Lately, the movie industry has been capitalizing on a number of great novels - many of which are on my own Goodreads.com “Read” shelf. Accordingly, one of the most recent books that I enjoyed and saw transition to the silver screen is the first installment in Jason Matthew’s Red Sparrow trilogy.
Each of the trilogy's novels were extremely well received, even amongst the bloated bookshelves of the spy-genre aisle. To my smug satisfaction (thinking myself ultra-clever to have spotted a good story six months before a movie executive realized he or she could make serious rubles by putting Jennifer Lawrence in a Russian mink coat) the 2013 novel was formally picked up for production by Hollywood only three years later.
Written by Matthews (who is a real-world former CIA operative himself), Red Sparrow focuses on a Russian bombshell, Dominika Egorova, who starts her career as a “Sparrow” - the KGB’s version of super-seductress spy. From there, the reader gets to enjoy a sultry, action-packed and occasionally humorous dance between Egorova and her CIA lover/recruiter/handler, Nate Nash, throughout the course of all three books.
At the risk of sounding like a resonating echo through the grand halls of Steemit, the character development is, of course, what drives these books (though the suspense and action really do keep the plot moving nicely). Matthews creates a number of personalities that hold our intrigue and is even bold enough to plop us behind the Kremlin’s doors for some intimate one-on-one time with Vladimir himself.
As the trilogy doesn’t shy from poking fun at the bureaucracies that plague The Agency, a number of the quotes I pulled from the final book (The Kremlin’s Candidate) are humorous in nature. And to their credit, I may even have to deploy a few of these for use in my own workplace.
Muttered by the perpetually grumpy but wicked smart chief of counterintelligence, Simon Benford, this quick rebuke of Nate Nash made me chuckle:
“Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Endeavor not to be one of those people. A good place to start is not to speak unless spoken to.”
Conversely, Nash had some entertaining quips about one of the piss-poor bosses he had worked for in the past. (I assure you, this clever piece of comedic gold will be unleashed with vigor throughout the offices of my own employer):
”… his boss, a nontechnical outsider whom he called a seagull manager. 'Swoops in, starts screaming, shits on everything, then flies away.’”
Finally, I thought to include this last snippet as it eloquently described the gray haze of morality that intelligence operatives often need to manage and endure. This was another unflinching delivery from Chief Benford to Nash:
“Nash, we operate in a hostile fog bank, we deal with ambiguity, and if we must, we apply expedient amorality to accomplish moral goals. Embrace it or tell me what else you want to do with your life.”
Overall, the Red Sparrow books are strung together nicely to create an excellent trilogy, specializing in action with authentic glimpses into the spy-world. Perhaps not as emotionally compelling as some of my usual book preferences, but still undeniably enjoyable. 4 Russian Red Stars out of 5.
Keep on Steem’n, folks!