Customer Reviews

Siro

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

 

 

I read SIRO for one reason only: it was the only work of fiction I could find that had scenes set in Armenia. Even if that leaves you indifferent, this is an excellent spy novel and well worth reading. Ignatius's research -- geographical, historical, and organizational -- is superb. While his story briefly spins into something not quite believable, his underlying description of the CIA and its employees rings true. Ignatius neither glorifies nor deamonizes them, he simply recounts what their lives must be like and what he believes they must feel.

And if you are one of the rare few that is interested in Armenia as a backdrop for at least part of a novel, you will not be disapointed. Late in the novel we are introduced to Armenian character, and we are eventually transported to Armenia with some of the characters. Ignatius gets nearly every detail right, and it was as though I had actually visited Armenia, however briefly.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN INTERESTING READ THAT KEEPS YOU TURNING THE PAGES SIRO IS FOR YOU. I HAVE ENJOYED READING ALL OF DAVID IGATIUS BOOKS BECAUSE THEY RELATE TO REAL LIFE EVENTS, ARE EDUCATIONAL, AND HAVE SUCH WONDERFUL PLOTS. I COULDN'T PUT THIS ONE DOWN. ALTHOUGH THE ENDING WAS A LITTLE UNREALISTIC IT WAS STILL A GOOD READ.

A most engaging and adult treatment...which is rare in these days of pop writers.
I recommend all of his books to anyone who enjoys sophisticated writing and adult ideas written in a thoughtful and satisfying way.

This is a most gifted novelist with natural paintbrush. Every book written by Ignatius was thoroughly reseached before put into writing. If you are keen enough in humor, some of the chapters and paragraghs were the most humorous creation ever written by a novelist! Some readers might find this book somehow not so easy to read along since the Cold War was over and CIA is really and actually in deep shit now. But Ignatius never failed to amazed the readers that he could adjust himself pretty well and fast; he proved it in his recent good book, A FIRING OFFENSE.

Siro has an interesting premise, especially in light of the events of the last 10 years. Semi-rogue CIA administrator Edward Stone wants to convince the Soviets that (what he sees as) the emasculated Carter-era CIA has ongoing operations in Central Asia, and perhaps the Caucuses as well, when they don't. His aim is to confuse the KGB, waste their resources, etc; he also hopes that the USSR will be provoked into a costly, futile occupation of Afghanistan, which of course did happen in real-life (Stone's doing?)
To this end he recruits two agents to his enterprise: the young, intelligent, stupid-about-life Anna Barnes and the womanizing Agency near-burn-out Alan Taylor. And this is the problem with the novel, all three of these characters are almost completely unsympathetic. George Smiley would out-intrigue Stone's [...] in about two mintues. James Bond would run tradecraft circles around Taylor. I personally kept wanting to slap Anna Barnes ("you idiot - don't do that"... but she did).
I divide books and movies of this type into the set-up and the knock-down. Because I didn't like the protagonists, the set-up (usually the more interesting part) was painful; however, the knock-down, which had little character development and fairly compelling action was fine.
However, I have an interest in Central Asia. While, to my knowledge, Ignatus gets the facts right about the Basmachi rebellion, reading this book you sort of get the impression that if not for the Soviets, there would have been a happy Muslim Turkestan state. I don't think there's any evidence that Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazaks, Turkmen, and Kyrgyz would have cooperated with each other to form a state even if the Soviets had left them alone - forget a coalition with Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians. Rather, the guerilla groups fought independently against an overwhelming common enemy, that killed a lot of them, ethnically cleansed some more (to China), and then under Stalin's masterful autocratic hand created pseudo-states designed to prevent the inhabitants from feeling a common cultural heritage that might have threatened the USSR. These five countries still exist today in sad states of poverty and/or dictatorship.
Tragically, ten years after publication of this book, Taliban supported Al-Qaeda Muslim fundamentalists succeeded in carrying out a terrorist operation against the US. One wonders if in Siro-world an aging Edward Stone would feel in any way responsible for contributing to the policies leading up to that event.