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Quantum Spy: Der Feind im System
A hyper-fast quantum computer is the digital equivalent of a nuclear bomb: whoever possesses one will be able to shred any encryption in existence, effectively owning the digital world. The question is: Who will build it first, the United States or China?
The latest of David Ignatius's timely, sharp-eyed espionage novels follows CIA agent Harris Chang into a quantum research lab compromised by a suspected Chinese informant. The breach provokes a mole hunt that is obsessive, destructive, and--above all--uncertain: Do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? Chang soon finds that there is a thin line between loyalty and betrayal, as the investigation leads him down a rabbit hole as dangerous as it is deep.
Grounded in the real-world global charge toward technological dominance, The Quantum Spy presents a sophisticated game of cat-and-mouse wired to an exhilarating cyber thriller.
446 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2017
1174 people are currently reading
2865 people want to read
About the author
David Ignatius
33 books723 followersDavid Ignatius, a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post, has been covering the Middle East and the CIA for more than twenty-five years. His novels include Agents of Innocence, Body of Lies, and The Increment, now in development for a major motion picture by Jerry Bruckheimer. He lives in Washington, DC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 438 reviews
June 12, 2018
This was headed to a solid 4-star...until the end. I need to take a friend's advice and create a disappointing ending shelf. 6 of 10 stars
June 27, 2020
This book features Harris Chang, a Chinese-American CIA agent. Chang is assigned to a case involving attempts by China to beat America to an important computing advance. The CIA alternately needs him, and doubts his loyalty, in each case based on his ethnicity. China also believes it can take advantage of his heritage. A related thread involves a search for a mole in the CIA.
I never understand the whole “quantum” thing in books, but it’s not necessary in the case of this book since the computer is really an afterthought. The book also wasn’t too complicated for me to follow, which I sometimes find to be the case with spy novels. I liked the Chang character and wouldn’t mind reading another book about him, although the ending of the book gives no indication that there will be a follow up. 3.5 stars
I never understand the whole “quantum” thing in books, but it’s not necessary in the case of this book since the computer is really an afterthought. The book also wasn’t too complicated for me to follow, which I sometimes find to be the case with spy novels. I liked the Chang character and wouldn’t mind reading another book about him, although the ending of the book gives no indication that there will be a follow up. 3.5 stars
June 30, 2017
I remember a year or so ago when Justin Trudeau was asked a snarky question about quantum computing, and proceeded to explain it in language we could understand…and the whole concept of things being two things at once kind of blew my mind. “Things can be in two places at once. The coin is both heads and tails. The cat is alive and dead. A bit is zero and one. It’s only the act of observing these phenomena that collapses their ambiguous state. ” In The Quantum Spy, the race is on between the U.S. and China to build the first quantum computer.
It’s a great setup for David Ignatius of the Washington Post to entertain us with a 21st century spy thriller…and, thanks to W.W. Norton and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review.
Early on, we meet John Vandel, long-time CIA operative, who is wise to what it takes to survive in the Agency: “He wrote an eyes-only memo later that morning for the national security adviser to cover himself. The rest, he didn’t want to know. The Director was a former member of Congress. Letting the staff do the dirty work was a way of life.”
Some years ago, an Army Ranger named Harris Chang saved Vandel’s life in Iraq. When Vandel thanked him, Chang said “You would have done it for me,” to which Vandel replied “No fucking way.” This tells us quite a bit about both men, and as the story alternates locations including China, Singapore, Washington, D.C., Iraq and Seattle, we follow their efforts to beat China in the race for quantum computing superiority.
Chang goes to a quantum research lab that has been compromised by a suspected Chinese informant. There is a hunt for the mole who may have penetrated the highest levels of the Agency, and things hop around, with a bit of uncertainty that parallels the quantum state: there are leaks, but do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? Chang finds that there is a thin line between loyalty and betrayal, as he follows the path of the investigation wherever it leads.
Sometimes techno-thrillers can be daunting, with details that are beyond the casual reader of spy novels. In this one, Ignatius has done a great job of combining a twisting plot with self-revelation that parallels the paradox of quantum computing. Chang is the model of a conflicted spy who has dealt with racism and bigotry his entire life, and who faces his own duality as he works to solve the puzzle surrounding the mole.
Spy novel fans, computer buffs, mystery lovers, and anyone who likes a plot with lots of twists and well-developed characters will love this one. Five stars.
It’s a great setup for David Ignatius of the Washington Post to entertain us with a 21st century spy thriller…and, thanks to W.W. Norton and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review.
Early on, we meet John Vandel, long-time CIA operative, who is wise to what it takes to survive in the Agency: “He wrote an eyes-only memo later that morning for the national security adviser to cover himself. The rest, he didn’t want to know. The Director was a former member of Congress. Letting the staff do the dirty work was a way of life.”
Some years ago, an Army Ranger named Harris Chang saved Vandel’s life in Iraq. When Vandel thanked him, Chang said “You would have done it for me,” to which Vandel replied “No fucking way.” This tells us quite a bit about both men, and as the story alternates locations including China, Singapore, Washington, D.C., Iraq and Seattle, we follow their efforts to beat China in the race for quantum computing superiority.
Chang goes to a quantum research lab that has been compromised by a suspected Chinese informant. There is a hunt for the mole who may have penetrated the highest levels of the Agency, and things hop around, with a bit of uncertainty that parallels the quantum state: there are leaks, but do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? Chang finds that there is a thin line between loyalty and betrayal, as he follows the path of the investigation wherever it leads.
Sometimes techno-thrillers can be daunting, with details that are beyond the casual reader of spy novels. In this one, Ignatius has done a great job of combining a twisting plot with self-revelation that parallels the paradox of quantum computing. Chang is the model of a conflicted spy who has dealt with racism and bigotry his entire life, and who faces his own duality as he works to solve the puzzle surrounding the mole.
Spy novel fans, computer buffs, mystery lovers, and anyone who likes a plot with lots of twists and well-developed characters will love this one. Five stars.
November 16, 2017
I eagerly awaited the release of David Ignatius' latest, 'The Quantum Spy', and I now feel my eagerness was wasted. Ignatius, who has penned some of my favorite spy novels and is well-regarded for not only his writing chops but also his deep knowledge of foreign affairs and the CIA, has delivered a poorly planned thriller with a transparent plot and laughably poor dialogue. Don't get me wrong, there are a few good sections and the whole thing is readable (especially if you pretend that it's by a generic thriller writer instead of Ignatius), but he set a high bar for himself that isn't reached by this effort.
The plot involves Quantum Computing, the next 'big thing' and a source of extreme competition between the US and Chinese. The Americans are making progress, but a 'mole' in the CIA is providing intel to the Chinese, and the CIA pulls out all stops to discover who it is. A young ex-armed forces American of Chinese descent is engaged to help, and he finds himself being recruited by the Chinese. The Americans think they've determined the identity of the mole (through a rather haphazard process) but rapidly change directions (a silly move done with virtually no thorough analysis I could see) when more information comes to light. In the meantime, internecine warfare among the Chinese agencies continues to put pressure on their side for results. The end is pretty predictable.
Guess I'll look forward to his next, which will hopefully be a bounce-back to previous form.
The plot involves Quantum Computing, the next 'big thing' and a source of extreme competition between the US and Chinese. The Americans are making progress, but a 'mole' in the CIA is providing intel to the Chinese, and the CIA pulls out all stops to discover who it is. A young ex-armed forces American of Chinese descent is engaged to help, and he finds himself being recruited by the Chinese. The Americans think they've determined the identity of the mole (through a rather haphazard process) but rapidly change directions (a silly move done with virtually no thorough analysis I could see) when more information comes to light. In the meantime, internecine warfare among the Chinese agencies continues to put pressure on their side for results. The end is pretty predictable.
Guess I'll look forward to his next, which will hopefully be a bounce-back to previous form.
July 11, 2024
A pretty decently executed modern espionage thriller, it kept my attention even while the "protagonist" Harris Chang felt more like someone that things happened to than a person with much agency of his own.
Also, shout out to the author for very unexpectedly featuring a location in Mexico I am very familiar with, Real del Monte in Hidalgo state. Makes me crave a green mole "paste"...
Also, shout out to the author for very unexpectedly featuring a location in Mexico I am very familiar with, Real del Monte in Hidalgo state. Makes me crave a green mole "paste"...
December 21, 2017
I got the feeling something was missing. Not the plot—if anything, it was over complicated. Not the bows to today’s dog whistles—a product of Ignatius, an ex (maybe current) WaPo Op-Ed writer on defense matters.
The characters seemed cardboard. Where was the elan of a Ross Thomas, never mind a William Buckley, CIA spy? All but one was a drudge, and he wasn’t involved at the ending. It’s the times: all movie villains seem to be rouge CIA agents. Plus, the Americans aren’t clever—this reads more like Clancy than Christie. But even their Chinese counterparts seemed to have reverted back to the bureaucratic infighting of the post-Mao years.
Lord, I need some better fiction, and fast.
The characters seemed cardboard. Where was the elan of a Ross Thomas, never mind a William Buckley, CIA spy? All but one was a drudge, and he wasn’t involved at the ending. It’s the times: all movie villains seem to be rouge CIA agents. Plus, the Americans aren’t clever—this reads more like Clancy than Christie. But even their Chinese counterparts seemed to have reverted back to the bureaucratic infighting of the post-Mao years.
Lord, I need some better fiction, and fast.
April 27, 2020
Really surprised by the many 4-5 star reviews here, as I found this a total disappointment. Weak plot, super-boring technology (which turned out to basically be a MacGuffin anyway), near-zero action and way-too-much dialogue (much of it wooden - especially the many Chinese characters), totally unsympathetic characters and finally a false (and vaguely racist) rendering IMHO of the loyalties, motivations and inner conflict of its Asian-American protagonist.
Adding to this was a particularly weak narration by Edoardo Ballerini. Rather than developing interesting characters, he used gimmicks to differentiate his various speakers - one talking ridiculously fast, one sounding like Maxwell Smart, one shouting everything in all caps and exclamation points, etc. His attempts to pronounce Chinese words and phrases was just painful to listen to, (admittedly a problem for most audiobook narrators), and particularly jarring was the name of the key agent in the story, rukou, which he pronounced at least a million times as ru-KOU when it should be RU-kou. (Making this even more annoying - at least to any Chinese-speaking reader - is that Ignatius from the beginning wrongly translates this as "doorway," when it is in fact the generic word for "entrance" - as in the opposite of "exit" - used in every building anywhere in the Chinese-speaking world; if he wanted to call his agent "doorway" it should have been MEN-kou.) But the narrator's mispronunciations weren't just limited to Chinese - he also flubbed such insider terms as "polygrapher" - something any follower of spy stories should know how to pronounce properly.
Narration aside, however, the book had its own serious plot problems as well. The Chinese mole is quickly and way-too-easily identified; and then - despite being Beijing's "top penetration of the CIA" goes out and does dumb and aggressive things to blow his (or her?) deep cover. Another second-string character is murdered in one of the book's few quasi-action scenes, but this is never mentioned (or even explained) again, despite promises that "we'll find the bastards and make them pay" and the fact that this murder should have totally sealed the case against the mole. Overall the plot was so lackluster and predictable I kept waiting/hoping for a third act switcheroo, but nope - what you see (and see very early on) is what you get. And lastly, having worked in several U.S. embassies I've gotten to know more than a few Agency case officers, and so have to lean towards calling bullshit on some of Ignatius' tradecraft and lingo.
Ignatius is unquestionably a top-notch journalist and my favorite WaPo reporter on the Middle East and everything CIA, but being a fine journalist does not guarantee being a good writer of fiction. Many of my issues with The Quantum Spy are the same ones I had with his earlier Bloodmoney - listless plot, endless (and dull) technospeak and cliche characters, (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...). But a lot of people out there seem to like him...so very possibly it's just me that's wrong.
Adding to this was a particularly weak narration by Edoardo Ballerini. Rather than developing interesting characters, he used gimmicks to differentiate his various speakers - one talking ridiculously fast, one sounding like Maxwell Smart, one shouting everything in all caps and exclamation points, etc. His attempts to pronounce Chinese words and phrases was just painful to listen to, (admittedly a problem for most audiobook narrators), and particularly jarring was the name of the key agent in the story, rukou, which he pronounced at least a million times as ru-KOU when it should be RU-kou. (Making this even more annoying - at least to any Chinese-speaking reader - is that Ignatius from the beginning wrongly translates this as "doorway," when it is in fact the generic word for "entrance" - as in the opposite of "exit" - used in every building anywhere in the Chinese-speaking world; if he wanted to call his agent "doorway" it should have been MEN-kou.) But the narrator's mispronunciations weren't just limited to Chinese - he also flubbed such insider terms as "polygrapher" - something any follower of spy stories should know how to pronounce properly.
Narration aside, however, the book had its own serious plot problems as well. The Chinese mole is quickly and way-too-easily identified; and then - despite being Beijing's "top penetration of the CIA" goes out and does dumb and aggressive things to blow his (or her?) deep cover. Another second-string character is murdered in one of the book's few quasi-action scenes, but this is never mentioned (or even explained) again, despite promises that "we'll find the bastards and make them pay" and the fact that this murder should have totally sealed the case against the mole. Overall the plot was so lackluster and predictable I kept waiting/hoping for a third act switcheroo, but nope - what you see (and see very early on) is what you get. And lastly, having worked in several U.S. embassies I've gotten to know more than a few Agency case officers, and so have to lean towards calling bullshit on some of Ignatius' tradecraft and lingo.
Ignatius is unquestionably a top-notch journalist and my favorite WaPo reporter on the Middle East and everything CIA, but being a fine journalist does not guarantee being a good writer of fiction. Many of my issues with The Quantum Spy are the same ones I had with his earlier Bloodmoney - listless plot, endless (and dull) technospeak and cliche characters, (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...). But a lot of people out there seem to like him...so very possibly it's just me that's wrong.
November 11, 2017
“America is a country where race matters. The more people say they are, what, color-blind, the more it is a lie.”
David Ignatius writes gripping spy fiction, and this is his best work. The basis of this one is the longstanding intelligence war between the CIA and its Chinese counterpart; the story is fictional, but his careful research ensures that this could have happened. Lucky me, I read it free thanks to Edelweiss and W.W. Norton and Company Publishers. This book will be available to the public tomorrow, November 7, 2017.
Harris Chang is Chinese-American, raised to respect the red, white and blue. He works for the CIA, and has been sent to investigate a leak in a quantum research lab. As the USA and China struggle to achieve technological dominance, tensions rise. Chang wonders if he has been chosen to investigate based on his ethnicity, since he knows very little about China or even his own family tree; why yes he has. The Chinese expect to be able to turn him because of it, and over the course of time, his bosses begin to suspect that it’s happened. Harris is loyal, and he chafes at the unfairness of his treatment, but is determined to succeed. After all, what could prove his loyalty more clearly than to perform above the standard to which most of the Agency’s employees are held?
The setting changes constantly as spies chase other spies all over the world, but the story takes place primarily in Arlington, Virginia and in Singapore. There are also some especially tense, intriguing scenes set in Mexico, and I love the side details about Trotsky’s house, which is now a museum.
Ignatius dumbs down nothing for anyone, and so the reader should have literacy skills that are sharp and ready. Don’t read this one after you take your sleeping pill. Trust me.
The story can be read—and mostly will be, I think—as an enjoyable bit of escapism. With current events so intense, we all need some of that, and it’s what I expected when I requested the DRC. But I find it much more rewarding because of the racial subtext. It’s an area that’s important to me, and at first my back was up when I saw hints of it without knowing what the writer’s intentions were. So many are astonishingly clueless, or worse, when it comes to this aspect of fiction. But as I saw where he was taking it, I had to completely reevaluate my opinion. I would love to be surprised in exactly this way more frequently.
The ending made me want to stand up and cheer.
Highly recommended to those that love strong thrillers, and even more so for those that also cherish civil rights in the USA.
David Ignatius writes gripping spy fiction, and this is his best work. The basis of this one is the longstanding intelligence war between the CIA and its Chinese counterpart; the story is fictional, but his careful research ensures that this could have happened. Lucky me, I read it free thanks to Edelweiss and W.W. Norton and Company Publishers. This book will be available to the public tomorrow, November 7, 2017.
Harris Chang is Chinese-American, raised to respect the red, white and blue. He works for the CIA, and has been sent to investigate a leak in a quantum research lab. As the USA and China struggle to achieve technological dominance, tensions rise. Chang wonders if he has been chosen to investigate based on his ethnicity, since he knows very little about China or even his own family tree; why yes he has. The Chinese expect to be able to turn him because of it, and over the course of time, his bosses begin to suspect that it’s happened. Harris is loyal, and he chafes at the unfairness of his treatment, but is determined to succeed. After all, what could prove his loyalty more clearly than to perform above the standard to which most of the Agency’s employees are held?
The setting changes constantly as spies chase other spies all over the world, but the story takes place primarily in Arlington, Virginia and in Singapore. There are also some especially tense, intriguing scenes set in Mexico, and I love the side details about Trotsky’s house, which is now a museum.
Ignatius dumbs down nothing for anyone, and so the reader should have literacy skills that are sharp and ready. Don’t read this one after you take your sleeping pill. Trust me.
The story can be read—and mostly will be, I think—as an enjoyable bit of escapism. With current events so intense, we all need some of that, and it’s what I expected when I requested the DRC. But I find it much more rewarding because of the racial subtext. It’s an area that’s important to me, and at first my back was up when I saw hints of it without knowing what the writer’s intentions were. So many are astonishingly clueless, or worse, when it comes to this aspect of fiction. But as I saw where he was taking it, I had to completely reevaluate my opinion. I would love to be surprised in exactly this way more frequently.
The ending made me want to stand up and cheer.
Highly recommended to those that love strong thrillers, and even more so for those that also cherish civil rights in the USA.
November 19, 2018
Wonderful. Unputdownable. The heart of the book is about the long-running war between the CIA and it's Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of State Security. The plot, characters and planning for the final outcome was a delight and thrill, for me, to read. Now to read more books by David Ignatius.
January 5, 2019
I read one very short chapter and metaphorically threw this across the room. Really hard.
The chapter was some of the least graceful fiction writing I've encountered in years. But here's the sentence that sealed the deal for me, the sentence that broke all trust and made me drop the book and resolve to avoid the author in the future.
"Vandel had a loose, ambling gate as he strolled down the corridor, peering into doors and windows."
While the construction is nothing to write home about--peering through doorways, maybe, but "into doors"?--the true problem is so much worse. If you read a lot, you probably saw it (I hope you did). But the author didn't, and apparently, no professionals at W. W. Norton read this, or were familiar enough with the English language to catch it either.
The word the author was flailing for was "gait." In American elementary schools, around the same time they talk about parts of speech, typically they introduce the concept of homonyms (the most famous being there/their/they're, to/too, and your/you're). I guess the author--and his editor, and his proofreader--missed that day.
I'm not going anywhere with this author. Life is too short to spend time on badly written books, when there are so many good ones I'll never get to.
The chapter was some of the least graceful fiction writing I've encountered in years. But here's the sentence that sealed the deal for me, the sentence that broke all trust and made me drop the book and resolve to avoid the author in the future.
"Vandel had a loose, ambling gate as he strolled down the corridor, peering into doors and windows."
While the construction is nothing to write home about--peering through doorways, maybe, but "into doors"?--the true problem is so much worse. If you read a lot, you probably saw it (I hope you did). But the author didn't, and apparently, no professionals at W. W. Norton read this, or were familiar enough with the English language to catch it either.
The word the author was flailing for was "gait." In American elementary schools, around the same time they talk about parts of speech, typically they introduce the concept of homonyms (the most famous being there/their/they're, to/too, and your/you're). I guess the author--and his editor, and his proofreader--missed that day.
I'm not going anywhere with this author. Life is too short to spend time on badly written books, when there are so many good ones I'll never get to.
November 18, 2017
All the ingredients of a spy novel but maybe not the right amounts? It has terrific social commentary on what is wrong with American society these days, and an interesting premise, but it didn’t gel for me. Parts of the book were suspenseful, and parts kept you guessing who is who, but it’s not John Le Carre
February 13, 2018
3.5. It had the bones of a very good thriller----political intrigue, CIA spies, and quantum computers. But everything was very straightforward. I kept waiting for double crossing or tricks or even cool gadgets-something! But it was like we think this person is the double agent. And the next page is telling how they are correct. No guess work. No mystery. So there wasn't really any suspense.
May 20, 2018
Description: A hyper-fast quantum computer is the digital equivalent of a nuclear bomb: whoever possesses one will be able to shred any encryption in existence, effectively owning the digital world. The question is: Who will build it first, the United States or China?
The latest of David Ignatius's timely, sharp-eyed espionage novels follows CIA agent Harris Chang into a quantum research lab compromised by a suspected Chinese informant. The breach provokes a mole hunt that is obsessive, destructive, and--above all--uncertain: Do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? Chang soon finds that there is a thin line between loyalty and betrayal, as the investigation leads him down a rabbit hole as dangerous as it is deep.
The Quantum Spy kept me to the end yet some journos do not make the best storytellers (especially bad at sexy-times prose). Here the plot is realistic but the characters wooden, so it is hard to imagine them behaving as they do. However, lots of interesting cultural titbits to savour:
◙ The Chinese hate the number four as it sounds like their word for death
◙ A person who is living in another country and does not fully align with the cult of personality/revisionist history of China is known as a banana, the same way a black person who supports the cult of personality in US is known as a coconut.
As Benny Hill used to say: "Learningz allz ze time"
The latest of David Ignatius's timely, sharp-eyed espionage novels follows CIA agent Harris Chang into a quantum research lab compromised by a suspected Chinese informant. The breach provokes a mole hunt that is obsessive, destructive, and--above all--uncertain: Do the leaks expose real secrets, or are they false trails meant to deceive the Chinese? Chang soon finds that there is a thin line between loyalty and betrayal, as the investigation leads him down a rabbit hole as dangerous as it is deep.
The Quantum Spy kept me to the end yet some journos do not make the best storytellers (especially bad at sexy-times prose). Here the plot is realistic but the characters wooden, so it is hard to imagine them behaving as they do. However, lots of interesting cultural titbits to savour:◙ The Chinese hate the number four as it sounds like their word for death
◙ A person who is living in another country and does not fully align with the cult of personality/revisionist history of China is known as a banana, the same way a black person who supports the cult of personality in US is known as a coconut.
As Benny Hill used to say: "Learningz allz ze time"
September 10, 2017
4.5 stars. An inserting character driven story with a philosophical ending. A general description of the plot is a battle between two spy masters (CIA vs. China's Ministry of Intelligence) in the hunt for a mole. The story is much more complex and layered as the author strips away the notion of good guy vs. bad guy and brings to light how perception dictates reality.
As a spy novel, it is well paced and combines the right amount of operational planning and action. The mole was not overly obvious and I only figured out who it was a chapter before it was revealed.
What brought it down from 5 stars for me was the way the quantum computers were added. At times the quantum computing characters seemed superfluous to the story. And when they were featured the quantum computing was never really explained in a way for an everyday person to understand. However, upon finishing the book I realized that the quantum computer was the way the author could highlight the paradox of the quantum state, and relate that to human nature.
Overall I found it to be an enjoyable read and would recommend it, especially to those who like to read a few hours at a time. I won an ARC with the goodreads giveaways.
As a spy novel, it is well paced and combines the right amount of operational planning and action. The mole was not overly obvious and I only figured out who it was a chapter before it was revealed.
What brought it down from 5 stars for me was the way the quantum computers were added. At times the quantum computing characters seemed superfluous to the story. And when they were featured the quantum computing was never really explained in a way for an everyday person to understand. However, upon finishing the book I realized that the quantum computer was the way the author could highlight the paradox of the quantum state, and relate that to human nature.
Overall I found it to be an enjoyable read and would recommend it, especially to those who like to read a few hours at a time. I won an ARC with the goodreads giveaways.
June 4, 2018
I'm into the Quantum stuff, so this was pretty interesting to me. The espionage part was first rate, as are all of David's novels. It certainly gives you something to ponder, even if he does claim that it's all fiction.
Check it out. Cheers and Happy Reading!
Jim in MT
Check it out. Cheers and Happy Reading!
Jim in MT
December 24, 2020
Eins und Null
Mal wieder gibt es einen Wettlauf zwischen den Großmächten. Die Wissenschaftler der Welt versuchen, Quantencomputer zu entwickeln und jeder will der erste sein. Da kann schon mal eine Firma, die ein Stückchen voranzukommen scheint, von der Bildfläche verschwinden, um nur noch dem Staat zuzuarbeiten. In dieser Situation versucht der CIA-Agent Harris Chang einen chinesischen Computerwissenschaftler als Spion anzuwerben. Die Aktion läuft insofern gut, als das Dr. Ma verrät, was er zu verraten hat, und insofern schlecht, als das Dr. Ma sich nach dem Treffen umbringt. Dennoch hat er offenbart, dass China einen Maulwurf in den amerikanischen Diensten platziert haben. Und diesen gilt es jetzt zu enttarnen.
Harris Chang und sein Chef und Mentor John Vandel geraten in heikle Situationen, wobei der Sino-Amerikaner Harris, der sich eigentlich immer für einen sehr amerikanischen Amerikaner gehalten hat, feststellen muss, dass er eben doch häufig als Chinese betrachtet wird. Ist er deshalb besonders für den Einsatz geeignet? Er kann noch nicht einmal besonders gut chinesisch und seine Familie lebt schon in der vierten Generation in Amerika. Und wo ist der Maulwurf zu suchen, etwa auch unter den Sino-Amerikanischen Wissenschaftlern? Umgekehrt kann es aber auch passieren, dass Chang von chinesischen Studenten als Vertreter seines Staates angegriffen wird, weil diese meinen, sie werden wegen ihrer Herkunft besonders befragt.
Wie Welt der Agenten und Spione ist doch irgendwie auch ein Spiegelbild der restlichen Welt. Auch wenn die Ausführungen der Quanten-Wissenschaftler manchmal etwas trocken geraten und für Laien nicht immer leicht verständlich sind, so wird die Agentengeschichte doch nach und nach spannender. Man lernt, dass eins und null gleichzeitig sein können und dass Vandel immer noch einen Plan B hat. Man lernt auch, dass Spione durchaus nicht schablonenhaft sind und sie eine Entwicklung durchmachen. Vielleicht ist der Maulwurf etwas zu leicht enttarnt, aber dafür ist es ausgesprochen spannend, wie die Jagd auf ihn beginnt. Dieser gehaltvolle Thriller regt wahrlich die Gehirntätigkeit an.
Mal wieder gibt es einen Wettlauf zwischen den Großmächten. Die Wissenschaftler der Welt versuchen, Quantencomputer zu entwickeln und jeder will der erste sein. Da kann schon mal eine Firma, die ein Stückchen voranzukommen scheint, von der Bildfläche verschwinden, um nur noch dem Staat zuzuarbeiten. In dieser Situation versucht der CIA-Agent Harris Chang einen chinesischen Computerwissenschaftler als Spion anzuwerben. Die Aktion läuft insofern gut, als das Dr. Ma verrät, was er zu verraten hat, und insofern schlecht, als das Dr. Ma sich nach dem Treffen umbringt. Dennoch hat er offenbart, dass China einen Maulwurf in den amerikanischen Diensten platziert haben. Und diesen gilt es jetzt zu enttarnen.
Harris Chang und sein Chef und Mentor John Vandel geraten in heikle Situationen, wobei der Sino-Amerikaner Harris, der sich eigentlich immer für einen sehr amerikanischen Amerikaner gehalten hat, feststellen muss, dass er eben doch häufig als Chinese betrachtet wird. Ist er deshalb besonders für den Einsatz geeignet? Er kann noch nicht einmal besonders gut chinesisch und seine Familie lebt schon in der vierten Generation in Amerika. Und wo ist der Maulwurf zu suchen, etwa auch unter den Sino-Amerikanischen Wissenschaftlern? Umgekehrt kann es aber auch passieren, dass Chang von chinesischen Studenten als Vertreter seines Staates angegriffen wird, weil diese meinen, sie werden wegen ihrer Herkunft besonders befragt.
Wie Welt der Agenten und Spione ist doch irgendwie auch ein Spiegelbild der restlichen Welt. Auch wenn die Ausführungen der Quanten-Wissenschaftler manchmal etwas trocken geraten und für Laien nicht immer leicht verständlich sind, so wird die Agentengeschichte doch nach und nach spannender. Man lernt, dass eins und null gleichzeitig sein können und dass Vandel immer noch einen Plan B hat. Man lernt auch, dass Spione durchaus nicht schablonenhaft sind und sie eine Entwicklung durchmachen. Vielleicht ist der Maulwurf etwas zu leicht enttarnt, aber dafür ist es ausgesprochen spannend, wie die Jagd auf ihn beginnt. Dieser gehaltvolle Thriller regt wahrlich die Gehirntätigkeit an.
December 7, 2021
This felt very authentic and well-researched, but Ignatius wrote it in such a way that a layperson could understand the very basics of quantum computing (although I had help from a Washington Post review of the book). The characters were appropriately conflicted, when they weren't arrogant and self-congratulatory, and the exotic locales and secret boltholes were appropriate conventions for a spy novel. I also liked the theme of spies recruiting other spies (or attempting to) - in many espionage novels, the reader doesn't get this kind of extended look at the lengths countries and their agencies are willing to go to in order to "turn" someone who is loyal. Add in issues of race and gender, as the hidebound CIA bureaucracy is slow to recruit, train, develop, and especially trust women and minorities, and you have the makings of an excellent book, one that looks ahead to conflicts that will only be exacerbated as the 21st century plays out. I hadn't read a David Ignatius novel since the excellent Agents of Innocence, which was published almost 35 years ago. I won't wait that long for my next one!
October 2, 2024
This was a good espionage thriller. The protagonist is a Chinese-American CIA agent loyal to America who becomes entangled in operations that cause him to question his loyalties. I was hoping for more of the quantum factor to come into play but there's not much to this angle. It could have been any generic government secret operation. The focus is on the espionage. I would recommend for readers who enjoy spy thrillers. And, of course, Edoardo Ballerini's narration is excellent.
December 1, 2025
Enjoyed parts of this book and read through most of it in the last couple days. The spy stuff was cool and made me think of all the different scenarios and angles and the possibility of double agents. However, the ending was a little bit of a let down as it didn’t play out as exciting as I had anticipated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2018
Assuming the author has deep insights into CIA operations, the book describes an investigation in detail dealing with a Quantum computer system . The effects on the “operators” portrays the pressures these people go through in the quagmire of espionage. In layman’s term for me it was a good read in the history/thriller genera.
August 27, 2018
I'm probably not going out on a limb to guess that it's uncommon for a spy novel dust jacket to highlight endorsements from two former CIA directors. Ignatius goes so far as to say several times in his acknowledgements that "readers will make a serious error if they assume that anything in this book is 'real'." And yet Leon Panetta happily walks right up to the edge in saying "this book is nothing less than a real-life insight into the ongoing battle for dominance in the digital world."
So what does such a book look like?
"That was the issue, always, for any director. Political risk. Would the national security adviser go along? Would there be blowback from other agencies? Would Congress complain that it hadn't been notified? The trick with intelligence policy was making it seem to fit with what the president had already decided to do, so that everyone assumed it had been approved and kept their mouths shut."
Imagine that paragraph from Ian Fleming.
I admit that I never would have sought out such a novel, but circumstances led me to read it, and I liked it more than I thought I would. It's not fine literature and it's not quite escapism, but it's definitely both very smart and very tense.
And for once, spies aren't terribly glamorous, and there is no sinister man with a scar obsessively holding a lap cat. Spies are talented, but they are career technocrats. In the world Ignatius creates, morality is tenuous, trust is woefully evasive, paranoia runs high, and government agencies both are factions and contain factions.
The other real big win here is that the characters mostly seem very human. There is no super-spy. Even the best at their craft are winners if they are just survivors, as they all are pawns in both geopolitical and bureaucratic games. (The film Munich comes to mind as something roughly analagous.) Better still, some of the main characters are talented women.
I may not be likely to pick up another one of David Ignatius's novels anytime soon, but I'll certainly do that before I sit through another Mission Impossible.
So what does such a book look like?
"That was the issue, always, for any director. Political risk. Would the national security adviser go along? Would there be blowback from other agencies? Would Congress complain that it hadn't been notified? The trick with intelligence policy was making it seem to fit with what the president had already decided to do, so that everyone assumed it had been approved and kept their mouths shut."
Imagine that paragraph from Ian Fleming.
I admit that I never would have sought out such a novel, but circumstances led me to read it, and I liked it more than I thought I would. It's not fine literature and it's not quite escapism, but it's definitely both very smart and very tense.
And for once, spies aren't terribly glamorous, and there is no sinister man with a scar obsessively holding a lap cat. Spies are talented, but they are career technocrats. In the world Ignatius creates, morality is tenuous, trust is woefully evasive, paranoia runs high, and government agencies both are factions and contain factions.
The other real big win here is that the characters mostly seem very human. There is no super-spy. Even the best at their craft are winners if they are just survivors, as they all are pawns in both geopolitical and bureaucratic games. (The film Munich comes to mind as something roughly analagous.) Better still, some of the main characters are talented women.
I may not be likely to pick up another one of David Ignatius's novels anytime soon, but I'll certainly do that before I sit through another Mission Impossible.
December 31, 2017
This espionage thriller ticks all the right boxes for me in that it is written by a Washington Post columnist I admire, deals with a particularly interesting area of physics/technology, and is recommended (on the back cover) by two former CIA directors, NSA director, Secretary of Defense, and CNN's chief anchor. David Ignatius clearly has a firm grasp of the workings of such organizations and this work here deals with the next great technological frontier (no, not the Iphone XI), quantum computing. While there isn't enough of the fascinating science covered in the story, Ignatius weaves his narrative with great pacing and a host of interesting characters. A fun and engrossing thriller that could only have been written by someone with such first-hand experience in this field.
July 20, 2019
I liked Bloodmoney but this latest novel disappoints.
The spycraft is persuasive, but the combination of science and military-industrial complex somewhat turgid, and the motivation of the mole intriguing in concept but desultory in execution. I found the character of the "main man" incomplete.
The spycraft is persuasive, but the combination of science and military-industrial complex somewhat turgid, and the motivation of the mole intriguing in concept but desultory in execution. I found the character of the "main man" incomplete.
February 15, 2025
Plot driven, the most minimal character depth, and the overused, tired "find the mole" plot device. As I reached the halfway point, I was finding the American intelligence operatives portrayed here to be so obnoxious and annoying that I began rooting for the Chinese. This one was not for me. Time to move on. Cheers!
January 19, 2018
I had a hard time choosing between 3 and 4 stars. It's more like a 3 1/2.
I really like David Ignatius as a foreign policy expert and a really good journalist.
Based on this book, a great novelist he's not.
I really like David Ignatius as a foreign policy expert and a really good journalist.
Based on this book, a great novelist he's not.
May 10, 2025
Audiobook. Good read, essentially a spy novel.
February 27, 2018
Combination technothriller and spy thriller.
Like many a spy thriller, _The Quantum Spy_ is basically about a game of chess between two spymasters, John Vandel (DDO for the CIA) and Li Zian (head of China's Ministry of State Security). And, like a technothriller, it has a technological Maguffin which is vital not only to the plot, but to its resolution.
The Maguffin is quantum computing. The CIA is spending a lot of money effectively buying up companies with a promising approach to QC, and then making them "go black." (It apparently does not occur to the Company that letting these companies work together might improve their performance.) During the course of the book, the problem of QC is not solved, any more than it is in the "real" world; but a partial solution proves sufficient to give Vandel the checkmating move.
Oh, come on, like you didn't know the Good Guys were going to win?
Of course, as in any good spy thriller, part of the fun is figuring out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. We learn fairly early that Li has a mole deep in the CIA, reporting to him on everything the Company learns about QC. So a big part of the plot is Finding The Mole.
The hero of the tale, if there is one, is Harris Chang, a CIA operative. He is involved in the operation that discovers that there is a mole and sets the whole thing off. Due to a very clever move by Li, he comes under suspicion of the FBI, and his loyalties are put to the deepest test.
I won't say this is the best book I've read this year, but it was a good, enjoyable read with enough tension to satisfy.
Like many a spy thriller, _The Quantum Spy_ is basically about a game of chess between two spymasters, John Vandel (DDO for the CIA) and Li Zian (head of China's Ministry of State Security). And, like a technothriller, it has a technological Maguffin which is vital not only to the plot, but to its resolution.
The Maguffin is quantum computing. The CIA is spending a lot of money effectively buying up companies with a promising approach to QC, and then making them "go black." (It apparently does not occur to the Company that letting these companies work together might improve their performance.) During the course of the book, the problem of QC is not solved, any more than it is in the "real" world; but a partial solution proves sufficient to give Vandel the checkmating move.
Oh, come on, like you didn't know the Good Guys were going to win?
Of course, as in any good spy thriller, part of the fun is figuring out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. We learn fairly early that Li has a mole deep in the CIA, reporting to him on everything the Company learns about QC. So a big part of the plot is Finding The Mole.
The hero of the tale, if there is one, is Harris Chang, a CIA operative. He is involved in the operation that discovers that there is a mole and sets the whole thing off. Due to a very clever move by Li, he comes under suspicion of the FBI, and his loyalties are put to the deepest test.
I won't say this is the best book I've read this year, but it was a good, enjoyable read with enough tension to satisfy.
November 27, 2017
In THE QUANTUM SPY, the CIA and Chinese intelligence agencies duel one another in a high-stakes match as they pursue research secrets surrounding quantum computing. Whichever country is first to harness that technology will possess unimaginable power, a sort of information processing equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
As I read through the first two-thirds of the book, it seemed to me to be a solid four-star winner, an engrossing novel showcasing the real-world tradecraft (not the fictional James Bond-type stuff) employed by spy agencies. The book’s protagonist, Harris Chang, a Chinese American CIA officer, discovers the Chinese have managed to place a mole high up in the agency’s hierarchy.
It’s the final third of David Ignatius’ newest thriller, however, where it earns five stars! The tension ratchets up to an extreme level when the Chinese murder a CIA operative and set up Chang to look like the mole and as a person complicit in the murder. The Chinese are so successful at doing this that many in the agency and the FBI believe Chang is indeed the Chinese infiltrator (there’s more than a little racism going on here).
Chang elects to prove his innocence and that he’s a “true” American by undertaking a dangerous undercover mission involving the real mole and the head of a Chinese spy agency. If the operation fails, Chang will end up either captured or dead at the hands of the Chinese. It’s a nail-biting, page-turning conclusion.
David Ignatius has crafted a great novel with robust, believable characters where even the “black hats” don’t necessarily have all evil intent, nor the “white hats,” all noble ones. If you’re into well written thrillers that reflect the reality of spydom (à la John le Carré), don’t miss THE QUANTUM SPY.
As I read through the first two-thirds of the book, it seemed to me to be a solid four-star winner, an engrossing novel showcasing the real-world tradecraft (not the fictional James Bond-type stuff) employed by spy agencies. The book’s protagonist, Harris Chang, a Chinese American CIA officer, discovers the Chinese have managed to place a mole high up in the agency’s hierarchy.
It’s the final third of David Ignatius’ newest thriller, however, where it earns five stars! The tension ratchets up to an extreme level when the Chinese murder a CIA operative and set up Chang to look like the mole and as a person complicit in the murder. The Chinese are so successful at doing this that many in the agency and the FBI believe Chang is indeed the Chinese infiltrator (there’s more than a little racism going on here).
Chang elects to prove his innocence and that he’s a “true” American by undertaking a dangerous undercover mission involving the real mole and the head of a Chinese spy agency. If the operation fails, Chang will end up either captured or dead at the hands of the Chinese. It’s a nail-biting, page-turning conclusion.
David Ignatius has crafted a great novel with robust, believable characters where even the “black hats” don’t necessarily have all evil intent, nor the “white hats,” all noble ones. If you’re into well written thrillers that reflect the reality of spydom (à la John le Carré), don’t miss THE QUANTUM SPY.
November 20, 2017
A Must-Read
Very few authors can successfully take us into the nexus of technology and spy v. spy tradecraft. Either one or the other subject is usually given short shrift. Not this time - this book is meticulous in its research and it’s portrayal of a case officer’s “down the rabbit hole” world is fascinating and intriguing.
You may learn more about quantum computing than you can comprehend, certainly the case for me, but I understood its implications well after reading the book - and they are both compelling and scary. Yet the technology part never overshadows the real plot - the interplay between the key characters and their respective intelligence services.
Hats off here as I’d put this down for a week, returned to it, and it just kept getting better. The conclusion might argue for an alternative ending but that’s the reader’s decision.
Very few authors can successfully take us into the nexus of technology and spy v. spy tradecraft. Either one or the other subject is usually given short shrift. Not this time - this book is meticulous in its research and it’s portrayal of a case officer’s “down the rabbit hole” world is fascinating and intriguing.
You may learn more about quantum computing than you can comprehend, certainly the case for me, but I understood its implications well after reading the book - and they are both compelling and scary. Yet the technology part never overshadows the real plot - the interplay between the key characters and their respective intelligence services.
Hats off here as I’d put this down for a week, returned to it, and it just kept getting better. The conclusion might argue for an alternative ending but that’s the reader’s decision.
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