Official Review: November Echo by James Houston Turner
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Official Review: November Echo by James Houston Turner
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "November Echo" by James Houston Turner.]
The Story
November Echo is a novel set in Russia and Spain during the Cold War. Colonel Aleksander Talanov is one of the best-if not the best-agents of the KGB, known as the Ice Man. After a scientist of the undercover Biopreparat biological weapons program tries to defect to Spain, he is enlisted as the man in charge of bringing him, and his dangerous anthrax samples, back to the Soviet Union. He is partnered up with Sofia Dubinina, a Chinese agent that does not agree with Talanov’s methods of working.
Talanov is the perfect example of the KGB: a man without feelings, hiding the most vital information to everyone but himself. A man who can’t be bought, and that believes Mother Russia has a justified reason for every action taken.
Both of them act the part of lovers, as they pass a week of splurging, luxuries, and casino sightings designed to fool all the Americans spying on them. After the charade is set in full motion, they go after Gorev, the defecting scientist. That is where things go drastically wrong.
Alexsander meets Noyábr-November, in English-Gorev, the daughter of the man who is trying to defect. Her attitude toward life, the government and her own dreams disarms Talanov in a way he had not allowed himself in years. The Ice Man makes some decisions that make him a huge target for his biggest enemy: the KGB.
My Reaction
This story was hard to read, at first. As it is narrated from the minds of Soviet agents, who were prone to hiding many secrets and analyzing every detail, the reading style took a while to get used to. After about 10 chapters, though, things got easier to understand. I got in the mind of Talanov, and almost felt what he must have been feeling at the moment of the action. It was full of details, feelings and action. Though it is not my usual reading topic, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would gladly recommend it to my friends, and to this Online Book Club.
My Rating
I give this story 4 out of 4 stars. The author did a great job creating all the characters and showing the KGB, the CIA, and the NATO of Spain. I was completely satisfied with the narrations, the descriptions, and the overall feeling of this novel.
My only complaint would be (and it’s just a personal opinion) that where the author wrote phrases and sentences in Spanish, some were not conjugated correctly. Spanish is my first language, and I understood everything, but a few sentences were not exactly grammatically correct; and, even then, it didn’t bother me or detract from the overall experience. I recommend it to everyone.
***
Buy "November Echo" on Amazon
The Story
November Echo is a novel set in Russia and Spain during the Cold War. Colonel Aleksander Talanov is one of the best-if not the best-agents of the KGB, known as the Ice Man. After a scientist of the undercover Biopreparat biological weapons program tries to defect to Spain, he is enlisted as the man in charge of bringing him, and his dangerous anthrax samples, back to the Soviet Union. He is partnered up with Sofia Dubinina, a Chinese agent that does not agree with Talanov’s methods of working.
Talanov is the perfect example of the KGB: a man without feelings, hiding the most vital information to everyone but himself. A man who can’t be bought, and that believes Mother Russia has a justified reason for every action taken.
Both of them act the part of lovers, as they pass a week of splurging, luxuries, and casino sightings designed to fool all the Americans spying on them. After the charade is set in full motion, they go after Gorev, the defecting scientist. That is where things go drastically wrong.
Alexsander meets Noyábr-November, in English-Gorev, the daughter of the man who is trying to defect. Her attitude toward life, the government and her own dreams disarms Talanov in a way he had not allowed himself in years. The Ice Man makes some decisions that make him a huge target for his biggest enemy: the KGB.
My Reaction
This story was hard to read, at first. As it is narrated from the minds of Soviet agents, who were prone to hiding many secrets and analyzing every detail, the reading style took a while to get used to. After about 10 chapters, though, things got easier to understand. I got in the mind of Talanov, and almost felt what he must have been feeling at the moment of the action. It was full of details, feelings and action. Though it is not my usual reading topic, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would gladly recommend it to my friends, and to this Online Book Club.
My Rating
I give this story 4 out of 4 stars. The author did a great job creating all the characters and showing the KGB, the CIA, and the NATO of Spain. I was completely satisfied with the narrations, the descriptions, and the overall feeling of this novel.
My only complaint would be (and it’s just a personal opinion) that where the author wrote phrases and sentences in Spanish, some were not conjugated correctly. Spanish is my first language, and I understood everything, but a few sentences were not exactly grammatically correct; and, even then, it didn’t bother me or detract from the overall experience. I recommend it to everyone.
***
Buy "November Echo" on Amazon
Latest Review: "A Wounded World" by Crit Kincaid
