#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe undisputed master returns with his first Smiley novel in more than twenty-five years–a #1 New York Times bestseller and ideal holiday gift.Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from … coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London, and involved such characters as Alec Leamas, Jim Prideaux, George Smiley and Peter Guillam himself, are to be scrutinized by a generation with no memory of the Cold War and no patience with its justifications.
Interweaving past with present so that each may tell its own intense story, John le Carré has spun a single plot as ingenious and thrilling as the two predecessors on which it looks back: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In a story resonating with tension, humor and moral ambivalence, le Carré and his narrator Peter Guillam present the reader with a legacy of unforgettable characters old and new.
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A satiric look-back at THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, this spy thriller beautifully captures the isolation of people who spend their lives watching others and cruelly using them for a “larger, more benevolent good.” You’ll appreciate this more if you read COLD first (you’ll find some minor discrepancies). For me, this is the best of le Carre’s later works. I’ll be reading it again, and often.
From a skillful writer.
Age has not diminished him nor withered his pen. A Legacy of Spies brings the story that made John Le Carré an undisputed star, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, full circle. Decades later, the past is raked up and Peter Guillam has to face potentially lethal consequences for what the Circus did or didn’t do during the height of the Cold War. For an uninitiated reader, this novel might be rambling. For a Le Carré fan, it’s spellbinding.
Has to be the finest living author in the English language (and if you include those who’ve passed on, then there’s only PGW for company, albeit of a very different sort). This book is a fine return to the ‘glory days’ of Smiley and the Circus, in fact, harking back to the book that started it all: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Vintage le Carré in more ways than one; his ear for dialogue and his use of flashbacks is unparalleled as his is wry spot-on skewering of a person/class/mannerism with a single unerring turn of phrase. Brilliant.
Author gives you a clear view of what British intelligence was like in the Cold War
good read
Extremely good reading
If you liked the Spy Who Came in From the Cold then this is a must read. Need to be a little patient but it all comes together at the end. Lots of your favorite characters from the Smiley books. Highly recommended.
A Legacy of Spies is not Le Carre’s strongest recent work, but he still displays incredible writing skills. Combining literate prose with action and intrigue is not commonly found in popular novels. To do it with such uncommon ability and apparent ease is frightening.
He is a great writer. Intelligent as well as stimulating.
If you enjoyed the previous George Smiley books, this will be a special treat. Relive parts of the tales from a different perspective.
You can’t go wrong reading a Le Carre book! This one has it all. Good cast of characters, excellent complex plot. You can’t put the book down. You have to find out what happens on the next page.
For fans of Le Carre, this wasn’t quite up to his peak stuff, but it was still great, and featured a retired Peter Guillam called back to action, and even visited with an ancient, aging George Smiley. But the greatest thing about it was it connected all the dots from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, all the way through Smiley’s People – making it all one, single, long, complex story. Be forewarned – you’d better go back and reread Spy Who Came in from the Cold before you read this book, to remind yourself of all those twists and turns – because it all comes back to Karla in the end. Really a fun read for a student of his work.
Real literature that still entertains.
Audio version read by author is especially fantastic. LeCarre is a wonderful voice actor (?)
IMHO LeCarre is one of those authors who never fails to deliver. While this work will not rank with his best, it is very much worth a read
Another winner by LaCarre.
Not his best but the bar is pretty high!
Book was a bit confusing with a very complicated plot. Too many characters, all plotting against each other. Not up to the author’s previous work in my opinion.
Not his best work.