Customer Reviews

Eye of the Needle

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hitler must ultimately decide what threats are real and when. He relies on the one man he knows can accomplish the task of finding out the truth. So he sends to England "The Needle" a deep cover spy who is so confident that he does not let the intermediate folk get in his way. Any that do do not live to tell about it.

First, they have to believe that he actually exists. Then they have to find him. It they can find him, can they stop him?

Yes, the story is intriguing. Yet it is the people interaction (loyalty, love, and credibility) and the attitude of "The Needle" that make the story. Ultimately, the question is "Will he succeed and what effect will this have on future generations of those who knew him?"

Eye of the Needle

Ken Follet's Eye of the Needle was an extraordinary book about a German spy named Faber, who knows the greatest secret of the Allies. If he gets the information to Hitler than the war is most likely to be won by the Nazis.

It is a race between Faber and many intelligent Allies. Two of them, Godliman and Bloggs have traced back many murders and crimes to Faber and are always close to catching him but somehow he always finds a way to escape. They both know that The Needle, Faber's codename, is very important and close to Hitler because he ends his letters with , Regards to Willi.
Which most spies would never be that casual with their leaders.

Follet also tells the story of two of the important people following Faber. Godliman was a professor before the war started and throughout the search for Faber he remembers seeing him somewhere when he was younger. Bloggs is young and has just lost his wife in a bombing. He blames every Nazi for this and will doing anything to find and kill Faber.

Follet also tells of a young couple who are living their lives on a small cozy island with their son while all of this is going on. David, the husband, was going to fly a plane for the allies but got in a car accident and lost his legs. They both act happy when visitors come but Lucy, David's wife, knows there is something missing between them.

The Needle ruthlessly kills anyone that gets in between him and the Fuehrer. He even kills people on his own side. That is the reason, though, that thousands of people are looking for him but no one can find him. Follett adds an interesting pattern at the ends of the chapters that The Needle kills someone end with the phrase "You saw my face."

You do find out he has a heart, though, at the end of his mission when he crashes on a lonely island. For once, he hesitates to kill someone.

This book is definitely a page-turner and has a very intense plot filled with adventure, suspense, and romance. It keeps you interested from the very first page to the very last.

Follett has written a very well-paced adventure novel that focuses more on the villainous Nazi spy than it does on the good guys: which is probably for the best since his action is more interesting anyway, especially when he meets a feisty farmer's wife on a storm battered island. Not only does the spy cold-heartedly kill his landlady, and stiletto countless other hapless Brits--he cuckolds a cripple and kills a dog! I'll never like Nazis again.

Eye of The Needle is a super-great WWII spy thriller that takes place in England right before D-Day. The Germans have had spies planted in England since before the War started. The British have slowly but surely been catching them. Now they have come across Germany's #1 spy and he is bound and determined to make it back to Germany at all cost with Allied top secret information that will change the course of the war! This book will keep you at the edge of your seat throughout the whole story. This was my first book that I've read from Ken Follett. I have already ordered all of his other WWII books; I can't wait!!!

I am used to his epics Pillars of the Earth (which I read twice) and World without end, and do enjoy his work overall. This is a page turner and suspenseful through out the book, but was a bit disappointed with its sappy ending (last page), which I have found in a couple of his books. Had he left out the last couple of pages, it would have deserved 5 stars. He may be hopelessly romantic, but espionage is espionage and if you are looking for a silly, over the top romantic book, you can buy Danielle Steele or Harlequin. Or you can watch an old cheesy 007 movie with Sean Connery. Silly romance and happy endings have no place in espionage!

This is the fourth Follett book I've read. The first was Pillars of the Earth, followed by A Place CAlled Freedom, followed by A Dangerous Fortune.

While I didn't like this one as much as the others it was still a good read. Strong characters, a villain you love to hate, true to life situations and relationships all make this book an interesting one.

The setting and circumstances are very plausible. Could the success or failure of one of Hitler's most trusted spies turn the tides of the second world war?

The ending was definetly worth the whole entire read. I recommend this one for spy thriller and follett fans alike.

Ken Follett's novels are particularly well suited to reading on trains and aeroplanes. They are short, easy reads which easily survive the interruptions inherent in those surroundings.

This novel fits the mold perfectly - the characters are more or less drawn from the stock characters of action/adventure/intrigue stories - the icy cold and thoroughly competent enemy spy, the intellectual, professorial good guy who somehow manages to stay one step behind the spy throughout the story, and the beautiful and thoroughly unqualified female who implausibly saves the day at the last minute.

The general plot is that a German spy has discovered the disinformation campaign that the Allies are using to divert attention from the preparation for D-Day. There is a race to capture or kill him before he can communicate the information to his masters in Berlin.

The book is the literary equivalent of a candy bar. It's not intellectually nourishing or nutritious, but it's a great way to kill some time.

This spy story is really thrilling. "The Needle" is a German spy in Great Britain during World War 2. Many times he's nearly caught by the British, but because of his cleverness he always finds a way to escape. Sometimes you forget he's a killer, a Nazi.
Follet knows how to produce tension. A spy is never safe and everybody can be an emeny.
Follett barely shows the human sides of this spy. But "the Needle" not infailable, the end shows it very clearly.

The Second World War is roaring and the allies have a problem a spie is lose and he knows there greatest secret. Ken Follett shines in this book of wits and deception. I do not read many mystery books but i am glad I read this one. The book kept me on the edge of my seat and the two stories in the book felt like they were two trains on a collision course. I would recomend this book to people who like thier books to take them for a ride.

a good read, typical follet. some of the other books are better though (i highly suggest them.)