Spy Thriller

Billion-Dollar Brain

Billion-Dollar Brain

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  • Create Date：2021-04-30 10:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：024150516X
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Summary

The classic thriller of a lethal computer age and a maniac's private cold war…

General Midwinter loves his country， and hates communism。 In a bid to destabilize the Soviet power bloc he is running his own intelligence agency， whose “brain” is the world's biggest supercomputer。
With his past coming back to haunt him， the unnamed agent of The Ipcress File is sent to Finland to penetrate Midwinter's spy cell。 But then a deadly virus is stolen， and our hero must stop it from falling into the hands of both the Russians and the billionaire madman。

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Reviews

Meadhbh ，

This was the first Len Deighton novel I read。 Not too bad。 A pretty straight-up spy novel， well told。 I think I liked it more than Fleming's Casino Royale （but don't tell Ian Fleming that。） I felt the novel was much better than the film。 Don't get me wrong， the film's okay， but it was a touch too camp to my tastes。The story involves a few twists that you have to look out for。 Are the Russians going to kill our anonymous narrator？ Are the British？ Maybe the Texans will。 It seemed realistic in the This was the first Len Deighton novel I read。 Not too bad。 A pretty straight-up spy novel， well told。 I think I liked it more than Fleming's Casino Royale （but don't tell Ian Fleming that。） I felt the novel was much better than the film。 Don't get me wrong， the film's okay， but it was a touch too camp to my tastes。The story involves a few twists that you have to look out for。 Are the Russians going to kill our anonymous narrator？ Are the British？ Maybe the Texans will。 It seemed realistic in the sense the main characters were all looking out for their own interests; I appreciated that。 Never trust a spy， unless you know you're interests are aligned， I guess。Worth a read if you're a spy-thriller person though it's quite a bit lighter fare than John le Carre or Tom Clancy。 On par with Fleming。 。。。more

spike marlin ，

This was a strange book for me。 The plot seemed disjointed and it was hard to follow。 The premise I think is that some virus in some eggs were being smuggled to Russia and a private spy group was involved trying to destabilize the Soviet Union。 The narrator is unnamed as is the organization he works for。 The narrator is also very sarcastic and some parts of the story do not seem to be related to the plot。 Very confusing。

Joseph McCann ，

Have avoided this having seen the film of it years ago but the books is better even if it's not the best of this series。 Have avoided this having seen the film of it years ago but the books is better even if it's not the best of this series。 。。。more

Linda Franklin ，

Move over Beethoven。 I mean John Le Carre。 This is RIGHT UP THERE。。。i was totally into the story， the characters。 Terrific spy book and because it was published in 1966 it's pretty amazingly TODAY。 The "brain" is a huge computer （like they were in those days， big as a huge room）， and there were "car phones" but not iPhones etc。 Otherwise， the suspense and love stories and spying and cheating and secrets are very up to date 2020。 I like all of Deighton's books， but just found this in a pile of be Move over Beethoven。 I mean John Le Carre。 This is RIGHT UP THERE。。。i was totally into the story， the characters。 Terrific spy book and because it was published in 1966 it's pretty amazingly TODAY。 The "brain" is a huge computer （like they were in those days， big as a huge room）， and there were "car phones" but not iPhones etc。 Otherwise， the suspense and love stories and spying and cheating and secrets are very up to date 2020。 I like all of Deighton's books， but just found this in a pile of beat up paperbacks in my bedroom， so I blew off the dust and started in。 The Chapters are the cities where the action is taking place for that section。。。London-Helsinki， Leningrad-Riga， New York， San Antonio， London， Helsinki-Leningrad。 Deighton seems to really really be familiar with each of the cities， and I felt as if I were back in time， in them。 Great characters too。~ Linda Campbell Franklin 。。。more

Graeme Dunlop ，

An enjoyable read。Our unnamed hero from WOOC（P） is initially assigned to look into a journalist who immediately turns up dead。 He then becomes embroiled with his American friend Harvey Newbegin who is a member of a private secret organisation。 This privately owned and run American organisation is practising amateur secret-agent stuff in Europe and our hero has to find out why and what they're about。 And， into the bargain， what the hell his friend Harvey is doing with them。Moving from England to An enjoyable read。Our unnamed hero from WOOC（P） is initially assigned to look into a journalist who immediately turns up dead。 He then becomes embroiled with his American friend Harvey Newbegin who is a member of a private secret organisation。 This privately owned and run American organisation is practising amateur secret-agent stuff in Europe and our hero has to find out why and what they're about。 And， into the bargain， what the hell his friend Harvey is doing with them。Moving from England to Finland to America and eventually Russia， it all takes place during winter and the cold in the European cities is palpable。 。。。more

Paul Cornelius ，

Not a bad entry at all into the Len Deighton series of 1960s Cold War spy novels。 Things don't quite hold together as well as in preceding novels， but that is primarily the fault of the last quarter to a third of the book， which jumps around。 The passages detailing the trip to and into Helsinki are tightly plotted and fascinating in their atmosphere and the suspense they create。 The trip to Texas is handled nicely enough， too。 Not many cliches， although not much action either。 Going back to the Not a bad entry at all into the Len Deighton series of 1960s Cold War spy novels。 Things don't quite hold together as well as in preceding novels， but that is primarily the fault of the last quarter to a third of the book， which jumps around。 The passages detailing the trip to and into Helsinki are tightly plotted and fascinating in their atmosphere and the suspense they create。 The trip to Texas is handled nicely enough， too。 Not many cliches， although not much action either。 Going back to the UK， the novel begins a bit of a downward trajectory， which is in full form by the time things get the USSR。 One thing: Colonel Stok is becoming more and more likable to me。 But I can't get Oskar Homolka image from the film version of Funeral in Berlin out of my mind。Finally， just a mention of the comparison of the novel to the film。 There is no comparison。 The novel is enjoyable， albeit workmanlike。 The film is a mess。 All I can remember is snow and ice。 It flopped。 It should have done。 The book is much better。 。。。more

Henri Moreaux ，

I've previously read a few books by Deighton so was looking forward to some spy action involving a dated supercomputer and some virus shenanigans， sadly however these two factors aren't really much of a focus for the story， but rather the actions of those around them。 Although to be fair there is a corny description of the computer which at least filled some of the dated supercomputer desires I had。Overall I preferred SS-GB & XPD to this， I think they are better examples of Deighton's work。 I've previously read a few books by Deighton so was looking forward to some spy action involving a dated supercomputer and some virus shenanigans， sadly however these two factors aren't really much of a focus for the story， but rather the actions of those around them。 Although to be fair there is a corny description of the computer which at least filled some of the dated supercomputer desires I had。Overall I preferred SS-GB & XPD to this， I think they are better examples of Deighton's work。 。。。more

Ravanagh Allan ，

One of Deighton's best， and I've read them all！ One of Deighton's best， and I've read them all！ 。。。more

David ，

Perhaps the conceit of the nameless， sardonic， efficient first-person narrator/agent is starting to wear a little in this fourth book of Len Deighton’s。 At least I found it a little less satisfying than the first three—closer to Fleming than to Le Carre this time。 Still very much on the realist side of the spy game， but involving larger stakes， some bigger risks， some less plausible characters， situations， and motivations—or so it seemed to me on this reading。 I think that Deighton branched out Perhaps the conceit of the nameless， sardonic， efficient first-person narrator/agent is starting to wear a little in this fourth book of Len Deighton’s。 At least I found it a little less satisfying than the first three—closer to Fleming than to Le Carre this time。 Still very much on the realist side of the spy game， but involving larger stakes， some bigger risks， some less plausible characters， situations， and motivations—or so it seemed to me on this reading。 I think that Deighton branched out into a different narrator and/or format after this book。 Probably wise。 。。。more

Liam Relihan ，

One of the best Deighton's。 Like the movie， this novel was precient （written in the sixties） in that it talks to the instrumentalization of intelligence and decision making （in this case using a Texan oil millionaires private computer network） as well as the introduction of big private money into politics。 Way ahead of its time。 One of the best Deighton's。 Like the movie， this novel was precient （written in the sixties） in that it talks to the instrumentalization of intelligence and decision making （in this case using a Texan oil millionaires private computer network） as well as the introduction of big private money into politics。 Way ahead of its time。 。。。more

Sue Garwood ，

Excellent writing， gripping story with credible characters。 This author never disappoints。

Jennifer ，

Read nearly all of Deighton's years ago but saw this in a second hand shop last week and couldn't resist rereading it。 Still good！ Read nearly all of Deighton's years ago but saw this in a second hand shop last week and couldn't resist rereading it。 Still good！ 。。。more

Michael ，

The Ipcress File gave a black framed eyeglassed high school goof hope that better times would come。 Harry Palmer was not James Bond， but he got the job done like Bond would。 The Billion Dollar Brain shows that he still can

Ondřej Šefčík ，

Deighton at his best。

Sue ，

Fantastic！ Probably the Best although I love all his stuff The background detail is amazing

Bryson Shaw ，

A random bookstore find。 Fun spy thriller。

W ，

An entertaining Cold War thriller，about a supercomputer，set in Finland。

Ronald Wilcox ，

I usually love Deighton’s work and find them fast reads; this story I thought to be quite a muddled affair with a good overall storyline but the writing was very “off。” Really can only recommend this for diehard Deighton fans。

Fergus ，

Just before my first term at university started， the newswires were still hot with the fall of Alexander Dubcek and massive armed Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia。 The Cold War was dipping into a Deep Freeze。Of course we were all scared silly， but being the kid that I was I took the path of least resistance， and curled up with a good book - THIS one。 Back then， used paperbacks were cheap， and - amazingly - still having 20/20 vision， the incredibly small print of that tiny format was no prob Just before my first term at university started， the newswires were still hot with the fall of Alexander Dubcek and massive armed Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia。 The Cold War was dipping into a Deep Freeze。Of course we were all scared silly， but being the kid that I was I took the path of least resistance， and curled up with a good book - THIS one。 Back then， used paperbacks were cheap， and - amazingly - still having 20/20 vision， the incredibly small print of that tiny format was no problem for me。 And what better book than a Cold War spy novel， given the news？Annihilating all that’s madeTo a green thought， in a green shade。But real life on the edge of the Twenty-First Century tends to annihilate all our escapes。 Help！ There are no more green shades anymore， save in a casino。This was my first Deighton， but by no means my last。 I found I was easily hooked on his tension。。。I remember to this day the icy chill I felt as I read， that sweltering August evening out on my parents’ patio， this story about an anonymous Brit spy’s trek to the Finnish tundra - there to track down the dangerously loonie-tunes evil mastermind of the Billion Dollar Brain， General Midwinter！Ready for it？ He had built a supercomputer that knew about everything and everybody in the world。 Sure， I know that sounds familiar。 Back then， though， it was sheer paranoia。。。But， now here’s a new Supervirus， as well， says Len Deighton - even MORE familiar to us - but back then a mastermind supercomputer was WAY scarier than the virus is to us now。 So， my mind finally off the Commies， I managed to get one last Big Chill in before hitting the books。I had read le Carré’s Spy Who Came in from the Cold earlier that summer。 But that was just too brutally realistic for a kid with a noggin chock full of dreams。 And Deighton was cooler。Back then I thought I was cool， too。 Brought up on the Beatles and the Mersey Beat， I had learned young to see the world from a comfortable distance。And my new idol was Stephen Dedalus， that young dreaming creator who wallowed in the luxury of creating from an angle， ‘paring his fingernails， indifferent！’Yeah， I had a lot to learn。 Soon after I was to be jarred brutally awake by the REAL WORLD。 As Pete Townsend warns us:You must have heard the cautionary talesThe dangers hidden on the cul-de-sac trailsFrom wiser men who’ve been through it allAnd ghosts of failures spray-painted on the wall。。。You can put off facing the face of the world almost endlessly。 The varieties of escape open to you are endless。Some guys， though， like William Carlos Williams in that cutting jeremiad， Paterson， decide to operate on this cancer without a minute’s delay。 So Williams， by profession a doctor （as well as one of the finest American poets of the twentieth century）， makes a swift， clean incision immediately - removing the awful tumour that has pained his suffering patient forever - and， voilà！ his agonized patient is healed。The recovery will be long and hard - but it’s worth it！And the name of that Tumour is Bad Faith。。。 the massive fraud， deception and avarice we also know as Original Sin。And this book， in 1968， was my last respite - into a fantasy about the encroachment of modernity （a fantasy now reality） - before the Fateful Face of Full Adulthood appeared。Now， as an old man， I see General Midwinter’s ownership of a world-control computer has been forgotten， but we have once again been brought under his invincible power。For as Deighton say in the book， through the Russian Colonel Stok， control is more subtle nowadays， because it’s simply a matter of “a change of molecules。” Chemistry is even scarier than supercomputers， isn’t it？Our acquiescence in the change that invited total， blasé acceptance of evil has invited this Midwinter into our hearts。We must never lose our inborn horror of the Pure Evil which is Selfhood。。。Or else the hell of this ongoing Cold War to gain control of our souls will prove eternal。 。。。more

Jack Heath ，

Synopsis: General Midwinter is running his own intelligence agency using the world's biggest computer。 An unnamed agent is sent in。 Synopsis: General Midwinter is running his own intelligence agency using the world's biggest computer。 An unnamed agent is sent in。 。。。more

Iami Menotu ，

The plot is subdued- a canopied MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2， dialogue may be deep but is undertow - a platonic MALTESE FALCON， the characters are misty - a sketchy THE SECRET AGENT， the pace slow - a labored THE NEGOTIATOR ， the narration not very lucid - a turbid THE BRUCE PARTINGTON PLANS It short changes on all fronts of a spy novel。

Artie LeBlanc ，

I first read thiswhen it came out in 1966！ and only revisited it this year。 The plot stands up quite well despite the passing years。 The IT barely enters into it， despite the title。 In the intervening years， I have visited many of the places where the action i sset， so it was much more meaningful this time。 Recommended。

Jennifer ，

A style from a by-gone era， not really my cup of tea but good to understand the Cold War a bit better。

Paul ，

Horrifically far-fetched。 By far the worst Deighton I’ve read to date。 More Forbes than Le Carre - hopefully this was a blip。

Michael ，

Very readable but dated。 The prose seems to pick up as the book closes。

John Marsh ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 ebook library （a story reminded）Story set way back in late 50's to the start of the 60's as book published 1962 yet very insightful to the role of human nature， politics， idealogies， capitalism versus communism and the religious fervor of following ideals as portayed by private army owner and leader Midwinter。 I would guess the stupidity highlighted relates to from wikipeadia:" McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence。[1] The t ebook library （a story reminded）Story set way back in late 50's to the start of the 60's as book published 1962 yet very insightful to the role of human nature， politics， idealogies， capitalism versus communism and the religious fervor of following ideals as portayed by private army owner and leader Midwinter。 I would guess the stupidity highlighted relates to from wikipeadia:" McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence。[1] The term refers to U。S。 Senator Joseph McCarthy and has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare， lasting roughly from 1947 to 1956 and characterized by heightened political repression as well as a campaign spreading fear of influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents。itieshe classic thriller of a lethal computer age and a maniac's private cold war…"General Midwinter loves his country， and hates communism。 In a bid to destabilize the Soviet power bloc he is running his own intelligence agency， whose “brain” is the world's biggest supercomputer costing over a billion thus the title。With his past coming back to haunt him， the unnamed agent of The Ipcress File is sent to Finland to penetrate Midwinter's spy cell。 But then a deadly virus is stolen， and our hero must stop it from falling into the hands of both the Russians and the billionaire madman。 The spy knows the key operative Newbinger already and for some unexplained reason is recruited。 Finnish Professor Kaarna has got wind that secrets that are been sold to the Russians。 Somehow Midwinter group feel he is a threat and Siege the nubile sex pot young lady with that aura that attracts and yet no depth， is the assasin who murders Kaarna and through the story at least three others。 She seems harmless but she is deadly。 And she romantically hooks Newbinger who is embezzling the Midwinter group to support his wife's expensive lifestyle and thus in the end just wants out to start again thus trying to get the virus to the Russians as a way in to safety and a new life that he hopes will include the girl。 He is deluded， of course as are most of the players in the story。 In the end Harry Palmer （In the movies the name given to the spy is Harry Palmer played by Michael Cain and the spy is not named in the book normally called by whatever assumed name he is using at the time for id）。Another amazing insight way back then in the late 50's that the computer though the operatives sworn that it's directions were infallible， could not factor in the human element as is the case now。 And all the key characters in the story did not really rely on "the brain" it was more framework， a peg to hang the coat so to speak。 That would include the rich Midwinter， the religious anti communism zealot who by his anti fervour in a backhanded way was promoting the communism cause。 The cause， the communism didn't really believe either。 HP finally is cornered and pushes his long time friend under a bus noted by the Russian spy general Stok。 Broken eggs etc and the day is saved once again。 Cover up's left， right and centre。 And in these instances probably for the best。Very good insightful story。 。。。more

Wreade1872 ，

A really good spy novel。 A little bit airy and light and certainly quite funny。 However its not a comedy， there are some pretty absurd characters but i have a feeling they're probably more realistic than we would want them to be ;） 。Most of the humour comes from sardonic and cynical main character。 Although there are some action scenes its mostly more realistic and low key than something like Bond。Perhaps a little convenient at times but not too much and i wasn't too confused about what was happ A really good spy novel。 A little bit airy and light and certainly quite funny。 However its not a comedy， there are some pretty absurd characters but i have a feeling they're probably more realistic than we would want them to be ;） 。Most of the humour comes from sardonic and cynical main character。 Although there are some action scenes its mostly more realistic and low key than something like Bond。Perhaps a little convenient at times but not too much and i wasn't too confused about what was happening which is always a danger in detective or spy fiction。Everything was also quite easy to picture the style of writing being quite descriptive。 Occasionally you'd get these almost stream-of-consiousness burst of description which were a little jarring from the rest of the writing but it was a quick and effective way to add detail to certain scenes。 Overall really enjoyable and clearly well researched and i think i might well check out some of Deighton's other books。 。。。more

Jim ，

I have now finished the fourth and last “Harry Palmer” novel from Len Deighton， namely: Billion Dollar Brain。 I reiterate that Harry Palmer is the name given to the character by the filmmakers of the three Michael Caine movies， though “Harry” goes under the working name of Liam Dempsey in this novel。Like all the Deighton Palmer novels， The Billion-Dollar Brain is， to quote， Wikipedia， “intricate， with many dead ends。” The British WOOC（P） spy agency sends Palmer to Helsinki to investigate an Amer I have now finished the fourth and last “Harry Palmer” novel from Len Deighton， namely: Billion Dollar Brain。 I reiterate that Harry Palmer is the name given to the character by the filmmakers of the three Michael Caine movies， though “Harry” goes under the working name of Liam Dempsey in this novel。Like all the Deighton Palmer novels， The Billion-Dollar Brain is， to quote， Wikipedia， “intricate， with many dead ends。” The British WOOC（P） spy agency sends Palmer to Helsinki to investigate an American millionaire's private spy organization。 This organization， called Facts for Freedom under the control of a General Midwinter， uses a large computer to issue instructions to its operatives。 Palmer goes along with the program， usually with Harvey Newbegin （introduced in Funeral in BerlinThe typical Harry Palmer novel is very intellectual and somewhat perplexing -- but well enough written that we are dying to see what happens next， as when Newbegin describes Signe to our hero:'Innocence，' said harvey。 'That's what she has， you see。 To an innocent anything in the world is possible， because there's no experience programmed into the memory to tell you things aren't possible。 You see 。。。 innocence is the knowledge that you can do something， and experience is the knowledge you can't。'Well， I'm hooked。 I'll just have to read some of Deighton's other spy novels。 。。。more

5greenway ，

The best one of these。

Philip Higgins ，

Blimey， to think it's over thirty years since I first read this book （fourth in the Harry Palmer quartet）。 The quality of the writing is the usual high standard and worth four of anyone's stars。 Len Deighton is one of my favourite authors and I've read nearly all his books at least once。 This story sees the return of Colonel Stok （Oskar Homolka in Ken Russell's modish film adaptation） and skips sprightly from London， Helsinki， Latvia， Leningrad， Texas and New York， when the Cold War was at its f Blimey， to think it's over thirty years since I first read this book （fourth in the Harry Palmer quartet）。 The quality of the writing is the usual high standard and worth four of anyone's stars。 Len Deighton is one of my favourite authors and I've read nearly all his books at least once。 This story sees the return of Colonel Stok （Oskar Homolka in Ken Russell's modish film adaptation） and skips sprightly from London， Helsinki， Latvia， Leningrad， Texas and New York， when the Cold War was at its frostiest。 The hard-boiled style is shot through with wit and the icy finale is pretty powerful。Despite this I get the impression Len was getting a bit tired with the spy novel at this stage。 The plotting seems a bit haphazard: unless I missed something we never even get to learn the type of virus being smuggled from Porton Down。 It turns into "the Tragedy of Harvey Newbegin"， a character from the previous novel "Funeral In Berlin" played memorably by Karl Malden in the film。 The Finnish femme fatale， Signe， disappears without much fanfare。 By the by， my compact Triad Granada paperback is a superb edition。 I'm guessing the cover was designed by the late great Raymond Hawkey， Len's art school pal and influential graphic designer。 His Deighton covers were true works of art。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Billion-Dollar Brain

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Billion-Dollar Brain&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

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