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Looking for spy novel recommendations (lemmy.cafe)

submitted 1 year ago by Syrup@lemmy.cafe to c/books@lemmy.ml

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I've been on a spy fiction kick recently- I really enjoyed the recent The Man from UNCLE movie and I Expect You to Die video game. I'm looking for some novels that are in a similar vein (classic 60s spy versus an egomaniac villain out to take over the world). However, I cannot stand the sexism in Ian Fleming's books. He's got good prose and worldbuilding, but it bugs me too much to enjoy the books.

Are there any recent spy novels that fall into this genre?

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[–] WilloftheWest 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

To advance on this, the entire Karla Trilogy (of which Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the first installment) is a fantastic Cold War spy trilogy. I'd recommend anything by John le Carré; he was an intelligence officer for MI5 and MI6. He left the service as a result of a famous double agent incident, which inspired Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

[–] Throw_away_migrator@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How are the rest of the books in the series? I only read the one. While I enjoyed it I did find it a bit dry and tough to navigate the jargon at times. Especially in the first third or so of the book.

[–] WilloftheWest 2 points 1 year ago

I'd say it's more of the same with regards to the dense jargon that requires some contextual interpretation to unravel. If you're willing to power through that, it's one of the most thrilling trilogies you can read.