- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (26 Feb 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 014101802X
- ISBN-13: 978-0141018027
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.7 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 117,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Cumming gives us complex characters and a world-weariness that owe more to Smiley than Bond and mark him out as in the first rank of the new generation of espionage writers. --The Times - Top 10 Thrillers of 2008
Review
A wholly compelling and sophisticated spy novel - vivid and disturbing - immacutely researched and full of harrowing contemporary relevance.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found out about Charles Cumming via a friend at Facebook, and having read his first novel, subsequently went through Typhoon in a matter of a few days. It is consistently excellent. He captures the chaos, nervousness and exhuberance of Hong Kong leading up to the 1997 handover, and fast-forwards deftly into the quasi-capitalist China of our own time. One can really feel what it is like to work there.
There are no clever gadgets, no silly car chases, or gimmicks. But I reckon that even Ian Fleming himself would have loved this book for its mixture of realism and excellent characterisations. And the twist at the end is worth waiting for.
The central character, Joe Lennox, is likeable but not sanctimonious. It is totally believable that a man like that works in the SIS.
We want more!
There are no clever gadgets, no silly car chases, or gimmicks. But I reckon that even Ian Fleming himself would have loved this book for its mixture of realism and excellent characterisations. And the twist at the end is worth waiting for.
The central character, Joe Lennox, is likeable but not sanctimonious. It is totally believable that a man like that works in the SIS.
We want more!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Once more Charles Cumming does not disappoint. Typhoon is a fast moving and fascinating insight into a side of China that is for the most part unknown. Few had heard of the Uighur minority in the North Western part of this vast country. Strangely life imitated art in that some months after the launch of the book there were indeed troubles in the region. This serves to confirm the detailed research which Cumming always exhibits in his novels and which, combined with his considerable powers of description confirm his position as one of our leading young writers of today. A fascinating story.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is not your run-of-the-mill pap. It's thoughtful, informative literature. A love story, a potted history, and an out-and-out thriller, all rolled into one. The research and attention to detail are mindblowing. But the real pleasure of Typhoon is knowing that you are reading something entirely authentic. This is how the dirty work gets done. Espionage has little to do with gadgetry and weapons. It's exhausting and devoid of glamour. Down on the ground, it's about money, manipulation, and deceit. It's about lying to your wife, and selling your best friend down the river. And this is where Cumming excels. His characterisation and dialogue are utterly convincing, as is the wholly satisfying conclusion. Cumming is right up there with Gerald Seymour: a writer who can draw you in and keep you gripped, without ever having to resort to sensational nonsense. This is a beautifully crafted book, unreseverdly recommended, and thoroughly deserving of its rave reviews from the national press. Oh, and if you've never been to Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai, you will have by the time you've finished Typhoon.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very enjoyable
I have read two other novels from this author and this is, so far, the most entertaining.
The early section of the novel seemed to echo "The Honourable Schoolboy", but... Read more
The early section of the novel seemed to echo "The Honourable Schoolboy", but... Read more
Published 10 months ago by E. Weatherup
A Towering Achievement
This novel works on so many different levels.
It's a character study, a love story, a political thriller, a history of the transfer of Hong Kong and a straight spy story -... Read more
It's a character study, a love story, a political thriller, a history of the transfer of Hong Kong and a straight spy story -... Read more
Published 15 months ago by David Craggs
Sex, Politics and Espionage - it has to be read!
From the opening pages of Typhoon, Charles Cumming captures his audience with his best novel so far. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Aggieandco
A masterpiece
A mesmerising novel about MI6 and the CIA wrangling over China. It's not an escapist read - there are no shoot-outs, improbable escapes, implausibly glamorous and resourceful... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mel Hans
not great
After having read his previous novels I was disappointed with this one, so much so I found it quite difficult to carry on reading it. Read more
Published 20 months ago by ben bone
Very Plausible Story Line
Not a lot of car chase excitement, actually none, but that's probably what the spook business is all about....moments of excitement, but hours, days and weeks of boredom. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2010 by Kim W. Rellahan
Typhoon
I have read all Charles Cumming books... in my view this is the most interesting of them all. The book is well researched, the characters are convincing and the pace of the the... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by A. Robertson
Finely crafted and extremely topical
Charles Cumming is deservedly in the forefront of the new wave of spy novelists. Typhoon is his best book yet, and he shows a masterful handling of character, story and vivid... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2009 by Alex Wolff
Immensely readable
I really enjoyed this book despite the rear cover once again providing a rather inaccurate description of its contents. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2009 by johnverp
This is a great author.
I have read all of Charles Cummings books and every single one of them is great.
This is one is highly entertaining and his characters, style of writing and voice is... Read more
This is one is highly entertaining and his characters, style of writing and voice is... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2009 by Adel
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