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The Aiken Trilogy #3
Aiken in Check
"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
EDITOR'S PICK - Publishers Weekly Booklife
5/5 STARS - Foreword Clarion Reviews
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Midwest Book Review
"Evoke[s] the best of spy scribes, such as the moral ambiguities of John le Carré, the technical precision of Tom Clancy, and the violent impact of Robert Ludlum. However, Beckner puts his own spin on these genre staples, elucidating, illuminating, and bringing on-point insights into play, as when he spells out what the intelligence game is really all about..." - The US Review of Books
It's not how you play the GAME... It's how the game plays YOU.
Aiken in Check (Aiken Trilogy, Book 3) finds the ill-starred but undimmed CIA lawyer Russell Aiken a defector to Cuba trapped in a battle of wits with Havana spymasters over the fate of female CIA agent Nina Estrada, kidnapped by Cuban agents on a mole hunt for the CIA's top spy in Fidel Castro's secret service.
In this second sequel to the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt #1 hit movie Spy Game, Aiken must once more navigate the thorny father-son dynamic of Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop to guide them to a place of peace while at the same time effect the rescue of the woman who is his greatest romance and the love of his life-all in a single night without leaving the hotel room of his interrogation.
Bursting with Aiken's acerbic and absurdist wit, Aiken in Check is a love letter confession, wrapped in the haunting of the three men's past, inside of a Christmas deadly, over the fate of Christmas's yet to come.
EDITOR'S PICK - Publishers Weekly Booklife
5/5 STARS - Foreword Clarion Reviews
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Midwest Book Review
"Evoke[s] the best of spy scribes, such as the moral ambiguities of John le Carré, the technical precision of Tom Clancy, and the violent impact of Robert Ludlum. However, Beckner puts his own spin on these genre staples, elucidating, illuminating, and bringing on-point insights into play, as when he spells out what the intelligence game is really all about..." - The US Review of Books
It's not how you play the GAME... It's how the game plays YOU.
Aiken in Check (Aiken Trilogy, Book 3) finds the ill-starred but undimmed CIA lawyer Russell Aiken a defector to Cuba trapped in a battle of wits with Havana spymasters over the fate of female CIA agent Nina Estrada, kidnapped by Cuban agents on a mole hunt for the CIA's top spy in Fidel Castro's secret service.
In this second sequel to the Robert Redford/Brad Pitt #1 hit movie Spy Game, Aiken must once more navigate the thorny father-son dynamic of Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop to guide them to a place of peace while at the same time effect the rescue of the woman who is his greatest romance and the love of his life-all in a single night without leaving the hotel room of his interrogation.
Bursting with Aiken's acerbic and absurdist wit, Aiken in Check is a love letter confession, wrapped in the haunting of the three men's past, inside of a Christmas deadly, over the fate of Christmas's yet to come.
514 pages, Hardcover
Published September 5, 2022
6 people are currently reading
102 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 13, 2022
This 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!!
April 24, 2023
Intriguing, complex, funny, immersive, deadly. The Game is about to end...
A train leaves the station; where will it end up? In Michael Frost Beckner’s mind-bending, surprising world, you can never be sure until the end.
"Aiken in Check" is the last of Beckner’s Spy Game trilogy and what a ride it has been! A mix of espionage, murder, and family intrigue with enough betrayal and deception to make the characters and the readers wonder where they are going and from whence they came. it is an Alice In Spyland adventure that will have your attention from the first page to the last.
Imagine James Bond waking up on Christmas Eve to find the ghost of Double-O Nine sitting on his bed… and being told there are three spirits waiting to show him his past, present, and future.
Not content to use old tradecraft, Aiken employs time itself to manipulate and confuse his enemy. At breakneck speed and with intricate storytelling, the author teases us in a world where wormholes abound and intrigue pervades.
It is a unique, humorous, and suspenseful tale where Russell Aiken must bet everything to win a final, deadly game where he no one is to be trusted — even himself.
A train leaves the station; where will it end up? In Michael Frost Beckner’s mind-bending, surprising world, you can never be sure until the end.
"Aiken in Check" is the last of Beckner’s Spy Game trilogy and what a ride it has been! A mix of espionage, murder, and family intrigue with enough betrayal and deception to make the characters and the readers wonder where they are going and from whence they came. it is an Alice In Spyland adventure that will have your attention from the first page to the last.
Imagine James Bond waking up on Christmas Eve to find the ghost of Double-O Nine sitting on his bed… and being told there are three spirits waiting to show him his past, present, and future.
Not content to use old tradecraft, Aiken employs time itself to manipulate and confuse his enemy. At breakneck speed and with intricate storytelling, the author teases us in a world where wormholes abound and intrigue pervades.
It is a unique, humorous, and suspenseful tale where Russell Aiken must bet everything to win a final, deadly game where he no one is to be trusted — even himself.
January 9, 2024
The third and final book in Beckner’s Spy Game trilogy sees Aiken defecting to Cuba as he attempts to free the love of his life, Nina Estrada from Cuban Intelligence. Aiken’s trademark stream-of-consciousness musings on his life, Muir and Bishop, the CIA, quantum physics, time, and everything in between, are ever present and lend the novel an absurdist, Borges-like touch. The descriptions of Cuba are excellent and Beckner’s knowledge of the world of espionage shines through with authenticity. Those who have seen the movie SPY GAME will recognise some of the film’s scenes melded into the plot, furthering Muir’s and Aiken’s backstory, linking past events to what is unfolding in the present. The dialogue between Aiken and Nina is superb, adding spice and dry humour to the mix, enhancing the already wonderful character development, each with their own individual quirks. Overall, a fitting end to the trilogy and, combined with the movie, these novels bring a unique voice to the spy novel literary world.
July 11, 2025
"Aiken in Check" is a wild ride and a fitting conclusion to Michael Frost Beckner's fine trilogy of Spy Game novels. It's long, has lots of characters, changes time frames, is chock full of lies, deceit, misinformation, and unsavory characters, and is narrated by a guy who had a brain tumor removed and suffers from epilepsy, but if you're a Spy Game aficionado and have read the first two in the trilogy, this is a must-read. Character development, dialogue, spy craft, and writing are all off-the-charts and the author's ability to tie all of the plot threads together to craft a solid conclusion to this series is exemplary.
August 8, 2023
This is the third book of a trilogy and espionage is the name of the game. I am a fan of this genre; however, I found this book to be a little muddled.......lots of characters for the sake of lots of characters. To be candid, I did not read the first two books, and that my color my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews