What do you think?
Rate this book
The endless Game
good condition
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Forbes
52 books10 followersBryan Forbes CBE (born John Theobald Clarke) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist, described as a "Renaissance man" and "one of the most important figures in the British film industry".
He directed the film The Stepford Wives (1975) and wrote and directed several other critically acclaimed films, including Whistle Down the Wind (1961), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), and King Rat (1965). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Only Two Can Play (1962).
Forbes wrote two volumes of autobiography and several successful novels, the last of which, The Soldier's Story, was published in 2012.He was a regular contributor to The Spectator magazine.
He directed the film The Stepford Wives (1975) and wrote and directed several other critically acclaimed films, including Whistle Down the Wind (1961), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), and King Rat (1965). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Only Two Can Play (1962).
Forbes wrote two volumes of autobiography and several successful novels, the last of which, The Soldier's Story, was published in 2012.He was a regular contributor to The Spectator magazine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 4, 2017
This actually did seem a bit endless and reminds one why to never put such a word in a title.
I found this paperback from the 1980s in a recent book purge from my living room and was persuaded by a blurb--"the best spy novel you will read this year"! Maybe it was. I figured I would never remember it and I didn't. It's a very common plot. Everybody's a mole! A mole was just outed and defected to Moscow and there's still a mole hiding!
Also, the "dangle" was exactly the same as the one in "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold."
The machinations of the government and all the Prime Minister/Cabinet angst was hard to get through. That was the endless part. Attitudes toward women are different now and that's a good thing. From page 365:
"'Operas are too long. And all those mountains of flesh, puffing out their tits like pouter pigeons.'" Actually, maybe that is not incorrect. But I must also mention that the lovers/swains in the book are gnarly old veterans of WWII--that makes them in their 60s or 70s, going after very young women. Give me a break.
The book isn't terrible, but it doesn't hold up very well.
I found this paperback from the 1980s in a recent book purge from my living room and was persuaded by a blurb--"the best spy novel you will read this year"! Maybe it was. I figured I would never remember it and I didn't. It's a very common plot. Everybody's a mole! A mole was just outed and defected to Moscow and there's still a mole hiding!
Also, the "dangle" was exactly the same as the one in "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold."
The machinations of the government and all the Prime Minister/Cabinet angst was hard to get through. That was the endless part. Attitudes toward women are different now and that's a good thing. From page 365:
"'Operas are too long. And all those mountains of flesh, puffing out their tits like pouter pigeons.'" Actually, maybe that is not incorrect. But I must also mention that the lovers/swains in the book are gnarly old veterans of WWII--that makes them in their 60s or 70s, going after very young women. Give me a break.
The book isn't terrible, but it doesn't hold up very well.
March 23, 2018
A great spy thriller...bleak, well-written, and surprising to the very end.
December 21, 2021
2.5 stars
A book of extremes for me.
On the one hand, I enjoyed the whodunnit and the slow unravelling of the past and the present as Hillsden searched for answers.
On the other, the British politics bored me 100% of the time.
A book of extremes for me.
On the one hand, I enjoyed the whodunnit and the slow unravelling of the past and the present as Hillsden searched for answers.
On the other, the British politics bored me 100% of the time.
October 18, 2013
An enjoyable spy thriller
August 28, 2024
Decent cold War era spy thriller. The main character finds out he's been shafted in the end. Pretty good, quite bleak
October 13, 2025
I'm not sure how to describe how it felt reading this book... I'm a big fan of detective novels but somehow the way things progressed on Hillsden's part seemed out of character for me. How come we didn't hear more from Waddington, if he was so curious, if he truly believed that Hillsden wasn't the type to defect? I'm not sure.. The exposition of characters could've been better and more meaningful, in my opinion.
October 16, 2020
Read in 1987. Espionage thriller.
September 18, 2022
Read in Norwegian
October 13, 2025
Very good. Many interesting characters and the story keeps its momentum until the very end
March 25, 2017
Lost; found; finished.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews