Six Days of the Condor [Paperback]

James Grady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1991

The novel that inspired the Robert Redford film Three Days of the Condor

Sandwiches save Ronald Malcolm’s life. On the day that gunmen pay a visit to the American Literary Historical Society, he’s out at lunch. The Society is actually a backwater of the Central Intelligence Agency, where Malcolm and a few other bookworms comb mystery novels for clues that might unlock real life diplomatic questions. One of his colleagues has learned something he wasn’t meant to know. A sinister conspiracy has penetrated the CIA, and the gunmen are its representatives. They massacre the office, and only learn later of Malcolm—a loose end that needs to be dealt with.

 

Malcolm—codename Condor—calls his handlers at the Agency, hoping for a safe haven, instead drawing another attempt on his life. With no one left to trust he goes on the run. But like it or not, Malcolm is the only person who can root out the corruption at the highest levels of the CIA.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Grady is a master of intrigue.” —John Grisham

 

“A breathless hunt and chase . . . a shock at every turn!” —Publishers Weekly

 

“A chilling novel of top security gone berserk. . . breakneck . . . not a slow minute.” —Library Journal

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

James Grady is the recipient of the Grand Prix Du Roman Noir, the Raymond Chandler Award, was an Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee, and is the author of Just a Shot Away and Mad Dogs. He lives in Maryland.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446360961
• ISBN-13: 978-0446360968
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,041,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Spy Thriller!, May 20, 2002

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Days of the Condor (Hardcover)

I first read this suspense and spy novel sometime in the mid-1970s, while living in Utah and working for the federal government. The picture it paints of a murderous renegade network operating within the Central Intelligence Agency is both frightening and plausible, and is delivered by author James Grady in a tight, well-developed thread of events that spins way out of control as the protagonist tries to figure out who is at the center of the bloody plot and why he and his cohorts at a special studies institute sponsored by the Agency are targets. This book is extremely well written!

The level of paranoia as well as the multiple levels of deceit and deception described in the book seemed outlandish at the time, but given the temper of the times, it somehow seemed much more plausible in the backwash of Watergate and all that was revealed about the machinations of the so-called "invisible government" then. The hero's ability to parse together the facts and learn and adapt as he progresses makes the novel work especially well, and one can relate to his growing frustration as he realizes there just may not be any way out alive. And between the margins of the paragraphs are some intriguing questions regarding the role of secrecy in an open and supposedly democratic society that add a measure of intellectual acumen and "gravitas" to the tale.

So popular was this novel in the bookstores that very quickly after it was turned into a screenplay and filmed as a revised story under the title "Three Days Of The Condor" starring Robert Redford, Fay Dunaway, and Cliff Robertson. This novel makes an absorbing way to escape the humdrum of everyday life with a stunning tale of murder, mayhem, and betrayal. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars He had an inspiration in the middle of a sneeze?, May 13, 2006

By 

Questio Verum "iracund" (Burbank, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Days of the Condor (Paperback)

That's one of Grady's lines in the book. This is one case where the movie dwarfs the book. Malcom, the main character in the novel, is crude and hardly thinks or speaks like a well-read man. Grady's prose is minimal and often almost comical, as are the coincidences. A man grabs a woman at gunpoint, then gives her the gun and takes a thirty minute shower and she's cooking dinner when he gets out? Please. Grady also writes in omniscient point-of-view, so we jump into heads like ping pong balls. The three stars are for the premise, which is enticing and fun, and for its time, fresh. But if you want action that flows from circumstance and a main character who is ill-equipped to compete in the world of the CIA and must rely on some gambits and brains, forget the book and read the screenplay.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Six Days of the Condor (Hardcover)

I first read this book in High School and got caught up in it. I have read it a second time and still think its great. I didn't care for the movie all that much. The book is written very graphically and it kept me interested the whole way. I read it as an assignment for a book report the first time and loved it. The second time was just for fun. There are only a few books that I have read cover to cover that I thought were worth it. This was one of them.