The 5 Best ‘Unique’ Spy Novels
There is a wide range of spy novels out there that make up the espionage genre. From the more glamorous, action-adventure stories of Ian Fleming’s James Bond to the most realistic, morally ambiguous books of John Le Carré.
But here I have selected five unique spy novels that might just seduce you with their covert charms. These books transcend the conventional boundaries of the genre, offering something new and fresh, a different take on the standard spy books you may be used to.
One thing that may bind these together is their focus on character rather than plot
Muir's Gambit (And the Spy Game Trilogy) by Michael Frost Beckner
Source: https://www.michaelfrostbeckner.com/books
First up is the Spy Game trilogy. I’m cheating a little here by including a trilogy, but I think it’s important to group them together.
Michael Frost Beckner wrote the story and screenplay for the movie SPY GAME (2001) starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. An excellent portrayal of the intricacies, moral ambiguity and complex web of the espionage world that oozes authenticity.
His Spy Game trilogy of novels continue in this tradition weaving in and around the movie following CIA lawyer Russel Aiken (NB — Aiken makes a brief appearance in the movie). From the first page it’s apparent this is not the world of James Bond nor Jason Bourne, but the real, multi-layered clandestine world of deception where psychology and personal relationships are more powerful than guns and bombs.
The first novel ‘Muir’s Gambit’ acts a prequel to the movie, placing you into the mind of the narrator, Russel Aiken, a lawyer with the Central Intelligence Agency as he interviews seasoned CIA officer, Muir (Redford in the film). Muir recruited Aiken and so is somewhat of a father-figure and mentor.
The second book ‘Bishop’s Endgame’ sees Aiken recount his experiences as the CIA’s legal eagle trying to parse the power plays of the Agency’s higher-ups with the on-the-ground movements of Bishop (Pitt in the movie), while undergoing a crisis in his own personal life.
The third ‘Aiken in Check’ follows Aiken defecting to Cuba as he attempts to free the love of his life, Nina Estrada from Cuban Intelligence. Aiken’s (now) trademark stream-of-consciousness musings on his life, Muir and Bishop, the CIA, quantum physics, time, and everything in between, are ever present and lend the novel an absurdist, Borges-like touch.
Throughout all books, Beckner’s prose sparkles and flows and while the action comes thick and fast, there is also a deeper level at play in this trilogy. Psychological and philosophical musings underpin the operations and the complex characters brimming with life, add a human element which offers a poignant touch. A nice complement compared with your average spy thriller. An excellent trilogy which is highly entertaining, showcasing Beckner’s skill, dexterity, and experience as a Hollywood screenwriter and storyteller. Utterly unique.
Click the link to grab — Muir's Gambit (And the Spy Game Trilogy) by Michael Frost Beckner
The Sympathizer: A Novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Source: https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-sympathizer/
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s ‘The Sympathizer’ is an explosion of historical fiction meets espionage told with a sharp wit, dark humour, and unrelenting insights into the Vietnam War (or the American War as it’s known in Vietnam) and its aftermath.
The novel centres around a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy navigating the tumultuous end of the Vietnam war, with his subsequent exile to the US.
Nguyen's protagonist—unnamed— is a man of divided loyalties, a "man of two minds," who serves as a mole within the South Vietnamese army and later in the Vietnamese refugee community in Los Angeles. This double consciousness serves as the perfect vehicle for Nguyen to explore themes of identity, political conflict, and the flawed narrative of American heroism in Vietnam. It’s this deep dive into the psyche of the anonymous protagonist which gives this novel its unique touch. It’s truly rare indeed that it manages to be both a page-turner, a profound study of the human condition, and generally entertaining and informative with dazzling prose.
The book is soon to be an HBO series (produced by the excellent A24) in which the first episode will be released on April 14, 2024, so keep your eyes open as the trailer looks very inviting (Check it out here). A unique and creative novel that rightly deserves its winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016.
Click the link to grab — The Sympathizer: A Novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
‘Who Is Vera Kelly?’ gives the espionage genre a fresh twist with a female protagonist undercover in 1960s Argentina with political upheaval on the horizon. Vera Kelly is tasked with infiltrating a left-wing student group suspected of working with the KGB.
Vera Kelly is a character with a rich and complex backstory as she struggles with her alienation, identity and sexual orientation in a less than accepting era. Definitely not your standard-issue spy one might expect from other spy novels. Buenos Aires of the time is brought to life on the page with a gritty, atmospheric undertone. An unpredictable and compelling spy novel which stretches the genre.
Click the link to grab — Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/253471/american-spy-by-lauren-wilkinson/
Similarly, American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson stretches the spy genre with a black, female protagonist who is an intelligence officer—Marie Mitchell—with the FBI during the 1980s. A time when the service was overwhelmingly white and male. Mitchell’s escapades into Burkina Faso task her with undermining the rise of the charismatic, revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.
I struggled at first with this novel as the writing didn’t gel with me, but I persevered and I was happy I did as the story unwound and drew me (and the writing finally gelled). Part passionate romance, part spy novel, part exploration of global politics during the Cold War and the US’s intervention in the affairs of other countries. I also enjoyed the setting for this novel which, partly set in West Africa, provided a distinct location from the average Europe and/or Middle East locations of many spy books. A unique take on the espionage world, perhaps opening it up to a different set of readers. Former President Barack Obama who included it in his Favourite Books of 2019, so that’s one reader Wilkinson has reached! Although I saw that Obama also included Le Carré ‘Silverview’ on a later list, so perhaps he’s a dedicated spy fan after all.
Click the link to grab — American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Mick Herron’s Slough House series
Mick Herron’s Slough House series took a while to warm to the wider spy novel world, but once it did, it took off and has now spawned a successful TV series on Apple TV. Filled with dark humour, the novels centre around Slough House, a backwater building for MI5 spies that have f—ed up royally but are still kept on the books. A somewhat mundane purgatory of paper pushing and filing for a ragtag bunch of espionage misfits led by Jackson Lamb. Told with razor-sharp wit and dry sarcasm it’s safe to say these novels are the antithesis of the tuxedo-clad, martini-sipping Bond-esque spies and far removed from the action-fuel world of Ludlam and the Bourne books. The closest you’ll find are the characters from Le Carré’s civil servant spies only if they smoked, drank, cursed, released gas, and concentrated their efforts on bantering and rifting on each other rather than conducting meticulous intelligence operations. Highly enjoyable, utterly entertaining and Herron has breathed fresh air (and dry humour) into the genre.
Click the link to grab — Mick Herron’s Slough House series