When I hear the phrase «spy novel», I immediately think of the fascinating and exotic names, at least for me, of Ian Fleming, John Le Carré, and Tom Clancy. I haven’t read the first two, but I have watched some of their film adaptations, and I even tried to familiarize myself with the latter’s work on paper, but it didn’t work. However, this is the old school of spy writers, where the Cold War and the battle of ideologies came to the fore. In the genre literature of the twenty-first century, everything is different, not only in terms of worldview, but also because of what causes the clashes between spies and their departments. Nowadays, all conflicts are often headed by battles for and in digital space, competitions in cybersecurity and cyberattacks, etc.
Author David Ignatius
Translator Anastasia Kopivska
Publisher «Plot»
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 384
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2021
Size 130×200 mm
Website fabulabook.com
The famous American journalist, Washington Post columnist, and writer David Ignatius decided to go all out and added a quantum computer to his novel «Quantum Spy». There are also battles between the CIA and the Chinese intelligence services, which is also very relevant, «mole» in the enemy’s ranks, and tense conflicts. This can be of interest to a wide range of readers, even those who are not fans of this genre like me.
«Quantum Spy» reveals the topic of quantum computing. This technology is capable of upending the entire global security system. Because if a quantum computer does become a reality, all existing encryption tools will cease to be effective, meaning that all state secrets of a particular intelligence service will be revealed.
This is exactly what the United States and China are fighting for. The protagonist of the novel, CIA agent Harris Chang, is tasked with exposing a traitor within his service because he is passing on information about the American quantum research program to the Chinese.
Chang is not just a perfect agent. He’s a human being with his own, in his case military, past, doubts, and internal conflicts. He is also a Chinese American who finds himself caught between his duty as an American and his Chinese identity, between orders from Washington and a sense of personal justice.
In the «Fabula» publishing house, which published the novel «Quantum Spy» in Ukraine, it is in the «Thriller» section, as well as «Science Fiction and Fantasy». But I’ll say right away that the only fantastic thing here is quantum computers, which are in the early stages of development even in the book, and play a very small role in the plot.
If, like me, you are hoping to find here a classic techno-thriller with elements of a spy thriller, I must say right away that this is not the case. On the contrary, the novel «Quantum Spy» is a modern spy thriller with a techno-thriller part in the background. But I must admit that this did not prevent me from reading this book with interest, although I am cool to this genre.
David Ignatius is a journalist and analyst who has been writing about the Middle East and the CIA for decades, as well as about modern technology. And you can feel it on every page of the book: he doesn’t seem to be inventing, but constructing a story from details that he seems to know from real life.
Intelligence here is not a romance, but a daily routine. The author skillfully builds the structure of the novel, often changing locations, but the story takes place mainly in Arlington, Virginia, and in Singapore. There are also some particularly intense scenes set in Mexico.
The topic raised by the author clearly resonates with our present. Whoever controls technology controls the world. And this struggle, just like in the book, is already taking place in real life between the United States and China.
Quantum supremacy — is not science fiction, but a national task. That’s why «Quantum Spy» reads not only as a thriller, but also as a kind of warning: technology — is not only a tool, but also a threat if it falls into the wrong hands.
The writer’s style is restrained and journalistic. He does not try to create a spectacular fiction text. His goal is accuracy and tension. And I have to say that it works: the story is engaging, developing dynamically, without dragging. However, some technical aspects may seem too complicated for the average reader. Sometimes the explanations of quantum principles distract from the emotional tension, and sometimes this emotional tension is not enough, as well as the tension.
Despite all the technicality, the book has a lot of humanity. Harris Chang is not a movie super agent. He has doubts, personal traumas, and a desire not just to complete the task, but to understand whose side he is on. This makes the story deeper than the classic version with chases, betrayals, and shootouts. This is a story about a man who is looking for his place in a complex, dangerous system.
The novel has some weaknesses. In particular, the secondary characters are not written out so deeply. Some of them are more like functions for plot development than full-fledged characters. And the denouement, despite the overall tension, may seem predictable to an experienced reader of the genre, and in general, rather faded as for the tension created by the author.
Does this spoil the overall impression of the book? Of course, but not that much. Because in fact, here you can understand a writer who did not write a script for a spy action movie, but built a realistic story about modern agents. He offers the reader meaningfulness, logic, and authenticity, and the reader can accept it or not.
The publication itself is of high quality. It has a nice cover that immediately tells you about its genre. Additionally, they even wrote the word «Thriller», so that the direction of the novel is clear. I also liked the yellow paper and the font used, which is easy to read. The gusset is in place, and that’s cool because I think every book should have it.
