David IgnatiusCritiques

Washington Post:

The latest novel by the Washington Post writer draws back the curtain and shows how the deliberatively murky world of intelligence and espionage really works.

Review by Alma Katsu
Updated May 14, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. EDT|Published May 14, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. EDT

“Phantom Orbit,” the latest spy thriller from Washington Post foreign affairs columnist David Ignatius, has all the trademarks of his beloved books. There’s lots of inside baseball (no doubt supplied by the senior officials in the defense and intelligence worlds he thanks in the acknowledgments) and topics ripped from today’s headlines: threats to the GPS system and satellites; a renewal of the “great powers” struggle with Russia and China; allegations of widespread sexual harassment at the CIA; and, of course, covid. As with all Ignatius’s novels, “Phantom Orbit” draws back the curtain and shows how the deliberatively murky world of intelligence and espionage really works.
The novel opens with a tantalizing prologue in which Russian scientist Ivan Volkov tries to pass a dangerous secret about U.S. satellite systems to the CIA. The agency, suspicious of his intentions, seems to ignore him, and so, in desperation, he contacts an American woman he once knew and suspected of being a spy, in the hope that she can make the powers that be listen.
David Ignatius. (Stephen Voss)
We then learn what happened in the preceding decades. Volkov has the bad luck to come of age in Russia in the years surrounding the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He’s a brilliant math nerd who wants to pursue a PhD at a time when everything is in flux: The Soviet system is in tatters, and the new rules are still being written. When he can no longer afford Moscow State University, he accepts a scholarship from Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he is quickly noticed by professor and Communist Party power player Cao Lin. Volkov is steered toward a career in aerospace, specifically satellite operations. He knows he’s being groomed to be useful to the Chinese physicist, but as a Russian, he is used to being manipulated. At the same time, he’s being watched by a Russian intelligence officer, who wants Volkov in his pocket for his own purposes.

Ignatius fleshes out other characters, adding depth to the narrative. Cao Lin, for instance, has over the years become a shadowy figure in the Chinese government, heading a “special committee” for the powerful Central Military Commission. He furthers the government’s capabilities through any means possible, recruiting useful foreigners along the way. And then there’s Edith Ryan, the young American CIA officer with whom Volkov fell in love in his youth. After they part ways, we see her early career at the agency, and her transition out of clandestine service to analysis and, eventually, to the Directorate of Science and Technology, where she becomes a specialist in satellites. After she retires from the government, she makes a sideways move to private industry in support of the intelligence community. And it’s at this point that we understand what the threat is, the nefarious plot that Volkov and Ryan must work together to overcome.
The story is entertaining and informative — but is it, as billed, a thriller? Thriller readers have come to expect breathless, page-a-minute writing that propels them through a dizzying, multilayered plot. Of course, in real life stories don’t unfold that way, and, as someone who has worked in U.S. intelligence, I know that spy stories certainly do not. Events unfold in more of a slow burn. To be sure, Ignatius has written an interesting novel, peopled it with rich, believable characters and built a wholly realistic plot. He’s chosen to tell the story chronologically, which well serves the content — different storylines, lots of moving pieces, technical subject matter, backstory that enriches readers’ grasp of the stakes — but sacrifices tension. And that’s a luxury today’s thriller writers generally aren’t allowed.
Then throw in the accessible explanations of math and science necessary for readers to understand the vulnerabilities inherent in satellites, and well, you can see what an ambitious novel it is. It’s one well worth reading. Still, though it may seem like a small thing, I wish they’d take the word “thriller” off the cover and replace it with “novel.”

Alma Katsu worked for more than 30 years in government intelligence. She is the author of the spy thrillers “Red Widow” and “Red London,” and her serialized story, “The Spy Who Vanished,” will be published in July.

Very good book. Edge of seat.

This fictional thriller was well written, with a unique and original plot, interesting characters, and settings that were well described. I love it when a novel has you "hanging on the edge of your seat", and "Phantom Orbit" did just that! Even though this novel is fictional, I kept thinking, "Could this possibly happen in our future?"
In summary, the plot follows the life of Russian, Ivan Volkov. The novel starts out in the 1990's, as Ivan finds himself as a student studying astronomy and mathematics in Beijing. Over the next 27 years, Ivan discovers and keeps working on (in secret), an unsolved puzzle in the writings of 17th century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, his idol. He meets many interesting characters along the way. However, who can he trust? Who is not what they appear to be? The plot is full of twists and turns and the ending was a work of a truly talented author. A definite must read!

Story crosses decades of tumultuous events in one of the most ethnically mixed and eventually most hard hit and almost utterly destroyed state in Middle East - Lebanon.

It is story of people from Lebanon, refugees from the Palestine, various parties from the neighboring countries (Syria, Israel, Italy) and US intelligence officers caught in the crossfire of unstable region in 60's and 70's up to the bloody days of 1980's. It is truly soul crashing to see how entire region starts the slow spiral to destruction and multiethnical hatred that will bring so much evil to this area that even now it is still in healing process.

Even more crushing is fate of people, principled people, working in the unprincipled world led by politicians that are by definition survivors and chameleons, ready to sacrifice anyone for the current political influence. So how can principled people work under these circumstances in a dangerous world of intelligence gathering? They can try and more often than not they will turn cynical. If this does not happen they will end up dead because world does not tolerate principled people unless they are saints (and therefore long long gone).

Excellent spy novel, written by someone that knows very well the Middle East and its problems.

Highly recommended to thriller and spy story aficionados.

Excellent book of revenge. When infiltration mission goes wrong way Michael Dunne finds himself abandoned by his agency and left high and dry. Finally after his marriage collapses and he ends up in the prison (all of it following his fiasco) Dunne decides to take revenge on the people who brought him down in a most savage way possible.

Author is a person that always does his research and it is very interesting to see spy use of high technology. Author's signature, ruthless intelligence agencies that play double, triple or quadruple deceptions and are always ready to sacrifice their most loyal agents to achieve the national goals, is present in this novel too.

Book centers on something that terrified me first time I saw it - deep-fake technology. Implications of very existence of this technology (that brought only admiration from everyone else I know) are unforeseeable and I highly doubt this type of technology can have any positive applications. For me this technology is very like giving a hand grenade to the toddler - highly, highly irresponsible.

Excellent book, highly recommended to all fans of spy thrillers.

Interesting book about spies fighting to stop their enemies from developing into nuclear power.

Only downside to the book is the conclusion - prime minister steps out and exposes the entire operation to the media, how they manage to thwart the efforts of their rival state by direct sabotage (even names service responsible) and then state that they will prevent any other nation from further interfering because enemy is now tamed (? I mean come on...) and this does not provoke no reaction from anyone in the world (!?! again, please ...)

Imagine somebody from the government steps out and says that they sabotaged by direct attack their rivals, they disclose it to the world (so it is not just knowledge in the close community) and everybody says - Oh, they blew them ... now gimme that pepper.

These are things conflicts are ignited about. I do not know what the author was thinking about but ending seems childish to say the least and seems like unnatural ending for the novel itself (considering other elements described in it).

Good thriller but ending is deeply flawed.

The Bank of Fear is your pretty standard spy-thriller novel, set mostly in London, and centered on Middle Eastern players and politics. There's lots and lots of money, murder, secrets, the usual.

For being 450 pages, this was really a quick read. It was easy to get into - and keep going. I also appreciated the level of information given relating to Middle Eastern politics and the computer hacking as well; Ignatius reached what - to me, at least - was a good balance between explaining enough for someone with a very modest background in the Middle East, without being too detailed or expository for the genre.

My gripe about halfway through this book was that that two main characters who have gotten tangled up in this really dangerous affair have apparently never seen a spy movie. Ever. Even though Lina knows exactly how dangerous her boss is, and Sam purportedly knows everyone in the Arab financial world - and his father was CIA - they continue to call each other on their regular phone lines, and even meet at her apartment, even after they know they're being watched. Dumb.

Also, the character focus felt unbalanced. To start with, it seemed that Lina and Sam would be even-ish protagonists, but as the story went on, Lina became the main character, and Sam was only a supporting role when he was needed. It seemed like his role wasn't fully fleshed out.

I'd previously read "The Quantum Spy" (good/very good) and "The Director" (pretty good) by this author, but after those two, this one was a very big disappointment - poor characterisation and the idea of highly realistic video fakes, while interesting, is not explored in a very interesting way here. Felt to me a bit like the author was just churning another one out for the sake of it. I guess it depends what you want from your spy books - if you are happy with pretty standard thriller fare, then maybe this will do it for you and perhaps I am being a bit harsh on it. But what I liked about "The Quantum Spy" in particular was that it looked at aspects of the espionage world that have not been written about all that much by others (e.g. quantum computing and China's MSS) - so it felt a cut above your average espionage thriller.½

Author keeps reminding us that "Wong" is the driver and reiterates people's job titles and positions OK read

Interesting story that really held my attention. The historical events of the story are true and the fictional characters are based on real people, the names are changed of course. Very sad in that so many opportunities to make things right in the Middle East were handled poorly or ignored. After reading this, I recommend "The Good Spy" by Kai Bird to anyone wanting to learn more and to read about the actual people.

My second book of Ignatius' and I couldn't put it down. Read in one day as it was so fast moving and just kept me so interested. Ignatius seems to really understand the Middle East and it's problems and complexities. Recommend very much to anyone who wants an exciting spy story.

This book is supposed to be a thriller about quantum computing technology and intelligence agents in the US and China, but the characters were not compelling enough to care about them and their fate. Perhaps the Harris Chang character, a Chinese American CIA agent, is an exception, but this was not enough to carry the book for me. I never read David Ignatius fiction before, and I probably will not read it again. More disappointing, because I really admire David Ignatius as a columnist.

Modern spy thriller with the CIA trying to gain insights into the Iranian nuclear bomb making capability and slow down development of the program. There's a war-mongering element among the U.S. government leadership which sounds like a parallel to our Iraqi policy in the aftermath of 9/11.

David Ignatius brings his real life experience in the world of spies to his novels and that makes them more interesting and engaging to me. This was a very well spun tale that had enough ambiguity to keep me guessing through most of the book. The characters may not have been the most complex you will ever encounter but they felt true and their actions felt organic not just like plot devices. I had one small factual error that bothered me but it is only because of where I live. He identifies a meeting spot as being in the "Courthouse" area of Arlington but then later identifies it as being on N. Glebe Road and describes it as Ballston. An odd error and one I quickly got past.

"I mean, that’s the secret, right? It isn’t the electronics. It’s the fact that people are so goddamn stupid.” So says a character in David Ignatius' timely and engrossing new book "The Paladin." Two of my big passions are journalism and computers and this book combines them in a way that was like candy to me. Ignatius is a skilled and veteran journalist and he always brings that level of factual undermining and organized thought to his books. His beat is the intelligence community and that pays off in the complexity of his stories and characters. There is no black and white here, in true LeCarre´ tradition everything is a shade of gray. The story starts out jumping between "current day" and incidents of 2 years earlier that totally changed the life of Michael Dunne, our main character. He does a great job of revealing the story from earlier in a way that lets you slowly begin to see what is going on. The last half of the book is all present day and percolates along to an interesting and satisfying conclusion. This all scares me though as it pertains to the way powerful people now use technology to fool people. With an election coming up I dread the fake videos that will be distributed, I'm already thinking of leaving Facebook until the election is over. But, as the lead quote says, the blame is not with the technology but with the people. And that is the scariest thing of all.

You will quickly notice the left leaning bias in this story. Seemed to me like bad alternate history when you see what has actually transpired since the book was written (pallet of cash sent to Iran, full speed ahead on nuclear weapon research). He keeps telling us there is pressure from the top of wanting to go to war with Iran. Don't remember that, but with everyone was talking about ACA at that time, I may have missed all the war talk. Several jabs at Israel throughout the book. A slew of unlikeable immoral characters. Then they actually have the answer to stopping/slowing down the nuclear research and Harry axes it. Then his liberal daughter wants to go to some 3rd world country to help out instead of going to college unlike the stupid son who went to fight in Iraq and got killed.
With that said, it is an acceptable spy book if you have absolutely nothing else to read.

Edit...I didn't know anything about the author and when I looked him up I see why the bias.

.....just couldn't get this story untracked. Very slow to develop the plot in my opinion. Disappointed.

Fair espionage novel of a CIA agent double crossed with cybertechnology. A little above my knowledge but I appreciated the author's experience and inside knowledge of reporting on the CIA. It made it that much more believeable.½

I was predisposed to writing a good review for David Ignatius’ “Paladin” (PAL). I had read a number of his other novels, enjoyed them, generally gave them 4 star ratings. Additionally, I read Ignatius’ Washington Post columns all the time and catch many of his appearances on “Morning Joe” – and listen to his every word. So it pains me to say that I found PAL very boring, occasionally unreadable, and not worthy of a recommendation. I think even a two star rating is generous.

I won’t re-summarize the plot in any detail except to say that our hero, Michael Dunne, CIA operative, is doomed by his bosses for failure on a case, and winds up serving a year in jail. He vows revenge upon his release. The story, no big surprise, is told in a series of flashbacks, bouncing back and forth from before jail to after.

My first criticism is that I feel strongly that the story would have been more interesting if told chronologically. Why has “flashback” become the standard, and real time the exception – its way overdone and only contributes unnecessary complexity and confusion to this story.

Secondly, in the early days of computer crime, readers would learn a nugget or two of cyber wisdom and be satisfied; the plot was still key. In PAL and too many others of the day, the author is keen on demonstrating his knowledge and in going to great lengths to educate at least some of us on grad level material we know nothing about nor care to. And of course this must include a very heavy dose of social media features of the moment. But, if that isn’t enough, how about complicating the plot (what plot you may ask as you get further into this) with a heavy dose of Wall St. crime. Characters ?, dialog? tension? twists ? C’mon, you want that, too?! Duh, not here…..

The Paladin by David Ignatius takes the reader on a thrill ride with the CIA, the FBI and the ever-changing world of high tech and high finance. Michael Dunne is assigned by the CIA to an undercover investigation of an Italian news group led by an American. There is evidence that secrets are being used illegally, However, Michael soon finds himself thrown to the wolves, charged with running a covert operation on Americans. No one speaks on his behalf and he is then sentenced to a year in prison, as his marriage falls apart and he loses custody of his young daughter. He has a long time to plot his revenge on the people who abandoned him at the worst time in his life. Upon his release, he sets in motion a plan to pursue his enemies, no matter what it takes. The Paladin is a high-energy narrative that will keep readers on the edge of their seat and will show how technology in the wrong hands and for the wrong purposes can lead to a world of trouble. Highly recommended. Thank you to W.W. Norton and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am used to seeing David Ignatius on TV as a reporter but who knew that he also was a mystery writer. This is a great spy story - a new secret technology, the CIA, NSA and Chinese Intellegence. Before the end everyone seems to be the traitor but even when you know who it is you wonder if everything will work out.
I listened to this book on audio and the narrator added to the story.

The story alternates between 2016 (when the operation takes places) and 2018 (when Dunne tries to destroy his destroyers). Tension and suspense fill this well-developed plot. A few of the big "reveals" underwhelmed me, though, and there were a few lucky breaks that felt too convenient. It also felt strange that some of Dunne's former colleagues are willing to help him, even if they have to side-step legal issues to do this.

But the storyline spins so steadily, slowly rising toward the explosive climax, that I barely noticed. I was spun deeper into this web of deceit along with Dunne. So much feels real about this story: privacy violated, photos altered, whistleblowers-slash-traitors alternately applauded or condemned by others. Reality and fiction mingle in the novel until it is hard to know the difference.

Ignatius includes lots of insider details about the CIA. I can't confirm whether gauging a person's response to stressful questions is almost as reliable as a polygraph test. Or that a "Lemon Squeezer" used to be someone specializing in secret writing. Or how the class system of the CIA compares with a typical suburban high school (!) All I know is that Ignatius sounds convincing. Since he covered the CIA for the Washington Post for three decades, he knows more than the average person.

The Paladin isn't as heavy on the character development as I like. Besides Michael Dunne, few of the characters feel "real" to me. For example, his Afro-Brazilian wife feels like a 2D figure included to raise the emotional stakes, rather than a vital part of the story. What Dunne's betrayers do devastates her in many ways.

But as a look at the sophisticated ways technology influences our world, this book fascinates me. Videos and photos can be faked until it's impossible to tell the difference between the real and unreal. This is frightening, especially if people use it to provoke outrage or violence. In the book, those behind the fraudulent photos/videos exploit real issues (for example, anti-Semitism or racial violence) to further their agenda. "Seeing is believing" is no longer a safe option when what we see is unreal.

Recommended, especially for those who love spy thrillers. Thanks to WW Norton and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although fiction, the book is well researched on the available details on quantum computing, and presents a plausible scenario whereby the US and China engage in secret competition over dominance in that area. So, a fun read.

This book was written a long time ago and I did not understand why it was given away as a new book. It could of been my error, but I have enough old books to read and did not want to add this one to the stack. So I gave it four stars because it has been around for so long

In the US in the 1990s, a professional journalist working other jobs, especially those with government connections, was grounds for dismissal. Interaction between journalists and the entities they are covering is the major thread of A FIRING OFFENSE. In this book, it has gone so far that a respected journalist became a henchman for a foreign government, planting stories beneficial to that country into the newspaper.

There are three primary threads in this story: Corruption of governments and of journalists by foreign governments, competition between France and the US to secure a major telecommunications contract with China, and the diminishment of print newspapers.

David Ignatius’s excellent book, A FIRING OFFENSE, was published in 1997. It opens in 1996 and Eric Truell is based in Paris as the correspondent for The New York Mirror, a highly-rated national newspaper. He is currently in Washington DC to attend and speak at the funeral of the paper’s top foreign correspondent.

The scene quickly changes to 1994 Paris where Truell is trying to find a story. He laments: “Boredom is ordinarily the fuel of journalism; it is the dry powder that, under the right circumstances, ignites into the flame of curiosity that connects a reporter with his story. We need that burst of energy, because despite what people think, journalism is often quite dull… But too much boredom can spark too much heat – creating a passion to connect with the story to that is consuming, unbounded, uncontrollable.”

He doesn’t have long to wait. He is contacted by a scientist who has discovered a way to regenerate brain cells. Soon thereafter, he hears about an on-going hostage situation in one of Paris’s finest restaurants and decides that he wants to be there to get a good story. Needless to say, the French authorities are not cooperative but he is able to speak to some of the people inside. Later he is contacted by Rupert Cohen, a very strange man who works in a US Intelligence agency but is disgusted with the work and claims the department is falling apart.
The next day he learns that the entire hostage incident was staged by a group of African politicians and middlemen who thought they were being shortchanged and wanted more money. It was a way for the government to pay money to have the people go away while picking up some of it for themselves and others involved in the plot. The African network was operated by a clever old gentleman, one of France's most senior politicians. What he gathered from Africa was the black fund from which people could draw when they need cash.

French bribery of Chinese officials developing new weapons to get the contract was the great truth of the 1990s: The world is run by organized criminals… [foreigners] slipped governments into the hands of private organizations in New York, private currency traders have more power over the dollar than the Federal Reserve, the Russian Mafia has more power than the Army. Mexican druglords have more power than the president. In Japan, the politicians are just a front; the real powers held by corporations and the mob.

Truell gets sucked into this world as he tries to research his stories and some of his sources try to recruit him.

Like many print newspapers, The New York Mirror is facing major financial problems. Partly because of the internet, fewer people were reading it and advertising revenue had decreased dramatically. Staff members were being let go, advertisers influenced what was printed and special sections were devoted to them. Many of the papers that survived turned to electronic versions either entirely or as supplements. That opened the way for unscrupulous reporters to manipulate the stock market.

Interesting observation:

We're all shaped and misshaped by the experiences of our childhoods. Mine was happy enough and uncomplicated, which was itself a kind of burden – the burden of lightness. People with emotional scars know they have to be wary; they learn to ration their passions; they know what will hurt them. Nothing in my childhood taught me those lessons.

This book was written during the Clinton administration. In it, Ignatius presents a discussion about the role of the First Lady in lobbying for social legislation. The politically-connected men kept interrupting one another to talk about the political costs and benefits for the president. The First Lady, trying to be part of the group, doesn’t fit the traditional pattern:

You guys don't get it, this is the baseball game. The First Lady doesn't think that way. She doesn't worry about her husband's reelection, any more that you cares whether her husband think she looks cute. This is a woman with larger ambitions. She wants to be great that's why she's causing everyone problems.

This attitude and situation were very prominent in the 2016 election. While it describes Hillary Clinton, probably the most qualified candidate in decades, it still hindered her campaign. On the other side, her lack of experience and questionable actions did not stop Ivanka Trump from being involved in high level talks.

A FIRING OFFENSE discusses whether or not to report about the mental health of a presidential candidate during the primary season. He had experienced a nervous breakdown previously and was taking a strong anti-depressant. Around that time the book was written, a vice-presidential candidate facing a similar situation was dropped from the ticket when the story hit the media. The media ignored Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s as well as the sexual exploits of several Presidents and Congressional representatives. Today, many voters and elected officials don’t really care about such things.

The question Bazy had put to me was not really a choice. My ambitions laid a different direction from what he proposed. If I see more clearly what lay ahead, I made a different choice, but I don't think so. Even the most grievous center, facing excommunication, doesn't wish for the certainty of damnation.

Former columnists for many years have been helpful to the CIA especially for recovery operations. The wisest course would be for them to meet privately with the Director of CIA and the President and demand that the rules be changed so that a journalist would never again be subject to the intolerable risks and temptations that destroyed Eric Truell.

Arthur took money from French intelligence. Probably add up to millions of dollars over the years.… He worked for gangsters who leaned on him to cook stories which you ran.

A FIRING OFFENSE is very well-written and organized. It raises many issues that are still pertinent. I found an incongruity: At one point Truell said that “on the seat next to me was a stack of scientific papers my new aide had gathered, summarizing, the latest developments in neurobiology. 48 hours before, I had known absolutely nothing about these subjects.” Two paragraphs later we learn “my father is a professor of medicine at the University of California at Davis.” It’s hard to believe Truell didn’t know quite a bit about medicine while he was growing up.