Fiction

Horse Under Water

Horse Under Water

  • Downloads：7975
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-30 10:51:18
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Len Deighton
  • ISBN：0241505410
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

'The poet of the spy story' Sunday Times

A sunken U-Boat has lain undisturbed on the Atlantic ocean floor since the Second World War - until now。 Inside its rusting hull， among the corpses of top-rank Nazis， lie secrets people will kill to obtain。 The sequel to Len Deighton's game-changing debut The IPCRESS File， Horse Under Water sees its nameless， laconic narrator sent from fogbound London to the Algarve， where he must dive through layers of deceit in a place rotten with betrayals。

Download

Reviews

stormhawk ，

Reasonably entertaining thriller， our unnamed spy is on another bait-and-switch mission。 By that I mean he's starting out making contact with a Portuguese revolutionary group who need weapons and financing， only to have the financing end take some remarkably unusual twists and turns on the way to a very unexpected resolution。 Reasonably entertaining thriller， our unnamed spy is on another bait-and-switch mission。 By that I mean he's starting out making contact with a Portuguese revolutionary group who need weapons and financing， only to have the financing end take some remarkably unusual twists and turns on the way to a very unexpected resolution。 。。。more

Graham Davies ，

I love a bit of Lenny D。 The plot of this book reminded me of my long held belief that I would have made a good spy， especially in the 60s。 If only I’d been born before the latter end of the 60s， and if only I’d shown an interest in spy classes at school。。。。。I recall that in one year we had a kid who spied for Wales， and he went on to win many top level spy awards latter in life。。。。。。 one of the best secret agents around apparently。。。。。”Jones the Spy” he was called by all those who knew him down I love a bit of Lenny D。 The plot of this book reminded me of my long held belief that I would have made a good spy， especially in the 60s。 If only I’d been born before the latter end of the 60s， and if only I’d shown an interest in spy classes at school。。。。。I recall that in one year we had a kid who spied for Wales， and he went on to win many top level spy awards latter in life。。。。。。 one of the best secret agents around apparently。。。。。”Jones the Spy” he was called by all those who knew him down the pub。 。。。more

Graeme Dunlop ，

A great follow-up to The Ipcress File。 The same nameless protagonist is embroiled in a search for something in a Nazi U-Boat sunk beneath the waves of Portugal。 The story involves wartime secrets， drugs， questionable personalities and -- almost inevitably -- violence and death。The narrative is a bit more coherent and steady than The Ipcress File but you still have to pay attention。 Deighton also seems to be stretching his newly-found writing muscles; the analogies come thick and fast and are， fo A great follow-up to The Ipcress File。 The same nameless protagonist is embroiled in a search for something in a Nazi U-Boat sunk beneath the waves of Portugal。 The story involves wartime secrets， drugs， questionable personalities and -- almost inevitably -- violence and death。The narrative is a bit more coherent and steady than The Ipcress File but you still have to pay attention。 Deighton also seems to be stretching his newly-found writing muscles; the analogies come thick and fast and are， for the most part， pretty spot on。Another enjoyable outing with he who would be named Harry Palmer in the Michael Caine movies。 。。。more

Paul Cornelius ，

Len Deighton is a better spy novelist than Le Carré， I think。 At least I enjoy his wit and sense of smoothness more than the drab and dour surroundings Le Carré seems fixed on。 Both writers were said to have revolutionized the genre， with working class heroes of dubious backgrounds and a willingness towards expediency。 Partly that is true。 But both owe most of what they are trying to achieve to the paths pioneered by Conrad much earlier。 This second of Deighton's novels differs structurally from Len Deighton is a better spy novelist than Le Carré， I think。 At least I enjoy his wit and sense of smoothness more than the drab and dour surroundings Le Carré seems fixed on。 Both writers were said to have revolutionized the genre， with working class heroes of dubious backgrounds and a willingness towards expediency。 Partly that is true。 But both owe most of what they are trying to achieve to the paths pioneered by Conrad much earlier。 This second of Deighton's novels differs structurally from the first， The IPCRESS File， and perhaps psychologically from his third， Funeral in Berlin。 As these are the only three I have read so far means I cannot quite get a handle on how Deighton will develop eventually。 Horse Under Water hasn't got quite the flair that IPCRESS File does when touching on the color and atmosphere of the cultural context of the 1950s and early 1960s。 And it doesn't take us into the multi-perspective point of view that Funeral in Berlin does。 What Horse Under Water does achieve is a much tighter storyline than the other two。 It's more conventional in that regard， albeit all the more satisfying in some ways because of it。What this means is you can enjoy these three early works on different levels taking differing approaches。 The atmospheric quality Deighton uses to describe Portugal of the early 1960s captures a place now long disappeared into modernity。 There is something of the nineteenth century or even earlier in his descriptions。 Despite the fact that Salazar was a modern authoritarian--not quite a totalitarian--the Portugal described on these pages in all its remoteness and languid way of life seems something more a part of far earlier times。 Into the midst of all this， what a rupture it is to find Deighton introducing modern espionage， escaped Nazis， and a European-wide conspiracy to restore Fascism to power throughout the continent。Quite good。 More traditional than the other early works but equally challenging in its mystery。 。。。more

Jeremy Herbert ，

It takes a while to read a Len Deighton novel because every other sentence has an image or aside or witty retort that other writers would kill to come up with once a chapter。 His famously unnamed narrator may not see as much conventional action as his contemporaries， but he has more than enough bureaucratic disdain to keep it interesting。 Deighton's world of espionage is reheated alphabet soup。 New acronyms for old enemies and too many letters to remember when filing the forms for help from so-c It takes a while to read a Len Deighton novel because every other sentence has an image or aside or witty retort that other writers would kill to come up with once a chapter。 His famously unnamed narrator may not see as much conventional action as his contemporaries， but he has more than enough bureaucratic disdain to keep it interesting。 Deighton's world of espionage is reheated alphabet soup。 New acronyms for old enemies and too many letters to remember when filing the forms for help from so-called friends。 The plot - the retrieval of counterfeit cash from a sunken U-boat to covertly fund a revolution - isn't as addictive as Deighton's best， but it may be his purest expression of cog-in-the-machine espionage。 In the beginning， all our hero knows is his orders。 In the end， he's not even sure about those anymore。 But he's just so corrosively charming you don't mind the company。 。。。more

Chuck ，

Let's see: Frogmen。A sunken Nazi sub。Rumors of an instant ice-melting technology。Heroin。Blackmail。British fascists。Nazis living under new identities in post-war Europe。A cache of secret documents。Murder。Deighton packs a lot into this relatively short novel， and the result is a fun， engaging story。 Let's see: Frogmen。A sunken Nazi sub。Rumors of an instant ice-melting technology。Heroin。Blackmail。British fascists。Nazis living under new identities in post-war Europe。A cache of secret documents。Murder。Deighton packs a lot into this relatively short novel， and the result is a fun， engaging story。 。。。more

Chris Amies ，

I mainly remember the chapter headings。 Read in 1978 or thenabouts， but dated even then。

David ，

An interesting novel in which Nazism rears its ugly head， complete with drug-smuggling， long memories， and the minutiae of espionage work。 Again， between Fleming and Le Carre， but closer to the latter。

Roger ，

One of Deighton's early books with the unnamed spy （called Harry Palmer in the movie versions）。 Extemporaneous reviews stated that the Harry Palmer novels were anti-James-Bond。 I don't agree。 Similar to the Bond books， Deighton's hero is an uber-mann educated in a variety of esoteric technologies， a gourmet and he's smarter than his superiors。 In the convoluted plots of the first three novels （this one， Funeral in Berlin， and Billion Dollar Brain）， Palmer deduces the complex plot machinations fa One of Deighton's early books with the unnamed spy （called Harry Palmer in the movie versions）。 Extemporaneous reviews stated that the Harry Palmer novels were anti-James-Bond。 I don't agree。 Similar to the Bond books， Deighton's hero is an uber-mann educated in a variety of esoteric technologies， a gourmet and he's smarter than his superiors。 In the convoluted plots of the first three novels （this one， Funeral in Berlin， and Billion Dollar Brain）， Palmer deduces the complex plot machinations far earlier than the reader a la Agatha Christie and outwits the bad guys。 Just as in the 'bigger' Bond novels， there's a megalomaniacal organization or person at the source of all three plots。 Fortunately， as Deighton continued to write， his plots and prose got much better。 。。。more

Richard ，

Deserves rating of 3。5 stars。 Holds up very well considering it was first published 56 years ago。Starts slowly but then picks up as the story unfolds。 Set mainly in Portugal （as well as some action in London and Marrakesh） where a British agent is looking for the remains of a World War II submarine and its contents which have great value。 There is much skin diving and plenty of quirky characters。

Nigeyb ，

Horse under Water （1963） by Len Deighton is the second in the un-named spy series （aka Harry Palmer）Our anonymous secret agent from The Ipcress File is now working with his W。O。O。C。（P）。 boss Dawlish。 When Len Deighton's first books arrived in the early 1960s they were lauded for their realistic portrait of the world of espionage， and were a refreshing change from the glamourous and unrealistic fantasy world of James Bond。 Both The Ipcress File and Horse Under Water certainly feel very credible a Horse under Water （1963） by Len Deighton is the second in the un-named spy series （aka Harry Palmer）Our anonymous secret agent from The Ipcress File is now working with his W。O。O。C。（P）。 boss Dawlish。 When Len Deighton's first books arrived in the early 1960s they were lauded for their realistic portrait of the world of espionage， and were a refreshing change from the glamourous and unrealistic fantasy world of James Bond。 Both The Ipcress File and Horse Under Water certainly feel very credible and real。 Interestingly， Horse Under Water contains a bit more adventure and action， and less of the day to day bureaucracy which featured in The Ipcress File。 This time our sardonic working-class hero arrives at the shores of Salazar's Portugal， where he encounters a mixture of hard drugs， money and neo-Nazis。Once again the plot is rather confusing but my advice is to just go with it as there's so much to enjoy in the set pieces and the dialogue， and it all makes a sort of sense by the end。 I look forward to reading more by Len Deighton4/5Horse under Water （1963） by Len Deighton4/5 。。。more

Ross ，

Picked up this book in a hotel foyer when I was desperate for something to read。 Deighton was not an author I'd normally pick up， but it was a pleasant surprise。 Deighton peppers his books with literary gems such as: "I drove on past Victorian terraces behind which un-painted bed-sitters crouched， pretending to be one grand imperial household instead of a molecular structure of colonial loneliness" or "as limp as a Dali watch"。 Kept me reading apace to the end （another surprise）。 The footnotes a Picked up this book in a hotel foyer when I was desperate for something to read。 Deighton was not an author I'd normally pick up， but it was a pleasant surprise。 Deighton peppers his books with literary gems such as: "I drove on past Victorian terraces behind which un-painted bed-sitters crouched， pretending to be one grand imperial household instead of a molecular structure of colonial loneliness" or "as limp as a Dali watch"。 Kept me reading apace to the end （another surprise）。 The footnotes are a bonus; they are fascinating。 。。。more

severyn ，

Taut， mostly。

Peveril ，

A slog。

Gary ，

This sequel to The Ipcress File is the usual challenging-but-rewarding Deighton read， impossible not to hear Michael Caine’s voice as the nameless （Harry Palmer） protagonist’s voice and all the more fun for that。 A much more linear and straightforward plot than its predecessor， which was also welcome。 Looking forward to reading Funeral in Berlin， the next in sequence in the near future。

Tiina ，

Extremely well written and perfectly paced。 A real vintage gem！

Jay Rothermel ，

This is the first Len Deighton novel I have read， and will not be the last。 Sunken U-boats， skullduggery on the Algarve， wintry London， and the struggle to tell the difference between employers and the men who want you killed。 And Deighton designs and builds it like a master craftsman。

Frank ，

Read back in the 70s

John Marsh ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Library ebook （A story reminder） In this second book Dawlish is now head of the secret British Intelligence unit， WOOC（P）。 Harry Palmer （no name given in the books but the films Harry Palmer is used）。HP is set an assignment that was a ruse from the beginning。 He was to gain diving skills and then head up a search of a known German U boat sunk off the coast of Portugal。 The goal was to locate counterfeit money from the war years printed by the Germans to unsettle the UK economy。 HP， as I the rea Library ebook （A story reminder） In this second book Dawlish is now head of the secret British Intelligence unit， WOOC（P）。 Harry Palmer （no name given in the books but the films Harry Palmer is used）。HP is set an assignment that was a ruse from the beginning。 He was to gain diving skills and then head up a search of a known German U boat sunk off the coast of Portugal。 The goal was to locate counterfeit money from the war years printed by the Germans to unsettle the UK economy。 HP， as I the reader， must of known that if the money existed it would of been found a long time ago。 But HP plods along following orders。 The money was to finance some Portagese rebel party in line with an agreement to help them come to power in Portagul。The legacy of the defeated Nazi Third Reich reaches out to Portugal， London and Marrakech in as gangsters/opportunists Da Cunha， Fernie， Harry Kondit （HK） were taking advantage of abandon herion in the U boat and Da Cunha of a list of war time facists he had complied。 Da Cunha ingeniously hid the documents in a sealed weather something in the ocean marked by a buoy and called to the surface by a radio wave sequence。Also， cabinet minster Mr Henry Smith had connections and many dodgy business deals。 The whole scheme seems more in line with trying to corner the all powerful cabinet minster who had no scupples and used whoever he could including a crook called Butcher。 Mr Smith threatened HP in a very condescending manner。Horse under Water is a reference to the found heroin also known as horse。 HK starts a heroin processing set up to both import and export the product after refining it。 Fernie is involved in the logistics。 Da Cunha is a mad fascist'd something and uses blackmail from the letters etc he collected in the war years when he was in Germany。Harry sees his hired diver Georgio killed either by eels or one of the others and Da Cunha had also tried to coerce Georgio in some way 。 HP unravels most of the various pars。 Smith is left in his postion but Dawlish and others had inside kmowledge to reign him in or that is the message implied and also normal tactics。 Sadly， also a boy at the helm of the all powerful boat Mr Smith bought HK， was shot and are lead to believe he recovered。 But HP's other partner Joe was blown up when his car was blown up with the aim to destroy the canister found as it had traces of heroin and was a key clue as it turned out。 Singleton was a good helper in the U boat project and the girl Charly turned out to be a US CIS operative。 HP is insolent， fallible – in other words， human。 But he must draw on all his abilities， good and bad， when plunged into a story of murder， betrayal and greed every bit as murky as the waters off the coast of Portugal， where the answers lie buried。 HP is definitely a plodder， analylist， thinker and arrives at disovering the general gist of what is going on。 Of course the polictical players are often confused themselves so never absolutely clear。 The crooks mostly are straight forward opportunist。 Da Cunha a typical fantic and gangster。 。。。more

Paul ，

Another intriguing instalment from Deighton - with some intuitive jumps preventing a 5star performance。 Palmer is the thinking man's spy。 Another intriguing instalment from Deighton - with some intuitive jumps preventing a 5star performance。 Palmer is the thinking man's spy。 。。。more

Michael ，

It's OK。 At least coherent unlike the IPCRESS file 。。。 It's OK。 At least coherent unlike the IPCRESS file 。。。 。。。more

George Siehl ，

Interesting read centered on a sunken Nazi submarine and it's role in the Cold War era。 British intelligence agencies investigate how its links to highly placed officials in the government。 What is notable is the measured pace of this spy novel， at times like reading a diary， in contrast with the usual flash/bang narrative pace of the genre。 Interesting read centered on a sunken Nazi submarine and it's role in the Cold War era。 British intelligence agencies investigate how its links to highly placed officials in the government。 What is notable is the measured pace of this spy novel， at times like reading a diary， in contrast with the usual flash/bang narrative pace of the genre。 。。。more

Floyd Truskot ，

Okay spy story。

Graeme Stuart Waymark ，

Having read so many of his later rather exceptional novels this highlights too much of his developing skills and not enough of those developed。 Some of the writing （descriptive narrative） is beautifully crafted and one can see that it is coming from a mind with no limits to its imagination or more importantly: creativity！ Later in his life， he perfected character development， historical research and plot so well that many of stories came off to me as bloody believable。 Hey perhaps they were trut Having read so many of his later rather exceptional novels this highlights too much of his developing skills and not enough of those developed。 Some of the writing （descriptive narrative） is beautifully crafted and one can see that it is coming from a mind with no limits to its imagination or more importantly: creativity！ Later in his life， he perfected character development， historical research and plot so well that many of stories came off to me as bloody believable。 Hey perhaps they were truths。。。！ 。。。more

Mark ，

Gallops along at a fine rate of knots。

David Searle ，

An Excellent ReadI enjoyed this more than the Ipcress File as it was a better written story。 Now I will read the next in the series。

Susan ，

Complex plot， flawed characters， twists and turns。。。what you'd expect from a Cold War spy novel。 Not the best of his work。 Complex plot， flawed characters， twists and turns。。。what you'd expect from a Cold War spy novel。 Not the best of his work。 。。。more

Sam Reaves ，

It's easy to forget how good a writer the nearly nonagenarian Len Deighton is; he has been amazingly prolific in various genres， churning out wildly disparate works with apparent ease， and the prose never seems to suffer。 This was Deighton's second novel， published in 1963， and it's full of sharp one-liners and little virtuoso touches: "The water was cool and moonlight trickled across it like cream spilt on a black velvet dress。。。 Cats sat around with their hands in their pockets and stared inso It's easy to forget how good a writer the nearly nonagenarian Len Deighton is; he has been amazingly prolific in various genres， churning out wildly disparate works with apparent ease， and the prose never seems to suffer。 This was Deighton's second novel， published in 1963， and it's full of sharp one-liners and little virtuoso touches: "The water was cool and moonlight trickled across it like cream spilt on a black velvet dress。。。 Cats sat around with their hands in their pockets and stared insolently back into the headlight beams。" The plot involves a sunken Nazi sub lying off the south coast of Portugal and various things that may or may not be interred inside。 British intelligence sends the supremely cool and jaded Harry Palmer on a Royal Navy diving course just so he can participate in the effort to retrieve them。 Rivals are on the scene， including a sinister Portuguese aristocrat and an expat American jazz critic with mysterious sources of wealth。 Allies include a former Italian navy diver and the obligatory enticing female （"She was cleaning fish in the kitchen。 She wore a microscopic white bikini。"）It's a bit busy， with multiple plot strands and minor characters to keep track of; you get the impression Deighton had amassed a lot of interesting tidbits in his research and just had to cram it all in。 Things jump back and forth from gloomy London to the sunny south of Portugal and sometimes it seems Deighton was not quite sure what kind of book he was writing。 But then real-life intelligence work is probably similarly disjointed and chaotic。 It's all pretty entertaining。 。。。more

Ronald ，

read some time in 1990

Greg Coppin ，

These Deighton covers with Michael Caine's thick black frames and hooded eyes peering out are a cool reminder of the era。 I also like the photo of Deighton himself they have on the back cover。 Standing in front of a helicopter with his aviator sunglasses。 Wiping a bit of grit out of his eye， I think。 The accompanying quote by Life magazine， something like， 'Big soft girls read Len Deighton in jazz workshops，' is a gem。The novel itself is very enjoyable。 A lot of it is set in Portugal。 Deighton l These Deighton covers with Michael Caine's thick black frames and hooded eyes peering out are a cool reminder of the era。 I also like the photo of Deighton himself they have on the back cover。 Standing in front of a helicopter with his aviator sunglasses。 Wiping a bit of grit out of his eye， I think。 The accompanying quote by Life magazine， something like， 'Big soft girls read Len Deighton in jazz workshops，' is a gem。The novel itself is very enjoyable。 A lot of it is set in Portugal。 Deighton lived there for a time， so he knows the area well。 In this one the nameless spy， among other things， undergoes a Royal Navy diving course， which is worth a read。 It's all to do with a German submarine， sunk off the coast of the Algarve。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Horse Under Water

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

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