Harry's Game

by Gerald Seymour

Book Overview

Back in paperback after years out of print, Harry's Game, the novel that defined the career of master espionage writer Gerald Seymour, is a deadly hide-and-seek between two killers. One is a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394499026
• ISBN13: 9780394499024
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

beginning of something special

This is Seymours first novel. A former reporter, his work often resembles that of Frederick Forsyths early work in terms of accuracy and subject matter. His novels visit hot spots around the world and are well written and exciting thrillers. For my money, this is the best novel about IRA terrorism ever, but also one of the best suspense novels regardless of the subject. The plot is uniformly excellent throughout and the ending hits you right in the gut. Be forwarned! Seymour tells it like it is. In his novels, those who live by violence will often pay the price whichever side of the battle they are on. After this ,Seymour followed it with the excellent "The Glory Boys" made into a movie with Anthony Perkins. Check it out, it's a pretty good flick and better novel.

Amazing

There can be no truly objective novel, or book for that matter about Northern Ireland. With that in mind, Gerald Seymour comes as close as possible to writing a "neutral" novel- in my opinion. Nothing here is black and white. The British protagonist and his prey are portrayed with equal humanity. With that in mind, this book makes my top Spy Novel List (Kim, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and The Honourable Schoolboy). Not only is this novel taut and tense, but the tradecraft squares with non-fiction published accounts of the "secret war" in Northern Ireland. What pushes this book above and beyond a great many spy novels is the intense understanding that the author has about guerilla warfare. His experience as a journalist in several British small wars, including the heat of NI's most intense period, shows. I've read turgid Ivory Tower tracts on the subject that lack Seymour's understanding... This novel transcends genre, and is more informed and intellectual than the majority of spy novels you've ever read. I highly recommend it.

Compelling Reading

This was the first Gerald Seymour book read by me, and a few years ago it was too. If my memory serves me correct this was his first, or one of his first books. I thoroughly enjoyed Harry's Game, concerning the IRA and it's struggle with the English. It's certainly not as polished as his later offerings, but Seymour still manages to grip you with his ability to get into the underbelly that was and is the Irish conflict. An interesting read for fans of Seymour who haven't explored his early offerings, and a gound sound read for all. Recommended.

Very good

As a native of Belfast, I have never found anyone who captures the essence of the place at the time of maximum IRA activity (hopefully now forever past) as well as Gerald Seymour. This helps makes the unlikely premise of the story quite convincing as well as exciting. And Seymour doesn't demonise or canonise anyone, leaving things as shades of grey and showing us that terrorists are ordinary men with extraordinary convictions. Still, I'd have appreciated knowing more about what drove Harry to put his neck on the line in this way.