Old Boys [Hardcover]

Charles McCarry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2004

Charles McCarry is considered by many to be the master of world-class spy fiction, garnering praise from peers and critics alike for his riveting novels. Christopher Buckley wrote that McCarry “is not only one of the best writers in America but one of the most important. He dazzles, from epigraph to epilogue,” and the Los Angeles Times hailed his work as “first rate, in the tradition of the best espionage fiction, John Buchan to Eric Ambler and John le Carré.” In this magnificent new novel, which the Washington Post named a Best Book of the Year, McCarry returns to the world of his legendary character Paul Christopher—who has mysteriously disappeared. Led by Christopher’s cousin Horace, a group of his retired colleagues—the “Old Boys” from the Outfit—embark on a thrilling worldwide search for the master spy and an ancient scroll that may reveal an unspeakably dangerous truth.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McCarry is another ace spy novelist from the past to whom Overlook's Peter Mayer is giving a new lease on life (as with Robert Littell's The Company two years ago). Both of them are real pros, with McCarry having a more lapidary style and a rather more aristocratic turn of mind. His "old boys," former CIA men who come out of retirement to help one of their former colleagues, Horace Hubbard, find his lost cousin, Paul Christopher, are a classy group, each with a well-defined area of expertise. Christopher, an elderly agent himself (he starred in some of McCarry's earlier books, most notably in The Tears of Autumn), has disappeared, and apparently died, in a remote area of China. His ashes are sent back to the U.S. by the Chinese, and a memorial service is held. But Horace cannot believe he is dead, and nor can Paul's daughter, Zarah. As they set out on Christopher's trail, they find it leads to his remarkable mother, Lori, who was probably involved in the assassination of Nazi kingpin Heydrich in WWII and kept as a legacy of that monster a priceless scroll in his possession depicting the death of Christ from a Roman agent's viewpoint. The plot is almost indescribable, involving a Muslim terrorist who wants the scroll and who plans to blow up much of the West with a cache of miniature Soviet nuclear bombs; a Chinese forced-labor camp; and sundry ex-Nazis, ex-KGB men and double-crossers galore. It's a great tribute to McCarry's skill that he manages to keep all his colored balls in the air and carry the reader willingly with him. But the kitchen-sink approach to the plot increasingly strains credibility as the story zips along, and the tension between his all-too-believable "old boys" and the comic-book action is never satisfactorily resolved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

McCarry's latest is an old-fashioned, rollicking adventure that beats Ludlum and Cussler at their own game. When Paul Christopher, the enigmatic hero of several earlier McCarry novels, disappears while on a quest for his nonagenarian mother, Lori, his black-sheep cousin, Horace Hubbard, convenes a discreet cadre of over-the-hill spies to find their confrere--and to save the world from Ib'n Awad, an aging Islamic terrorist in possession of 12 nuclear suitcase bombs. In a beguiling twist sure to appeal to fans of The Da Vinci Code, all parties also seek a fabled ancient scroll that unmasks Jesus as an agent provocateur, handled by Judas for Roman spymaster Paul. The nonstop peregrinations of this league of extraordinary spooks take them to a score of exotic locales, pitting them against Chechen thugs, Chinese secret police, Nazi doctors, and a case of acute myocardial fibrillation. McCarry's commitment to this fanciful premise is absolute, and the resulting yarn combines the intrepid exploits of John Buchan, the cagey intrigue of Eric Ambler, and the clipped cadences of Dashiell Hammett. Tremendous fun. David Wright
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; First Edition edition (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585675458
• ISBN-13: 978-1585675456
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #859,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Latest Offering From, August 11, 2004

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old Boys (Hardcover)

Charles McCarry has long been one of the best authors of espionage thrillers, and he doesn't disappoint with his latest novel, "Old Boys." He worked for the CIA years ago and is extremely familiar with the "Company's" history and operations. Obviously, this firsthand knowledge makes his work all the more authentic. I simply do not understand why McCarry is not better known, nor why his books, especially "The Last Supper" and "The Tears of Autumn," are not considered classics. He is certainly in the same literary league with John LeCarre, Alan Furst, Eric Ambler and Ken Follet. I read McCarry's "The Last Supper" a few years ago and it is my favorite book in this genre - absolutely top notch! I have read most of his other novels since then, and have found them all to be superior. McCarry's nuanced, at times poetic, writing style, his ability to create real, flesh and blood characters who will move you, and his fast-paced, taunt storylines, put him at the top of the list for craftsmanship. I immediately picked up a copy of "Old Boys," McCarry's 10th novel, as soon as it hit the stores.

Intelligence agent Paul Christopher, often a major character in McCarry's novels, is present in this one also. Unfortunately, the suave, sophisticated agent's appearance is brief. The novel opens with the aging, but extremely fit, Christopher dining with his cousin Horace Hubbard, another former agent. Dinner is excellent, the conversation interesting, if unremarkable. Paul Christopher vanishes the next day. Unbelievably, his ashes are delivered by a Chinese official to the American consulate in Beijing many months later. Christopher had supposedly died in a remote corner of China. After a memorial service in Washington, Horace, who is not convinced that Paul is dead, recruits four other retired colleagues - a kind of All Star bunch of "Old Boys," to go back into the field to find Christopher. Their first clue is a photograph found in Paul's study revealing an ancient scroll sought by both the US government and Muslim extremists. Hunted and hounded all over the globe, from Xinjiang to Brazil, then Rome, Tel Aviv, Budapest and Moscow, the old pros, with Christopher's beautiful daughter Zarah providing support, search for their comrade and the answers to his disappearance. These men may have mellowed but they are still quick on their feet...and on the uptake.

McCarry does not write "light." Like most of his novels this one is complex and tackles deeper themes than mystery and suspense. His characters are three-dimensional and the writing tight. There is also a nostalgia here for a dying breed, the agents of old who fought and helped to win the Cold War. While a very good read, "Old Boys is not on par with Charles McCarry's best works. I do recommend it, however. It is still a good, long yarn that will hold your attention and leave you spellbound.
JANA

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book, and all McCarry's other fiction as well!!!, July 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Old Boys (Hardcover)

Charles McCarry has been my favorite author since I picked up a used copy of "Secret Lovers" on the way to the airport more than ten years ago. For some reason he remains undiscovered by most readers -- his books ought to be appreciated not only by fans of espionage fiction, but by anyone who likes a good story that is beautifully written. I have read all the Paul Christopher books, and a couple years ago, thinking that the last one had already been written, re-read them from first to last. This series has a richness of characterization and story, a unique melding of history with fiction, and a literary style that elevates it above any other author's work. Although a unified series, each book has its own merits. The first, Miernik Dossier, is not a narrative, but rather a collection of reports from the field that dance around the truth, and that brillianty illuminate the type of imperfect knowledge that espionage can provide. Current events provide another example. One of the books is a historical romance. Another has some aspects of fantasy/science fiction. This book, "Old Boys", is the only one written in the first person, and does not have one of the Christophers as narrator. Again, it is topical, and can stand alone as an absorbing novel, but in the context of the entire series serves as a capstone to this family's story. I strongly recommend "Old Boys" -- and urge you to read the rest of McCarry's fiction too -- Let's hope this is not, in fact, Paul Christopher's swan song.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spies who will be spies, August 27, 2004

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old Boys (Hardcover)

McCarry is a delight. One old spy goes missing - and not for the first time. After a congenial dinner with his cousin Horace, Paul Christopher disappears. Horace gathers together a few of his and Paul's former colleagues (all once employed by the Company) and a worldwide search for Paul is undertaken. It's truly an "old boys"network in this one.

The characters are wonderfully rich and developed. The plotting is beautifully done. While loaded with surprises, none of them require the reader to overcome disbelief. Even the bad guys - and there is no shortage of them - are interesting. And it's all played out in various parts of the world.

This is simply my idea of a great read. It's long at 473 pages, but not a one of them is dull. McCarry is a master of his craft.

Jerry