Customer Reviews

Red Fox

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read several spy and espionage stories, some very good ones. None hold a candle to this one. The story's main character is trying to locate the missing father of his friend/lover. His journey takes him all over the globe. Action, suspense, intrigue and mystery hit you on every page. It just never lets up and the plot constantly twists and turns. Just when you think you're figuring something out, Hyde throws something new into the mix. And if you can see the end to this one coming you are one clever cookie!

This may have been Hyde's first novel but he is certainly no stranger to writing, he's done his homework. The characters are authentic and well-fleshed out. The storyline, which takes place back in the late days of the Cold War, is superbly thought out. His prose moves along very well. The whole point here is that's it's real tough to criticize much of anything with this book. One of the 10 best books I've ever picked up. Hard to find any more, its out of print and disappears from used bookstores right now. If you see it, grab it!

This is one of my favorites of the cold war fictions. I loved the location descriptions and choices; you start in North American and just keep going east. This is a smart, fun book that gives the reader a great story and a lot of interesting historical facts about Russia. This really is a book that has two - three very well developed and written plot twists that makes you stay on your toes. I have reread the book and it is something how well he places the road signs. This is a great book; unfortunately he was not able to keep up this form into his next.

I've read well over 1000 novels in my life, but after this one, I felt compelled to write a review. I'm not saying it's THE best story I've ever read, but it's the most engrossing book I've tackled this year hands down. The well-conceived plot is absolutely impossible to guess and the settings are unique when compared to the cliched L.A. or N.Y. settings of most of today's bestsellers. Get this one before it's out of print.

Anthony Hyde's first opus is the best suspense novel I have ever read. It is the story of a Washington, DC Soviet Studies expert whose placid life is suddenly shattered by a cryptic message from an old love. Her father has disappeared, and she asks for his help. The search uncovers not only her father, but terrible secrets about his own family and about Soviet history. What makes The Red Fox stand out from the legion of similar novels (including, sadly, Hyde's later efforts)? Simply put, in this work Anthony Hyde creates an atmosphere, a reality, so vivid the reader can actually feel the events and the emotions. He perfectly captures the timeless, nostalgic warmth of an old family photograph, and makes this feeling the foundation of the novel. Another outstanding feature of The Red Fox is the complete sense of RIGHTNESS it elicits in the reader. We don't have to suspend our disbelief, as we would in a Robert Ludlum or Frederick Forsyth potboiler, because we're sure that things would happen exactly that way to us. Hyde has given us a wholly believable and fleshed-out environment, from the self-doubts and growing suspicions of the protagonist, to the merciless, desperate self-preservation of the villains. If there is a flaw in The Red Fox, it would be in the repetitious way the protagonist wonders how the secrets he uncovers apply to him personally. Hyde uses the "what does this mean about ME?" inner dialog a few too many times. This is especially true in his next two novels, which are thinly disguised retellings of the same story: the protagonist is compelled by external forces to dig up unsavory little nuggets of his history. You did it so well the first time, Anthony, why not try something else, instead of endlessly singing the same song?

Great entertainment - It is fun to run into a book that doesn't insult your intelligence. Anthony Hyde reveals a wonderful mystery, along with giving you a unique evolving view of Russian history. A lucky find, and a great way to spend a rainy weekend reading this book.

The RED FOX is, quite simply, the best spy novel I have ever read. It stands out against a fairly accomplished field of competition by being what the others are not--deep, atmospheric, and utterly believeable. Read this book at once!

This book, my all-time favorite novel, was Anthony Hyde's first novel and to appreciate it you have to remember that in 1984, when this novel was published, there was no Internet, no Google, very few electronic methods of getting information. Hyde's protagonist, Robert Thorne, a former journalist, is a Russian history expert who is drawn into a mystery that consumes him to the end. Thorne is a very likable gentleman, no quirks, utterly normal. When Thorne probes the mystery surrounding him, he uses time-honored methods of finding information, such as the Bettmann Archive, talking to people involved, etc. whereas today most journalists can simply Google someone.

As for the plot, if you've ever read Graham Greene's "The Third Man", you'll find some similiarities. Because Hyde uses the 1st person, we get every thought that Thorne is thinking, and so you get a sense of an updated Mickey Spillane "hard-boiled detective" novel, too.

Because Hyde was writing his first novel, he avoids many of the "hack" techniques other writers often employ, there are no cliches, no gratuitous sex scenes and no inane dialogue.

You can see where Hyde gets some inspiration, though; there's a little bit from "The Godfather", a scene where Thorne is in a restaurant in Leningrad, talking to a Russian KGB agent, that is straight out of "Casablanca".

But, these are quibbles - I love this book and it's replaced "Doctor Zhivago" as my fave novel of all time.

This is a clever novel of espionage and intrigue, except this is a spy novel without a spy! Written in the sunset years of the Cold War this book pulls the reader back into the days when "The Enemy" was more simply defined and the word "red" was more than just a color. It is a twisting, turning labyrinth of plot points and surprises, and though the reader may figure out the story's ultimate secret long before reaching the end, the journey with the very likable Robert Thorne (protagonist) is worth it. Some of the threads do tie together a little too neatly and there are a few hazy points that count on the reader not asking too many questions, but the characters are well developed and in the spirit of all great historical "what ifs" the reader may be more than a little inclined to let it slide.

I've destroyed my copy from having read it over and over. This used to be in my father's bookshelf until I was bored as a young lady and absconded with it (SHHHHHHH. That was about ??(mutter mutter mutter) years ago.

I love Soviet history, particularly anything to do with the Russian Revolution and execution of the Tsar. This dances around it through the whole book. There's unrequited love and history and political intrigue. How can you go wrong there? Wonderful intelligent and captivating.

THere's my two cents.

Hyde makes his characters come to life, and weaves an intricate story based on past connections. He leaves excellent clues, but one has to watch for them. I read this book in Hawaii. I started it and didn't put it down until I was done.