"Secret Language: Codes, Tricks, Spies, Thieves and Symbols" by Barry J. Blake

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Copyright: 2011

ISBN: 9780199579280

I have had this book in my collection for quite some time, but never got around to actually reading it. I suppose in an off-handed away this is one advantage to the COVID-19 pandemic as none of the library's here are open so I am forced to actually read books that I've been meaning to (in some cases for years).

As it turns out this book is absolutely wonderful and Mr. Blake goes into significant amounts of detail with lots of examples from various languages, cultures, and history. A brief introduction deals with why people want to be mysterious. He then goes on to talk about topics related to anagrams and cryptic crosswords which includes things like palindromes and acronyms which he gives numerous examples of.

His next topic is all about riddles. Riddles have been with us for centuries, and have appeared in many forms. He discusses things like the rebus, the charade (and how it has changed from it's inception, into the kids game people are familiar with today). And then goes on to give some riddles that the reader can try.

The next section is one that I found extremely fascinating and that was on codes and ciphers. He deals with the history from pre-Roman times up to the present and the use of computers. Once again he gives the reader some interesting challenges.

The next three chapters deal with biblical secrets, words of power, and words to avoid. These are explored from a historical as well as a cultural viewpoint. His next chapter deals with jargon, slang, argot and various secret languages.

He ends the book with a discussion of things like politeness, humour, euphemism, abusive language, oxymorons, parody and satire to name but a few.

I found this to be an excellent book, and was quite sorry that I hadn't read it many years ago. It is especially renewed my interest in codes and ciphers, and I'll be reviewing another book that I have on that in the future.

"Our Kind of Traitor" by John Le Carré

Publisher:Toronto : Viking Canada, 2010.
ISBN: 9780670064786
General fiction L PBK
Characteristics: 305 pages ;,24 cm

A very interesting book, that gives a different twist to the spy novel. In this story a Russian mafioso who wishes to defect, and move his family to England. It explores the intrigue involved when the various spy agencies, and some well-meaning bystanders/helpless pawns are brought into the game.

The story follows a vacationing English couple in Antigua, who meet a Russian businessmen Dima  who initially seems only to want to play tennis. When the couple return to England after being entertained by Dima, meeting his family, etc. they are subjected to interrogation by the British Secret Service, who need their help.

For those readers who are familiar with Le Carré's works featuring George Smiley, this novel is comparable to how his other stories approach the whole spy business and the games the various agencies play for and against each other, which makes it seem very realistic.

I was somewhat disappointed in the very ending, as I would have liked to have read what happened to some of the other characters, but overall it was a very well written and enjoyable book to read.

"Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews

Publisher:New York : Scribner, [2013]
Edition:First Scribner hardcover edition.
Copyright Date:©2013
ISBN: 9781501171574
General fiction M PBK
Characteristics: 434 pages ;,24 cm

This was without a doubt one of the better espionage novels I have read for quite some time. The  author is an retired CIA member, and this added a lot to the story as he was able to infuse the plot with lots of details that general author would not be able to do, even if they did a lot of research. This book is the first in a trilogy, and the next two books will be reviewed relatively soon.

The story is set in contemporary Russia, and revolves around a young ballet dancer (Dominika Egorova) who is in line for a position in the Bolshoi Ballet until an accident sidelines her career. She elects to become a intelligence operator, and is then sent to what is known as Sparrow school to become trained in the art of seduction. Upon graduation she is assigned to a CIA agent (Nathaniel Nash) who handles the biggest informer inside Russian intelligence.

President Putin even appears briefly in the novel in a couple of places, and I couldn't help but wonder if he's read the book, and if so what he thought about it. Not that I'm ever likely to find out.

This story is well crafted, very difficult to put down. I recommend it to anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of espionage novels and especially to fans of John le Carré.

Hollywood has recently released a movie adaption of this novel, and I am interested in seeing how they have handled the storyline, but at the same time quite apprehensive as they have a reputation for generally making a mess of things when they try to do this. Here's hoping the script writer, director, etc. actually read the book, and not just a back cover blurb.

"The Fall of Colossus" by D. F. Jones (1915-1981)

Published: New York: Berkley Pub. Corp
Year: 1975
ISBN: 9780425027608
Other Physical Details: 188 p. ; 18 cm

This novel is a continuation of the D. F. Jones' first instalment in the series entitle "Colossus", which was made into the movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project" and reviewed last week.

It takes place five years after the first novel, and by this time two of the character Charles & Cleo are married and have a child. Colossus during this time has grown, and essentially controls the world. There is no more disease, starvation, or war etc. The world is essentially at peace. Around Colossus a cult has arisen that essentially worships him or rather it as a god, and consequently Forbin as pseudo Pope.

The majority of the book revolves around the struggles Forbin has against Colossus, his personal Life, and how to make the two mesh. Another parallel storyline deals with an underground organization that wants to destroy Colossus and return the world to it's previous state as in their opinion there has been no creative thought in the world since the take over.

This book makes a good follow-up to the original, and even though it still has the general mindset prevalent in the mid-70's with regard to women's rights and other such things it is a good read.

"Hunt for Red October" by Tom Clancy (1947-2013)

Publisher:Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, [1984]
Copyright Date:©1984
ISBN: 9780425240335
Characteristics: 387 pages ;,23 cm

This was Tom Clancey's first novel and as such was well written. He did an extensive amount of research, and developed an interesting plot that keeps the reader in suspense. For those people who have watched the movie, it is quite different as it seems to be typical that Hollywood feels the need to dumb things down for their audiences, as well as eliminate and change others things for no apparent reason.

With that being said this is really the only novel by this author that I have ever really enjoyed, as in later books he tends to get a little preachy on how wonderful the United States is. In this book that works well as it deals to defectors the United States, but in others of the series it simply gets to be too much.

The one thing that tended to irk me a fair bit in the book is that nowhere in it is Canada mentioned. Now considering that the majority of the action takes place off our Eastern coast you'd think that we would at least get a mention, but this doesn't happen. Mind you I wouldn't have expected the author to fabricate facts about our submarine fleet, as we don't really have one, but we could have been mentioned with regard to the Atlantic surface fleet. But, I guess you can't have everything, as I've seen American school textbooks, and Canada is primarily depicted as a barren wasteland north of the 49th parallel. Yes, I'll stop whining now!