Sometimes you just realize when you are in the hands of someone who really knows what they're doing. I have tried a number of spy and suspense authors with varying results, but picking this book up at the library recently and reading it reminded me what it's like to be entertained by a master. Day of the Jackal was terrific, and this book, while more low-key nevertheless satisfied the reasons you read spy novels. Unfolding as a retrospective of a spy's career told in the context of an internal administrative hearing, it stitched together several very good stories with the protagonist as the common thread. Ranging from byzantine puzzles of spy vs. spy defections to a lighter final tale of a colonial governor's mysterious murder, each of the stories was well written with good characters and excellent plots. It is reminiscent of Le Carre's The Secret Pilgrim, where a George Smiley lecture at Sarratt, the SIS training academy, provides the launching point of a tour through Ned's career from Russia House, and both as well done. When I compare this book to a Dale Brown or some of the other thriller geopolitical novelists of today, they lose - badly - and you appreciate Forsyth as a storyteller even more. Admittedly, in many of his books, Forsyth has the "good guys/bad guys" certainty of the Cold War making his job easier, rather than the stateless, morally ambiguous political and terrorist landscape of today to try to make sense of while telling a good story. But Forsyth and Le Carre remind us, all was not black and white during the Cold War, and there was still plenty of moral relativity and tradeoffs to vex the heroes of their books.
Frederick Forsyth is a very good bare bones storyteller about spies and all the intricacies of cold war espionage. He makes you believe he has access to the clandestine world of the British secret service and puts you right in the middle of all the intrigue. Just as in his blockbuster novel, The Day of the Jackal, the author creates interesting characters, both good and bad that you can root either for or against in a world that is black and white. But what do you do when Gorbachev and his policy of perestroika ends the cold war? If you are Frederick Forsyth you gather up your remaining stories and put them in a book. That is what The Deceiver is, a good spy novel that outlived the cold war. The author tells three related tales that look back on the brilliant career of master spy Sam McCready. If you miss good solid reads about the relative calm world of cold war spies versus the hyperbole of the new techno-terrorism then this book is for you. It is a good straight forward read that kept my attention throughout.
What do You think about The Deceiver (1992)?
This is one of a comparatively weak books of FF. Even then i wanted to give it 2.5 stars GR doesn't provide option to give points in fractions. I think they should add it. This book has three or four different stories having same protagonist. The point was to highlight the contributions made by MC Cardy towards British intelligence. FF hero Mc Cardy is a typical hollywood style hero who doesn't always play by the rules. But all his actions are for the country and he gets the results. (view spoiler)[The raw deal given to him in the end shocked me especially after reading about his exploits. But as explained in the book itself, this is the way the cookie crumbles in the espionage world. The agents know it fully well while joining the service and are mentally prepared for this. But still you feel for MCCardy at the end. (hide spoiler)]
—Rajan
This book is worth reading just for the story "The Price of the Bride". However, this doesn't imply that the other stories are boring. Quite the opposite in fact. All the stories are exciting and definite page turners, but the story that I liked the most was the one I mentioned above. It really is difficult to distinguish between a defector and a 'plant', a disinformation agent....unless you have someone high up in the enemy ranks spying for you...and also when you happen to be Sam McCready - The Deciever. McCready is one my favourite Forsyth characters after Cal Dexter, the Avenger. Recommended for those who would like to read some good Cold War era spy stories.
—Sailen Dutta
Forsyth insieme a Le Carre' e' uno dei miei scrittori di spionaggio preferiti perche' e ' molto ben informato sulla storia e anche nei suoi racconti di fantasia si imparano un sacco di cose interessanti. Inoltre sa far anche ridere con situazioni paradossali, ma realistiche. Qui si trovano quattro episodi storico-spionistici diversi in luoghi e circostanze diverse, dove per trovare una soluzione e uscirne fuori interi ci vuole coraggio si, ma anche "plenty of common sense", come il protagonista dimostra di avere. Il nostro eroe stavolta e' un ometto apparentemente insignificante e sgualcito, con legami e conoscenze ovunque che sa utilizzare al momento giusto, chapeau Forsyth.
—Deborah
