The Orion Team. discussion

After fruitlessly browsing through tons of titles I really hope you can help me out. I'm looking for some reading recommendations that hit my "sweet spot". Things I'm looking for are:

- TV shows/movies that get me thrilled: Rubicon (TV show) and Sicario
- focus on "realistic" Intelligence work (i.e. surveillance and lots of data grinding)
- team work preferred over "super soldiers"
- gritty and cynical or plain "just doing my job" is preferred over ra-ra patriotism (but to each their own)
- well written female characters (doesn't have to be the protagonist);
- contemporary time period (from 2000 onwards)


Thank you so much in advance.

My Amy Lynn series is a little different. It starts when she's twelve. No superhero, she doesn't do anything a woman of her stature and training can't do. You can find the books and reviews on Amazon.

Mr_noyes wrote: "After fruitlessly browsing through tons of titles I really hope you can help me out. I'm looking for some reading recommendations that hit my "sweet spot". Things I'm looking for are:

- TV shows/m..."

Hello Mr Noyes. Welcome to the group, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here.

A good TV show would be the cancelled Person Of Interest CBS. Consists of five seasons and is made by John Nolan.
It's a genre bending mixture of espionage drama and science fiction epic.

For book recommendations, may I offer these for your consideration?


First book in a seven novel series. They focus on a enigmatic contract killer who becomes a deniable asset for multiple intelligence agencies and criminal groups over the story.
The man is not motivated by any ra ra patriotism, is highly cynical and is solely loyal to the almighty dollar. He has not self righteous delusions about what he is and what is profession entails and defiantly sits in the dark side of moral gray.





A trilogy of books that conclude the first truly great espionage comic. They star Tara Chace, the British/Swiss paramilitary officer who works for the UK SIS. Miles more brutal than Jason Bourne or James Bond, featuring world class research, plots with a sting in the tail and along with the high body counts, delve into the role actual intelligence gathering plays in today's society.
Chace is tough as nails with whatever idealism she had when she began the job burned out of her long ago. Jingoistic Patriotism ranks at best at the bottom of her top 10 motivations.





Charles Cumming is a former Oxbridge student who turned down an offer by the SIS to join the firm and become a case officer. The experience however motivated him into becoming a spy fiction writer.

His work is realistic, devoid of violence (unless it's in places where its warranted to punctuate the narrative) and quite psychologically brutal. The following three books are a trilogy he wrote on the life of "Thomas Kell" and his former lover and colleague, Amelia Levine who becomes the first female director general of the SIS.




The following two books are written by the best author who is focusing on modern China today. His name is Adam Brookes, former BBC journalist who once spent a period in North Korea.
His books focus on the covert wars that surround Modern China. A proper portrayal of intelligence gathering and the action scenes only come into play during the climax. Lots of people working together as well, no lone wolves.




Book by one of our group members. I will just say that it ticks every single one of your boxes....do check it out.

Oh my, thank you so much for the lengthy list, I will check each of them. Much appreciated!