him, armed and equipped, to Czechoslovakia, where the killers have gone to ground.. Charles have left incriminating evidence of high level CIA wrongdoing with an unnamed friend should he face an untimely passing. As Charlie approaches the Czech border, the evidence is found and the order goes out to stop Charlie either going in or coming out….

A great plot, some great twists, some of the same big questions that still get asked today (“hey, who’s side is this guy on?”, and “wait a minute, who’s side is the CIA on, here?”). By the way, I managed to retain a beat up, faded copy of the movie as well, and it’s as big a treat as the book, with a few interesting modifications, too”. Get one or the other, or both. show less

The Amateur is a 1980 cold war spy novel that starts out with a very interesting premise. An innocent American tourist is murdered by a terrorist and the entire incident is captured on Munich television. Ironically, her fiance works for the CIA, but he is an early computer nerd who works as a cryptographer and has no experience in field work or tradecraft. As he becomes more and more depressed he realizes that the only thing that will alleviate his suicidal spiral is the death of the three terrorists and by his hand. Although the CIA is reluctant to send an untrained agent into the field, he manages to "persuade" them. This first part of the novel is really quite good. It was interesting to read about the primitive precautions (take the show more ribbon out of the printer and put it in the safe!) and the visual analysis of crates, bundles and containers.

However, once Charles Heller goes undercover the novel abandons any hope of realism and descends into a comic book adventure. Heller has the most incredible luck from the moment he steps across the border into Czechoslovakia. There are fortuitous wardrobe swaps, a handy tour bus, a pet shop owner who speaks English, a silly Shakespeare authorship seminar in Prague (!!!), a convenient elevator operator, not to forget some really fabulous deaths. Yet buried in this mishmash are a few gems like the character of Uncle Ludovic. He is, unfortunately, one of the few genuine characters in a list of fat men, unnecessary English tourists, uninteresting villains, and a heroine who is a direct descendant of Mrs. Malaprop. The first five or six times she gets the cliche wrong is amusing; the next twenty times is tedious.

I actually enjoyed the novel, even with the improbable second half. I checked my brain at the door of the bus and hopped on for the ride. show less

Looking for a used Jonathan Littell "Kindly Ones," and found Robert on the same shelf. Looked interesting, is interesting: murderous terrorists in Germany in the early 1980s who kill the fiance of a CIA cryptoanalyst in a Munich action. I believe revenge will be the continuing story; I've just started.
... and all in all, the book is not so great, many improbable action scenes, but the book definitely has heart and good, interesting people. And not a bad overall ending. Ah, it kept my interest.

This engaging and inventive novel of a reluctant spy on a self-assigned mission of revenge behind the iron curtain is a forerunner of Robert Littell's later outstanding espionage books.

Written in the early 80s, the story was about a CIA code breaker who seeks revenge after the death of his fiancé and thrusts himself into the field. Parts of it are somewhat unbelievable, but it was a decent premise and story.

Tried to read this years ago. I picked it up because I had enjoyed Mother Russia, but this was very different, and the idea of a whole book about this guy's painstaking plans for vengeance just didn't appeal.