Willow > Recent Status Updates

"I've even heard of one guy in Chicago who advertises in the phone book under "Wizard," thought that's probably an urban legend."

I can't help it. I squeed so goddamned hard at that.

Next up is Part Four: "Where Next?"

Chapter 11, "Vaccination" lightly covered the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. I believe the author was trying to show how meshing HUMINT and SIGINT helped to bring down the biggest target of the War on Terror, but the story felt a bit incomplete. Or perhaps his point was that modern "spycraft" had much in common with police work.

Chapter 10, "The Peacemaker Spy" delved into the "other half" of espionage -- covert diplomacy. I found the idea intriguing, but the case studies here were a bit lacking in detail.

Chapter 9, "Faith in the Machine" attempts to illustrate the dangers of relying too heavily on SIGINT, if untempered by HUMINT. The author makes a very compelling case with the assassination of Zabet Amanullah, a local politician (said to be leading a double life as Mohamed Amin). Cell phone tracking and calls were enough for JSOC to convict him, though serious doubts remain as to whether he was the actual target.

*the attack that led to the deaths of nine people*

Chapter 8, "Allah Has Plans" was a particularly somber recounting of the attack that led to nine people on a supposedly secure CIA base in Khost. Disregarding procedure and warnings from the past allowed a triple agent to perform a suicide attack on top leadership in the area. Desperation for an inside agent led intelligence officials to trust a man no one knew. It's a good warning.

Chapter 7, "Cover Blown" again showed that it was possible to get an agent inside of a terrorist cell. In the case of French recruit "F1", however, his potential as a spy was squandered when Spanish police put him on the witness stand after a raid on his terrorist cell.

Sixth chapter, "Caveat Emptor" was the story of the infamous intelligence disaster that helped start the Iraq War. Mishandling of sources, pressure from above, and political meddling all lent inappropriate weight to the testimony of 'Curveball'. It's a really fascinating mess.

Next up is Part Three: The Flock of Birds (2008-13)

Fifth chapter, "Jihad" was a bit of a mess. It was dedicated to the rise of the secretive militant training camps during the 90's. Unfortunately, the chapter was a bit difficult to follow. The long and short of it was that it's hard to recruit spies to infiltrate terrorist and revolutionary groups, but it can be done. Prior to 9/11 though, few agencies tried.

Fourth chapter, "Thunderbolt" was another case study -- this of an ex-terrorist turned drug dealer turned informant, Keravnos (aka 'Black Lightning'). Mr. Grey addressed the value, and difficulty, of recruiting informants like these. Running criminals requires a certain moral ambiguity that some agencies are uncomfortable with.

Holy. Crap. Kaladin just can't catch a break, can he? I actually am beginning to think he was wrong for placing his trust in Dalinar; the storming man will trust Kaladin to protect his family and sit in on important decisions, but won't believe him about Amaram? After Kal arguably saved both his sons' lives??? Damn. Real low point here.

"Getting involved in crime fighting meant, for example, M15 sharing some of the technology they had developed against the Russians: helping to install covert bugs. . . electronic surveillance . . . cover actions like emptying a criminal's foreign bank account." I understand these are criminals, but where's the oversight? Aren't they citizens of their respective countries? Were warrants issued?

Third chapter, "Friendship" was the most interesting so far. It covered recruitment of spies in the IRA, mostly through prolonged contact and the "delicate art of friendship." The double-life that men like Steak Knife led -- working for a terrorist group while trying to avoid killing civilians or other officers -- is fascinating.

Next up is Part Two: New Spies (1989-2008)"

Second chapter, "The Best Ever Liars" explored some of the fundamental problems with HUMINT -- namely, that it's likely to be discarded or disbelieved, because of the source. Spies, are by definitely, untrustworthy.

First chapter, "The Secret Agent" delved into the origin of the James Bond myth with English Soviet-Era spies like Francis Cromey and Sidney Reilly. Stephen Grey illustrates the shifting role of intelligence officers from direct "spying" to managing a group of local recruits. Still a bit dry, but this was obviously well researched -- there are tons of source quotes, and reference numbers abound.

Ok, I am not accepting <spoiler>Jasnah's supposed death</spoiler> unless I see more proof. It just *can't* be true. If it is, it's a big move by Sanderson -- one that changes the stakes.

A note: the first interlude for this book was AMAZING. Much more engaging than the ones we sat through in book one. I loved all of the new viewpoints, and the Parshendi are becoming my favorite fantasy race of all time.

For a book about spycraft, the introduction was horribly dry. However, it did provide some valuable framing for the rest of the book -- namely, the balancing act between SIGINT and HUMINT, and the shifting climate since the end of the Cold War.

Next up is Part One: The Cult of Intelligence (1909-89)

Another prediction: Shallan just became unofficially engaged to Adolin, but I'm betting she ends up with Renarin instead. I think those two would be more compatible.

A few predictions:
1. Kaladin will fight Brightlord Amaram in this book and win back his set of shards.
2. Dalinar and Elhokar will each manifest some kind of powers. Dalinar will attract a spren companion.
3. Dalinar will *not* be assassinated by Szeth, though it will be a near thing.

This has been sitting on my audio bookshelf for far too long. I can't believe I waited this long to start. I'm a little over halfway through now, and this is shaping up to be one of my all time favorite books -- both for the beautiful 3rd person omniscient VP, and for the sense of *purpose* that pervades this work. (The Lady Jessica is also one of the best women I've read in a long time.)

Butcher continues to find things for everyone -- and I mean everyone -- in this gigantic cast to do. Interesting to see Invidia as a viewpoint character.

Longest prologue ever. Great stuff, though -- Varg is a viewpoint character! And Kitai finally read Tavi the riot act for *ahem* laying with her before she was properly courted. xD

Just finished DREAD BRASS SHADOWS. In this one, Garrett has even less of a clue than he normally does, and is deprived of several key resources (Morley, Dotes, Chodo). The Dead Man is also hoodwinked a couple of times. On the downside, I knew that the book was hidden in Garrett's house for ages. On the upside, we have a new (permanent?) character! Winger looks like she will provide plenty of entertainment.

Cook is doing a great job with Winger. At this point in the story, I have no idea whether I like her or hate her.

Started DREAD BRASS SHADOWS, and it jumps straight into the plot on page 3.

Started DREAD BRASS SHADOWS, and it jumps straight into the plot on page 3.