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Title: Charm School by Nelson Demille, James Naughton ISBN: 0-7393-0379-1 Publisher: Random House Audio Price-less Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 3 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.59 (153 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: This Book Will get You Hooked
Comment: Nelson DeMille is a brilliant writer. "The Charm School" was the only one of his books I hadn't had a chance to read yet, and I'm really glad I ordered a copy recently.
This is by far the best spy novel I have ever read. Like the other reviewers, I got hooked by that book immediately and have neglected basically everything in the four days that it took me to read these 600 pages.
I do not think that it should have been shorter as Nelson DeMille's detailed descriptions of what it was like behind the Iron Curtain makes this book such a special treat. This is so much better than all of Tom Clancy's novels combined! Mr. DeMille not only writes in excellent and witty prose but knows how to create breathless tension.
There is a lot of John Corey (Plum Island, The Lion's Game) in this book's broken hero Sam Hollis. Even though the end of the novel is a bit over-the-top, I was sad to turn the last page yesterday.
Great stuff!
Rating: 5
Summary: RIVETING!
Comment: This book is outstanding! I couldn't put it down. The storyline is great, the writing fast-paced, the dialogue believable, and the narrative literally takes you to Moscow. You will feel the arctic chill of the 1980s Cold War when you read The Charm School! This was head and shoulders above the other Demille book I've read, The General's Daughter (no, I didn't see the movie). THIS is the book they should make into a movie! I have only two minor criticisms: the relationship between Lisa and Hollis seemed a bit stilted and non-convincing at times. Also, I think Lisa's character devolved a bit towards the end of the book -- she became a little too clingy and maudlin, not at all the strong, interesting type she started out as. (though this may have been deliberate on Demille's part to illustrate the psychological toll events had on her). In any case, these things in no way detract from the overall quality of the book. READ IT!
Rating: 5
Summary: My favorite Cold War novel of all time. Unforgettable.
Comment: The Charm School is my favorite Cold War novel of all time and one of my favorite novels of any genre, ever. This is a powerful, well-written, and disturbing novel of Cold War intrigue. It takes place in the old Soviet Union circa 1988, and DeMille's research about, and visits to, the USSR around this time have given this novel an authenticity that resonates throughout the novel. DeMille captures the tension of the Cold War conflict, the sorrow of the Russian people and the contradictions in the old Soviet state ("with gravel roads, ICBMs, and a world-class Secret Police service..."). This is a superb novel.
Without committing any spoilers, the plot is simple, powerful, and disturbing. Two US diplomats in the Soviet Union discover a terrible secret: that over 1000 US MIA pilots shot down over Vietnam have been spirited away to Russia. The purpose is to allow the Soviets to set up "Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School" which is a KGB academy in which the pilots are forced to teach aspiring Russian spies how to act, speak, and pass as Americans. The KGB will go to literally any lengths to keep the existence of "The Charm School" a secret. The rest would be telling. This is a great story.
DeMille literally transports the reader to Soviet-era Russia. His prose dealing with the Russian people, the Soviet government, the vast country, and the long-suffering people to me seemed to capture at least some of the essence of that great and troubled country. The novel moves at a fast-pace without racing to the finish; the reader is allowed to "smell the flowers" along the way, but the storyline never drags. This novel manages to do what very few novels ever succeed in doing: it is a classic of its genre, as well as a ripping page turner.
"The Charm School" ranks with DeMille's "Word of Honor" as a true masterpiece that belongs in every reader's library.
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Title: Gold Coast by Nelson Demille ISBN: 0446360856 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: By the Rivers of Babylon by Nelson Demille ISBN: 0446358592 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Word of Honor by Nelson Demille ISBN: 0446301582 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Plum Island by Nelson Demille ISBN: 0446605409 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Talbot Odyssey by Nelson Demille ISBN: 0446358584 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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