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Showing posts from April, 2016

Espionage in April

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Spy fiction, a sub-genre of mystery and thriller, grew out of a time when world powers and their modern intelligence agencies were heavily involved in intrigue and rivalry. While older works featured spies in various circumstances, it wasn't until the early twentieth century that the spy novel became a recognized sub-genre. Spy fiction became very popular during World War II and the Cold War, and has gained new traction with the rise of global terrorism, technological sabotage, and rogue states. Very action-packed, spy fiction tends to lead its reader through the twists and turns of political intrigue, often following a particular spy who, we hope, is the good guy (but might be a double agent!) The reader typically receives all the information necessary to figure out what is going on, but must approach it as a puzzle, trying, along with the main character, to see the whole picture before it's too late. Our Main Read this month was chosen by John Watson, who has quite a bit