Customer Reviews

Old Boys

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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

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.

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

Almost 30 years ago, McCarry wrote 2 of the best espionage thrillers ever produced, The Tears of Autumn and The Secret Lovers. Following the success of these books, McCarry produced a series of books involving some of the same characters in those books, particularly his hero, the CIA spy Paul Christopher. These later books were generally good but not at the level of Tears or Secret Lovers. McCarry's characterizations became shallower and the plots of his novels increasingly complicated and implausible. Old Boys, his first espionage novel in years, continues the unfortunate tendencies of his later books. The plot is highly implausible and in fact, not developed well. There is a host of characters, few of them developed well. This is a mediocre potboiler from someone who can clearly do better.

Suppose that an ancient manuscript exists that proves that Jesus Christ was an unwitting tool of the Romans, part of a covert action that went wrong. To make it even more plausible, the covert operation bears a close resemblance to an incident reported in the New Testament. What would an Islamic terrorist be willing to do to have proof that Christianity is a false religion. -- OK that's the premise.

Now you have to take into account that this is a spy novel. Filled with open questions: What happened to or where is Paul Christopher? Is Paul's mother, arrested or possibly kidnapped by the Nazi's sixty years ago still alive? Is the Muslim terrorist Ibn Awad really alive, the CIA thought that they had killed him many years ago?

Charles McCarry's stories have never really caught on. Only one of his ten novels McCarry's work has assumed almost cult like following. This is too bad, as his novels have had an erie way of predicting history. In The Better Angels (1979), there is a terriorist attack on the U.S. using passenger jetliners as the weapons.

Why am I surprised that such a good writer does not appear on the best seller list? In a world filled with specious pleasures it is a treat to find a book like "Old Boys". The story of old friends and former spies who come together to find a friend and perhaps save the world is fun that also happens to be well-written. McCarry is graceful and witty. He doesn't resort to puffery; every line advances the story. Like his protagonist he never seems to take himself too seriously, yet it is obvious he knows exactly what he is doing. Good fun, good writing.

As usual Charles McCarry has produced another exceptional thriller. Although it follows the latest twist in the Christopher family history it can be read on a stand alone basis. McCarry's novels are literate and absorbing unlike much of the genre. Sadly this may be McCarry's final work {according to the WSJ review}.

I have to admit that I was so engrossed by the plot that I stayed up almost all night to finish the book. Unlike the guilty feeling I had after enjoying the Da Vinci code while realizing that it was not a great book, I really LOVED this book. I absolutely loved his wild and crazy read of Jesus and the founding of Christianity as a CIA type plot carried out by Roman agents. That chapter in particular, the translation of the "Amphora Scroll," was exceeding clever. Sure, there are implausibilities in the old guys whipping the young guys, but that's what gives the book its spirit. I get the feeling the author had a twinkle in his eye while he wrote this. It's like that movie with Clint Eastwood and Tommy lee Jones (I forgot the title) when they decide to go into space even though they are old geezers. I really enjoyed the lessons on falconry too. This is a first rate spy novel -- if his earlier books are that good, I'm quitting my review right now and ordering them!

Old Boys is just a notch below his very best (like Tears of Autumn), but wonderful and irresistable nevertheless. If this leads readers into his earlier and now out of print earlier Paul Christopher novels, readers will be the better for it. McCarry's insights into the human heart and mind remain as keen and heart-renderingly revealed as ever. Not only the Western heart and mind, I might add. His depiction of other cultures and their values, and other places and times, are penetrating and convincing -- never more so than in this most recent offering. Read it!

This is absolutely the best spy book I have EVER read - hands down! The background info was as good as the plot - and that's rare. The plot was amazing, engaging and never dull. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I'm buying 4 copies for my kids for Christmas. I'm also going back to find this author's other books.