spies Archives - The Y Logs

Yzabel / January 24, 2019

Review: Breach

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

AFTER THE WAR, THE WALL BROUGHT AN UNEASY PEACE.

When Soviet magicians conjured an arcane Wall to blockade occupied Berlin, the world was outraged, but let it stand for the sake of peace. Now after ten years of fighting with spies instead of spells, the CIA has discovered the unthinkable:

THE WALL IS FAILING.

While refugees and soldiers mass along the border, operatives from East and West converge on the most dangerous city in the world to stop the crisis or take advantage of it.

Karen, a young magician with the American Office of Magical Research and Deployment, is sent to investigate the breach in the Wall and see if it can be fixed. Instead she will discover that the truth is elusive in this divided city, and that even magic itself has its own agenda.

THE TRUTH OF THE WALL IS ABOUT TO BE REVEALED.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through the First to Read program, in exchange for an honest review.]

Set in an alternate 1950s Berlin, “Breach” presents a different version of the Cold War: one where the bomb did help the Allies to win World War II, but against an enemy that had both an army and magic. The Berlin Wall, therefore, is not here merely a material wall: it is also made of magic, cast by a mix of Soviet magicians at the end of the war. And now the Wall is falling, and it’s up to both the CIA and their counterparts in the East to figure out what’s happening, how to rebuild it, and how to prevent a new war. From the USA, young magician Karen O’Neill is sent to help investigate; of course, as she discovers, things aren’t so straightforward; the men in Berlin have just as much trouble to adjust to the idea of a woman doing something else than having a husband and children; and there’s no way of telling who’s a liar, who’s not, and who’s mixing both so well that finding out the truth becomes the most difficult task ever.

The novel has its rough edges and, at times, awkward sentences and point of view switches. Some characters are clearly on the cliché side (like George, the manly-male magician who can’t get over seeing Karen sent to Germany rather than him, or Kirill, who apparently just likes to be cruel and doesn’t do anything else in life?), and not as developed as they could’ve been. And Karen’s way of facing her male peers usually amounts to giving in to the same attitudes as theirs, which makes her look perhaps too much on the defensive, which in turn diminishes her stronger side.

However, in terms of the world presented here and of the story itself, this story was a fairly enthralling read. It had, all in all, what I was looking for when I requested it. Spies and a Cold War backdrop. Magic that from the beginning offers a glimpse of its darker side (Karen and her colleague are desperately trying to find a way to use magic to heal people, because otherwise, magic seems pretty much suited for destruction and killing first and foremost). A female character, too, who has her flaws but refuses to give up and wants to get to the bottom of things. Secrets from the War, resurfacing. Extraction operations and forays into more the enemy side of Berlin. While at first, the magic itself doesn’t look terribly impressing (old, musty spells in Latin, etc.), there comes a moment when more about it is unveiled, and it hints at something definitely worth keeping in check. At all costs. (Not going to spoil, so let’s just say it dealt with a kind of effect that typically fascinates me.)

Unexpectedly, or maybe not, I found myself rooting for Erwin more than for the other characters. He has his own very dark past, but is also honestly redeeming himself, and not by hiding behind other characters—he gets his own hands dirty just as well.

Even though the pacing in the first half was slower, discovering this alternate world was enough to keep my attention here. The second half is more dynamic, although I’m torn about some of it (the finale being both awesome and “too much”, and I really can’t tell where I stand about it). The very ending, in hindsight, wasn’t unexpected; this said, it still got me, so cheers to that.

Conclusion: 3.5 stars. This novel has its faults, but also enough good points to make me interested in picking up the sequel later.

Yzabel / August 13, 2018

Review: Killing It

Killing It: She’s one bad mother . . . by Asia Mackay

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Every working mum has had to face it.

The guilt-fuelled, anxiety-filled first day back in the office after maternity leave.

But this working mum is one of a kind.

Meet Alexis Tyler.

An elite covert agent within Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Her first project back is a high-stakes hit of global significance and the old boys network of government espionage is far from ready for the return of an operational mother. But woe betide anyone who ever tells Alexis Tyler ‘you can’t’.

She will have it all. Or she’ll die trying . . .

And yes, she damn well will be home for bath time.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

A fairly entertaining novel, although it didn’t keep me enthralled.

I couldn’t decide if ultimately, the whole spy organisation was believable or not; some aspects felt far-fetched, where I had expected something more on the… ‘realistic’ side? Not that I know much about actual MI6 operations are conducted, that is: it was more a feeling than anything truly objective. Some parts I found amusing and inventive, in a sort of parodic way that I could only envision in a novel or a game (such as conducting interrogations in disused Tube parts, so that nobody would hear the cries over the din of trains or wonder about ‘that drunk, stumbling friend I’m dragging with me at 1 am is absolutely not a suspect I’ve just finished torturing’). I’d say this works if you’re looking for the kind of caricatural spy network, and works probably less well otherwise. As far as I’m concerned, I’m on the fence with it.

As a result, the plot was a little unconvincing, and I couldn’t really connect with Lex as a character: I liked her snarky comments in general, but found it difficult to reconcile her callous take on offing and torturing people with the double standard of ‘I do it on a regular basis to other people, but no one dare touch my daughter’. While wanting to protect one’s family is totally normal, there’s an underlying hypocrisy here that doesn’t sit too well with me, probably because I usually have a strong reaction to ‘do what I say, not as I do’ people.

On the other hand, the novel raises interesting, if not unexpected points about age-old attitudes in the workplace regarding women, and especially mothers. In that, ‘Killing It’ is close to a lot of things we can still see nowadays, where in spit of feminist progress and workplaces generally opening up, a woman’s position is still subjected to ‘having to prove herself twice as much as the men’. (There’s been a lot of progress IRL, and I sure won’t deny this, but I’ve been in enough interviews with barely concealed sexist questions to know that the way to full equality is still long.) Basically, Lex’s struggle with coming back to work after her maternity leave felt real and relevant: some of her colleagues, and especially her boss, kept on questioning her ability to do her job and not ‘giving in to hormones’ and all manners of crap arguments. Here, too, some things were caricatural and laid out too heavily (like Bennie’s attempts at putting Lex down)—and, of course, Lex’s job is not just any office job, and is much more dangerous—but it doesn’t change the fact that many people (other women included) still assume too often that as soon as one becomes a mother, one becomes ‘weaker/less smart/less able/whatever’ and have to prove herself all over again… while nobody bats an eyelid at a man becoming a father.

Conclusion: The humour didn’t always work for me, and some things were definitely hammered in too much. Still, as a light novel that doesn’t demand too much focus, it worked.

Yzabel / April 10, 2016

Review: A Long, Cold Winter

A Long, Cold Winter by Lindsay Smith

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Welcome to Prague, 1970: ground zero in a Cold War of spies and sorcerers.

The streets are a deadly chessboard on which the CIA and KGB make their moves, little dreaming that a deeper game is being played between the Consortium of Ice and the Acolytes of Flame, ancient organizations that seek to harness elemental magic. When Andula, a young Czech student, is stalked by an inhuman hunter, KGB agent and Ice operative Tanya Morozova must risk all to protect her, while CIA agent Gabe Pritchard learns that some horrors, once seen, can never be forgotten.

Review:

[I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

Not exactly a novel, as it’s the first episode of a serials, containing chapters 1 to 3. Which makes it a bit frustrating, as in, obviously, at some point one wants to know how it goes next. Fortunately, a lot of episodes are already out at serialbox.com

It introduces the major, or at least some of the major players (there may always be new ones in later chapters, after all) of a Cold War fought behind the Iron Curtain, but also behind other front lines, ones that not necessarily follow the former… Which makes, and is hopefully going to make, interesting conundrums as far as the characters are concerned: two people may be on the USSR side as far as their mundane lives go, but one is fighting for the Ice while the other is fighting for the Fire when it comes to magic. This cannot go well, can it?

On the side of Ice, and incidentally of the KGB, Tanya and Nadia are seeking a Prague student whose affinity for magic makes her a target for the Fire. Meanwhile, Gabe, a CIA agent, is trying to do his job while struggling with a little magical problem of his own, that may or may not demand he joins Ice in the end (it’d be that or dying, I suppose). The Fire players are honing their weapons, and independent players are also introduced—not everyone wants to join one side, but can they really remain independent, or will they be terminated at some point?

This first installment was sometimes a bit rough on the edges (some parts veered on mixing points of view—though the Kindle formatting didn’t help in that regard, and it was a bit less problematic in the PDF I got). However, as far as introducing characters and setting, this was definitely intriguing, and I’m of a mind to get all the episodes once they’re out. Hopefully in a couple of weeks?

Yzabel / February 19, 2016

Review: The Masked City

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

My rating: [rating=3]

Blurb:

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

3 stars. The Library-verse and the main characters are now established, and the plot could therefore fulfil its course without much exposition. (Although the “negative” point here is that I don’t think reading “The masked City” without having read “The Invisible Library” would be a good decision… but then, that’s why it’s called a second volume in a series, after all—exactly what it says on the tin.)

The focus is placed more on Irene herself, as an agent of the Library who has to navigate strange lands without counting on anyone but herself, nor on anyone’s wits but her own. Kai isn’t with her for most of the story, for reasons that are obvious from chapter 1: he’s been kidnapped, and in a reverse Damsel In Distress plot, it’s up to her to save him, with limited help from Vale who, as a human, would likely get mad very quickly in a high chaos level world.

And deliciously trope-y this book is, in more ways than one, both using archetypes and turning them around. The Dark Seductress, the Cunning Spouse/Grey Eminence, the Spy Hero(ine), the Enemies-turned-allies… Irene has to deal with those, and more, as the Fae in this universe are notorious for living vicariously through stories and archetypes, embroiling everybody around in their schemes in order to repeat those very plots. The more powerful the Fae, of course, the more gripping and unavoidable the story.

There’s less of the Library itself this time, and more of the Librarian In Action: this can be good or bad, depending on what wishes to read—I admit I would’ve preferred to see more of the Library and other agents, even though in general I enjoy adventures and spies characters. The Language is a powerful tool when used well, which is shown several times, as Irene can basically bend reality itself, and turn antagonists around by crafting a Story of her own; and yet it doesn’t make her all-powerful, because any circumstances when she cannot speak render her powerless—something she has to constantly keep at the back of her mind, in order to avoid such circumstances.

On the other hand, while there are high stakes and a real danger of war that must be averted, the kidnapping plot wasn’t the strongest one ever. And while keeping Vale as a secondary character was great (I like myself a good old private investigator), not seeing him much was a bit of a letdown. Another thing, perhaps a corollary of the archetype/stories-driven atmosphere, was that it wasn’t always easy to determine whether a particular action or decision was genuine, determined by the “storylines” Irene & al. Were thrown in, or an easy device to have the characters go where the author wanted them to. It both fits and doesn’t, if that makes sense. (And I’m not quite sure what to make of the potential romance subplot. It’s difficult to tell whether Irene is interested in either Kai or Vale in a “genuine” way—romance and love triangles can be pretty good or pretty bad, and can swing so easily from one part of the spectrum to the other…)

The writing felt also heavy-handed at times, laden with adverbs that kept creeping in. To be honest, I mostly read this novel while on the move, and as such I didn’t pay as much attention as I could have to the style itself; however, I suspect that if I noticed this in such conditions, it may be, indeed, rather noticeable in general.

Conclusion: a fun story, with a good deal of action and plenty of nice little tricks for those who enjoy their tropes. Nevertheless, it lacked the spark the Library would have brought it for me (not enough books and book-related heists, I guess).

Yzabel / February 11, 2016

Review: Havelock (full novel)

Havelock by Jane D. Everly

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Eliana Havelock is a female with no past, whose determination to bring down a Karachi arms dealer catches the attention of the British Secret Intelligence Service.

MI-6 is currently fractured due to political upheaval with many of its covert programs dissolved or disbanded. When Eliana presents the opportunity to divert an international arms disaster, the head of MI-6 partners her with one of it’s best and brightest, the enigmatic, Connor Blackwell.

But in a world of secrets and hidden agendas, who can Eliana trust?

And what, or who, is Eliana really after?

NOTE: This title includes all four serialized installments of Havelock.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

I started reading this novel as a serial last year, and now that the full novel is available, well, here’s the full review.

The style is a little surprising, in that it mixes parts from Eliana’s point of view (1st person, present tense), and parts seen through other characters (3rd person, past tense). I’m not sure what the intent was—more and more novels do that, so I’m actually never really sure—but it didn’t bother me the way it did in other stories. It lent a certain immediacy to Eliana’s scenes, and since they were of the action-packed kind, it fitted. I liked her humorous way of describing situations, too (that scene with the psychatrist? Totally something *I* would have one of my RPG characters do), and how she played her assets while totally embracing who she was. With an agenda of her own, she nevertheless lends her skills to MI6 in a loyal way.

There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the characters in the beginning. Nothing’s revealed about Eliana, but she clearly demonstrates resourcefulness and abilities to fight and get out of dire straits. More is to be learnt later, cast in the shadow of her origins, and if you read between the lines, those origins are easy to translate into another name, another myth.

Other characters are also close to tropes clearly reminiscent of typical spy narratives, yet a lot of things here work in a reversed way. The dashing spy/action type is a woman. The big boss is also a woman (and got there through years of service in which she played an active role, even getting severaly wounded, not because she was a paper-pusher). The potential mark-to-be-seduced is a guy. The villain is… villainish, yet his ruthlessness and his plan make him enjoyable. We have plants, betrayals, red tape bearing down on the good guys, and if you like spy novels, this book provides a lot of nods to the genre, while playing the tropes close to our 21st century world and problematics (terrorism rather than cold war, etc.).

The story’s plot looked promising, and overall it remained enjoyable. The chase goes on for quite a few chapters, with some action scenes described in an enjoyable way. The villain and his sidekick are one step ahead, while the “heroes” are also skilled enough to try and keep up no matter what.

I was a bit less satisfied with the latest chapters, mostly because some events fseemed to unfold a bit too fast: I wouldn’t have minded a few more scenes, a few more occasions to see our heroes in action. I rooted for the “good guys”, I wanted to see them win, but I also felt like the mastermind’s plan would have deserved more attention—that Eliana would have met a couple more reversals, sort of, as the enemy had a definitely strong scheme, and I didn’t want to see them beaten too quickly either. Still, I enjoyed the story as a whole, so it’s a 3.5 to 4 stars for me.

Conclusion: A bit stereotypical, but of the kind that was fairly entertaining.

Yzabel / September 26, 2015

Review: Havelock, Part 2

Havelock: Two by Jane D. Everly

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Eliana Havelock is a female with no past, whose determination to bring down a Karachi arms dealer catches the attention of the British Secret Intelligence Service. MI-6 is currently fractured due to political upheaval, with many of its covert programs dissolved or disbanded. When Eliana presents the opportunity to divert an international arms disaster, the head of MI-6 partners her with one of its best and brightest, the enigmatic, Connor Blackwell. But in a world of secrets and hidden agendas, who can Eliana trust? And what, or who, is Eliana really after?

Review:

[I received a copy from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

Second instalment in the “Havelock” series. I had read the first episode a few months ago, and I must say I pretty much enjoyed this one as well.

A lot of things from my first review keep standing true here. The shift from 1st to 3rd person is still puzzling, but doesn’t bother me much. Eliana is still a fun character to read about (that scene with the psychatrist? Totally something *I* would have one of my RPG characters do). The chase goes on, with some action scenes described in an enjoyable way. The villain and his sidekick are one step ahead, while the “heroes” are also skilled enough to try and keep up no matter what.

I’m waiting for more background and fleshing out of Blackwell, and some revelations about Eliana’s past (there’s a hint about her father, I may or may not be right, but it’d be funny if I were). Hopefully in the next parts of this serial!

3.5 to 4 stars.

Yzabel / June 26, 2015

Review: Havelock, Part One

Havelock by Jane D. Everly

My rating: [rating=4]

Blurb:

Review:

[I received a copy from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

I’ll have less to say here than I do when it comes to my regular reviews, since it’s the first part in a serial (6 chapters), and obviously no first episode can ever develop everything in terms of characters, plot and world building. However, those six chapters were definitely interesting.

Though there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the characters, again, there’s much room for more development in later episodes. So far, nothing’s revealed about Eliana, but she clearly demonstrates resourcefulness and abilities to fight and get out of dire straits. Other characters are also close to tropes clearly reminiscent of typical spy narratives, à la James Bond, yet everything here seems to work in a reversed way. The dashing spy/action type is a woman. The big boss is also a woman (and got there through years of service in which she played an active role, even getting severaly wounded, not because she was a paper-pusher). The potential mark-to-be-seduced is a guy. The villain is… villainish, yet his ruthlessness and his plan make him enjoyable, not ridiculous. And the story’s overall plot looks promising (not to mention a few hints dropped here and there).

A bit stereotypical, sure, but of the kind that was very entertaining. I’ll gladly read the next installment.

Yzabel / September 5, 2013

Review: The Mother Of All Viruses

The Mother of All Viruses by John Kovacich

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

“Let the record reflect that this deposition commenced at 9:15 am on December the 3rd, 2004 at the FBI offices in Atlanta, Georgia. Present for this recording are Special Agent Alvin Dirk, the Honorable Judge Ramiro Vasquez, and the witness, Robert O. Blain. This deposition is merely a recording of the events which transpired at Norwood University and is not now nor ever will be part of any trial or prosecution. Go ahead.”

“My name is Bobby Blain. Most people seem to think it all started when Dr. Jennings hired me, and all the computers started getting hacked. It was easy for people to think that, because I have a history and got myself in some trouble when I was younger. I hacked some computers and almost got the president impeached, but it really started before that, when I still worked for Dr. Karlyn.”

“Dr. Karlyn gave me a chance to redeem myself by allowing me to work on his computer for him. Then one day, this scientist I had never seen before comes and gives Dr. Karlyn a device. I was never told what he wanted, but I think he wanted Dr. Karlyn to help him reverse engineer it. I was only asked to build an interface to attach it to the computer. Dr. Karlyn did the rest. I think he figured out how to turn it on, but when he did, strange things started to happen.”

“We didn’t know it then, but it turns out the device was stolen from a government facility. I don’t know where they got it, that is more classified than this deposition. I can tell you with absolute certainty that they didn’t make it themselves. I’d like to tell you more, but I don’t think I’m allowed.”

“Anyway, someone at the university needed to get Dr. Karlyn out of the way and falsely accused him of inappropriate conduct with a student. He could have fought it, the dean believed him, but he decides to leave the school anyway. Before he goes, he gives his computer to Professor Jennings and he gives me a letter of recommendation, so after I help deliver and setup the computer, she agrees to hire me.”

“The first night it is up and running, at least two attempts are made to hack into the computer. I forgot to mention that even before I deliver the computer, this guy tries to break in and steal something from it, but I was there and he didn’t get anything.”

“I can’t divulge any secrets about Professor Jennings’ project here, but my part is to prove that her process would work if she were given enough computer resources, so I re-write her process to work across a network and run on thousands of computers.”

“That’s when things got really crazy. Someone keeps trying to hack into our computer; someone hacks the entire school and the phone company. Professor Jennings’ secretary is kidnapped. The FBI gets involved, but they’re chasing the wrong people for reasons only they can tell you.”

“Then someone plants a virus on our computer and the next thing we know, it’s spread all over the internet, including some very sensitive government computers. Meanwhile, our project continues to gain speed and surpass anyone’s expectations.”

“When the FBI come in and learn that the device that was given to Dr. Karlyn is actually some super cool futuristic computer that is able to grow and build more circuits for itself, they want to disconnect the computer and confiscate it.”

“That’s when computers all over the world go out of control. The pentagon and all the armed forces are helpless. Air traffic is grounded. All the computer problems are traced back to the professor’s computer. The FBI want it dismantled more than ever, but the academics involved want to get the device to relinquish control over the world before they do.”

“And, well, I guess that’s all I’m allowed to say, thank you.”

Review:

(Book provided by the author through ReadIt & Reap 177 in the Shut Up & Read group, in exchange for an honest review.)

A fairly interesting read—perhaps a little heavy on the technical terms and descriptions? I managed to follow, but someone who’s less computer-savvy and not into quantum physics may actually have a hard time putting everything together. I guess this might count as both a good or a bad point, depending on who’s concerned.

The characters weren’t the most developed ever, but they “worked” in their roles in the story, although I admit I wasn’t really thrilled about Dierdre in the beginning (she seemed too laid back about her project, leaving things to chance).

The story goes through a lot of twists, making the reader unsure about what exactly is going to happen, and as such, it’s quite the page-turner. If there’s one thing I’d find fault with, it’d be its pace, which I found uneven—I had expected the whole end-of-the-world aspect to appear sooner, and this may account for my opinion here.

As for the writing, mostly it was good, but I think it would need some editing in places (I spotted some typos), mostly in terms of tense shifts; there were enough occurrences of present tense suddenly thrown in the middle of the narrative (in past tense) for me to be a little annoyed after a while. Alas, I’m not the kind of reader that manages to ignore this aspect.

Regardless, I had a good time reading this book.