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Minotaur Books (2009), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 416 pages
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML: "There are tourists from all over the world. Most of them want to kill you."�The Black Book of Tourism In this contemporary international thriller that is reminiscent of John le Carr� and Graham Greene, Milo Weaver has tried to leave his old life of secrets and lies behind by giving up his job as a "tourist" for the CIA�an undercover agent with no home, no identity�and working a desk at the CIA's New York headquarters. But staying retired from the field becomes impossible when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into one of Milo's oldest colleagues and friends. Soon Milo is drawn into a conspiracy that links riots in the Sudan, an assassin committing suicide, and an old friend who's been accused of selling secrets to the Chinese. With new layers of intrigue being exposed in his old cases, and with the CIA and Homeland Security after him, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who's been pulling the strings once and for all. In The Tourist, Olen Steinhauer�twice nominated for the Edgar Award�tackles an intricate story of betrayal and manipulation, loyalty and risk, in an utterly compelling novel that is both thoroughly modern and yet also reminiscent of the espionage genre's most touted luminaries..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member BeckyJG
Espionage loves its jargon and its arcane techniques. The CIA is called The Company, by those who know. Spies practice tradecraft, which encompasses everything from how to designate, mark, and carry out a drop off to how properly to evade surveillance to how to communicate in code so that correct
And a tourist is an agent who has apparently flamed out and left the Company, or died, or gone rogue, but is actually working under deep cover in the darkest division of the most clandestine corner of the organization. Tourists are the guys who carry out assassinations, among other dark ops, for the Company.
Milo Weaver is a former tourist--now, he will discover when he gets back into the game, a legend--who has for half a decade been back in the States, working at a desk job for the Company. He's got a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn. He's as content as he's ever been, so it's inevitable that he will be sucked back into the game. With a vengeance.
The action takes Weaver across the United States and Europe: from Paris to Venice to Blackdale, Tennessee. There are flashbacks to the Cold War era, and Milo Weaver, in the end, has a most delicious and surprising secret.
Spy novels, even when they're indifferently written, are good, convoluted, difficult to follow fun. Olen Steinhauer's The Tourist, I'm happy to say, is well-written, deftly plotted, intelligent, and, well, still kind of difficult to follow...but that's part of the game, now, isn't it? If it were easy to follow, then we'd all be spies.
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information is being passed and--in the best of all possible worlds--disinformation is being passed at the same time.And a tourist is an agent who has apparently flamed out and left the Company, or died, or gone rogue, but is actually working under deep cover in the darkest division of the most clandestine corner of the organization. Tourists are the guys who carry out assassinations, among other dark ops, for the Company.
Milo Weaver is a former tourist--now, he will discover when he gets back into the game, a legend--who has for half a decade been back in the States, working at a desk job for the Company. He's got a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn. He's as content as he's ever been, so it's inevitable that he will be sucked back into the game. With a vengeance.
The action takes Weaver across the United States and Europe: from Paris to Venice to Blackdale, Tennessee. There are flashbacks to the Cold War era, and Milo Weaver, in the end, has a most delicious and surprising secret.
Spy novels, even when they're indifferently written, are good, convoluted, difficult to follow fun. Olen Steinhauer's The Tourist, I'm happy to say, is well-written, deftly plotted, intelligent, and, well, still kind of difficult to follow...but that's part of the game, now, isn't it? If it were easy to follow, then we'd all be spies.
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LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
After five, multi-award nominated crime fiction novels, Hungary based, American born novelist Olen Steinhauer has turned his hand to contemporary espionage in THE TOURIST.
The action in this book centres around Milo Weaver - CIA Agent, Tourist, father and husband. Starting out in 2001, Milo,
There are a number of elements in THE TOURIST that stand out. Milo, as a highly flawed, complicated central character in what is after all, an espionage novel, seems very realistic. A man with faults and flaws, he is poignantly aware of his own limitations - particularly when it comes to the ease with which he lives his professional life, compared to the way that he handles the personal. Obviously the situations in which he finds himself are not those which the average person is going to have to deal with, so a certain suspension of disbelief is going to be required on the part of the reader. There are some downsides to this characterisation however, the most notable one being the difficulty of focusing a great sense of moral and personal outrage, when the enemy is a little closer to home than would normally be the case. THE TOURIST gets into interesting territory in this area, a direction I found quite fascinating, but then I prefer the enemy to be less than straightforward. There's also a good sense of pace, with a nice sprinkling of rushing around, without it being too over the top. Mostly, however, there is a very elegant balancing of the tension, and the threat with some nice touches of reality, delivered with some very tongue in cheek humour. (What would be more hairy for your average burnt-out, long term spy - an encounter with a shadowy enemy or Disneyworld. Still can't decide!)
Where THE TOURIST may be slightly less satisfying for some readers is in the area of plot, where things are very busy. Lots of things happen, lots of characters (good and bad) come and go, and there's some question marks frequently on whether or not everything is / could / needs to be connected. Other readers may appreciate exactly this aspect. A spies life doesn't seem like one that would be tidy and neat, with one job wrapped up nicely and the paperwork done, before the next bad situation comes along. I liked the approach, and I particularly liked the way that Milo often had no idea what was happening, as well as me!
The element that ticked the biggest box for me, and the one that made THE TOURIST an interesting book was the portrayal of the mindsets of officialdom. Alongside the concept of the enemy within, perhaps more prevalent than an external threat, this gave considerable pause for thought.
The action in this book centres around Milo Weaver - CIA Agent, Tourist, father and husband. Starting out in 2001, Milo,
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nursing a serious pill-popping addiction and a strong desire to suicide in the line of duty, is in the middle of a botched attempt to stop a hitman. Flash forward 7 years and Milo's got a wife, a child, and a personal interest in tracking down the hitman behind that nearly fatal, and life changing encounter. Out of active duty and in a desk job since then, Milo wasn't expecting the "Tiger" to hand himself over voluntarily. A deathbed conversation with the Tiger turns Milo's perceptions upside down, and set him on a path unexpected.There are a number of elements in THE TOURIST that stand out. Milo, as a highly flawed, complicated central character in what is after all, an espionage novel, seems very realistic. A man with faults and flaws, he is poignantly aware of his own limitations - particularly when it comes to the ease with which he lives his professional life, compared to the way that he handles the personal. Obviously the situations in which he finds himself are not those which the average person is going to have to deal with, so a certain suspension of disbelief is going to be required on the part of the reader. There are some downsides to this characterisation however, the most notable one being the difficulty of focusing a great sense of moral and personal outrage, when the enemy is a little closer to home than would normally be the case. THE TOURIST gets into interesting territory in this area, a direction I found quite fascinating, but then I prefer the enemy to be less than straightforward. There's also a good sense of pace, with a nice sprinkling of rushing around, without it being too over the top. Mostly, however, there is a very elegant balancing of the tension, and the threat with some nice touches of reality, delivered with some very tongue in cheek humour. (What would be more hairy for your average burnt-out, long term spy - an encounter with a shadowy enemy or Disneyworld. Still can't decide!)
Where THE TOURIST may be slightly less satisfying for some readers is in the area of plot, where things are very busy. Lots of things happen, lots of characters (good and bad) come and go, and there's some question marks frequently on whether or not everything is / could / needs to be connected. Other readers may appreciate exactly this aspect. A spies life doesn't seem like one that would be tidy and neat, with one job wrapped up nicely and the paperwork done, before the next bad situation comes along. I liked the approach, and I particularly liked the way that Milo often had no idea what was happening, as well as me!
The element that ticked the biggest box for me, and the one that made THE TOURIST an interesting book was the portrayal of the mindsets of officialdom. Alongside the concept of the enemy within, perhaps more prevalent than an external threat, this gave considerable pause for thought.
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
It didn't live up to the John le Carre / Len Deighton hype. Although even they can be somewhat disappointing.
An espionage novel about a somewhat disaffected CIA blacks ops operative -- named a "Tourist" -- who goes from the field, to a desk job, and then returns to the field. The characters are
That said, it was a decent read and I look forward to what will evidently be a movie with George Clooney. But I don't think I'll be reading the sequel anytime soon.
An espionage novel about a somewhat disaffected CIA blacks ops operative -- named a "Tourist" -- who goes from the field, to a desk job, and then returns to the field. The characters are
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reasonably cliched, the plot is not overly inventive, and the action is mediocre. It straddles between the world of intricate and realistic tradecraft and Jason Bourne.That said, it was a decent read and I look forward to what will evidently be a movie with George Clooney. But I don't think I'll be reading the sequel anytime soon.
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LibraryThing member fordbarbara
Should make a great movie - George Clooney bought the rights
LibraryThing member iBeth
Both plot and characterization were highly engaging. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about world-weary spies.
But one plot device falls flat, and it is utterly unworthy of this book: the "Christian Scientist" assassin. As a former CS raised in the religion, I can state
The basics of the CS plot device: an assassin who is a Christian Scientist is injected with HIV, and because Christian Scientists don't use medicine, the assassin dies, even though he could have lived many years by taking the anti-HIV drugs.
What Steinhauer gets right: He correctly states that the characters' parents were members of the "Church of Christ, Scientist" (rather than "Christian Science Church"). To quibble: real Christian Scientists would belong to a particular church, e.g., "First Church of Christ, Scientist, Somerville, Massachusetts," but maybe in the universe of the story the CIA wasn't specific. Also, Steinhauer's assassin quotes Mary Baker Eddy. Real Christian Scientists do like to quote Mary Baker Eddy.
However, Steinhauer grabbed weird MBE quotes, not passages that a Christian Scientist in extremis would actually quote. And in doing so, he distorts the entire point of CS theology.
The assassin quotes, "The Science of Christianity makes pure the fountain, in order to purify the stream," and explains that "Faith talks you into doing things you might not want to do." He continues, "I may not have lived up to the Church's tenets, but I'll certainly die by them. God has seen fit to strike me down--and why wouldn't He? If I were him, I would've done it years ago." And still later, "The power of prayer didn't save my body, but it just might save my soul."
The assassin clearly believes that his suffering and death were sent by God as punishment for sin. He hopes to be purified through prayer so that his soul can be saved. Nothing could be more foreign to a CS. A devout CS believes that sickness is just a delusion. The more you admit the reality of the delusion, the less likely that you can dispel it and claim your true existence as a healthy child of God. Hence, CSs refuse medical treatment, not because they're reluctant to interfere with God's decisions, but because accepting medical treatment requires them to believe sickness exists.
(Similarly, I've known CSs to refuse to wear seatbelts: when you wear a seatbelt, you admit that an accident can happen, and therefore make it more likely that you'll experience an accident.)
A devout CS would never intimate that God sent sickness--the "belief" of sickness is instead a human failure to recognize that God does no such thing. In fact, CSs believe that Jesus didn't have to suffer and die on the cross--He only pretended to suffer and die and be resurrected in order to demonstrate that suffering and death are unreal. A devout CS who was dying of AIDS would turn to popular MBE quotes, not random quotes, probably MBE's Scientific Statement of Being ("There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in Matter . . . ") And a devout CS would go to his death expecting to be healed at any moment.
OK, so maybe the guy was just a staggeringly lousy CS, so lousy that he misunderstood the entire theology. But it's a shame--because an assassin who truly believes in the unreality of death would be an awesome character. Such an assassin could justify murdering people because "death isn't real anyway." Yes, that would be twisted--CSs don't go around murdering people--but hey, if you're going to create a CS assassin, why not take advantage of the CS "death is unreal" belief? Steinhauer missed a great opportunity.
I realize that this review concerns a teensy part of the book, but you have all these other great reviews to give you a picture of the whole thing.
But one plot device falls flat, and it is utterly unworthy of this book: the "Christian Scientist" assassin. As a former CS raised in the religion, I can state
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unequivocally that Olen Steinhauer knows absolutely nothing about the religion. And that's a shame, because not only do the errors mar an otherwise excellent book, but a real Christian Scientist would have made a great assassin. The basics of the CS plot device: an assassin who is a Christian Scientist is injected with HIV, and because Christian Scientists don't use medicine, the assassin dies, even though he could have lived many years by taking the anti-HIV drugs.
What Steinhauer gets right: He correctly states that the characters' parents were members of the "Church of Christ, Scientist" (rather than "Christian Science Church"). To quibble: real Christian Scientists would belong to a particular church, e.g., "First Church of Christ, Scientist, Somerville, Massachusetts," but maybe in the universe of the story the CIA wasn't specific. Also, Steinhauer's assassin quotes Mary Baker Eddy. Real Christian Scientists do like to quote Mary Baker Eddy.
However, Steinhauer grabbed weird MBE quotes, not passages that a Christian Scientist in extremis would actually quote. And in doing so, he distorts the entire point of CS theology.
The assassin quotes, "The Science of Christianity makes pure the fountain, in order to purify the stream," and explains that "Faith talks you into doing things you might not want to do." He continues, "I may not have lived up to the Church's tenets, but I'll certainly die by them. God has seen fit to strike me down--and why wouldn't He? If I were him, I would've done it years ago." And still later, "The power of prayer didn't save my body, but it just might save my soul."
The assassin clearly believes that his suffering and death were sent by God as punishment for sin. He hopes to be purified through prayer so that his soul can be saved. Nothing could be more foreign to a CS. A devout CS believes that sickness is just a delusion. The more you admit the reality of the delusion, the less likely that you can dispel it and claim your true existence as a healthy child of God. Hence, CSs refuse medical treatment, not because they're reluctant to interfere with God's decisions, but because accepting medical treatment requires them to believe sickness exists.
(Similarly, I've known CSs to refuse to wear seatbelts: when you wear a seatbelt, you admit that an accident can happen, and therefore make it more likely that you'll experience an accident.)
A devout CS would never intimate that God sent sickness--the "belief" of sickness is instead a human failure to recognize that God does no such thing. In fact, CSs believe that Jesus didn't have to suffer and die on the cross--He only pretended to suffer and die and be resurrected in order to demonstrate that suffering and death are unreal. A devout CS who was dying of AIDS would turn to popular MBE quotes, not random quotes, probably MBE's Scientific Statement of Being ("There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in Matter . . . ") And a devout CS would go to his death expecting to be healed at any moment.
OK, so maybe the guy was just a staggeringly lousy CS, so lousy that he misunderstood the entire theology. But it's a shame--because an assassin who truly believes in the unreality of death would be an awesome character. Such an assassin could justify murdering people because "death isn't real anyway." Yes, that would be twisted--CSs don't go around murdering people--but hey, if you're going to create a CS assassin, why not take advantage of the CS "death is unreal" belief? Steinhauer missed a great opportunity.
I realize that this review concerns a teensy part of the book, but you have all these other great reviews to give you a picture of the whole thing.
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LibraryThing member johnbsheridan
A little disappointing as it started so well but unraveled towards the end. Initially would have compared positively to "The Cleaner" by Brett Battles which treads similar ground but was undone by its MacGyver-ish tendencies. The central character is convincing in all the different aspects he is
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called upon to play and the book functions best with him at the centre of the action. Things deteriorate when he is sidelined and storyline concentrates on other characters explaining or unveiling occurrences. This ultimately leads to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Show Less
LibraryThing member MSWallack
I don't mind dark and moody spy novels; after all, I love Quiller and nothing is darker or moodier. But in the course of a dark and moody spy novel, you need a hero (or anti-hero) that you care about. Milo Weaver is not that guy. Far too often Milo or another character tells the reader that Milo
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just isn't that special at his job and his moodiness saps energy from the story. I don't mind his reticence to provide information to the reader (especially as it adds to the story; again, see Quiller), but what Milo does tell the reader is too often in the nature of 'woe is me'. I was bored, frankly. Show Less
LibraryThing member norinrad10
This was an enjoyable read though Danial Silva still does it better. Early on I was swept up in the story and then things got so convoluted that they just went flat. However, the last few chapters did sweep me up again. I envision much stronger episodes in the future.
LibraryThing member shaososa
Steinhauer proves he is a masterful storyteller. The Tourist has everything you need in a spy tale: clever and charismatic heroes, ruthless goverment bureaucrats, double and triple crosses galore, and a snappy pace to keep it all together. Bravo.
LibraryThing member halta
this book came highly reco'd by librarian @ sci fi bookstore in rutland vt....looked good ...especially after reading the The dragon gal tatoo trilogy....foreign author translated i believe...took me a bit to get thru it...Milo Weaver super spy with baggage and dilemna's galore...mystery
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upbringing...some twists...found it a rather slow read till the end (maybe the finish line in site?).... Show Less
LibraryThing member neddludd
The author makes the mistake of confusing plot complexity with authenticity. The book requires attention to follow who is double-crossing who--and why. The main character jumps from city to city, from violent act to violent act, and yet the narrative is not especially exciting. The conclusion is
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unsatisfying as well, and his family relations are not integrated as well as they could be. Disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member Philogos
Another cheating author. Milo's family connections provide a (completely) implausible 'get out of jail free' card. This guy is CIA agent, for goodness' sake and they haven't vetted his family background? Give us a break. More or less continuous action doesn't compensate for the arbitrary plotting.
LibraryThing member everfresh1
Good plot. I thought if you don't go into details the plot in general actually makes sense. It's just smaller details that defy beliefs. Entertaining.
LibraryThing member mr.mcox
When I picked up this book, I was expecting a change of pace from what I've been reading recently, but I had no hopes for it being a novel I truly enjoyed. I remarked to myself early on that it was decently interesting, but that I'd likely steadily plod through it for a month or so. A day later, I
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realized that I had finished nearly a third of it and soon after it became difficult to put down. Unlike other spies that I've read about or seen on the screen, Milo Weaver has no super powers (mental or otherwise), and you can almost see how one could be in his position if circumstances lined up and they had the will to do so. Steinhauer walks that fine line between believability and intrigue that enables you to connect with the characters, yet still be surprised at the turn of the chapter. I didn't expect Milo Weaver to take me anywhere, but I may just yet follow him into another book. Show Less
LibraryThing member dougwood57
Having wrapped up his five-book series of detective stories based in an unidentified country in Eastern Europe (see The Confession (Inspector Ferenc Kolyeszar)), Olen Steinhauer kicks off a new 3-book series focused on a former "Tourist" (read CIA hit man) Milo Weaver.
Weaver has retired from the
Steinhauer gives us a bit of fun by exploring the interplay between US Homeland Security and the CIA. He also offers an possibility that rings true: when Homeland Security was created every one of the various spook and law enforcement agencies made sure to plant spies within the new agency. Steinhauer does spend time exploring the way the US deals with terrorist suspects: presumed guilty and tortured until proven so by their own words.
Steinhauer writes honest-to-goodness spy thrillers. It occurred to me as I burned through the pages of 'The Tourist' that for once a 'page-turner' really is. He deserves to be more widely read than he has been to date.
The book jacket claims the seemingly inevitable comparison to John Le Carre, but a more apt parallel is Robert Ludlum at the top of his game (you know, not including the books Ludlum has amazingly written after his death!). Milo Weaver reminds me much more of Jason Bourne (The Bourne Identity (Bourne Trilogy, Book 1)) than George Smiley. It would be extravagant to claim that Milo Weaver is a perfect blend of the two, but Steinhauer's Weaver is certainly a deeper, more self-aware character than Bourne. The Tourist is a highly recommended spy thriller.
Weaver has retired from the
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field and moved to managing other tourists after he crashed and burned while on an assignment six years ago. More recently the happily married Milo has been mysteriously been leaving for long business trips. It turns out he is on the trail of a notorious free agent bad guy, The Tiger. What the Tiger tells Milo sets a chain of events in motion that turns his life upside down. At about the same time, Milo is sent to investigate whether a close friend has been turned and if so, by whom? The Chinese? Islamic terrorists? Steinhauer gives us a bit of fun by exploring the interplay between US Homeland Security and the CIA. He also offers an possibility that rings true: when Homeland Security was created every one of the various spook and law enforcement agencies made sure to plant spies within the new agency. Steinhauer does spend time exploring the way the US deals with terrorist suspects: presumed guilty and tortured until proven so by their own words.
Steinhauer writes honest-to-goodness spy thrillers. It occurred to me as I burned through the pages of 'The Tourist' that for once a 'page-turner' really is. He deserves to be more widely read than he has been to date.
The book jacket claims the seemingly inevitable comparison to John Le Carre, but a more apt parallel is Robert Ludlum at the top of his game (you know, not including the books Ludlum has amazingly written after his death!). Milo Weaver reminds me much more of Jason Bourne (The Bourne Identity (Bourne Trilogy, Book 1)) than George Smiley. It would be extravagant to claim that Milo Weaver is a perfect blend of the two, but Steinhauer's Weaver is certainly a deeper, more self-aware character than Bourne. The Tourist is a highly recommended spy thriller.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
I picked this book up just by chance, thought that the publisher's blurb made it sound interesting and decided to try it. What a fortune decision! [[Stephen King]] is quoted on the cover as saying that this is the best spy thriller that he has read that wasn't written by [[John le Carre]]. I doubt
The principal character is Milo Weaver who, as the book opens is a "Tourist" (in effect a roving CIA agent with considerable licence to use any black ops means that he deems fit) working on a case in Venice, trying to track down an American Embassy official (and CIA operative) who has absconded with £3 million dollars. Having tracked him down to the palazzo of a former Soviet oligarch, Milo is himself shot. Inauspiciously, this happens on the morning of 11 September 2001.
Six years later Milo has more or less retired as a Tourist and is living a relatively placid life with his wife, Tina (encountered on the same day that he was shot), and precocious child Stephanie, but is called out of this sedate existence with the news that an international assassin (known as "The Tiger"), whom he had been trailing for years, had been arrested for a minor misdemeanour in one of the Southern states. Milo arrives at the police station where The Tiger is being held and gets to interview him. It is immediately apparent that The Tiger is very ill - ib fact he is in the later stages of HIV because, bizarrely, having been raised as a Christian Scientist, he would not take medication. (This was certainly one of the less plausible aspects of the story!)
He starts to tell Milo everything, and it emerges that he had deliberately engineered his arrest so that he could make this belated confession. He also alleges that he had himself been a contract agent for the CIA, and that many of his "hits" had been at the Agency's request. he also intimates that there are moles within the senior ranks of the Agency. His confessions are cut short when he dies in mid sentence. The rest of the book covers Milo's tribulations as he investigates the Tiger's claims.
This may all sound rather fanciful, and i am conscious that I may have made it seem rather trivial. However, the book is anything but trivial or fanciful, and the tension is kept at great tautness. Milo is an engaging character and has all sorts of personal issues, many of which impact significantly upon the plot. I certainly enjoyed it and will look eagerly for the rest of the series.
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whether I would go quite that far, but it was certainly an engrossing story, and the plot kept twisting and writhing in different directions all the way through.The principal character is Milo Weaver who, as the book opens is a "Tourist" (in effect a roving CIA agent with considerable licence to use any black ops means that he deems fit) working on a case in Venice, trying to track down an American Embassy official (and CIA operative) who has absconded with £3 million dollars. Having tracked him down to the palazzo of a former Soviet oligarch, Milo is himself shot. Inauspiciously, this happens on the morning of 11 September 2001.
Six years later Milo has more or less retired as a Tourist and is living a relatively placid life with his wife, Tina (encountered on the same day that he was shot), and precocious child Stephanie, but is called out of this sedate existence with the news that an international assassin (known as "The Tiger"), whom he had been trailing for years, had been arrested for a minor misdemeanour in one of the Southern states. Milo arrives at the police station where The Tiger is being held and gets to interview him. It is immediately apparent that The Tiger is very ill - ib fact he is in the later stages of HIV because, bizarrely, having been raised as a Christian Scientist, he would not take medication. (This was certainly one of the less plausible aspects of the story!)
He starts to tell Milo everything, and it emerges that he had deliberately engineered his arrest so that he could make this belated confession. He also alleges that he had himself been a contract agent for the CIA, and that many of his "hits" had been at the Agency's request. he also intimates that there are moles within the senior ranks of the Agency. His confessions are cut short when he dies in mid sentence. The rest of the book covers Milo's tribulations as he investigates the Tiger's claims.
This may all sound rather fanciful, and i am conscious that I may have made it seem rather trivial. However, the book is anything but trivial or fanciful, and the tension is kept at great tautness. Milo is an engaging character and has all sorts of personal issues, many of which impact significantly upon the plot. I certainly enjoyed it and will look eagerly for the rest of the series.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
Milo Weaver is a “Tourist,” that is, an “on-call” assassin for the CIA.
The action begins on September 10, 2001, shortly after Milo’s failed suicide attempt. He is addicted to amphetamines, has just botched an assignment to kill a hitman known as The Tiger, and has been wounded in the
We pick up with him six years later. He now has a desk job at the CIA, is married, and dotes on his stepdaughter. But desk work at the CIA isn't like ordinary desk work. When a series of complicated events leads to the death of Milo’s close friend - a CIA spy stationed in Paris, Milo not only believes the guilty party is his old nemesis The Tiger, but has himself been accused of his friend's death.
Rather than surrender to the Department of Homeland Security, Milo attempts to avoid capture while he seeks to prove his own innocence. In the ensuing fast-paced chase and game of mirrors that showcases the nature of the spy world since 9/11, Milo learns there is no one he can trust absolutely, except his own family. As Milo avoids capture with clever ruses that leave little for his pursuers to discover, the reader is treated to a great deal of contemporary “spy craft.”
Evaluation: Steinhauer’s writing is crisp, but not as literate as LeCarre’s. (But that is not a severe criticism.) The Tourist is the first book in a trilogy, and was a good enough page-turner to make me want to read the other two.
(JAB)
The action begins on September 10, 2001, shortly after Milo’s failed suicide attempt. He is addicted to amphetamines, has just botched an assignment to kill a hitman known as The Tiger, and has been wounded in the
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shootout. We pick up with him six years later. He now has a desk job at the CIA, is married, and dotes on his stepdaughter. But desk work at the CIA isn't like ordinary desk work. When a series of complicated events leads to the death of Milo’s close friend - a CIA spy stationed in Paris, Milo not only believes the guilty party is his old nemesis The Tiger, but has himself been accused of his friend's death.
Rather than surrender to the Department of Homeland Security, Milo attempts to avoid capture while he seeks to prove his own innocence. In the ensuing fast-paced chase and game of mirrors that showcases the nature of the spy world since 9/11, Milo learns there is no one he can trust absolutely, except his own family. As Milo avoids capture with clever ruses that leave little for his pursuers to discover, the reader is treated to a great deal of contemporary “spy craft.”
Evaluation: Steinhauer’s writing is crisp, but not as literate as LeCarre’s. (But that is not a severe criticism.) The Tourist is the first book in a trilogy, and was a good enough page-turner to make me want to read the other two.
(JAB)
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LibraryThing member patrickgarson
The Tourist is an interesting one, a semi-cerebral spy novel. Fans will recognise elements of both John Le Carre, and Robert Ludlam in the book, though regrettably I feel that the latter overcomes the former by the conclusion.
Milo is a former Tourist - a covert operative for the CIA. When an
I was a little bit frustrated by this book. Parts of it are quite good - Steinhauer has a solid grip on his narrative, and the prose is unobtrusive and gets the job done.
Unfortunately the plot wavers between being more and less preposterous, and it actively undermines the dry, hard-bitten tone that Steinhauer is aiming for. There's some confusion between machismo and masculinity and it leaves the book feeling a bit ridiculous at times.
This is compounded by a - I have no idea if it is or not, but it reads - implausible view of the CIA, more suited to a flashy television show or movie than a novel.
The mistake I think lies in thinking - like many a movie - that drama and excitement must come from external sources. In reality, by far the most compelling aspects of the novel are Milo's ambivalent relationship to his former status as "Tourist", and the eroding connection to his family.
So, the book is entertaining, but ultimately a little disappointing. Definitely a beach read, and not comparable to Le Carre.
Milo is a former Tourist - a covert operative for the CIA. When an
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assassin he's hunted for years shows up, Milo finds himself catapulted back into his former role, with all the risks that entails. I was a little bit frustrated by this book. Parts of it are quite good - Steinhauer has a solid grip on his narrative, and the prose is unobtrusive and gets the job done.
Unfortunately the plot wavers between being more and less preposterous, and it actively undermines the dry, hard-bitten tone that Steinhauer is aiming for. There's some confusion between machismo and masculinity and it leaves the book feeling a bit ridiculous at times.
This is compounded by a - I have no idea if it is or not, but it reads - implausible view of the CIA, more suited to a flashy television show or movie than a novel.
The mistake I think lies in thinking - like many a movie - that drama and excitement must come from external sources. In reality, by far the most compelling aspects of the novel are Milo's ambivalent relationship to his former status as "Tourist", and the eroding connection to his family.
So, the book is entertaining, but ultimately a little disappointing. Definitely a beach read, and not comparable to Le Carre.
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LibraryThing member stephanie_M
I love this series! I need to find the second book and read it, as I am sure it will be just as good... though I really didn't like the ending of the book, but only for personal reasons. lol.
the characters are wonderful, and the plot takes some twists that I never saw coming. I was hooked
the characters are wonderful, and the plot takes some twists that I never saw coming. I was hooked
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throughout the end. A real must-read! Show Less
LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
In espionage thrillers, agents may have lovers but rarely spouses and children they love and long to spend more time with. But in Olen Steinhauer's terrific “The Tourist” (2009), Milo Weaver just wants to take his family to Disney World. He wants to be a tourist, and not a "tourist," CIA lingo
But then an international assassin chooses Weaver as his audience for his dying words, which suggest that the assassin was actually working for someone in the CIA and that Weaver had better discover who that is.
Soon Weaver, forced to abandon his family in Florida, must travel to Paris and elsewhere, trying to find the answers upon which his life may depend. Once again he finds himself a tourist, this time working on his own.
Espionage novels are traditionally filled with complexity, sudden turns, sudden deaths and betrayals. “The Tourist” has all that, and more.
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for agents who wander the world doing the Company's bidding. Under the name Charles Alexander, Weaver used to be a Company tourist. Now he has a desk job and prefers to keep it that way.But then an international assassin chooses Weaver as his audience for his dying words, which suggest that the assassin was actually working for someone in the CIA and that Weaver had better discover who that is.
Soon Weaver, forced to abandon his family in Florida, must travel to Paris and elsewhere, trying to find the answers upon which his life may depend. Once again he finds himself a tourist, this time working on his own.
Espionage novels are traditionally filled with complexity, sudden turns, sudden deaths and betrayals. “The Tourist” has all that, and more.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I don't read a lot of spy novels because I find them a little terrifying. I know that some of the details are made up but some things just seem too realistic. And it scares me to think that there are people around the world manipulating events to create outcomes that benefit some "bad people" as
Milo Weaver was working in the ultra-secret Tourist section of the CIA in September 2001. He and a colleague were following another American spy who appeared to have absconded with a large sum of money. They catch up to him in Venice in the company of an extremely pregnant woman and when they yell at him to stop he fires a gun and takes off. Milo is wounded and the woman goes into labour. The date is September 11, 2001. We all know the world changed after that date and Milo changed with it. He gets a desk job in New York, marries the woman who went into labour in Venice that date and raises her daughter as his own. After six years of predictable hours and work he gets a break on finding an assassin he has been trying to stop for years. And his carefully constructed home life is threatened as a result. Will he be able to save his marriage, his family and his life? You'll have to read to see.
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POTUS would say.Milo Weaver was working in the ultra-secret Tourist section of the CIA in September 2001. He and a colleague were following another American spy who appeared to have absconded with a large sum of money. They catch up to him in Venice in the company of an extremely pregnant woman and when they yell at him to stop he fires a gun and takes off. Milo is wounded and the woman goes into labour. The date is September 11, 2001. We all know the world changed after that date and Milo changed with it. He gets a desk job in New York, marries the woman who went into labour in Venice that date and raises her daughter as his own. After six years of predictable hours and work he gets a break on finding an assassin he has been trying to stop for years. And his carefully constructed home life is threatened as a result. Will he be able to save his marriage, his family and his life? You'll have to read to see.
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LibraryThing member Romonko
I never would have heard about this book, let alone read it it hadn't been suggested as a January book read from Criminal Element. I thoroughly enjoyed it and now want to read the other books in series. Milo Weaver is a "tourist". In Company-speak (CIA), that means he's an itinerant assassin and
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spy throughout Europe and the Eastern Bloc. When we first meet him we see Weaver, playing a legend by the name of Charles Alexander, and even though he's in the middle of a very dangerous job for the Company, he is hopped up on amphetamines and contemplating suicide. Being a tourist is not easy. It's not only dangerous, but lonely and exhausting. Milo is a reluctant spy from the beginning, but he is so good at his job that he keeps being put on different assignments. Finally, in 2001, he is very seriously wounded in Vienna, and he also meets the love of his life, who when he first meets her, is in labour on a Viennese street. Milo manages to recover from his injuries, and he moves back to a desk job with the Company after he marries Tina. That lasts for about six years, and then he is pulled into another job that threatens all he holds dear and puts him in grave danger. The rest of the book is all about Milo trying to piece together who in the Company is in league with the Chinese and why. His task threatens his marriage and child, and even though Milo is reluctant to be drawn back in, he must find out who has behind all the intrigue and who has been pulling his strings since he began with the company? This is a surprisingly literate spy thriller, and the reluctant protagonist makes the book very believable. I couldn't put it down. Thanks again to Criminal Element for piquing my interest in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheJeanette
For some odd reason I cannot now remember, I had it in my mind that I didn't like this author. I started reading this book just because it was sitting around where I was also sitting around. It was a bit confusing at times because the plot is convoluted. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it enough to want to
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read the next Milo Weaver book. I just hope Steinhauer includes enough memory refreshers in subsequent installments. Otherwise I will be thoroughly lost! Show Less
LibraryThing member DrLed
Synopsis: Milo Weaver is a tourist, but not a typical one. He's an agent for the 'company' and he's tired of this life. Tired to the point of being ready to let someone kill him. Then one day he is shot, but he falls next to a woman who's set to deliver a baby. They are taken to a hospital and once
Review: With more twists and turns than a mountain road, this story weaves a picture of the desperate game spy organizations play with each other. It also is rather depressing.
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he is able he never leaves her side. He's moved into administration and life is good until on day he is called back into active service. This leads to Milo running for his life accused of murdering good friends and putting the company at risk. Review: With more twists and turns than a mountain road, this story weaves a picture of the desperate game spy organizations play with each other. It also is rather depressing.
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LibraryThing member dh-writer
Action from start to finish. Couldn't put it down. Milo, a spy, gets pulled into being a rogue and a traitor. Or is he? Great characters. Great story. Fully deserves its rating as a best seller.
Awards
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist — 2009)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — 2010)
Original publication date
2009-03
Physical description
416 p.; 9.5 inches
ISBN
0312369727 / 9780312369729