Atomic Blonde: The Coldest City

Dark and gritty visuals as well as ‘plane jane' characters give it what was most likely a more accurate picture to the business than James Bond movies portray. More like [a:Mick Herron 1237964 Mick Herron https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1512920134p2/1237964.jpg]'s [b:Slow Horses 7929891 Slow Horses (Slough House, #1) Mick Herron https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410800211l/7929891.SY75.jpg 11252875] and [a:John le Carré 1411964 John le Carré https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1606816199p2/1411964.jpg]'s [b:Smiley's People 18999 Smiley's People (George Smiley, #7; Karla Trilogy, #3) John le Carré https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348407722l/18999.SY75.jpg 2144486].And I do wonder if the spies in the field were mostly this old? Or was it more of a “young man's game” as the movie portrays.Regardless, the plot is definitely convoluted and requires multiple read thrus to grasp the logic along the way, much like the above mentioned series.

I can't say that I really enjoyed this, though I was expecting that I would, and I'm willing to accept that it's a case of just not being my cup of tea.

I don't generally need to have my hand held, but I found the plot quite difficult to follow and that largely comes down to the artwork. I thought it was stylish and at times quite striking, but sometimes there just wasn't enough visual information to follow who was talking, which character was which, or where things were taking place. There just wasn't enough detail sometimes to distinguish all the who-what-where-why-how's of things, and it was just incredibly frustrating to me.

I don't mind doing some work when reading, like guessing plot twists or picking up on breadcrumbs I may have missed, but I don't enjoy having to do work just to figure out who's talking right now. I think it was a case of the style being more important than serving the story.

I haven't seen the movie, so I have nothing to compare it to. I'll likely still see it, as it looks like it has action to burn, and perhaps (if it's even similar at all) I will find it easier to follow the plot. I also question the choice to republish it under “Atomic Blonde”. I think they could have published the movie tie-in without re-titling it. While I understand the impulse to cash in on the movie, in the end I don't think it serves the book, as she is neither blonde nor particularly atomic. As far as espionage stories go, this was actually quite sedate.

At any rate, I can't recommend this, but if you're into espionage and spy stories, it's a short read so maybe give it a go.