Tag: Cold War

Ian Fleming – Thunderball | Review

Title: Thunderball

Author: Ian Fleming

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 264

Rating 3.5/5

 

 

I thought I’d read all of the Bond novels, but apparently not! I’d somehow missed this one, but the good news is that while I have seen most of the films, I don’t really remember them. That meant that I could read this as though I was experiencing the story for the first time, which was fun.

It’s interesting because it shows its age, especially because of the fact that it reflects the fears of the cold war and the threat of a nuclear Armageddon. And yet even though it seems a little dated, it still holds up pretty well. A lot of the ideas in here could still happen today, even if they came about through a different diplomatic landscape, and the action is pretty good too.

Some of the Bond books have bored me, especially when they’ve contained lengthy paragraphs about a single game of bridge or golf or something. There wasn’t really anything like that to worry about here, although there was a casino scene. Mostly though, the action was pretty quick and it never felt as though the story was slowing down.

The only thing I would say is that the ending almost felt as though it came out of nowhere, and so because of that it was a little bit of a let-down. That happens a lot with the Bond novels though, and so don’t worry too much. If you’ve read and enjoyed the Bond books before, you’ll enjoy it.

 

 

Click here to buy Thunderball.


David Young – A Darker State | Review

Title: A Darker State

Author: David Young

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 376

Rating: 3.5*/5

 

David Young - A Darker State

David Young – A Darker State

 

Disclaimer: While I am to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book is the third book in Young’s Karen Muller series and as with the others, it takes place in East Germany during the Cold War and follows the young detective through another adventure. I really loved Stasi Child (the first book) and quite liked Stasi Wolf (the second), and I guess that trend has continued into this one, the third.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. The story was fine, but it just wasn’t as engaging as the others and there was a lot of back story to try to remember. On top of that, the story itself mainly focuses on medical trials on homosexuals and we repeatedly have people’s sexuality revealed as a plot twist. It’s not that it’s handled insensitively or anything, it’s just that I’m not so sure it’s necessary. It seemed as though all of the gay characters were only in it so they could die.

I should clarify here that perhaps it’s just me as a reader and that I’m starting to grow tired of Muller’s world. I feel a little bit as though the worldbuilding that made the first one such a great read has now started to make the stories feel a little claustrophobic. Where the others gripped me and dragged me in, I feel like I just sort of floated through the story without actually being engaged with it.

Still, I am glad that I read it and I imagine I’ll continue with the series when the next books come out. Young has signed on for two more and the next one is supposed to take a darker turn, which should be good. That said, I wouldn’t recommend starting out the series with this one because Stasi Child was fantastic and it’s also the first one in the series. Grab that instead and if you get to this one and you’re still enjoying it then you’ll probably want to grab it anyway.

I just hope that the next one is on par with the first one. Guess we’ll see.

 

David Young

 

Click here to buy A Darker State.