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  • Spy Books

    We've chatted about about spy books in other threads, but I wanted to dedicate a thread to spy/thriller series and their protagonists. I'm a pretty big fan of the genre, even knowing it's pretty much the male version of a harlequin. Now that summer is well upon us I'm really looking forward to my annual ritual of reading the new releases by my favorite authors. I'm pretty much exclusively an audiobook listener and love listening on long bike rides, runs, and when doing household chores. I have a strong preference for George Guidall as my narrator, but there are some other really good ones like Jay Snyder or Armand Shultz. Lou Diamond Phillips has done a few of the Clancy books and he does an awesome job.

    Here are my favorite authors and characters.

    Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills: Mitch Rapp Series
    Daniel Silva: Gabriel Allon Series
    Brad Thor: Scot Harvath Series
    Mark Greaney: Court Gentry/Gray Man Series
    Alex Berenson: John Wells Series
    Tom Clancy: Jack Ryan Series
    Ben Coes: Dewey Andreas Series

    If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the Mitch Rapp series. That's mostly out of sentiment because of the time in my life when I reengaged with the genre. I was introduced to the series by my Father-in-Law before he passed and had so many great conversations with him about the various books and plots. The inventor and author of the series passed away from cancer a few years ago and then replacement author has really done an outstanding job. I also *love* the Gabriel Allon series, though to my everlasting shame I came to know it through a post on this site by UteStar. That man drives us all crazy but he does have an eye for fiction books. I've tried a few other series and have had a difficult time getting into them. This genre requires one to create a strong relationship with the protagonist, knowing that they'll always save the day regardless of how horrible the circumstance. It's also almost exclusively a domain of the right wing so torture scenes are a staple and *almost* always necessary to save the day, though our hero never takes pleasure in it.

    If any of you thriller fans have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them.

  • #2
    Do the heroes have to be spies?

    I quite like Vince Flynn and stories about Mitch Rapp and have read the whole series twice.

    I also like:

    Lee Child: Jack Reacher
    Michael Connelly: Harry Bosch
    Walter Mosley: Easy Rawlins
    Walter Mosley: Leonid McGill (only five books in this series)

    It's hard to choose between Michael Connelly and Walter Mosley as my favorite author, but Vince Flynn is right up there with them. I'll have to start reading some of those others on your list.

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    • #3
      I don't read a whole lot of spy fiction these days, but

      For non fiction - Ben MacIntyre's on WWII are superb!

      Fiction
      Le Carre's Smiley books are excellent as well as classic

      W.E.B Griffen has a series set in the WW II OSS - Men at War
      Last edited by happyone; 06-27-2018, 04:23 PM.

      I may be small, but I'm slow.

      A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

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      • #4
        If I start the Mitch Rapp series with Executive Power (book 5), will I be lost? My library only has the audiobooks starting from 5....

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        • #5
          Originally posted by LiveCoug View Post
          If I start the Mitch Rapp series with Executive Power (book 5), will I be lost? My library only has the audiobooks starting from 5....
          You won't be lost. All of the books can stand on their own. The only reason to read them in order is that some of the later books give away details from the earlier books. I read Executive Power first, then determined that maybe I should start at the front and read them sequentially.

          The one book you can read out of order is American Assassin, since the whole thing is about what happened before anything in the rest of the series.

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          • #6
            Spy Books

            I love Mitch Rapp series. When Vince Flynn passed, I was heartbroken as he was my favorite author. I have not been able to read any of the new books due to his passing but you have raised my interest. I may have to check out the ones done after Vince’s passing.

            So tragic. He beat cancer once and it came back in his prime and took him away from us fans.


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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            • #7
              Picked up American Assassin, the prequel to the Mitch Rapp series, and finished it this morning. Really fun read. Sad to hear that the author passed away in 2013, but he did put out a lot of Rapp novels. Replacement authors can be a mixed bag, but if the new guy is good, I'll give him a shot.

              Question: is Stan Hurley a common character in the later novels? He's great.
              Last edited by falafel; 08-13-2019, 09:32 AM.
              Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

              "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

              GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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              • #8
                Originally posted by falafel View Post
                Picked up American Assassin, the prequetl to the Mitch Rapp series, and finished it this morning. Really fun read. Sad to hear that the author passed away in 2013, but he did put out a lot of Rapp novels. Replacement authors can be a mixed bag, but if the new guy is good, I'll give him a shot.

                Question: is Stan Hurley a common character in the later novels? He's great.
                Hurley is in most of the Rapp novels, though he plays a bigger role in the two prequels than in the others. He's badass and OMG he and Mitch are so alike but they're both too stubborn to see it!

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                • #9
                  Wait-list for all these authors.[emoji58]

                  Going to read The Lions of Lucerne next.
                  Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                  "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                  GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by falafel View Post
                    Wait-list for all these authors.[emoji58]

                    Going to read The Lions of Lucerne next.
                    Funny but that’s the only Brad Thor novel I haven’t read.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by falafel View Post
                      Picked up American Assassin, the prequel to the Mitch Rapp series, and finished it this morning. Really fun read. Sad to hear that the author passed away in 2013, but he did put out a lot of Rapp novels. Replacement authors can be a mixed bag, but if the new guy is good, I'll give him a shot.

                      Question: is Stan Hurley a common character in the later novels? He's great.
                      American Assassin is a very good novel and it's nice that you can read that one without it giving away anything relevant to the other books. There are a total of 13 Mitch Rapp novels plus the first novel that Vince Flynn wrote - Term Limits - that has just about everybody else in it except Rapp. I don't think Stan Hurley appears in every novel, but I could be wrong. He's definitely in a lot of them.

                      Kyle Mills wrote three later Mitch Rapp books. I read the first one and didn't feel a strong desire to read the other two, but probably will someday.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by YOhio View Post
                        Funny but that’s the only Brad Thor novel I haven’t read.
                        I don't find that funny actually. But since you started this thread, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
                        Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                        "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                        GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I am curious if anyone saw the Movie based off of America Assassin. It has Michael Keaton playing Stan Hurley..

                          Yes, he is a great character..


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                          • #14
                            I loved the Bourne books by Ludlum. I thought they were great reads.

                            I tried to listen to a LeCarre and just about feel asleep and crashed my car. Too slow.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by dabrockster View Post
                              I am curious if anyone saw the Movie based off of America Assassin. It has Michael Keaton playing Stan Hurley..

                              Yes, he is a great character..


                              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                              I saw American Assassin. I didn't care for it, but the folks I went with liked it.

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