tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post5030620127112676898..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: The Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck (Hodder & Stoughton), plus Author Ross Thomas on Spy FictionNick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-34593539576724728372010-12-22T14:56:45.096-05:002010-12-22T14:56:45.096-05:00Ah, I've yet to read this one, actually (I'...Ah, I've yet to read this one, actually (I'm a master of writing seemingly authoritatively about things I know nothing about; it's the ex-music journalist in me). I've powered through four Ross Thomas novels since you turned me on to him, so I've had to take a break for the moment. But The Brass Go-Between is on top of the Thomas pile when I return to him.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-80927647279208346932010-12-22T01:19:06.404-05:002010-12-22T01:19:06.404-05:00"Most spy novels provide neither an accurate ..."Most spy novels provide neither an accurate nor realistic picture of the intelligence world because they are not written by espionage agents. This does not necessarily mean that they are not good novels. I have never wittingly had any formal association with any intelligence agency. But I have known some agents."<br /><br />So this really means that he was a spy because he knows first hand that most spy novels are not realistic. And that he worked informally with some intelligence agencies and unknowingly for some others.<br /><br />There were rumors that he did but they have never been substantiated. I wonder for how many years any files the US government has on him are to be kept secret? At some point there could be a Freedom of Information Act request for his files. <br /><br />Not that it matters, really. He was a good enough writer to make it seem possible that he really was a spy. <br /><br />Do you like the Oliver Bleeck books? I didn't think I was going to like them but wound up enjoying all five of them. The pseudonym put me off. Which makes no sense since there are other writers of note who employ multitudes of pen names and I don't have any problems with them. Thomas just seemed singular to me (if that makes any sense).<br /><br />Nice cover, too.Book Gluttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14569975755798562829noreply@blogger.com