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The Aiken Trilogy #1
Muir’s Gambit
"Michael Frost Beckner revs up a new series rooted in his original film SPY GAME, which was a huge influence on my early novels. What a pleasure to be back in the company of Tom Bishop and Nathan Muir in these brilliantly executed sequels. Full of twists and turns, these are first-class spy novels with a smart, gritty atmosphere." - CHARLES CUMMING, New York Times & Sunday Times Best-selling Author of KENNEDY 35 and BOX 88
2022 WINNER, Spy Thriller of the Year - The BestThrillers Book Awards
2023 WINNER, Gold Medal, Best First Book - IPPY Awards
2022 THRILLER & SUSPENSE FINALIST - Foreword Reviews INDIES
2023 WINNER, Bronze Medal, Best Cover Design - IPPY Awards
EDITOR'S PICK - Publishers Weekly Booklife
5/5 STARS - Foreword Clarion Reviews
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Midwest Book Review
"Relentlessly tense... This smashing espionage tale kicks off what promises to be a smart, indelible series." Kirkus Reviews
"A brilliant opening salvo in the author's Aiken trilogy. Espionage fans looking for an alternative to standardized spy-thriller tropes will find plenty to entertain them in this satisfyingly offbeat offering." BlueInk Reviews
It’s not how you play the GAME… It’s how the game plays YOU.
A prequel to his #1 hit motion picture, the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt thriller Spy Game, Michael Frost Beckner’s Muir’s Gambit opens with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March. Mentor to Redford’s Nathan Muir, by his murder, Charlie March presents Langley the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Cold War dinosaur Muir.
Set 48-hours before the events of Spy Game, Muir’s Gambit introduces hard-luck CIA lawyer Russell Aiken dispatched to force Muir’s confession. For Aiken, it’s as much an escape as an assignment. Running from a crime of passion, he’s the protégé Muir cast aside in favor of Tom Bishop. Tormented by Muir’s denial of his ambitions, Aiken thirsts for payback unaware that Muir launched a different game for him long ago, and he has 24-hours to learn its rules, plays, and stakes.
As the two spies play at a dangerous cat-and-mouse interrogation over the dark underbelly of forty years of CIA operations, conspiracies, assassinations, and deadly secrets, Muir’s Gambit works as a dual confession by two unreliable narrators.
A scathing indictment of Cold War spy games, Muir’s Gambit is also an examination of the human condition, the cost to the soul when moral men sanctioned to do the immoral, have one night to regain some shred of decency before the dawn, and come to terms over the one moral spy, Tom Bishop, who stands between them.
2022 WINNER, Spy Thriller of the Year - The BestThrillers Book Awards
2023 WINNER, Gold Medal, Best First Book - IPPY Awards
2022 THRILLER & SUSPENSE FINALIST - Foreword Reviews INDIES
2023 WINNER, Bronze Medal, Best Cover Design - IPPY Awards
EDITOR'S PICK - Publishers Weekly Booklife
5/5 STARS - Foreword Clarion Reviews
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Midwest Book Review
"Relentlessly tense... This smashing espionage tale kicks off what promises to be a smart, indelible series." Kirkus Reviews
"A brilliant opening salvo in the author's Aiken trilogy. Espionage fans looking for an alternative to standardized spy-thriller tropes will find plenty to entertain them in this satisfyingly offbeat offering." BlueInk Reviews
It’s not how you play the GAME… It’s how the game plays YOU.
A prequel to his #1 hit motion picture, the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt thriller Spy Game, Michael Frost Beckner’s Muir’s Gambit opens with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March. Mentor to Redford’s Nathan Muir, by his murder, Charlie March presents Langley the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Cold War dinosaur Muir.
Set 48-hours before the events of Spy Game, Muir’s Gambit introduces hard-luck CIA lawyer Russell Aiken dispatched to force Muir’s confession. For Aiken, it’s as much an escape as an assignment. Running from a crime of passion, he’s the protégé Muir cast aside in favor of Tom Bishop. Tormented by Muir’s denial of his ambitions, Aiken thirsts for payback unaware that Muir launched a different game for him long ago, and he has 24-hours to learn its rules, plays, and stakes.
As the two spies play at a dangerous cat-and-mouse interrogation over the dark underbelly of forty years of CIA operations, conspiracies, assassinations, and deadly secrets, Muir’s Gambit works as a dual confession by two unreliable narrators.
A scathing indictment of Cold War spy games, Muir’s Gambit is also an examination of the human condition, the cost to the soul when moral men sanctioned to do the immoral, have one night to regain some shred of decency before the dawn, and come to terms over the one moral spy, Tom Bishop, who stands between them.
404 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2022
40 people are currently reading
2138 people want to read
About the author
Michael Frost Beckner
32 books37 followersIn 1989, Michael Frost Beckner's script for Sniper launched a military-thriller franchise now in production on its eighth sequel. Three consecutive record-breaking spec script sales and three films later, Tony Scott directed Beckner's original screenplay "Spy Game." An international blockbuster that paired Robert Redford and Brad Pitt as CIA partners and rivals, it is now a classic in the espionage genre.
Beckner branched into television with his CIA-based drama "The Agency" for CBS, Beckner's pilot predicted Osama bin Laden's terror attack and the War on Terror four months before 9/11. In that series alone, Beckner would go on to predictively dramatize three more future international terror events. Having penned more than twenty-five pilots for network and cable television, miniseries and docudramas, and dozens of original motion picture screenplays, adaptations, and rewrites, he is a Hollywood institution.
In 2001, intrigued by the idea of writing a two-man play focused on the four meetings between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee over their lifetimes, Beckner embarked on a twenty-year research odyssey, advised by more than a dozen of the top Civil War historians in America, which saw him transform his intimate theater piece into the most comprehensive Civil War mini-series ever written. Variously known as "To Appomattox" and "Battle Hymn," and now entitled "A Nation Divided," for the first time, Beckner’s full 12-hour scripts are being released to the public in three volumes.
As a commentator on American espionage, Beckner has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBS News, TF1 in France, and as a featured guest of Bill Maher on HBO. Now, in conjunction with the twentieth anniversary of "Spy Game," Beckner returns to the world of Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop with the release of his trilogy of Spy Game novels: "Muir's Gambit," "Bishop's Endgame," and "Aiken in Check."
Beckner branched into television with his CIA-based drama "The Agency" for CBS, Beckner's pilot predicted Osama bin Laden's terror attack and the War on Terror four months before 9/11. In that series alone, Beckner would go on to predictively dramatize three more future international terror events. Having penned more than twenty-five pilots for network and cable television, miniseries and docudramas, and dozens of original motion picture screenplays, adaptations, and rewrites, he is a Hollywood institution.
In 2001, intrigued by the idea of writing a two-man play focused on the four meetings between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee over their lifetimes, Beckner embarked on a twenty-year research odyssey, advised by more than a dozen of the top Civil War historians in America, which saw him transform his intimate theater piece into the most comprehensive Civil War mini-series ever written. Variously known as "To Appomattox" and "Battle Hymn," and now entitled "A Nation Divided," for the first time, Beckner’s full 12-hour scripts are being released to the public in three volumes.
As a commentator on American espionage, Beckner has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CBS News, TF1 in France, and as a featured guest of Bill Maher on HBO. Now, in conjunction with the twentieth anniversary of "Spy Game," Beckner returns to the world of Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop with the release of his trilogy of Spy Game novels: "Muir's Gambit," "Bishop's Endgame," and "Aiken in Check."
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 29, 2022
Highly recommend this book, especially if you love anything Spy tale related.
We see again characters, Muir and Bishop from Spy Game. It's a thrilling story, that has you turning page after page. Even if this is not your typical genre, you will thoroughly enjoy it.
Beckner writes a great book with lots of insight into the world of espionage, CIA etc. It's really well written and keeps you engaged from the start. I've rarely read a book, that keeps me this glued to one spot!
It's an intense read and the dialogue is fantastic throughout.
This is the first of a trilogy, my advice buy all three because you really won't want to have a break from one part to the next.
Looking forward to what promises to be another superb film/mini-series.
Well done to Beckner, never fails to deliver!
Link below if you haven't already checked out Spy Game
https://books.google.es/books/about/T...
We see again characters, Muir and Bishop from Spy Game. It's a thrilling story, that has you turning page after page. Even if this is not your typical genre, you will thoroughly enjoy it.
Beckner writes a great book with lots of insight into the world of espionage, CIA etc. It's really well written and keeps you engaged from the start. I've rarely read a book, that keeps me this glued to one spot!
It's an intense read and the dialogue is fantastic throughout.
This is the first of a trilogy, my advice buy all three because you really won't want to have a break from one part to the next.
Looking forward to what promises to be another superb film/mini-series.
Well done to Beckner, never fails to deliver!
Link below if you haven't already checked out Spy Game
https://books.google.es/books/about/T...
September 1, 2025
Michael Frost Beckner—who gave us the brilliant screenplay for Spy Game—delivers an equally electrifying novel with Muir’s Gambit. This is espionage at its finest: taut, brilliantly layered, and relentlessly authentic. From the very first page, Beckner pulls you into the shadow world of Nathan Muir, who may well be the most cunning, complex spy ever written. The tradecraft is sharp, the dialogue crackles, and the moral ambiguities cut deep, reminding us that loyalty and betrayal are often two sides of the same coin.
What sets this book apart is the writing itself—precise, intelligent, and so well-crafted it made me stop and question my own place in the storytelling world. Few novels hit that hard. Muir’s Gambit isn’t just a page-turner; it’s a benchmark. A must-read for fans of le Carré, Graham Greene, and anyone who craves espionage at the very highest level.
What sets this book apart is the writing itself—precise, intelligent, and so well-crafted it made me stop and question my own place in the storytelling world. Few novels hit that hard. Muir’s Gambit isn’t just a page-turner; it’s a benchmark. A must-read for fans of le Carré, Graham Greene, and anyone who craves espionage at the very highest level.
August 4, 2022
In 2001, the movie “Spy Game” was released to the general public. Written by Michael Frost Beckner, the film was set in the world of espionage, giving viewers a more realistic look into the world of spies and the CIA. Since its release, the Tony Scott-directed film has come to be considered a classic of the genre.
Twenty-one years later, Beckner has returned to the world of “Spy Game” with a trilogy of novels called “The Aiken Trilogy,” a trio of books that serve as a prequel and sequels to the original movie, this time following the exploits from the character of Russell Aiken, a minor character from the movie, now given a major role in the stories of the film’s main protagonists, Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop. I have been fortunate to receive an advanced copy of the first book in the new trilogy, “Muir’s Gambit,” to review.
Set a very short time before the events of “Spy Game,” “Muir’s Gambit” begins with the death of Charlie March, a former member of the CIA, who’s mortally wounded when a bomb goes off on his boat. Before dying, he mentions the name of Nathan Muir, his former protege, and says “he never murdered anyone.” Seeing this as a chance to rid the CIA of Muir, the agency sends Russell Aiken, a former protege of Muir, to elicit his confession to the murder of March. But what Aiken comes into is a surprising game of “cat-and-mouse,” as Muir dances around the questions posed by Aiken, and recounts his time in Korea, when March recruits him into the CIA, and begins his clandestine missions. He also divulges more about his recruitment of Tom Bishop, and some of the questionable events that have happened in his time with the agency.
With his first novel in the trilogy, Michael Beckner immerses the audience into the world of the CIA, and the covert missions that the agency takes part in in the 1960s. Most of the story takes place in Muir’s house near a swamp, as Aiken tries to elicit the confession that will help the agency get rid of Muir once and for all. Muir continually dodges the main questions, and tells the story of how he and March met, and began to work together. As the story plays out, official stories and half-truths about Muir’s life and relationships are revealed, and in the world of espionage, nothing is as it seems. During the ensuing game of cat-and-mouse, Aiken is forced to come to terms with his own demons, both old and new, as he remembers all that has transpired in his life, and how it connects to Muir and Bishop.
What sets “Muir’s Gambit” apart from other spy novels is that it shows the true price that those who work for the CIA have to pay in terms of personal and (sometimes) professional costs. The missions they go on, and the lives they have to take, make the men numb, and chip away at their souls. Over the course of the book, we see the effects the clandestine missions have on them, changing them into nearly-soulless individuals, as they try to not only make sense of what they have been through, but also to justify all that they have done in the defense of America. Beckner tells this side of the story with true power and emotion. Even if you don’t agree with what they’ve done, you can’t help but feel for the men as their souls are destroyed over the years.
If you’re a fan of the spy-thriller genre, or of good books in general, then I highly recommend reading “Muir’s Gambit.” It is an exciting, well-written thriller that takes what is perhaps the most realistic look at the life of a spy, and how that job slowly tears their souls apart. You’ll not want to put it down, hanging on each word and revelation until the final, dramatic page is reached.
Grade: 9.5/10, A
Twenty-one years later, Beckner has returned to the world of “Spy Game” with a trilogy of novels called “The Aiken Trilogy,” a trio of books that serve as a prequel and sequels to the original movie, this time following the exploits from the character of Russell Aiken, a minor character from the movie, now given a major role in the stories of the film’s main protagonists, Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop. I have been fortunate to receive an advanced copy of the first book in the new trilogy, “Muir’s Gambit,” to review.
Set a very short time before the events of “Spy Game,” “Muir’s Gambit” begins with the death of Charlie March, a former member of the CIA, who’s mortally wounded when a bomb goes off on his boat. Before dying, he mentions the name of Nathan Muir, his former protege, and says “he never murdered anyone.” Seeing this as a chance to rid the CIA of Muir, the agency sends Russell Aiken, a former protege of Muir, to elicit his confession to the murder of March. But what Aiken comes into is a surprising game of “cat-and-mouse,” as Muir dances around the questions posed by Aiken, and recounts his time in Korea, when March recruits him into the CIA, and begins his clandestine missions. He also divulges more about his recruitment of Tom Bishop, and some of the questionable events that have happened in his time with the agency.
With his first novel in the trilogy, Michael Beckner immerses the audience into the world of the CIA, and the covert missions that the agency takes part in in the 1960s. Most of the story takes place in Muir’s house near a swamp, as Aiken tries to elicit the confession that will help the agency get rid of Muir once and for all. Muir continually dodges the main questions, and tells the story of how he and March met, and began to work together. As the story plays out, official stories and half-truths about Muir’s life and relationships are revealed, and in the world of espionage, nothing is as it seems. During the ensuing game of cat-and-mouse, Aiken is forced to come to terms with his own demons, both old and new, as he remembers all that has transpired in his life, and how it connects to Muir and Bishop.
What sets “Muir’s Gambit” apart from other spy novels is that it shows the true price that those who work for the CIA have to pay in terms of personal and (sometimes) professional costs. The missions they go on, and the lives they have to take, make the men numb, and chip away at their souls. Over the course of the book, we see the effects the clandestine missions have on them, changing them into nearly-soulless individuals, as they try to not only make sense of what they have been through, but also to justify all that they have done in the defense of America. Beckner tells this side of the story with true power and emotion. Even if you don’t agree with what they’ve done, you can’t help but feel for the men as their souls are destroyed over the years.
If you’re a fan of the spy-thriller genre, or of good books in general, then I highly recommend reading “Muir’s Gambit.” It is an exciting, well-written thriller that takes what is perhaps the most realistic look at the life of a spy, and how that job slowly tears their souls apart. You’ll not want to put it down, hanging on each word and revelation until the final, dramatic page is reached.
Grade: 9.5/10, A
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2022
I found this to be an engrossing and intelligent spy thriller. It’s a prequel to the author’s movie, Spy Game, and similarly delves into the secret world of espionage. The characters are complex and the plot compelling. I really enjoyed this well-written and fascinating book. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy!
October 22, 2024
In 2001 I saw a little movie called Spy Game starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt and it's remained on my list of favorite movies ever since. It didn't make much of a cultural splash - I'm sure most have never seen it - but I do come back to it every now and then and it always brings a smile to my face.
Imagine my delight, then, when I found out the screenwriter had come out with a trilogy of prequel novels! I had to search high and low to find this first one in the public library system and do an inter-system loan to get it, but it finally arrived and... well it's not very good.
You can nitpick things all you like but it's really down to a flawed approach, starting right with the narrative perspective. Spy Game worked well because we, the audience, got to be third-party observers. Being inside one of the characters' heads eliminates the joy of watching the back-and-forth and forming opinions of each side for ourselves. But that's forgivable with the right choice of narrator. In the film, we are given a smörgåsbord of interesting characters from which to choose, and instead of one of them it's some guy who's there to establish Muir's network at the CIA, fill a seat, and has all told 2 short lines. Well maybe he's got a backstory or likeable persona that was cut from the film? No, he's downright insufferable.
But hey we're all human and have ideas we want to run with. It's still a story about Muir, so it's probably got his stories and charm going for it right? Well more of the former and less of the latter. Robert Redford played the character deftly in the film and we know what he sounds like, which is nothing like the guy in the novel. The episodes in the backstory are interesting enough, but they lead to another structural problem with the book...
In the film, it's easy to follow the largely flashback format because it's ... a film, so you can see what's happening and they can change framing, location, wardrobe, color, cinematographic styles, etc. You can't do that in a book, so at the start of every paragraph you have to literally count the number of quotation marks and pay real close attention to know who's speaking, to whom, and when. And you really do have to pay attention because unlike the comparatively few interruptions in the film, they are myriad in the book. As a reader it's a bit exhausting.
There's a tonal issue too. The movie was fun. Sure bloody and violent at times but it always came back to enjoying the spycraft, the banter, the good looking cast, Robert Redford as the tail wagging the CIA dog. The book is crude, violent, crass, and misogynist to a fault, without being tempered by all those other things.
One last thing that I found irritating (which just comes with the territory and is not unique to this book) is the fan service. You've seen it in every franchise (attempted or successful): everyone is related to everyone else and if something of import happened it could only possibly be one of our primary characters. That's mainly to do with the end, but peppered throughout.
Ah the end. Well frankly I had a 2 star rating in mind for this book most of the time that I was reading it, but the last few chapters, since they take place in the "present day" ended on a positive note and raised the lasting impression a bit, so kudos there. I'm still not sure how I feel about the details (again feels like fan service) but they do justice to the story.
I don't expect I'll be reading the sequels, but it won't kill my enjoyment of the movie at all. In fact, Muir's opening quip of "Aiken, Jesus! How long has it been?" now feels like a fun inside joke.
SPOILERS
Muir doesn't sound like Muir, nor does he act like him. In the film, unlike the novel, he's always in control of his emotions (either as an act or otherwise) so this doesn't feel like the same guy. Also, if you're going to go to the trouble of writing a direct prequel to the events of a film, take a minute to ensure you've got the continuity right. Muir isn't even in the same state at the end of this book as he is at the start of the movie.
Imagine my delight, then, when I found out the screenwriter had come out with a trilogy of prequel novels! I had to search high and low to find this first one in the public library system and do an inter-system loan to get it, but it finally arrived and... well it's not very good.
You can nitpick things all you like but it's really down to a flawed approach, starting right with the narrative perspective. Spy Game worked well because we, the audience, got to be third-party observers. Being inside one of the characters' heads eliminates the joy of watching the back-and-forth and forming opinions of each side for ourselves. But that's forgivable with the right choice of narrator. In the film, we are given a smörgåsbord of interesting characters from which to choose, and instead of one of them it's some guy who's there to establish Muir's network at the CIA, fill a seat, and has all told 2 short lines. Well maybe he's got a backstory or likeable persona that was cut from the film? No, he's downright insufferable.
But hey we're all human and have ideas we want to run with. It's still a story about Muir, so it's probably got his stories and charm going for it right? Well more of the former and less of the latter. Robert Redford played the character deftly in the film and we know what he sounds like, which is nothing like the guy in the novel. The episodes in the backstory are interesting enough, but they lead to another structural problem with the book...
In the film, it's easy to follow the largely flashback format because it's ... a film, so you can see what's happening and they can change framing, location, wardrobe, color, cinematographic styles, etc. You can't do that in a book, so at the start of every paragraph you have to literally count the number of quotation marks and pay real close attention to know who's speaking, to whom, and when. And you really do have to pay attention because unlike the comparatively few interruptions in the film, they are myriad in the book. As a reader it's a bit exhausting.
There's a tonal issue too. The movie was fun. Sure bloody and violent at times but it always came back to enjoying the spycraft, the banter, the good looking cast, Robert Redford as the tail wagging the CIA dog. The book is crude, violent, crass, and misogynist to a fault, without being tempered by all those other things.
One last thing that I found irritating (which just comes with the territory and is not unique to this book) is the fan service. You've seen it in every franchise (attempted or successful): everyone is related to everyone else and if something of import happened it could only possibly be one of our primary characters. That's mainly to do with the end, but peppered throughout.
Ah the end. Well frankly I had a 2 star rating in mind for this book most of the time that I was reading it, but the last few chapters, since they take place in the "present day" ended on a positive note and raised the lasting impression a bit, so kudos there. I'm still not sure how I feel about the details (again feels like fan service) but they do justice to the story.
I don't expect I'll be reading the sequels, but it won't kill my enjoyment of the movie at all. In fact, Muir's opening quip of "Aiken, Jesus! How long has it been?" now feels like a fun inside joke.
SPOILERS
Muir doesn't sound like Muir, nor does he act like him. In the film, unlike the novel, he's always in control of his emotions (either as an act or otherwise) so this doesn't feel like the same guy. Also, if you're going to go to the trouble of writing a direct prequel to the events of a film, take a minute to ensure you've got the continuity right. Muir isn't even in the same state at the end of this book as he is at the start of the movie.
March 2, 2024
If you're a fan of the great Redford/Pitt espionage film Spy Game or just a spy fiction aficionado, you'll love this one. I'm both, and not only did I race through Muir's Gambit but I'm now desperate to somehow get my hands only the next ones in the trilogy.
Muir's Gambit is a prequel to Spy Game. Disillusioned CIA lawyer Russell Aiken is dispatched to Florida to interrogate Nathan Muir and get him to confess to assassinating his mentor, Charlie March. What follows is nearly 400 pages of intense dialogue between Muir and Aiken, who at one time long ago was the apple of the legendary Muir's eye until Tom Bishop came along. The conversations, often drunken but always dripping with erudition, covered everything related to the espionage activities and relationships of March, his protégé Muir, Muir's disciple who later eclipsed him Bishop, and the non-operational but often tangentially involved Aiken. This intensive interrogation takes up about 90% of Muir's Gambit.
Michael Beckner's dialogue was stellar, which was fortunate since it comprised such a huge part of rhe novel. The stories, many of which were related to CIA adventures that were at least superficially familiar to those of us who have been around for awhile, were often chock full of lies and misdirection but told the story that needed to be told. This was a fantastic read.
Muir's Gambit is a prequel to Spy Game. Disillusioned CIA lawyer Russell Aiken is dispatched to Florida to interrogate Nathan Muir and get him to confess to assassinating his mentor, Charlie March. What follows is nearly 400 pages of intense dialogue between Muir and Aiken, who at one time long ago was the apple of the legendary Muir's eye until Tom Bishop came along. The conversations, often drunken but always dripping with erudition, covered everything related to the espionage activities and relationships of March, his protégé Muir, Muir's disciple who later eclipsed him Bishop, and the non-operational but often tangentially involved Aiken. This intensive interrogation takes up about 90% of Muir's Gambit.
Michael Beckner's dialogue was stellar, which was fortunate since it comprised such a huge part of rhe novel. The stories, many of which were related to CIA adventures that were at least superficially familiar to those of us who have been around for awhile, were often chock full of lies and misdirection but told the story that needed to be told. This was a fantastic read.
August 2, 2022
What an amazing story! Kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end wanting to see the film right after finishing the book.
This book is a prequel novel to the motion picture, the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt thriller Spy Game,
Michael Frost Beckner's Muir's Gambit opens with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March. Mentor to Redford's Nathan Muir, by his murder, Charlie March presents Langley with the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Cold War dinosaur Muir.
This book is a prequel novel to the motion picture, the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt thriller Spy Game,
Michael Frost Beckner's Muir's Gambit opens with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March. Mentor to Redford's Nathan Muir, by his murder, Charlie March presents Langley with the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Cold War dinosaur Muir.
December 20, 2022
Muir’s Gambit by Michael Frost Beckner
This is not an easy book to read as it is mainly a two-hand set piece between two CIA officers, one an agent and one a CIA lawyer. There are many flashbacks going back over 40 years to cover very dark areas of the agent as well as his mentor. I do not wish to spoil the story by giving away anything. This book is written as a prequel well after Mr. Beckner wrote the screen play for Spy Game a movie starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Here is the back story and now I must read the two additional books all of which are coming out at the same time. As I mentioned even without knowing the movie, I think the book is a rewarding read for someone who prefers their espionage to be cerebral and not “bang, bang, kiss, kiss”. That is not to say there might have been a few kisses and ex-wives do play an off-stage part in this book. Do not buy this if you are looking for something to read on an airplane or hope to complete in a jet-lagged stupor after a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flight. Go easy on the wine and cuddle up a few nights in a comfy chair and you may be rewarded.
This is not an easy book to read as it is mainly a two-hand set piece between two CIA officers, one an agent and one a CIA lawyer. There are many flashbacks going back over 40 years to cover very dark areas of the agent as well as his mentor. I do not wish to spoil the story by giving away anything. This book is written as a prequel well after Mr. Beckner wrote the screen play for Spy Game a movie starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Here is the back story and now I must read the two additional books all of which are coming out at the same time. As I mentioned even without knowing the movie, I think the book is a rewarding read for someone who prefers their espionage to be cerebral and not “bang, bang, kiss, kiss”. That is not to say there might have been a few kisses and ex-wives do play an off-stage part in this book. Do not buy this if you are looking for something to read on an airplane or hope to complete in a jet-lagged stupor after a trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flight. Go easy on the wine and cuddle up a few nights in a comfy chair and you may be rewarded.
December 6, 2023
A superb, evocative and intricate spy story that mesmerizes
This is the first book from Mr Beckner that I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last as I was truly swept away by intricately-written, enigmatic prose. I knew of Mr Beckner’s writing pedigree as a screenwriter of many films and tv programmes, and understood that Muir’s Gambit was a prequel to the world-renowned and critically acclaimed movie Spy Game, starring amongst others, Robert Redford as Nathan Muir and Brad Pitt as Tom Bishop – both CIA field operatives, or, in the common vernacular- spies. These two characters’ backstories are expanded greatly within Muir’s Gambit, with the addition of a new, intriguing character, Russell Aiken, legal counsel in the CIA.
Muir’s Gambit is an extraordinary story, unravelling through flashbacks that illuminate the reader to moments past that serve to design and define those characters future actions, and their motivations for doing what they do. That might sound obvious to tell a story, and nothing to write home about, however, I have read numerous books where flashbacks have been employed to inform on the ‘why’ of a character’s actions. But they have been executed in such a way, as to confuse or even bifurcate the story into pathways that overall dilute the story’s intrinsic power. In Mr Beckner’s case, he does the complete opposite.
Flashbacks in Muir’s Gambit are spectacular. Told from perspectives of Muir and Aiken, rationales are rolled out with confessions. Aiken’s early days of training at Camp Peary – The Farm -and later his exploits following a catastrophic, impulsive action – provide a compartmented sense of time and place, but in the same breath, give multiple layers of richness integrated within the book’s exposition.
The storyline follows the CIA’s investigation into Muir after Charlie March’s demise. Aiken is instructed to capture everything Muir says. Muir has been implicated in March’s murder by the man’s dying words, ‘Thank Nathan for me…Thank him and tell him that. He never murdered a soul.’ From the deep CIA files, Muir and March have a long, twisted history, and Aiken has to secure his confession in one way or another.
And so, starts a dive into Muir’s life, his relationships both with his wives (he was married to March’s sister), Charlie March, Tom Bishop and Aiken. Muir prefers to deliver his uncomfortable truths whilst being very drunk; the drink both removing inhibition to speak but also providing material comfort, protecting him from his difficult memories past.
As one would expect from such a formidable writer as Beckner, characterization is superb. Muir, already brought alive and made whole by Redford in the movie, takes on many different and sometimes contradictory traits and behaviors. He’s a gentle, fragile soul; a matter-of-fact blasting force of right; an irascible, mischievous but quick-witted player, with a twinkling eye and a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his curling lip of disdain, and a broken and irrevocably scarred individual, trying to avoid confronting a buried truth.
Muir addresses the horrors of his life, like the thirty-one-hour torture session by a sadist, with a casual, nonchalant acceptance. Risks of his job. Hazards of being a spy. The irony of being saved from one monster by another monster who’d been instrumental in creating the traitor in the first place, and who was the one who’d really crushed Muir’s soul in the beginning, by his abhorrent actions, was perfectly balanced, mesmerizing storytelling.
Nuanced, prophetic and prolific, words flow from scene to scene; they contain a vibration that stays with you. Both chilling and mysterious, the end game always those few inches out of reach. Until the denouement, when the truth that haunts Muir is finally revealed, and everything is clear.
Beckner’s writing is subtle, quiet and intellectually elegant. He spins sentences like a literary spider, weaving a web of intrigue with clarity, order with chaos. A dichotomous delivery of formidable strength. There may be none of the usual car chases, fight scenes or gun shoot outs you’d expect in a spy novel, but that doesn’t stop the reader’s adrenaline from pumping hard, as those connections are made, revelations descend and lies and lives unravel in a twisting kaleidoscope of possibilities and moves. The chess metaphor is so accurate. Muir’s Gambit was sacrificing a pawn, a player he could afford to lose, to secure the big win. As a reader, you’re captivated, waiting for the next move.
Aiken is as much a player in the game, as he is observer, recording the game being played. Lured and baited by Muir to drink again after being sober for thirteen years. The last time he’d touched alcohol he’d almost died. Aiken had been intent on washing away the catastrophic sins of what his legal cover had resulted in with copious amounts any alcohol to hand, only being saved by another, who revealed a secret of secret as a trade for Aiken promised sobriety from that day forth.
Despite his knowledge of what alcohol could do, he needs Muir’s story, and ultimately his confession to March’s murder, and thus agrees to sink to Muir’s level and starts to enjoy the whisky with Florida rainwater. As legal counsel, he’s logical, procedural, spouting regulations and codes at Muir as his colleague seeks to breaks them, often to spite Aiken.
Aiken is man who despises what he’s become. He’s accepted his path, but he has a burning ambition to be reckless; to follow in the mold of Bishop and Muir. To be a field operative. A spy. Only Muir had kept him chained to a desk, knowing his value was better served to him by maneuvering and manipulating legalise to achieve operational plans. Making sure Muir and Bishop could do what they do, giving them retroactive cover for any activity including murder and even treason through legal workarounds, ensuring every op was buttoned down and watertight, with no chance of Oversight Committee blowback. That was how Aiken first interpreted Muir’s refusal to put him in the field. Aiken had been recruited by Muir, and his career had been carved to suit Muir’s needs. The reader can feel on every retort or jibe from Muir, Aiken’s frustration and inner anger at the injustice of being stuck dealing matters of justice! Aiken holds down a strong air of jealousy toward Muir, but by the end, Aiken realizes he would never have been field operative material. He knows Muir’s decision to never let him in the field was one borne more of a need to protect, than previously assumed selfishness.
By the end of this mental journey on Muir’s Florida porch, everything is revealed. Surprises for Muir, as well as for Aiken. It’s a superb, intricately defined and crafted conclusion that sings to the inherent value of tradecraft, but also to the power of both deep loyalty and misguided, anger-fueled intentions The final pages are a joy of clever storytelling, and not to give any spoilers, the final revelations come hard and fast as Aiken puts the final pieces of the puzzle together. It’s truly heartbreaking and captivating in equal measure, and sets up the premise of Spy Game, the movie. If you enjoy your spy fiction cerebral and thought-provoking with rich, evocative descriptions of places and moments in time, you will adore Muir’s Gambit. I highly recommend this book and I have the sequel, Bishop’s Endgame already in my library!
This is the first book from Mr Beckner that I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last as I was truly swept away by intricately-written, enigmatic prose. I knew of Mr Beckner’s writing pedigree as a screenwriter of many films and tv programmes, and understood that Muir’s Gambit was a prequel to the world-renowned and critically acclaimed movie Spy Game, starring amongst others, Robert Redford as Nathan Muir and Brad Pitt as Tom Bishop – both CIA field operatives, or, in the common vernacular- spies. These two characters’ backstories are expanded greatly within Muir’s Gambit, with the addition of a new, intriguing character, Russell Aiken, legal counsel in the CIA.
Muir’s Gambit is an extraordinary story, unravelling through flashbacks that illuminate the reader to moments past that serve to design and define those characters future actions, and their motivations for doing what they do. That might sound obvious to tell a story, and nothing to write home about, however, I have read numerous books where flashbacks have been employed to inform on the ‘why’ of a character’s actions. But they have been executed in such a way, as to confuse or even bifurcate the story into pathways that overall dilute the story’s intrinsic power. In Mr Beckner’s case, he does the complete opposite.
Flashbacks in Muir’s Gambit are spectacular. Told from perspectives of Muir and Aiken, rationales are rolled out with confessions. Aiken’s early days of training at Camp Peary – The Farm -and later his exploits following a catastrophic, impulsive action – provide a compartmented sense of time and place, but in the same breath, give multiple layers of richness integrated within the book’s exposition.
The storyline follows the CIA’s investigation into Muir after Charlie March’s demise. Aiken is instructed to capture everything Muir says. Muir has been implicated in March’s murder by the man’s dying words, ‘Thank Nathan for me…Thank him and tell him that. He never murdered a soul.’ From the deep CIA files, Muir and March have a long, twisted history, and Aiken has to secure his confession in one way or another.
And so, starts a dive into Muir’s life, his relationships both with his wives (he was married to March’s sister), Charlie March, Tom Bishop and Aiken. Muir prefers to deliver his uncomfortable truths whilst being very drunk; the drink both removing inhibition to speak but also providing material comfort, protecting him from his difficult memories past.
As one would expect from such a formidable writer as Beckner, characterization is superb. Muir, already brought alive and made whole by Redford in the movie, takes on many different and sometimes contradictory traits and behaviors. He’s a gentle, fragile soul; a matter-of-fact blasting force of right; an irascible, mischievous but quick-witted player, with a twinkling eye and a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his curling lip of disdain, and a broken and irrevocably scarred individual, trying to avoid confronting a buried truth.
Muir addresses the horrors of his life, like the thirty-one-hour torture session by a sadist, with a casual, nonchalant acceptance. Risks of his job. Hazards of being a spy. The irony of being saved from one monster by another monster who’d been instrumental in creating the traitor in the first place, and who was the one who’d really crushed Muir’s soul in the beginning, by his abhorrent actions, was perfectly balanced, mesmerizing storytelling.
Nuanced, prophetic and prolific, words flow from scene to scene; they contain a vibration that stays with you. Both chilling and mysterious, the end game always those few inches out of reach. Until the denouement, when the truth that haunts Muir is finally revealed, and everything is clear.
Beckner’s writing is subtle, quiet and intellectually elegant. He spins sentences like a literary spider, weaving a web of intrigue with clarity, order with chaos. A dichotomous delivery of formidable strength. There may be none of the usual car chases, fight scenes or gun shoot outs you’d expect in a spy novel, but that doesn’t stop the reader’s adrenaline from pumping hard, as those connections are made, revelations descend and lies and lives unravel in a twisting kaleidoscope of possibilities and moves. The chess metaphor is so accurate. Muir’s Gambit was sacrificing a pawn, a player he could afford to lose, to secure the big win. As a reader, you’re captivated, waiting for the next move.
Aiken is as much a player in the game, as he is observer, recording the game being played. Lured and baited by Muir to drink again after being sober for thirteen years. The last time he’d touched alcohol he’d almost died. Aiken had been intent on washing away the catastrophic sins of what his legal cover had resulted in with copious amounts any alcohol to hand, only being saved by another, who revealed a secret of secret as a trade for Aiken promised sobriety from that day forth.
Despite his knowledge of what alcohol could do, he needs Muir’s story, and ultimately his confession to March’s murder, and thus agrees to sink to Muir’s level and starts to enjoy the whisky with Florida rainwater. As legal counsel, he’s logical, procedural, spouting regulations and codes at Muir as his colleague seeks to breaks them, often to spite Aiken.
Aiken is man who despises what he’s become. He’s accepted his path, but he has a burning ambition to be reckless; to follow in the mold of Bishop and Muir. To be a field operative. A spy. Only Muir had kept him chained to a desk, knowing his value was better served to him by maneuvering and manipulating legalise to achieve operational plans. Making sure Muir and Bishop could do what they do, giving them retroactive cover for any activity including murder and even treason through legal workarounds, ensuring every op was buttoned down and watertight, with no chance of Oversight Committee blowback. That was how Aiken first interpreted Muir’s refusal to put him in the field. Aiken had been recruited by Muir, and his career had been carved to suit Muir’s needs. The reader can feel on every retort or jibe from Muir, Aiken’s frustration and inner anger at the injustice of being stuck dealing matters of justice! Aiken holds down a strong air of jealousy toward Muir, but by the end, Aiken realizes he would never have been field operative material. He knows Muir’s decision to never let him in the field was one borne more of a need to protect, than previously assumed selfishness.
By the end of this mental journey on Muir’s Florida porch, everything is revealed. Surprises for Muir, as well as for Aiken. It’s a superb, intricately defined and crafted conclusion that sings to the inherent value of tradecraft, but also to the power of both deep loyalty and misguided, anger-fueled intentions The final pages are a joy of clever storytelling, and not to give any spoilers, the final revelations come hard and fast as Aiken puts the final pieces of the puzzle together. It’s truly heartbreaking and captivating in equal measure, and sets up the premise of Spy Game, the movie. If you enjoy your spy fiction cerebral and thought-provoking with rich, evocative descriptions of places and moments in time, you will adore Muir’s Gambit. I highly recommend this book and I have the sequel, Bishop’s Endgame already in my library!
August 18, 2022
This book annoyed me repeatedly. It is written in a style that makes what could be simple very complex. Too much cryptic conversation, especially from Muir. Muir is an arrogant ass. Aiken is a train wreck drunk. March is a deplorable human being of the worst variety. Bishop is the only likable character. You are intentionally misled throughout the entire story. No one speaks the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This book aggravates the reader into a love hate relationship with this story, with myself leaning toward hate.
Want to read
September 13, 2022This review is for The Aiken Trilogy #1-3:
An excellent spy series. Each book is engaging, and well-written overall. The author created fully formed characters that are interesting to watch. I didn't always enjoy the conversations, but the suspense and strong writing kept me going. Beckner has found a way to write to his strengths.
I really appreciate the free ARCs for review!!
An excellent spy series. Each book is engaging, and well-written overall. The author created fully formed characters that are interesting to watch. I didn't always enjoy the conversations, but the suspense and strong writing kept me going. Beckner has found a way to write to his strengths.
I really appreciate the free ARCs for review!!
September 28, 2023
Allegedly devoid of any clichés, MY DINNER WITH ANDRE returned about $5 million in box office revenue on a budget that was less than ten percent of that figure. Mostly due to the glowing praise of Siskel & Ebert, who hailed it as the best film of 1981, MY DINNER WITH ANDRE stayed in theaters for a whole year, exploring a range of topics like theater, life, spirituality, and humanism between just two friends dining in a restaurant. Accompanying the boom of the internet almost twenty years later was the unfortunate tendency for revising history (or the desire to do so) multiplied by the vast voices and even greater set of opinions out there. Taking a turn in the HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, minus the hot tub of course, MUIR'S GAMBIT goes to invent a history between the two main characters of the then touted battle of the handsome leading men, 2001's SPY GAME. Preceding this figurative passing of the torch is MUIR'S GAMBIT, and it comes off like a MY DINNER WITH ANDRE-esque long conversation between two savvy chess players; one a Master and the other his pupil of self-diagnosed superior skill. With a skilled and experienced field operative on one side and the CIA's vast resources on the other, it's just a matter of who cracks first.
Playing fast and loose with the timeline and dates, MUIR'S GAMBIT opens in the middle of the 1991 espionage game, a kinder and gentler America, as stated by the only president who'd previously served as Director of Central Intelligence--Poppy Bush. Irrespective of the year, the Wilderness of Mirrors is still a business where false ends are justifiable by hidden means and the prize won't ever be a rich life, sharp with meaning, aged in truth, and vitalized by a sweet creamy love. The SPY GAME is collateral damage, and eventually, the field officer gig kills everyone it takes--usually the most patriotic, loyal, most honorable and idealistic recruits America has to offer. At one time, this was Nathan Muir, the eponymous hero, who is loyal to the nightmare of his choice, never participates in fads, spits on fad boys, and lives by the creed to never follow foolishness with a foolish question. In espionage habits kill, though the secret that Muir harbors is much more deadly. Muir knows, his protege knows; a secret-of-secrets, kept hidden somewhere in Europe for more than seventy-five years. Look on Muir's works, ye Mighty and despair! Wielding the skill of a supreme 1980s stylist, an Agency lawyer must tease this secret from the depths of Muir's recollection through the thick cigarette smokescreen and Scotch Whiskey oil slick, possibly triggering a cat-and-mouse GAME OF DEATH.
Letting readers know where they stand is good practice, especially in a story that cruises through the Chosin Reservoir, Berlin, Beirut, Lumumba's Congo, Panama, Carter's peace talks and peanuts, the Aldrich Ames betrayal, and the Aldo Moro crisis. MUIR'S GAMBIT puts the acknowledgements up front and is a better novel for it. Well researched and detailed, MUIR'S GAMBIT explores all kinds of relationships--father, brother, friend, mentor, confessor--among field officers and HQ, in or outside of the Agency, while spilling the beans on the difference between an operation and a program, pipe-bomb kiss, Patriot Pride Parade, CONPLAN, OPLAN, Executive Order 11905, and the Church Commission. Specifically, MUIR'S GAMBIT insists that the CIA has been justifying the unjustifiable and legalizing the criminal for years, and echoes so many (these days) that the Intelligence Community's been cooking its books for years to reflect a Russia that didn't really exist, aiding a US military industrial complex that was way, way out of control [As Eisenhower warned all those years ago.] Lurching among the ruins of Euro terrorist efforts in the 70s, MUIR' GAMBIT not only explains the difference between Top Secret (TS), SCI, and SSBI clearances, it also details the finer points and reason for spousal infidelity and the grand history of the dictionary replete with the fight between Noah Webster and Charles and George Webster for dominance and legacy in the American Dictionary market.
Certainly leaning heavily on alcohol, as the 70s may well have been, MUIR'S GAMBIT may also be a glaring suggestion against substance abuse. Along stating that overwhelming force is the child of overweening ego and that time is the only thing that can't be manipulated, transformed, reshaped or stopped, MUIR'S GAMBIT also keeps it light with clever references to FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, STAR WARS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, Bill Murray, and DR. STRANGELOVE. MUIR'S GAMBIT works splendidly as a stand-alone spy craft novel, making knowledge of the film SPY GAME rather superfluous, irrespective whether it's been a few years since enjoying the Redford/Pitt co-play or not. MUIR's GAMBIT oozes espionage tradecraft, Scotch, the '70s, snappy and entertaining dialogue, and a gratifying last move. Sacrifice to read this superb spy thriller, it'll be to any fan's advantage--MUIR'S GAMBIT is no pawn.
November 1, 2025
I came across this little piece of the internet, the Military Thriller Book Group, almost three years ago. This Facebook group has introduced me to a slew of great authors and books to read (or to add to my precariously stacked TBR pile). Sometimes, I come across an author through either another group or a website, and if the book follows a certain theme, I introduce this group to that "new" author. As I read each book, I try to offer a review of said work and my "humble" thoughts.
One of the books that I had received was Muir’s Gambit by Michael Frost Beckner. This book was originally released on 28 February 2022, and was the opening salvo in the Beckner’s Aiken Trilogy series, Muir’s Gambit opens as a prequel to the 2001 film Spy Game (which had been written by Beckner), with the subsequent books in Beckner’s Aiken Trilogy picking up after the events of the movie, following the deadly, morally murky adventures of CIA characters originally played by Robert Redford and Brad Pitt into the 21st century.
__________________
Synopsis
The story begins with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March, Nathan Muir's mentor. Just before he dies in a yacht bombing, March utters Muir's name, seemingly implicating him. The CIA, seeing an opportunity to get rid of the Cold War-era spymaster and bury decades of secrets, assigns hard-luck Agency lawyer Russell Aiken to force a confession from Muir. Aiken was a former protégé of Muir's, cast aside in favour of Tom Bishop, and is tormented by a crime of passion. He sees the assignment as a form of escape and a chance for payback.
The bulk of the novel focuses on the tense, verbal chess match between Muir and Aiken that takes place during a DAT-taped interrogation. Over drinks, the two engage in a duel of wits, where the truth is constantly blurred by lies and gamesmanship. Muir, a master manipulator, reminisces about decades of Cold War operations and historical events, from the Korean War to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As Muir recounts his career, Aiken begins to realize that he was part of a deeper game Muir had set in motion long ago. He learns of Muir's motivations for sidelining him and grooming Bishop instead. The climax of the novel reveals the final pieces of Muir's true plan, providing a shocking conclusion that re-contextualizes the characters' relationship and sets the stage for the events of the Spy Game film. Aiken learns the lethal stakes of the game and is forced to reckon with the morality of his actions and the CIA's murky operations.
_____________________
Muir’s Gambit is an extraordinary story, unraveling through flashbacks that illuminate the reader to moments past that serve to design and define those characters' future actions, and their motivations for doing what they do. Spanning four decades of covert CIA activities and historical events, Muir’s Gambit is a politically astute, morally ambiguous, impeccably researched espionage thriller brimming with deception. Espionage fans looking for an alternative to standardized spy-thriller tropes will find plenty to entertain them in this satisfyingly offbeat offering.
While overall I really enjoyed this book and would give this book a solid four stars out of my vaunted five-star rating, there were times that I found the narrative would frequently switch between the perspectives of the two primary characters, CIA spymaster Nathan Muir and CIA lawyer Russel Aiken, with little notice, and these unclear shifts in point of view caused me some confusion. However, there were other times that I found the narrative to be riveting and page-turning. Highly recommended for fans of authors such as Tom Clancy, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, Gregg Hurwitz, David McCloskey, I.S. Berry, and Charles Beaumont.
As with all my literary ramblings, these are just my five cents
One of the books that I had received was Muir’s Gambit by Michael Frost Beckner. This book was originally released on 28 February 2022, and was the opening salvo in the Beckner’s Aiken Trilogy series, Muir’s Gambit opens as a prequel to the 2001 film Spy Game (which had been written by Beckner), with the subsequent books in Beckner’s Aiken Trilogy picking up after the events of the movie, following the deadly, morally murky adventures of CIA characters originally played by Robert Redford and Brad Pitt into the 21st century.
__________________
Synopsis
The story begins with the assassination of retired CIA hero Charlie March, Nathan Muir's mentor. Just before he dies in a yacht bombing, March utters Muir's name, seemingly implicating him. The CIA, seeing an opportunity to get rid of the Cold War-era spymaster and bury decades of secrets, assigns hard-luck Agency lawyer Russell Aiken to force a confession from Muir. Aiken was a former protégé of Muir's, cast aside in favour of Tom Bishop, and is tormented by a crime of passion. He sees the assignment as a form of escape and a chance for payback.
The bulk of the novel focuses on the tense, verbal chess match between Muir and Aiken that takes place during a DAT-taped interrogation. Over drinks, the two engage in a duel of wits, where the truth is constantly blurred by lies and gamesmanship. Muir, a master manipulator, reminisces about decades of Cold War operations and historical events, from the Korean War to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As Muir recounts his career, Aiken begins to realize that he was part of a deeper game Muir had set in motion long ago. He learns of Muir's motivations for sidelining him and grooming Bishop instead. The climax of the novel reveals the final pieces of Muir's true plan, providing a shocking conclusion that re-contextualizes the characters' relationship and sets the stage for the events of the Spy Game film. Aiken learns the lethal stakes of the game and is forced to reckon with the morality of his actions and the CIA's murky operations.
_____________________
Muir’s Gambit is an extraordinary story, unraveling through flashbacks that illuminate the reader to moments past that serve to design and define those characters' future actions, and their motivations for doing what they do. Spanning four decades of covert CIA activities and historical events, Muir’s Gambit is a politically astute, morally ambiguous, impeccably researched espionage thriller brimming with deception. Espionage fans looking for an alternative to standardized spy-thriller tropes will find plenty to entertain them in this satisfyingly offbeat offering.
While overall I really enjoyed this book and would give this book a solid four stars out of my vaunted five-star rating, there were times that I found the narrative would frequently switch between the perspectives of the two primary characters, CIA spymaster Nathan Muir and CIA lawyer Russel Aiken, with little notice, and these unclear shifts in point of view caused me some confusion. However, there were other times that I found the narrative to be riveting and page-turning. Highly recommended for fans of authors such as Tom Clancy, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, Gregg Hurwitz, David McCloskey, I.S. Berry, and Charles Beaumont.
As with all my literary ramblings, these are just my five cents
February 22, 2024
3.8 stars
Clever and funny with dark undertones.
Or dark and disturbing with clever and funny undertones..
Please make your selection and press here.
This ain’t your father’s CIA, although it could be your grandfather’s. How can we tell? First, and don’t forget, the heroes are handsome. If you don’t believe me, check out Spy Game, the film for which this book is the prequel. Brad Pitt and Robert Redford play the two protags and there’s no arguing with that level of prettiness. Also, Rusty, our primary narrator, tells us that Muir is handsome and Charlie March is handsome and Tom Bishop is handsome and that he himself is “handsome enough.” Whew, thank god for that.
Also it has that jaunty snide good-at-heart sensibility that all the captivating old time TV action shows had, like Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, Rockford Files, Magnum PI and so many others.
Alcohol and cigarettes are coins of the realm. They are condoned, glorified, encouraged and ubiquitous. And why not? No one really knew how bad they were although maybe they should have.
“I took another drink. In other company, it might have appeared excessive, but I was both a spy and an attorney. Separately, each are drinking vocations, join together, drinking becomes a spiritual calling of the highest drinking order.”
Muir is a chain smoker and poor Rusty ends up knee-walking snot-licking drunk on several occasions. It’s part of the ethos and not unlike Hunter Thompson when he gets going.
The heroes are not heroes. They are dashingly darkly flawed with all kinds of indelicate things in their resumes, you know, like murder, larceny, and betrayal. When we first encounter Rusty Aiken, agency lawyer, he has fired a rifle at his cheating wife and her lover. Fear and loathing incoming !
Additionally, the high-tech arsenal of weapons, drones, listening devices, infra-red whatever, that we see in contemporary CIA books, are largely missing and thank god for that. There are enough acronyms without them. We are in various decades but primarily early 1990s, The greybeards in the group remember the Korean Conflict and even World War II.
Our friend Rusty has been sent to interrogate Nathan Muir and find out if he had anything to do with the assassination of another agent, older (but still handsome) with plenty of black marks on his CV. The book is more or less the story of this interrogation and includes reminiscences of long-ago ops. It’s mostly reminiscing in fact and nothing really happens. That’s the knock on the book in my view. Rusty is the primary voice but he quotes others and they quote still others. Decoding the quotation marks, singles inside of doubles and then doubles again and more singles inside none of the above, must have given some editor one marathon Excedrin headache.
But the characters are still charismatic and intriguing and worthy of our contemplation. They are unconstrained by current HR protocols and can call women “sweetheart” if they want. They don’t. They treat women just fine except when they have to be sacrificed, and they fall in love hard. They win your heart, the big lugs, and they also keep the world balanced between bad guys and good guys. Or I guess they do. The action jumps from Beirut to Africa to Berlin and Korea and New York, sometimes several on one page, and I’m not sure I got it all straight. The most important protagonist is Johnnie Walker.
I really enjoyed Rusty’s diatribe against soccer and I agree wholeheartedly.
Clever and funny with dark undertones.
Or dark and disturbing with clever and funny undertones..
Please make your selection and press here.
This ain’t your father’s CIA, although it could be your grandfather’s. How can we tell? First, and don’t forget, the heroes are handsome. If you don’t believe me, check out Spy Game, the film for which this book is the prequel. Brad Pitt and Robert Redford play the two protags and there’s no arguing with that level of prettiness. Also, Rusty, our primary narrator, tells us that Muir is handsome and Charlie March is handsome and Tom Bishop is handsome and that he himself is “handsome enough.” Whew, thank god for that.
Also it has that jaunty snide good-at-heart sensibility that all the captivating old time TV action shows had, like Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, Rockford Files, Magnum PI and so many others.
Alcohol and cigarettes are coins of the realm. They are condoned, glorified, encouraged and ubiquitous. And why not? No one really knew how bad they were although maybe they should have.
“I took another drink. In other company, it might have appeared excessive, but I was both a spy and an attorney. Separately, each are drinking vocations, join together, drinking becomes a spiritual calling of the highest drinking order.”
Muir is a chain smoker and poor Rusty ends up knee-walking snot-licking drunk on several occasions. It’s part of the ethos and not unlike Hunter Thompson when he gets going.
The heroes are not heroes. They are dashingly darkly flawed with all kinds of indelicate things in their resumes, you know, like murder, larceny, and betrayal. When we first encounter Rusty Aiken, agency lawyer, he has fired a rifle at his cheating wife and her lover. Fear and loathing incoming !
Additionally, the high-tech arsenal of weapons, drones, listening devices, infra-red whatever, that we see in contemporary CIA books, are largely missing and thank god for that. There are enough acronyms without them. We are in various decades but primarily early 1990s, The greybeards in the group remember the Korean Conflict and even World War II.
Our friend Rusty has been sent to interrogate Nathan Muir and find out if he had anything to do with the assassination of another agent, older (but still handsome) with plenty of black marks on his CV. The book is more or less the story of this interrogation and includes reminiscences of long-ago ops. It’s mostly reminiscing in fact and nothing really happens. That’s the knock on the book in my view. Rusty is the primary voice but he quotes others and they quote still others. Decoding the quotation marks, singles inside of doubles and then doubles again and more singles inside none of the above, must have given some editor one marathon Excedrin headache.
But the characters are still charismatic and intriguing and worthy of our contemplation. They are unconstrained by current HR protocols and can call women “sweetheart” if they want. They don’t. They treat women just fine except when they have to be sacrificed, and they fall in love hard. They win your heart, the big lugs, and they also keep the world balanced between bad guys and good guys. Or I guess they do. The action jumps from Beirut to Africa to Berlin and Korea and New York, sometimes several on one page, and I’m not sure I got it all straight. The most important protagonist is Johnnie Walker.
I really enjoyed Rusty’s diatribe against soccer and I agree wholeheartedly.
September 24, 2022
MUIR’S GAMBIT – A RISK WORTH TAKING!!!
MUIR’S GAMBIT is a page turning, double crossing, flip flopping, island hopping, popcorn popping, roller coasting, thought provoking tour de force evoking MacArthur’s Korea, Truman’s Vietnam, Panamanian Cocaine Traffickers, Reagan’s Cold War Russia, East Berlin Nazi’s Crown Jewels Heist, Cuban Double Agents, WDC Mayflower Hotel’s Ted Kennedy Roofie Invitational, and an elaborate labyrinth of Covert OPPLANS and CONPLANS intermingling purported OPERATION SHINING CITIES fiction with OPERATION GLADIO non-fiction, leaving in their wake a cast of colorful characters (Congolese Baluba Juju Voodoo Men), destinations (9-hole Cypriat Island Golf Invitational), and irreparable physical and psychological debris.
Capturing military and legal precision with stylish technical prose, biting humor, and gripping horror, MUIR’S GAMBIT trolls the Agency’s Best Laid Plans, successes (alleged), failures (alleged), and motivations (alleged) (personal and agency) as seen through the eyes of world-class retiring spy, Nathan Muir (accused of an “inconvenient asset’s” murder) and his two brilliant, Seventh Floor ‘pawns,’ protégés Russell Aiken, a snarky, Ivy League jurisprudent jurist (self-ascribed) with an arrested penchant for Johnnie Walker minis; and Tom Bishop, an equally disarming, effortlessly effective, lethal Boy Scout.
Muir and Aiken reflect and deflect on the merits of their chosen profession (does the man choose the profession or vice versa), Loyalty Up-Loyalty Down, childhoods, their intertwining lives, wives, regrets, forgets, cuisine (nopales and gum), literature (A Tale of Two Cities, hereinafter, “Drunk Lawyer Book”), booze, faith, and Christmases Past!
Narrated over 48 hours by the witty and self-deprecating Counselor Aiken, tasked with obtaining Muir’s murder confession while simultaneously avoiding his own (you’ll have to read it), Aiken’s inner dialogue spares no one and no-thing, including his distaste for fluoride (see Dr. Strangelove), Tennis (fad), Soccer (communist participation-trophy sport), and his love/hate relationship with Words, legalese, indemnifications, subsections, executive orders, and their power to create, conflate and assassinate.
Which came first? The writer or the OPPLAN? Is there room for providence? Is there such a thing as a “good” lie? What about absolution? Everything and everyone in its place, Michael Frost Beckner's MUIR’S GAMBIT leaves nothing and no one to chance, connecting all the necessary dots, never closing doors on anything or anyone, leaving many unanswered questions above our SCI clearance (hereinafter “Sensitive Compartmented Information”) including, but not limited to, “Is there such a thing as a DOOMSDAY DEVICE and do we have one?”
SKIP THE HISTORY LESSON AND READ THIS SMART ESPIONAGE THRILLER!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
[Words to look up (not exhaustive): crenellated fronds, pabulum, monocle, Hanbok, phosphorescent, ouroboros, ratissage, inchoate, entropy, perfunctory]
MUIR’S GAMBIT is a page turning, double crossing, flip flopping, island hopping, popcorn popping, roller coasting, thought provoking tour de force evoking MacArthur’s Korea, Truman’s Vietnam, Panamanian Cocaine Traffickers, Reagan’s Cold War Russia, East Berlin Nazi’s Crown Jewels Heist, Cuban Double Agents, WDC Mayflower Hotel’s Ted Kennedy Roofie Invitational, and an elaborate labyrinth of Covert OPPLANS and CONPLANS intermingling purported OPERATION SHINING CITIES fiction with OPERATION GLADIO non-fiction, leaving in their wake a cast of colorful characters (Congolese Baluba Juju Voodoo Men), destinations (9-hole Cypriat Island Golf Invitational), and irreparable physical and psychological debris.
Capturing military and legal precision with stylish technical prose, biting humor, and gripping horror, MUIR’S GAMBIT trolls the Agency’s Best Laid Plans, successes (alleged), failures (alleged), and motivations (alleged) (personal and agency) as seen through the eyes of world-class retiring spy, Nathan Muir (accused of an “inconvenient asset’s” murder) and his two brilliant, Seventh Floor ‘pawns,’ protégés Russell Aiken, a snarky, Ivy League jurisprudent jurist (self-ascribed) with an arrested penchant for Johnnie Walker minis; and Tom Bishop, an equally disarming, effortlessly effective, lethal Boy Scout.
Muir and Aiken reflect and deflect on the merits of their chosen profession (does the man choose the profession or vice versa), Loyalty Up-Loyalty Down, childhoods, their intertwining lives, wives, regrets, forgets, cuisine (nopales and gum), literature (A Tale of Two Cities, hereinafter, “Drunk Lawyer Book”), booze, faith, and Christmases Past!
Narrated over 48 hours by the witty and self-deprecating Counselor Aiken, tasked with obtaining Muir’s murder confession while simultaneously avoiding his own (you’ll have to read it), Aiken’s inner dialogue spares no one and no-thing, including his distaste for fluoride (see Dr. Strangelove), Tennis (fad), Soccer (communist participation-trophy sport), and his love/hate relationship with Words, legalese, indemnifications, subsections, executive orders, and their power to create, conflate and assassinate.
Which came first? The writer or the OPPLAN? Is there room for providence? Is there such a thing as a “good” lie? What about absolution? Everything and everyone in its place, Michael Frost Beckner's MUIR’S GAMBIT leaves nothing and no one to chance, connecting all the necessary dots, never closing doors on anything or anyone, leaving many unanswered questions above our SCI clearance (hereinafter “Sensitive Compartmented Information”) including, but not limited to, “Is there such a thing as a DOOMSDAY DEVICE and do we have one?”
SKIP THE HISTORY LESSON AND READ THIS SMART ESPIONAGE THRILLER!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
[Words to look up (not exhaustive): crenellated fronds, pabulum, monocle, Hanbok, phosphorescent, ouroboros, ratissage, inchoate, entropy, perfunctory]
October 23, 2023
I really wanted to enjoy this book, but unfortunately, I have some issues with it.
Firstly, it isn't a particularly well written book. The story is too convoluted. The main character often talks in a very unnecessary legalese which adds nothing. The writing itself is sometimes a struggle to read. Sentences are often far too long. And the main character (Aiken) isn't particularly likeable either.
However on the plus side, it's got the characters from Spy Game and that should make it fantastic. Spy Game is a near perfect film.
I like to think that part of the appeal of that movie was Nathan Muir's ability to manipulate events to win the day for himself and Tom Bishop when it mattered most. Great storyline, exciting film.
Now, would I expect that every single event in Nathan Muir's life, and of those around him, was similarly arranged by him like some master manipulator? No, that would be ridiculous! And yet, that's what we find here.
Nearly every single notable event in his protege's (Aiken) life was arranged by Muir. It's ridiculous.
Two particularly odd ones were how Aiken's first girlfriend was arranged by Muir. They lived together for a year. It doesn't explain why that was necessary. And the time he saw Muir's first wife naked, he was behind that too. Again, no reason why.
The massive conspiracy about the cartels seems to come out of nowhere at the end too. And the big reveal at the end of the book is a little silly too.
But the weirdest thing about the book is how there's a general sense within the CIA that the
superiors on the seventh floor do nothing but meddle in the perfectly fine machinations of the CIA operators that would be doing fine work if it wasn't for those pesky seventh floor bosses. It doesn't really expand on what the different outcomes might be. The book is very open about how the
CIA assassinates leaders that don't suit US political objectives, but it all seems pretty arbitrary. And what would they do without the seventh floor bosses? That's not really expanded on - more murders probably!
So plenty of negatives, but on the plus side, it's Spy Game stuff!
Firstly, it isn't a particularly well written book. The story is too convoluted. The main character often talks in a very unnecessary legalese which adds nothing. The writing itself is sometimes a struggle to read. Sentences are often far too long. And the main character (Aiken) isn't particularly likeable either.
However on the plus side, it's got the characters from Spy Game and that should make it fantastic. Spy Game is a near perfect film.
I like to think that part of the appeal of that movie was Nathan Muir's ability to manipulate events to win the day for himself and Tom Bishop when it mattered most. Great storyline, exciting film.
Now, would I expect that every single event in Nathan Muir's life, and of those around him, was similarly arranged by him like some master manipulator? No, that would be ridiculous! And yet, that's what we find here.
Nearly every single notable event in his protege's (Aiken) life was arranged by Muir. It's ridiculous.
Two particularly odd ones were how Aiken's first girlfriend was arranged by Muir. They lived together for a year. It doesn't explain why that was necessary. And the time he saw Muir's first wife naked, he was behind that too. Again, no reason why.
The massive conspiracy about the cartels seems to come out of nowhere at the end too. And the big reveal at the end of the book is a little silly too.
But the weirdest thing about the book is how there's a general sense within the CIA that the
superiors on the seventh floor do nothing but meddle in the perfectly fine machinations of the CIA operators that would be doing fine work if it wasn't for those pesky seventh floor bosses. It doesn't really expand on what the different outcomes might be. The book is very open about how the
CIA assassinates leaders that don't suit US political objectives, but it all seems pretty arbitrary. And what would they do without the seventh floor bosses? That's not really expanded on - more murders probably!
So plenty of negatives, but on the plus side, it's Spy Game stuff!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2022
Muir’s Gambit, a prequel to the classic espionage film Spy Games starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, is set 48 hours prior to the original. The book returns familiar characters Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop, and introduces a new protagonist, CIA attorney Russell Aiken.
Once Muir’s protégé, Aiken is still stinging from being cast aside by Muir and replaced by Tom Bishop. So when retired CIA legend Charlie March is murdered on his boat and the evidence points to Muir (who interestingly, was also once Muir’s protégé), Aiken is all too eager to confront him and deliver payback.
But Muir, a master of spycraft and recruitment, is a cool customer. He knows how to deftly handle Aiken when he shows up, calmly offering a glass of scotch, a respite from the storm and the teasing of a confession. Aiken hopes for a feather in his Agency cap with the elimination of Muir, but instead finds that Muir is many moves ahead and has already set into motion a dangerous, high-stakes game that leaves Aiken only 24 hours to master its rules and plays.
In the tradition of the best espionage novels, author Michael Frost Beckner’s novel is a story of allegiances — those that endure, those that break and those that leave far more questions than answers. And Aiken, whose wife was caught in bed with another man, is seemingly as vulnerable as he was when recruited by Muir in college. But Muir has plenty of his own pain points as well. It’s the tense, taut interplay between these two spies as they seek to expose cracks in each other, the Agency and the very notion of the Cold War that may prove to be either their undoing or salvation.
Thanks to Beckner’s engrossing narrative structure and carefully crafted prose, readers are in for a treat. Throughout, the book is filled with mindful touches that will delight readers. As one small example, we were impressed by the interior graphics that appear at the beginning of each new section of the novel.
Once Muir’s protégé, Aiken is still stinging from being cast aside by Muir and replaced by Tom Bishop. So when retired CIA legend Charlie March is murdered on his boat and the evidence points to Muir (who interestingly, was also once Muir’s protégé), Aiken is all too eager to confront him and deliver payback.
But Muir, a master of spycraft and recruitment, is a cool customer. He knows how to deftly handle Aiken when he shows up, calmly offering a glass of scotch, a respite from the storm and the teasing of a confession. Aiken hopes for a feather in his Agency cap with the elimination of Muir, but instead finds that Muir is many moves ahead and has already set into motion a dangerous, high-stakes game that leaves Aiken only 24 hours to master its rules and plays.
In the tradition of the best espionage novels, author Michael Frost Beckner’s novel is a story of allegiances — those that endure, those that break and those that leave far more questions than answers. And Aiken, whose wife was caught in bed with another man, is seemingly as vulnerable as he was when recruited by Muir in college. But Muir has plenty of his own pain points as well. It’s the tense, taut interplay between these two spies as they seek to expose cracks in each other, the Agency and the very notion of the Cold War that may prove to be either their undoing or salvation.
Thanks to Beckner’s engrossing narrative structure and carefully crafted prose, readers are in for a treat. Throughout, the book is filled with mindful touches that will delight readers. As one small example, we were impressed by the interior graphics that appear at the beginning of each new section of the novel.
February 14, 2023
‘Muir’s Gambit’ oozes authenticity as it thrusts you into the intricacies and moral ambiguity of the espionage world. Acting as a prequel to ‘Spy Game’—the 2002 spy film starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt—from the first page it’s apparent this is not the world of James Bond nor Jason Bourne, but the real, multi-layered clandestine world of deception where psychology and personal relationships are more powerful than guns and bombs.
Beckner’s prose sparkles and flows, placing you into the mind of the narrator, Russel Aiken, a lawyer with the Central Intelligence Agency. The use of Aiken as lawyer-cum-investigator interviewing the seasoned CIA officer, Muir—who recruited him into the Agency and is somewhat of a father-figure and mentor—is a useful literary device and personalises the reader experience as if you were privy to a private conversation between two old friends torn between their professional duties and complex past relationships. The verbal battle of wits that ensues as Aiken attempts to coax a confession out of Muir for the death of ex-intelligence officer, Charlie March, is highly entertaining, showcasing Beckner’s skill, dexterity, and experience as a Hollywood screenwriter and storyteller.
As a reader, it’s not only the dialogue that draws you in. Muir’s (Redford in ‘Spy Game’) recounting of CIA operations around the world in the Congo, Cyprus, Angola, Korea, amongst others, reveal Beckner’s in-depth knowledge of the CIA and the world of espionage, making it a particular pleasure for fans of the genre. These scenes were perhaps my favourite, with Muir’s operation in newly independent Cyprus particularly entertaining, keeping me pushing through the pages, not wanting for it to finish.
A highly recommended spy novel, from an accomplished author, who is an expert in the genre. It’s no mistake that ‘Spy Game’ is a favourite among spy movie fans, perhaps ‘Muir’s Gambit’ will do the same in the literary sense.
Beckner’s prose sparkles and flows, placing you into the mind of the narrator, Russel Aiken, a lawyer with the Central Intelligence Agency. The use of Aiken as lawyer-cum-investigator interviewing the seasoned CIA officer, Muir—who recruited him into the Agency and is somewhat of a father-figure and mentor—is a useful literary device and personalises the reader experience as if you were privy to a private conversation between two old friends torn between their professional duties and complex past relationships. The verbal battle of wits that ensues as Aiken attempts to coax a confession out of Muir for the death of ex-intelligence officer, Charlie March, is highly entertaining, showcasing Beckner’s skill, dexterity, and experience as a Hollywood screenwriter and storyteller.
As a reader, it’s not only the dialogue that draws you in. Muir’s (Redford in ‘Spy Game’) recounting of CIA operations around the world in the Congo, Cyprus, Angola, Korea, amongst others, reveal Beckner’s in-depth knowledge of the CIA and the world of espionage, making it a particular pleasure for fans of the genre. These scenes were perhaps my favourite, with Muir’s operation in newly independent Cyprus particularly entertaining, keeping me pushing through the pages, not wanting for it to finish.
A highly recommended spy novel, from an accomplished author, who is an expert in the genre. It’s no mistake that ‘Spy Game’ is a favourite among spy movie fans, perhaps ‘Muir’s Gambit’ will do the same in the literary sense.
June 12, 2024
A Stunning Spy Novel that Takes its Place Among the Greats
It's a funny old world. I have been a huge fan of Michael Frost Beckner for years, but I've never known it.
The man penned some of my favourite movies, including Sniper and Spy Game, and in turn taught me a lot about good dialogue and how to create tense situations.
In Muir's Gambit, he returns to the Spy Game universe with a novel set right before the events of the movie.
A spy is murdered. Blown to bits. And our hero must find out who and why. From such a simple premise, we move through a murky world of espionage that mirrors the kind of intellectual thrillers that John Le Carre gave us.
Beckner's two strengths are dialogue and character, and he brings his A Game here. I easily settled into the story as it sped along at a great pace. Some of the deviations stuck with me like Raymond Chandler's best did, and that just made me smile.
(I heard Redford's voice throughout as well!)
I really enjoyed this. This is what a great spy story is to me. An intricate puzzle that needs to be unravelled. I'd easily place this next to Tinker Tailor Spy in that regard.
Great stuff!
It's a funny old world. I have been a huge fan of Michael Frost Beckner for years, but I've never known it.
The man penned some of my favourite movies, including Sniper and Spy Game, and in turn taught me a lot about good dialogue and how to create tense situations.
In Muir's Gambit, he returns to the Spy Game universe with a novel set right before the events of the movie.
A spy is murdered. Blown to bits. And our hero must find out who and why. From such a simple premise, we move through a murky world of espionage that mirrors the kind of intellectual thrillers that John Le Carre gave us.
Beckner's two strengths are dialogue and character, and he brings his A Game here. I easily settled into the story as it sped along at a great pace. Some of the deviations stuck with me like Raymond Chandler's best did, and that just made me smile.
(I heard Redford's voice throughout as well!)
I really enjoyed this. This is what a great spy story is to me. An intricate puzzle that needs to be unravelled. I'd easily place this next to Tinker Tailor Spy in that regard.
Great stuff!
January 15, 2025
A superb spy thriller!
I just finished MUIR’S GAMBIT by Michael Beckner and it is excellent.
Is there such a thing as “ Spy Noir?” Beckner’s dialogue is reminiscent of the fast-paced, staccato dialogue of Mickey Spillane or Dashiell Hammett. I’ve often said real espionage is a chess game and rarely rugby, and Beckner captures this brilliantly. This book is a wild ride from beginning to end. Beckner makes you work a bit, so pay attention, but few authors capture the moral ambiguity, the cynicism, and the sense of the solitude of being a spy like Beckner. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read from beginning to end. Now I just have to catch my breath and tighten my seat belt before I begin the next book in the trilogy!
Highly recommend!
I just finished MUIR’S GAMBIT by Michael Beckner and it is excellent.
Is there such a thing as “ Spy Noir?” Beckner’s dialogue is reminiscent of the fast-paced, staccato dialogue of Mickey Spillane or Dashiell Hammett. I’ve often said real espionage is a chess game and rarely rugby, and Beckner captures this brilliantly. This book is a wild ride from beginning to end. Beckner makes you work a bit, so pay attention, but few authors capture the moral ambiguity, the cynicism, and the sense of the solitude of being a spy like Beckner. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read from beginning to end. Now I just have to catch my breath and tighten my seat belt before I begin the next book in the trilogy!
Highly recommend!
August 6, 2023
I think this book is intended more for more of a "thriller series" reader than I am. I didn't find any real originality in the plot or the writing. It certainly is an OK book, but not something that would be extremely entertaining or memorable.
September 27, 2024
I love the movie Spy Game and was thrilled when I stumbled upon these books. I was eager to dive back in. Unfortunately, while the story is intriguing, the writing is disjointed, and the story is difficult to follow. Beckner’s style, here, at least, is better suited to film.
December 1, 2025
I like a good spy/espionage book, a decent read, a little long in the middle. The prequel to the Redford/Pitt movie Spy Game. Interesting twist at the end that changes the movie for me.
November 5, 2023
Spy Game is one of my favorite films. It is a well-researched account of Cold War espionage, spanning from Vietnam to the Lebanese unrest in the 1980s. I also found it to be a very subtle love story (there are few acts I can think of more romantic than compromising your cover to save your relationship). So, when I heard that Michael Frost Beckner--the screenplay's author--had penned a prequel, I immediately wish-listed it and picked it up at the earliest convenience.
I was definitely caught off guard with what kind of novel it was.
Spy Game was a gritty, grounded spy thriller.
In comparison, Muir’s Gambit is one part spy thriller, one part lurid noir mystery.
The main character is Russell Aiken (whose name was changed to Robert in the movie), a member of the Agency's legal office. He is sent down to Florida to question Nathan Muir, who is suspected of murdering a retired case officer who had once trained him.
Aiken was originally Nathan Muir's protege, but Muir decided Aiken was not cut out for field work. Muir, Aiken, and Tom Bishop form an unlikely trio: Muir pitches the mission, Aiken massages the legalities to give them overhead cover, and Bishop develops the concept of operation.
Much like the film, Muir's Gambit is told through a lot of flashbacks. A lot of them are focused on Muir (who we learn was a Marine infantry officer during the Korean War before being recruited to the Agency). A lot of them are also focused on Aiken, showing his recruitment, showing how he met the love of his own life, and the resentment he feels for Muir cutting him loose from fieldwork.
I can't get too much further into it without delving into spoiler territory, but what I can say is that it was a page turner. I had to know what came next. Beckner is a master of engaging characters and capturing the feel of the time periods depicted during the story. When I finished the novel, I sat back for a few minutes to process what I'd just read.
I recommend the novel to fans of spy action and noir, as there is plenty of both to be had in Muir's Gambit. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in the Aiken Trilogy!
I was definitely caught off guard with what kind of novel it was.
Spy Game was a gritty, grounded spy thriller.
In comparison, Muir’s Gambit is one part spy thriller, one part lurid noir mystery.
The main character is Russell Aiken (whose name was changed to Robert in the movie), a member of the Agency's legal office. He is sent down to Florida to question Nathan Muir, who is suspected of murdering a retired case officer who had once trained him.
Aiken was originally Nathan Muir's protege, but Muir decided Aiken was not cut out for field work. Muir, Aiken, and Tom Bishop form an unlikely trio: Muir pitches the mission, Aiken massages the legalities to give them overhead cover, and Bishop develops the concept of operation.
Much like the film, Muir's Gambit is told through a lot of flashbacks. A lot of them are focused on Muir (who we learn was a Marine infantry officer during the Korean War before being recruited to the Agency). A lot of them are also focused on Aiken, showing his recruitment, showing how he met the love of his own life, and the resentment he feels for Muir cutting him loose from fieldwork.
I can't get too much further into it without delving into spoiler territory, but what I can say is that it was a page turner. I had to know what came next. Beckner is a master of engaging characters and capturing the feel of the time periods depicted during the story. When I finished the novel, I sat back for a few minutes to process what I'd just read.
I recommend the novel to fans of spy action and noir, as there is plenty of both to be had in Muir's Gambit. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in the Aiken Trilogy!
July 7, 2023
This is where “Spy Game” begins - a chess match of attack, counter, sacrifice. There can only be one winner. Or can there?
No matter what you're expecting, this book will surprise the hell out of you. It's a dialogue with lots of story telling within a story.
Michael Frost Beckner, the author, commands not only a remarkably deft use of language and incisive dialogue, but an exquisite grasp of the hidden motivations that drive spies and their masters. Pile on top of that an insider's grasp of intelligence tradecraft and the rules that are supposed to guide "legal" operations, not to mention the real culture of the Agency, and you have a recipe for great reading.
This isn't Ludlum, Le Carré, McCarry, or Forsyth. It's a deliciously layered tale told from the front porch of a Florida vacation home under the influence of cigarettes and single malt scotch cut with rainwater. There are echoes of Chandler with hints of Thompson and a touch of Leonard, but make no mistake… it’s all Michael Frost Beckner telling the story.
Beckner's unique writing style channels the reader into a high stakes battle of wits and memories between two Cold Warriors that spans years and takes the reader suspensefully and tautly through a dense jungle-ness of mirrors. Old operations and secret truths that no one in the government wish to be revealed lie in wait and when revealed propel the story towards a whirlwind conclusion that will leave you breathlessly waiting for the next installment.
No matter what you're expecting, this book will surprise the hell out of you. It's a dialogue with lots of story telling within a story.
Michael Frost Beckner, the author, commands not only a remarkably deft use of language and incisive dialogue, but an exquisite grasp of the hidden motivations that drive spies and their masters. Pile on top of that an insider's grasp of intelligence tradecraft and the rules that are supposed to guide "legal" operations, not to mention the real culture of the Agency, and you have a recipe for great reading.
This isn't Ludlum, Le Carré, McCarry, or Forsyth. It's a deliciously layered tale told from the front porch of a Florida vacation home under the influence of cigarettes and single malt scotch cut with rainwater. There are echoes of Chandler with hints of Thompson and a touch of Leonard, but make no mistake… it’s all Michael Frost Beckner telling the story.
Beckner's unique writing style channels the reader into a high stakes battle of wits and memories between two Cold Warriors that spans years and takes the reader suspensefully and tautly through a dense jungle-ness of mirrors. Old operations and secret truths that no one in the government wish to be revealed lie in wait and when revealed propel the story towards a whirlwind conclusion that will leave you breathlessly waiting for the next installment.
August 6, 2022
This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Montrose Station Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
Well written mystery novel that should appeal to fans of several mystery genres. Characters are formed and fleshed out, story is done with forethought and care.
Well written mystery novel that should appeal to fans of several mystery genres. Characters are formed and fleshed out, story is done with forethought and care.
November 17, 2022
I liked the movie but I found the book hard to get into. I felt like it jumped around too much at the first fourth of the book. Just not the pace I prefer.
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