Review: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The true story of a double agent in the KGB working for Britain for over a decade.

Riveting to say the very least as Ben paces this book looking into in the life of Oleg Gordievsky as a KGB agent and his transformation into a double agent and the cat and mouse game that ensues. The day to day challenges on a professional front, personal front and his alter ego make for a good read and the close calls he has through out whilst providing insights into the inner workings of the KGB and the techniques and tricks used by surveillance and counter surveillance agents and the interplay between multiple countries and their secret services is a great eye opener to this world which is hidden in plain sight. To date, he continues to be one of the highest ranked double agents almost running the entire country's operations. The tough decisions he has to make time and again between personal and professional make him human. No doubt the book is biased towards making him a hero. As a biography, Ben makes it a fast paced spy thriller as good as fiction.

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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A scary philosophical humorous drama that shows childhood innocence in hindsight

A mix of drama, a pinch of horror, few drops of mythology all of it in a flashback as a man attends a funeral in his childhood hometown and reminisces his childhood and the madness around it. A mix of dark and light only Gaiman could do.

A novella at best , this makes for a breezy read that captures a lot of emotions and feelings. Ursula and the hunger birds add to the ickiness along with the supernatural elements mashed up with realities for children that adults have forgotten. This is a young adult fiction aimed at adults probably but probably would have enjoyed it more when I was devouring R L Stine and the types.

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