Ken Follett: Eye of the needle. (2002, Pan)
488 pages
English language
Published Dec. 13, 2002 by Pan.
One enemy spy knows the secret to the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin -- code name: "The Needle" -- who holds the key to ultimate Nazi victory.Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is beginning to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life.All will come to a terrifying conclusion in Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and the dangerous machinations of the human heart.
not bad as those mass-produced thrillers go; i'll give one star less for the unexpected and rather awkwardly cringy transformation from a spy thriller into your typical a-stranger-menaces-to-murder-a-family thriller with porn elements… but hey, the author was probably bored himself and had to experiment, lol.
Me gusta mucho el estilo de Ken Follett, sobre todo en cuanto a novela histórica, sin embargo, este otro tipo de relatos, más de suspenso, son entretenidos, pues ya se deja ver el arte de su escritura.
Es una novela enmarcada a finales de la II Guerra Mundial, mientras los aliados preparan una ofensiva final en el más completo secreto, tratando de desviar la atención de los alemanes, lo que provoca todo un tráfico de información en ambas vías a través de espías de mayor o menor calibre. En medio de la trama encontramos personajes bien definidos, escenas de acción y suspenso, amor, estrategia militar y técnica de investigación policiaca. Los héroes no siempre son los que pensamos.
Una frase que me llamó la atención en relación al papel de la mujer, “estaban haciendo trabajo de hombre y tenían derecho, pues, a vicios masculinos.” La verdad, es parte importante de …
Me gusta mucho el estilo de Ken Follett, sobre todo en cuanto a novela histórica, sin embargo, este otro tipo de relatos, más de suspenso, son entretenidos, pues ya se deja ver el arte de su escritura.
Es una novela enmarcada a finales de la II Guerra Mundial, mientras los aliados preparan una ofensiva final en el más completo secreto, tratando de desviar la atención de los alemanes, lo que provoca todo un tráfico de información en ambas vías a través de espías de mayor o menor calibre. En medio de la trama encontramos personajes bien definidos, escenas de acción y suspenso, amor, estrategia militar y técnica de investigación policiaca. Los héroes no siempre son los que pensamos.
Una frase que me llamó la atención en relación al papel de la mujer, “estaban haciendo trabajo de hombre y tenían derecho, pues, a vicios masculinos.” La verdad, es parte importante de lo que expone la novela. Durante la guerra, igual a través de la historia, ha sido necesario que las mujeres asuman las tareas y trabajos de los “hombres”, pero es justo a partir de la segunda guerra que, una vez concluida, ese valioso papel de las mujeres no fue totalmente relegado, ya habían asumido y defendido algunos de sus derechos, así que lograron mantenerlos, al igual que muchos de los “vicios” también adquiridos.
Una entretenida novela que vale la pena disfrutar.
A reread after 22 years. Palate cleanser before jumping into Follett’s historical fiction.
This is my first Ken Follett book (much to the disappointment of my wife) but I wanted to tackle something small before attempting on of his epics. Eye of the Needle tells the story of a German master spy ‘The Needle’ and his attempt to uncover the plans of the English army during World War 2 (a few weeks before D-Day). This book was a little light on the espionage and too much focused on the generic thriller formula. I also felt the feeling of World War 2 was missed; this book could have been a lot darker and grittier without losing anything in the story. But then again I’m just a sucker for darker books, so when it's a WWII novel is a little on the light side, I tend to get disappointed. I love the antagonist ‘The Needle’ and kind of wished he was the protagonist, I think …
This is my first Ken Follett book (much to the disappointment of my wife) but I wanted to tackle something small before attempting on of his epics. Eye of the Needle tells the story of a German master spy ‘The Needle’ and his attempt to uncover the plans of the English army during World War 2 (a few weeks before D-Day). This book was a little light on the espionage and too much focused on the generic thriller formula. I also felt the feeling of World War 2 was missed; this book could have been a lot darker and grittier without losing anything in the story. But then again I’m just a sucker for darker books, so when it's a WWII novel is a little on the light side, I tend to get disappointed. I love the antagonist ‘The Needle’ and kind of wished he was the protagonist, I think the character could have made a decent book series. I guess people don’t want the Germans to win the war. There are some amusing scenes but all in all it was like reading a Jason Borne style novel set in World War 2; while exciting it really could have been a lot better.
This is a fantastic page-turner, perfect for the beach! (Don't bother with the movie, though).
