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Berlin Game

Berlin Game

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  • Create Date：2021-06-15 08:51:12
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：0241505143
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Summary

'Masterly 。。。 dazzlingly intelligent and subtle' Sunday Times

'Deighton's best novel to date - sharp， witty and sour， like Raymond Chandler adapted to British gloom and the multiple betrayals of the spy' Observer

Embattled agent Bernard Samson is used to being passed over for promotion as his younger， more ambitious colleagues - including his own wife Fiona - rise up the ranks of MI6。 When a valued agent in East Berlin warns the British of a mole at the heart of the Service， Samson must return to the field and the city he loves to uncover the traitor's identity。 This is the first novel in Len Deighton's acclaimed， Game， Set and Match trilogy。

A BERNARD SAMSON NOVEL

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Reviews

Geo Forman ，

A real treat。 A spy story told in a way that resembles LeCarre

Nash ，

An excellent book in the style of Le Carre。 A style that I definitely like。

Holger Haase ，

I had read this before and absolutely loved it but never got around to reading the other two books in this trilogy。 Have now decided to finally close this gap。 On second read this is just as good as the first time。 It is one of the only spy thrillers that genuinely feels realistic， even the details of East and West Berlin down to the minutiae of the way Germans talk and how their accents are perceived is by and large down to a Tee。 Looking forward to finally approaching the remaining two novels。

John Stanley ，

Oddly， some books I want to rate higher but just can’t for one reason or another。 This one I wanted to rate lower for most of the book but it had， what I felt， was a really strong ending and wrap up and I had no trouble giving it 5 stars。 A terrific British spy story， understated and very subtle （even hard to follow at times） still， it was a terrific story and the writing excellent。 I’ll definitely read the next one， “Mexico Set。”

Mr。 Gottshalk ，

Clever plot， but I just didn’t care enough。 Selfish， one-line review， I know。 Len Deighton has been an author I’ve always been interested in because he’s a “master” of espionage， and maybe he’s worth another go。 This one is about an English agent investigating potential double-agents in both London and Berlin to extract a spy out of Soviet-run East Berlin in the early 1980s。 If only the characters know that the wall would be down in less than a decade。。。 It was neither atmospheric nor page-turni Clever plot， but I just didn’t care enough。 Selfish， one-line review， I know。 Len Deighton has been an author I’ve always been interested in because he’s a “master” of espionage， and maybe he’s worth another go。 This one is about an English agent investigating potential double-agents in both London and Berlin to extract a spy out of Soviet-run East Berlin in the early 1980s。 If only the characters know that the wall would be down in less than a decade。。。 It was neither atmospheric nor page-turning enough to go up any more stars。 。。。more

Gordon Popular ，

Back to the cold war， Berlin wall， Checkpoint Charlie， waiting for your agent to come from the cold and a mole。 This book is written in the vein of LeCarre。 If you have read Deighton's book， "Winter"， you will find some familiar characters。 This is an old time spy thriller with a surprise ending。 Unlike LeCarre the ending isn't so dark。 Back to the cold war， Berlin wall， Checkpoint Charlie， waiting for your agent to come from the cold and a mole。 This book is written in the vein of LeCarre。 If you have read Deighton's book， "Winter"， you will find some familiar characters。 This is an old time spy thriller with a surprise ending。 Unlike LeCarre the ending isn't so dark。 。。。more

Susancatobrien ，

Helps to read them in order I started with Mexico Set accidentally so reading Berlin Game second wasn’t so terrible as they each have their own story。 Hoping some of factional pieces are indeed fact， so hard to know nowadays。

Pradeep Rajiv ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Love is only what you can betray and being a spy is to build castles from it！！

Charles ，

First thing – this is not three stories。 this is not three books。 this is one story broken into three convenient binders。As such you have to read all three。 In order。 Doing otherwise would be like watching just episode three of the Thorn Birds。 The story just won’t hold together or make sense。The first quarter of the first book left me with the impression that this was going to be a very dull story。 It turns out that setting the stage for the whole story took the author a little bit longer than First thing – this is not three stories。 this is not three books。 this is one story broken into three convenient binders。As such you have to read all three。 In order。 Doing otherwise would be like watching just episode three of the Thorn Birds。 The story just won’t hold together or make sense。The first quarter of the first book left me with the impression that this was going to be a very dull story。 It turns out that setting the stage for the whole story took the author a little bit longer than I expected。 Bernard Sampson turns out to be a great character。 Full of depth and pathos。 You will find yourself rooting for him before you’re halfway through the Berlin game。 The story has a visceral cat and mouse subplot that snakes through the entire series。 If you can get all three books and read from beginning to end it will be a wonderful weekend。 。。。more

Lyle Krewson ，

Very entertaining spy fiction。。。in the same class as Le Carre。 My first with the Samson series。。。and the first of the series。 Recommendable， riveting， edge of the seat and resolved only at the final page！

Scott Delgado ，

I will read anything， and sometimes if I see someone in a movie reading a book， I'll seek that book out。 When watching "Jackie Brown，" there was a scene where Max Cherry is waiting for Jackie to get released from jail。 He is reading "Berlin Game。" That's why I decided to read this book。Maybe I'm just not one for spy books， but I found this book boring。 It was a lot of dialogue， but it didn't seem to go anywhere。 I understand it is the first book in something like a 9-book series， but I don't thi I will read anything， and sometimes if I see someone in a movie reading a book， I'll seek that book out。 When watching "Jackie Brown，" there was a scene where Max Cherry is waiting for Jackie to get released from jail。 He is reading "Berlin Game。" That's why I decided to read this book。Maybe I'm just not one for spy books， but I found this book boring。 It was a lot of dialogue， but it didn't seem to go anywhere。 I understand it is the first book in something like a 9-book series， but I don't think I'll be reading anymore。 Perhaps if I were to read the whole series， I would enjoy this book more as being a part of a whole。 。。。more

Ian Racey ，

Both very much of its time & ages very well。 I loved the sense of history Deighton managed to create: these characters lived in 1980s Berlin but they had also previously lived in 1950s Berlin and those who were old enough had lived in 1940s or 1920s Berlin as well。 The sense of MI6 being a very small community was deliberate， but there was definitely an element of it being too small a family。

Laitsman ，

This book had ADHD。 It was distracted。 It had a plot， but Deighton couldn't seem to focus on it。 There was too much time for tea and economics and cute tangents about Berlin accents so that nothing ever seemed to happen， and when something finally did happen， it happened so slowly that I didn't even register that something important was happening until chapters after it happened。 And like that prior sentence， this book was so extra。 The plot should've been 150 pages rather than 344。 This book had ADHD。 It was distracted。 It had a plot， but Deighton couldn't seem to focus on it。 There was too much time for tea and economics and cute tangents about Berlin accents so that nothing ever seemed to happen， and when something finally did happen， it happened so slowly that I didn't even register that something important was happening until chapters after it happened。 And like that prior sentence， this book was so extra。 The plot should've been 150 pages rather than 344。 。。。more

Zbegniew ，

I listened to the audiobook and the narration was very good。 This is the first book in the Bernard Samson series by Deighton。 There are nine books in this series， grouped into three trilogies。 Bernard Samson is a mid-level official in MI6。 The story is set in the mid-80's when the Berlin Wall is still up and there is traffic across Checkpoint Charlie。 Bernard is forced to make one last trip into East Berlin to bring out a valuable agent who is about to be exposed。 The story is replete with moles I listened to the audiobook and the narration was very good。 This is the first book in the Bernard Samson series by Deighton。 There are nine books in this series， grouped into three trilogies。 Bernard Samson is a mid-level official in MI6。 The story is set in the mid-80's when the Berlin Wall is still up and there is traffic across Checkpoint Charlie。 Bernard is forced to make one last trip into East Berlin to bring out a valuable agent who is about to be exposed。 The story is replete with moles， double agents and black marketeers: everything that made the Cold War great。 No trigger warnings。 。。。more

Mariela ，

WWII， the Berlin Wall and all that implied。 People trying to get out， spies inside that have to be protected。 Amazing。

Nrip Nihalani ，

Cold war spy drama of the highest quality。

Patrick Powell ，

Len Deighton’s first spy novel， The IPCRESS File was published in 1962， and along with John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold， published the following year， it is said to have ushered in ‘a new era of spy fiction’。Sometimes Ian Fleming’s 007 James Bond novels are roped into this ‘new era’， although the first novel in the Bond series was published almost ten years earlier， and the classification is spurious。 I suggest it has more to do with publishing industry and media hype than any r Len Deighton’s first spy novel， The IPCRESS File was published in 1962， and along with John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold， published the following year， it is said to have ushered in ‘a new era of spy fiction’。Sometimes Ian Fleming’s 007 James Bond novels are roped into this ‘new era’， although the first novel in the Bond series was published almost ten years earlier， and the classification is spurious。 I suggest it has more to do with publishing industry and media hype than any real connection between the three authors。What le Carré and Deighton have in common is that unlike previous spies in novels， their heroes are， in a sense， anti-heroes， figures who exist outside the Establishment and don’t （like Bond） belong to ‘a club’， and at the time — the onset of ‘the Swinging Sixties’ with its ‘satire revolution’， the evolution of ‘kitchen sink drama’ and ‘the rise of the working class’ — were superficially very much of their age。Actually， those four descriptions are themselves more media hype than much else， but then let’s face it， at heart the publishing industry is as much about making money as every other industry。Yet in other respects the two writers differ， largely because of their distinct backgrounds: le Carré was educated at public school （although his father was a conman so his childhood was anything but conventional） and Oxford， and was remorselessly middle-class。 Deighton was ‘working class’ — his mother was a cook and his father was a chauffeur — he did his national service ‘in the ranks’， then went to art school and had various jobs， including as a BOAC flight attendant， before he began writing。Although， of course， both， especially Deighton， outgrew their origins， those backgrounds are reflected in how they shape their main protagonists， especially the ‘up yours’， slightly rebellious and sceptical attitude Deighton allows his heroes to have towards their ‘classier’ colleagues and bosses。 Throughout Deighton’s heroes quietly despise their ‘betters’， an aspect which went down well， in the post-Macmillan era。A far as knowledge of spying is concerned， Le Carré and Deighton also have a differnt take。 Carré （in his real identity of David Cornwell） had actually worked in the Secret Intelligence Service （MI6） and MI5， and brought to his novels and — more intricate — plots a degree of verisimilitude。 On the other hand， the apparent professional acquaintance the secret intelligence world that is spuriously present in Deighton’s work is just Deighton putting his imagination to work。On a literary level， a further difference between the two is that le Carré （who died a month or two ago in December 2020） was essentially a novelist and a writer who examined aspects of human behaviour and psychology， whereas there is no such depth in Deighton at all。 Deighton wrote ‘thrillers’ and， as far as I can see， had not intention of trying anything more multi-dimensional， whereas， in a sense， the ‘thriller’ aspect of le Carré’s work is incidental。 Finally， le Carré was far more of a stylist than Deighton （who is over 90 but still alive）。 Although Deighton can keep a narrative functionally rolling along， his pallet is far narrower。As for Berlin Game itself， I have not read great deal of Deighton’s work， but I had high hopes for Berlin Game， and I was disappointed。 There’s not really too much to the novel， to be frank。 It is all a little too narrow， and much of it is unconvincing， despite the apparent ‘professional jargon and slang’。 The attempts to come over as ‘an insider’s perspective’ eventually come across as a little ridiculous。Deighton tries， but fails， to create worlds into which we might get a glimpse， whether it is the internal operation of MI6 or the supposedly intimate knowledge of Berlin， its people and attitudes of a man who was raised in city。 Neither attempt quite comes off。His cast of characters is also a little sparse， both in London’s MI6 HQ （it boils down to four or possibly four and a half men and women， not including the first-person narrator） and in early 1980s Berlin。 His ‘plot’ is thin and amorphous （although I suppose in response to that last claim someone might insist that ‘in the world of spying nothing is neat and tidy’， although if I did get that response， I would point out that first and foremost Deighton is telling a story， and its imperatives surely take precedence）。Why， too， does Deighton opt for a ‘first-person narrator’？ Using that technique does make things easier for the writer， and although it also presents one or two technical difficulties， the advantage it gives a writer makes it an attractive technique to many of them。The trouble is that all too often having a character tell a story invariably poses the question （for this reader at least）: why， exactly， is this man/woman doing so？ What is the ultimate point？ When the technique works （as it does in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita） there is always a reason， and that is precisely why the technique works: recounting why something happened ‘to me’ in this way is an intricate element of the fabric of the story。When， as in Deighton’s Berlin Game， the first-person narration is merely adopted because it makes writing easier， it simply doesn’t work （or at least not for this reader）: why does Bernard Sansom， the hero of Berlin Game and two other novels in a trilogy， bother if he has no reason to tell us， which apparently he does not？ Like it or not， that is important， and if the question is left unanswered， a novel fails in at least one respect。I am also left a underwhelmed by Deighton’s other technique: the bulk of this novel consists of conversation。 That can work or it cannot。 In Berlin Game it does work to a certain extent， but it always makes a work look too thin if those conversations are too functional and pedestrian。A skilled writer might in what a protagonist says be able to give insight into her or his character， personality and motivation。 That just isn’t the case in Berlin Game。 For all his attempts at delineating the various characters， the remain stubbornly two-dimensional。 Nice try but no cigar。 。。。more

Gavin Clark ，

“Trent’s a Balliol man， like me，’ said Dicky suddenly。 ‘Are you boasting， confessing or complaining？’ I asked。”Really liked this。 A much more readable version of Le Carre with a similar to the Smiley trilogy "find the traitor" plot。 It has all the problems that I have with these novels about privilaged posh ex public schoolboys being deskbound spies but Deighton made it all so readable and with a suitably cynical more down to earth protagonist。 “Trent’s a Balliol man， like me，’ said Dicky suddenly。 ‘Are you boasting， confessing or complaining？’ I asked。”Really liked this。 A much more readable version of Le Carre with a similar to the Smiley trilogy "find the traitor" plot。 It has all the problems that I have with these novels about privilaged posh ex public schoolboys being deskbound spies but Deighton made it all so readable and with a suitably cynical more down to earth protagonist。 。。。more

Andrew Cowen ，

My first foray into the world of Len Deighton was a pleasant enough virtual journey to the city of Berlin and could almost be written as a love letter to that city。 The story involves a British intelligence officer， Bernard Samson， tasked with rooting out a traitor who is compromising their long time informant in Berlin。I thoroughly enjoyed the book， but whether it induces me to read other books in the Samson series is another matter！

McKenzie ，

I'm not normally into mystery， suspense， thriller。 This book was loaned to me。 Laying out the characters and all the build up took quite some time。 But I really enjoyed the last 3-4 chapters。 I'm not normally into mystery， suspense， thriller。 This book was loaned to me。 Laying out the characters and all the build up took quite some time。 But I really enjoyed the last 3-4 chapters。 。。。more

Joe ，

Tricky plot with concrete references to places and things that existed following World War II in Berlin。 It’s interesting to look those up and see， particularly for the places， how they’ve changed。

William ，

4+ stars。 This is one of those books that I could never have understood back in the days when I first started reading spy novels。 Forty years， many other novels/ movies， and having visited England and Germany many times since， make the story understandable， stirring memories。 Of course， the twists and turns of a master storyteller keep you off balance and guessing。 Yet it is the wit of a humorist that strikes home: talk of Sainsbury’s champagne and powdered coffee -- Sainsbury’s being a store I’ 4+ stars。 This is one of those books that I could never have understood back in the days when I first started reading spy novels。 Forty years， many other novels/ movies， and having visited England and Germany many times since， make the story understandable， stirring memories。 Of course， the twists and turns of a master storyteller keep you off balance and guessing。 Yet it is the wit of a humorist that strikes home: talk of Sainsbury’s champagne and powdered coffee -- Sainsbury’s being a store I’ve been to just five years ago – that brings familiarity and enjoyment。 The tour buses to East Berlin where they take you to the Soviet Memorial and the Pergamum Museum， did that in 1980。 I can only wonder how many millennials know of Bensen and Hedges cigarettes， Nescafe instant coffee， and Elizabeth Arden cosmetics， which are common details Deighton uses to add richness to his narrative。 。。。more

Graham Archer ，

The first book in the Bernard Samson spy series。 A great book。 I'm looking forward to reading the rest The first book in the Bernard Samson spy series。 A great book。 I'm looking forward to reading the rest 。。。more

James ，

I was completely unaware of this series before picking up the book， but it hasn't aged at all， and was read in only a few sittings。 I don't read many spy novels， but it was pacy enough， and was never boring。As a spy novel the tension was all about who the protagonist could trust， but despite a lack of action it never felt slow。 Samson had some personality too， a slightly toned down version of Chandler's Philip Marlowe， although he was perhaps a bit too clued up and ahead of his peers at times。 L I was completely unaware of this series before picking up the book， but it hasn't aged at all， and was read in only a few sittings。 I don't read many spy novels， but it was pacy enough， and was never boring。As a spy novel the tension was all about who the protagonist could trust， but despite a lack of action it never felt slow。 Samson had some personality too， a slightly toned down version of Chandler's Philip Marlowe， although he was perhaps a bit too clued up and ahead of his peers at times。 Later events make it difficult to tell if that was an intended overconfidence or that his assertions should be taken as fact。 Other side characters had their quirks too， and the subplots and side characters elevated this novel far above average for me， amusing and set in a well-crafted world。I liked the physical setting too， and the author managed to paint a good picture of East Berlin without meticulous description or hackneyed metaphors， although I would have struggled to imagine Märkisches Viertel without searching on Google。 Sometimes novels can feel more like plays， isolated from their surroundings but that was not the case here， even with a fairly limited cast of suspects。As the reveals came it put some of the earlier throwaway description into perspective without spelling it out to the reader， and this further added to the sense it was an intelligent book。 So why not 5 stars？ Although it was not reliant on plot， it still felt like the chain of events could have done with a couple more links。 After a lot of talking about the plan， the exact method was revealed to the reader when it happened， without any hint of the discussion to decide how it would be carried out。 A lot of this was very good and is in the upper end of 4 stars， but it could have done with just a bit more happening。 。。。more

David ，

Superb

Bill ，

Boy， if this novel represents the state of spy novels in the 1960's， I am so glad I skipped them。 It feels like a lengthy book with lots of dialog and virtually no action， and any suspense is spoiled two-thirds of the way through。 Not one I can recommend and， in fact， I see no reason to read anything else by Mr。 Deighton。 Boy， if this novel represents the state of spy novels in the 1960's， I am so glad I skipped them。 It feels like a lengthy book with lots of dialog and virtually no action， and any suspense is spoiled two-thirds of the way through。 Not one I can recommend and， in fact， I see no reason to read anything else by Mr。 Deighton。 。。。more

John A ，

Deighton is a master storytellerI read the entire series many years ago but remembered the story so fondly that I am back to read all 10 books again。 Bernard Samson is a great character。 I find Deighton to be much more interesting than Lecarre I guess that’s almost heresy but I can seldom finish one of his novels。

Amritas Jha ，

I wish I had a little more intelligence to understand John Le Carre （ironic isn't it， with him writing books on "intelligence"。。 get it？ ;p） Thankfully， Len Deighton in comparison is simpler to understand and follow， though in no ways， less complex， humane and real。 The thing common between them is that they don't depict spies to be super heroes who are laced with gadgets， charm， fast cars， and get embroiled in thrilling， yet unbelievable adventures。 These are stories of real people， who like yo I wish I had a little more intelligence to understand John Le Carre （ironic isn't it， with him writing books on "intelligence"。。 get it？ ;p） Thankfully， Len Deighton in comparison is simpler to understand and follow， though in no ways， less complex， humane and real。 The thing common between them is that they don't depict spies to be super heroes who are laced with gadgets， charm， fast cars， and get embroiled in thrilling， yet unbelievable adventures。 These are stories of real people， who like you and me have to do groceries on the way back to home。 People who are with relationship issues， parents who have to be present on school days， and yet always keep an eye on ensuring that the country is safe。 I intend to read the whole set - Mexico Set， London Match （or whichever order the cities are in） 。。。more

Bob Box ，

Read in 1985。 The first in a trilogy featuring Bernard Samson， a jaded intelligence officer。

Barbara Liley ，

A terrific re-read。 Well worth the wait。 Thanks

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Berlin Game

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Berlin Game&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Berlin Game&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0