Product Description

Long-awaited reissue of the first part of the classic spy trilogy, GAME, SET and MATCH, when the Berlin Wall divided not just a city but a world. East is East and West is West - and they meet in Berlin! He was the best source the Department ever had, but now he desperately wanted to come over the Wall. 'Brahms Four' was certain a high-ranking mole was set to betray him. There was only one Englishman he trusted any more: someone from the old days. So they decided to put Bernard Samson back into the field after five sedentary years of flying a desk. The field is Berlin. The game is as baffling, treacherous and lethal as ever...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151025 in Books
• Published on: 1984-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
'Deighton's best novel to date - sharp, witty and sour, like Raymond Chandler adapted to British gloom and the multiple betrayals of the private spy' Observer 'Sheer consistent rightness page after page after page' The Times 'Virtuoso top level performance' Guardian 'A masterly performance, much the best thing Deighton has done since SS-GB' Sunday Times

About the Author
Born in London, Len Deighton served in the RAF before graduating from the Royal College of Art (which recently elected him a Senior Fellow). While in New York City working as a magazine illustrator he began writing his first novel, The Ipcress File, which was published in 1962. He is now the author of more than thirty books of fiction and non-fiction. At present living in Europe, he has, over the years, lived with his family in ten different countries from Austria to Portugal.

Customer Reviews

A brill read, again and again and again .....
There's only one thing better than a really good book - and that is when it's part of a series. Bernie Samson, his family, friends, colleagues and enemies appear in 10, page-turning novels. There is so much I enjoy in these novels, that every 3-4 years or so I re-read them and enjoy them all over again.

There's the complex plot, that leads you up and down the proverbial garden path. That's one reason to read again, to pick up any clues missed the first time.

The characters are believeable, particularly Bernie's colleagues, embroiled in office politics. I think it's the interaction of the characters that makes the book so absorbing for me.

Initially its a good escapism read, but then Deighton subtly offers a storyline that could be based on true events, and valid explanations as to why his characters might have acted as they did.

A tale of contrasts, from life threatening situations, to the minutae of daily life; from being light hearted and witty, to very thought provoking; a very satisfying read.

The first and best cold war novelist
A recent unsuccessful quest for Len Deighton novels, in several large chain bookstores, reminded me what a crucial service Amazon provides to the book-buying public nowadays. While bookstores squeeze publishers' margins in return for promoting second-rate titles, the quality books are left languishing in the back of the store or not stocked at all. Like several other reviewers here, I am re-reading the Bernard Samson series, and will undoubtedly do so again. With Russian emigrés being assassinated in London, the suppression of Russia's free press, and economic blackmail of former Eastern Bloc states, the cold-war genre is suddenly relevant again. My wife does not even like spy fiction, but could not put this series down until reading all three trilogies. We are now planning a trip to Berlin to identify all the locations we have read about! The genius of Len Deighton is that his novels are compulsive page-turners, with more ingenious plots and better characterizations than Le Carré's, but without the heavy intellectual style.

First book in a great spy saga!
First in a series of nine books about the life and career of a SIS spy, Bernard Samson. After spending five years behind a desk in London, Bernie is asked by Brahms Four (a high ranking source in East Berlin), to help him come over to the West. With him, he will bring evidence of a high ranking mole, located within the SIS. Will Bernie manage to succeed in his mission, before the mole succeeds in it's?

Once again, we have another great spy thriller from Len Deighton. His story writing skills weave an enthralling tale of treachery, action, mystery and humour. I enjoyed the way his characters interact with one another. Especially Samson's dry wit and humour!