The Faithful Spy

Critics

• THE FAITHFUL SPY

  I will admit to shying from novels focusing on the so-called “War on Terror”. Too many seem to rely on clichéd and stereotypical depictions of the Arab world and gung-ho resolutions to a very complex subject. But Alex Berenson’s The Faithful Spy has ... (read full critics)

  shotsmag published on Wed, 29 Sep 2010

• The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson

  John Wells is an American CIA agent who has successfully infiltrated al Qaeda. He has been in deep cover in the far reaches of Afghanistan and Pakistan for a long time and has lost touch with his handler in the CIA, Jennifer Exley, and has essentiall ... (read full critics)

  themysteryreader published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

1 Review

• 

  Not riveting, but not bad

  The Faithful Spy is an ok read. In the first half of the story Berenson tries to put the reader inside the head of an American coming to grips with Islamist thinking. While this section tries to offer insight to headlines of current events, it drags.

  Diametrically opposed to the first part ... (continue)

  The Faithful Spy is an ok read. In the first half of the story Berenson tries to put the reader inside the head of an American coming to grips with Islamist thinking. While this section tries to offer insight to headlines of current events, it drags.

  Diametrically opposed to the first part of the book, the 2nd part picks up the pace and is a more engaging read. The price paid, though, is the devolution of the writing to standard, Hollywood schlock, e.g., gun battles where our hero manages to win against long odds (in the form of a 1 vs Many numerical disadvantage a la Bruce Willis in Die Harder).

  All told, an ok read.

  Note: A common complaint is that Berenson's depiction is racist/stereotyped/whatever. Given I don't know any Islamist jihadists, I can't say if it's a stereotype, or not, but the "critics" probably don't know any, either... Since he was inside the war zone, I'll take Berenson's interpretation as being more informed than mine or the "critics".

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Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Others 320 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0425244830
• ISBN-13: 9780425244838
• Publisher: Berkley Pub Group
• Pub date: Aug 02, 2011
• Also available as: Paperback, Hardcover, Audio CD and eBook

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