| Title | : | Marco Polo, If You Can (Blackford Oakes Novel) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1888952113 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781888952117 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 268 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1981 |
When a shadowy Russian mole threatens to undermine the free world's defenses by infiltrating President Eisenhower's National Security Counsel, CIA super-secret agent Blackford Oakes is called in to unmask the imposter. Then, Oakes turns the tables on the Communists by piloting a U-2 spy plane on a Gary Powers-style one-way mission behind the Iron Curtain. Sentenced to death and trapped in the depths of the Lubyanka prison, Oakes may have turned his last trick. Or has he?
Marco Polo, If You Can (Blackford Oakes Novel) Reviews
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I think I may try other Bradford Oakes mysteries by Buckley. This fourth of the series gave a taste of Cold War espionage circa 1960. I wish I was more informed because Bill Buckley is very witty. For example, Bradford Oakes is reading one of Buckley's nonfiction books and his mind keeps wandering (but that's "no fault of Buckley's"). I'm sure I missed a lot of other enjoyable references. This espionage tale was not a suspense novel, but interesting for what it revealed about the complicated world of the spy, which Buckley had experience with. The book was easy to follow, which made it a good choice for an audio book while driving to and from work (some spy stories and mysteries require too much attention to follow while driving -- on the other hand, maybe I missed some of the humor and references because Buckley is such a deft writer).
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Oakes is a Mary Sue and the plotting isn't impressive. What brings me back is the way that Buckley invokes the 1950s and 1960s.
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Another solid entry in the Blackford Oakes series, Buckley successful at finding just the right places for realism and fantasy. I enjoy these as “secret histories” as well as historical espionage novels. Buckley’s politics do find their way into the story a bit too much here, and Oakes’s amorous adventures at this point are dull, repetitive, and gratuitous. The novel ends with the conflict fizzling out but Buckley performs a bit of a magic trick by placing us inside the mind and prayers of a man waiting to be executed in a soviet prison. This is the only time I’ve read a spy novel where the protagonist prayed. A fun and well crafted page turner with plenty of Buckley’s wit and gift of phrase, but my least favourite Oakes novel so far.
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Interesting. I've had this book on my shelves for decades before finally cracking it open. I'd never heard of Blackford Oakes, and wasn't expecting this to be an espionage thriller. Given the title, I half-expected a nonfiction telling of Buckley's own travels. I was pleasantly surprised.
It's a sturdy enough thriller, with an unexpected amount of sexual content. Buckley comes off as a more plausible Ian Fleming, and Oakes as a more realistic Bond. The greatest feat Buckley pulls off is fitting this story into the real geopolitics of the Cold War, working in several real-life luminaries as characters (evidently, not for the first time in this series). I'm intrigued enough to go looking for the rest now. -
At the time I read these novels (the late 1980's and early 1990's), I found them to be pretty good... sort of a cross between Matt Helm and James Bond. Not quite up to Ian Fleming's standards, but not quite as dated by then either.
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I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a book I couldn't put down.
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A mild spy-hunt, acold war daydream of the US government turning espiocratic tables on the USSR. Buckley gives us twice the narrative of longer spy novels. Goes down smooth.
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In parts fantastic, in parts rather dull. Far from the best novel in the series.
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Read in 1983. Blackford Oaks inserts himself into the space race.
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Brilliant fun
I’m rereading all of these gems from Mr. Buckley and I find them even more brilliant and fun. They’re quick reads with a “can’t put down” element. -
2
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A little drier than the others in the series, but nothing should be taken away from Buckley's writing. Whether running away, being traded for, freelancing, spying, or anything else Blackford always finds a way to return home to dear ole Sally. The beginning as well as the ending were great. For some reason, the middle just seemed a bit of a bore this time.
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Read a bunch of Buckley's Oakes stories back in the '80's. I remember them all being pretty good, and this as the best of the bunch since I found the whole U-2 thing interesting. I haven't reread any of them since then, however, so have no idea how they're survived the test of time.
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I love the Cold War Era fiction by WFB. Surprisingly good plot.
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y copy is Published January 28th 1982 by Thorndike Press
Large Print, Hardcover, 414 pages -
This book is a mess. Read it only for the homoerotic bits. Pass.
