How to Train a Spy by B.W. Leavitt is
an exciting espionage novel that gives the reader an uncommon and fascinating
character. The novel focuses on Brian Lewis, a correctional officer in the New
York State whose life is just like that of many regular Americans: he has a
good job, a family, and the daily life with its mundane routine. However, when
two federal agents come to question him in the middle of the night, the world
of Brian is plunged into the world of secrets, intricacy, and foreign threats.
The novel
starts with a shocking experience that prefigures all the subsequent things.
Baffled and stunned, Brian is taken down to a city and into an undetectable
intelligence center. It is here that he is informed of something that will
alter his life forever: he has been chosen to take part in a very high-profile
mission where he has to train in specifications, keep a secret and complete
personal sacrifice.
The most
interesting element about the story of Brian is that he does not view himself
as a hero. He is a man who appreciates responsibility, a husband, and a father.
The feeling of his emotional struggle is evident as he struggles with the
repercussions of taking the mission. One of the most emotionally touching
moments of the novel turns out to be a month-long RV trip with his family,
which is like a bitter sweet goodbye in the pretext of rejoining the military.
After Brian
makes a commitment, he starts being transformed in a process of hard, realistic
training. Whether it is weapons and surveillance, escape techniques or managing
identity, his training is very detailed and well established using real-life
intelligence methodology. Instead of embracing all the skills at once, Brian
strives, adjusts and evolves, and that is good to show that he is not born with
courage, which is developed under the influence of hard work.
The very
mission lays Brian in the middle of the international tension. When sent to
penetrate a secret Russian-Iranian black site facility developing an
electromagnetic weapon, he is required to adopt the aspects of a Russian
military officer and keep his actions under wraps. The stakes are very high not
only to him but also to the security of the world. Accompanied by Jasmine, an
Iranian spy who masquerades as his wife, Brian manages to live in the world
where a single word, action, choice can make him known.
The most thrilling part of the trip of Brian is possibly his life-threatening escape that is organized by means of a fake demise that will be used to dupe not only the Russian authorities but also a spy network. As the agent sees his own death play out, it haunts him with the price he must pay as an espionage agent.
The novel
shows conclusively when Brian, after a long time, returns to the United States
to receive debriefing that missions are not terminated by an end to the danger.
The psychological effect, the secrecy as well as the uncertainty regarding the
future remain long after the assignment is through. But it is this complexity
that makes his journey amazing.
Comments
Post a Comment