Vous voulez voir cette page en fran�ais ? Cliquez ici.

4 used from CDN$ 28.09

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

See larger image

Share your own customer images

Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Empire State (Paperback)

by Henry Porter (Author)

2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

4 used from CDN$ 28.09

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Remembrance Day

by Henry Porter

4.0 out of 5 stars (4) CDN$ 10.44

Spys Life

by Henry Porter

4.0 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 9.89

Dying Light

by Henry Porter

4.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 15.72

Brandenburg Gate

by Henry Porter

4.0 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 12.36

Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel

2.0 out of 5 stars (7) CDN$ 12.50

› Explore similar items

Product Details

Paperback: 464 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0752857878
ISBN-13: 978-0752857879

Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

With Empire State Henry Porter continues his reinvention of the traditional British spy thriller. This is, in places, in the tradition of Buchan--high adventure in exotic places--and yet entirely lacks the sexism and racism of Buchan at his worst; Le Carre is an important influence, but the scepticism about British policy, let alone American, is even more radically sceptical than Le Carre at his most cynical.

The death of a presidential adviser, the murder of an airport worker at Heathrow and the mass killing of a band of immigrant workers trying to cross into Macedonia all prove part of the same complex intrigue. Harland, who dominated Porter's A Spy's Life gets involved less because of his prowess than because his back injuries have led him to a fashionable osteopath who proves complexly important.

In London, canny intelligence woman Isis deals with office intrigue, and with such technicalities as DNA samples from the insides of computer keyboards before haring off to islands in the Nile. What Porter is best at, and what we effectively get here, is just this--that sense of hard, clever legwork followed by bursts of violent action and desperate revelations. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

2.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and Awkward, May 25 2004

By	Robert J. Lusk (Moncton, New Brunswick) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire State (Paperback)

I am almost finished reading Empire State and it has really been a struggle to get this far. I am still waiting for some type of connection between the opening attack and the subsequent events. But having just read another review of this book, I am not sure I will find one.

The maze of British intelligence services and their various personnel is confusing and quite difficult to follow. And the heroine Isis Herrick, who is suppose to be the "best of best", continually screws up at almost every step along the way.

But what I find most annoying is the author's apparent ignorance of how North Americans speak. The phraseology used by American characters just doesn't cut it. When one American puts some money in another's pocket to pay him off, he says "Here is a little something to be going on". Maybe in England but on this side of the pond it would be something like "Here is a little something for your efforts". There are many other such instances which make the characters seem artificial.

But I will perserve to the end and just maybe by then it will all make sense.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1.0 out of 5 stars Not in the Same League, Dec 11 2003

By	Michael Olson (Victoria, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Empire State (Paperback)

Empire State is a dreadful book - devoid of suspense, with a muddled plot and a cast of cardboard characters who communicate chiefly via cell-phones and laptop computers. Instead of compelling action, we are subjected to endless exposition describing foreign intrigues, whose significance the reader can only guess at. Even the connection between the opening attack and the events that follow is unclear. What did it accomplish? Was it a diversion? Who done it? You got me.

According to the cover blurb, Robert Harland, the hero of A Spy's Life, returns in Empire State, assisted by female MI6 officer, Isis Herrick. In fact, Herrick is clearly the center of this novel, whereas Harland, relegated to infrequent walk-on's, is hobbled throughout by indecision and chronic back pain. As for the book's sole romantic encounter, it is a tepid interlude, over before it begins. I guess even spies grow old.

If Empire State is "an espionage thriller for the new millennium", then give me back the cold war. In Mr. Porter's brave new world, the Americans and the Brits are ever at each other's throats, the bad guys' intentions are murky at best and the confusing array of British Intelligence Services (SIS, MI5, MI6, etc.) persist in wasting their time in-fighting.

I recently reread Porter's first book, Remembrance Day. Now there was a real thriller: suspense and action galore, good locales, minimal gadgetry, believable protagonists and very nasty villains. A Spy's Life was a notable come-down from that book, and Empire State is not in the same league at all.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 2 customer reviews...