A Spy by Nature

A Novel

By: Charles Cumming

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Alec Milius is young, smart, and ambitious. He also has a talent for deception. He is working in a dead-end job when a chance encounter leads him to MI6, the elite British Secret Intelligence Service, handing him an opportunity to play center stage in a dangerous game of espionage.

In his new line of work, Alec finds that the difference between the truth and a lie can mean the difference between life and death - and he is having trouble telling them apart. Isolated and exposed, he must play a role in which the slightest glance or casual remark can seem heavy with unintended menace. Caught between British and American Intelligence, Alec finds himself threatened and alone, unable to confide in even his closest friend. His life as a spy begins to exact a terrible price, both on himself and on those around him.

Richly atmospheric and chillingly plausible, A Spy by Nature announces the arrival of British author Charles Cumming as heir apparent to masters like John le Carre and Len Deighton. A best-seller in England, it's the gripping story of a young man driven by ruthless ambition who finds himself chasing not just success but survival.

©2001 Charles Cumming (P)2007 Tantor

This gripping story provided an entirely different perspective of the world of espionage

This was a thoroughly gripping story, which provided an entirely different perspective of the world of espionage.
It presents the reader with the human dimension of spying and it's impact on those close to a member of that profession.
It was a compelling story.

Meh

I had just finished the Thomas Kell series and then listened to this. No comparison. I liked the Kell books so much more. This is ok but not a favorite. A matter of taste, I suppose.

Best narcissistic narrator since American Psycho

...and not a bad treatment of the recruiting process, but overall, moderate results. The constant, thoroughly narcissistic, internal calculation in the narrator is expertly done, without a lot of fussy hand-wringing, and Vance is best at reading that material. The rest of Cumming's characters are significantly less developed, but with such a self-absorbed narrator, perhaps that fits. Vance's American accents aren't quite painful, but they could use some work. The ending is a bit much.

In A Muddle

I put my faith in the positive reviews of this book, but after listening, I side with those who found it badly wanting. Yes, it is not just another implausible thriller shoot 'em up. But the character development was nothing to write home about, especially with the central character Milius. He is simply a cipher. We learn very little about him, and what we do learn is about as interesting as the cardboard he measures up to. The American Katherine is far more intriguing and more about her - and more interaction with Milius - is a missed opportunity . He has one friend - and that's a thin rendering - and one ex-girlfriend who we find out very little until the very end and that's too little too late. There is a protracted first attempt at becoming a spy that ends in a fizzle and then he becomes one but I can't figure out why. There's just not much there there and it all cries out for a good editor to challenge the writer to try an awful lot harder. I'm surprised this found a publisher, much less that it was a 'best seller'.

Long boring bad ending

This went on forever
There is a lot of detail but much of it is boring
If author is trying to convey how boring spying might be , he has achieved it. Other books by same author are much better

Very unlikable protagonist

A lot of unnecessary detail early bout the minutia of the main character’s thoughts. and then it just finishes in a predictable “cliffhanger”.

Marginal at best

This novel is really a story of almosts...almost not predictable, almost interesting characters, almost doesn't plod, almost interests you enough to finish it. The only real high point is the narration which is almost very good but not Scott Brick level. You can leave this one alone unless you have credits to lose if you don't use them.

A different kind of spy novel, ending so-so

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not sure I would recommend this book.... no major reason to do it.

Has A Spy by Nature turned you off from other books in this genre?

No way

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes - he is great!

Was A Spy by Nature worth the listening time?

Barely

Longing for the Cold War

As spy stories go, this is a good one. It's well thought out and admirably executed. Characters are well drawn. The reader's one shortcoming is his American accent, which sounds forced. This is not distracting, just curious.

Yet in spite of this novel's excellent execution, somehow industrial espionage about oil companies does not fire the imagination like the Cold War did. Who really cares if one oil company screws another over? Or if the CIA and MI6 are willing to spy on each other over something so banal as money? Cold War spy novels at least left us with the illusion that altruism was possible. There are no white hats in this story. I long for Bernard Samson and George Smiley and Paul Christopher.

Confusing title

This is barely a "spy" novel. The story felt hurriedly put together and not thought out. It read like a book missing several chapters. Lots of effort to bring in characters that didn't really have much to do with the story.

What really got to me was the authors obsession with the weight of the characters.