The IPCRESS File. Len Deighton. Panther Books Ltd ( 1962)

A low key and very engaging spy story. The unnamed narrator joins a sub-division of the UK Intelligence Services and become involved with a situation where top scientists are vanishing. The most likely suspect is Jay, a very well connected information broker without any particular ideological alliance beyond money. The narrator find himself identified as a probable Russian agent and gets trapped in a murderous plot. The reveals are slowly let out and very effective when they arrive, the action is nearly all verbal, the tension is held steady by the consistent uncertainty that surrounds the situation. The resolution is bitterly satisfying and entirley true to the tone and intent of the book.
This is a book about the shabby and dangerous bureaucracy of spying and the the atmosphere of betrayal and distrust that it naturally breeds. The shadow of the Second World War hangs over the story as does the Cold War between East and West. There is no heroics just small opportunities for profit, power and possible advantage. The most dangerous person in the story is not armed with a gun but with a statistical analysis that shows the importance of information and the ability to manage it effectively.
One of the striking things about the book is the fact that the use of a computer and the possibilities it offers is the cornerstone of the power for the sub-section that the narrator works for. There is an enjoyable and very English taste for class warfare in the book. The narrator is a outsider in the Establishment circles that he is involved in, he gets to be troublesome because of his competence, a significantly better connected cast member is barely more than a caricature of an upper class twit, in their position because of his social network.
The coils of the plot take some time to emerge and they do so quietly and very effectively, nearly hidden by the low key narrative, when the scope of the betrayals and their consequences break into action is is sharp and effective. This really is a quiet, shadowy struggle that has no heroes, only survivors. The story is drenched in a weary cynicism that never grates as it is off-set by the narrators humor and fundamental belief in what he is doing. From fighting a very visible enemy to a secret one the war continues. The story never feels outdated or old fashioned, Len Deighton has created a cast that are alive and credible, engaging in a natural and gripping way.
Other Voices, Other Views:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/171624.The_Ipcress_File

Smiley's People. John Le Carre. Sceptre. (1979)

Enthralling and melancholy book about a final reckoning between two long term opposing spymasters. George Smiley, retired head of British secret service, is recalled to action by the death of an old acquaintance. There is a concern that this death may cause problems for the service and Smiley is drafted in to tidy up the details and bury the case. As Smiley investigates he finds that the trail leads back to an old enemy and the possibility of revenge. The story unfolds at a steady pace as the complex web is revealed and the stage is set for the grim and bitter climax.
This is a wonderful book, written with supreme confidence and astonishing skill, willing to take the time to assemble the details of the story and increase the pressure slowly and inevitably. Smiley is a devastating well developed character, he is supremely skilled as a spymaster, at home with the pitiless bureaucracy of espionage and the culture of deceit and betrayal that underpin it. Away from that world he is adrift and unsure, unable to be simply human. The rest of the cast share this to greater or lesser degrees, they are all most alive when involved in intrigue. At the heart of the book is a very intimate betrayal, the choice that Smiley must make if he wishes to ensnare his enemy.
This is a book that loves words and uses them with care and abundance, the descriptions are long and detailed and never tiresome. The length and breath add to the depth of the book, they reveal but never quite explain. There is a vital ambiguity at the heart of the book that centres on the figure of George Smiley, in the end he retains an element of mystery which is deeply satisfying. Extraordinary fiction that is sharply truthful and gloriously readable and enjoyable.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. John LeCarre. Sceptre (1974)

This classic spy story is as fresh and gripping as when it was first published. The slow and destructive discovery of the identity of the Russian mole in British Intelligence is told with force and a terrible understanding of the price paid by people whose stock in trade is deception.

George Smiley is recalled from retirement when strong evidence emerges that the Russians have a double agent somewhere in the upper levels of British spy service, the Circus. Smiley has to track back over his own history as he follows the leads and suggestions to finally set a trap for the mole. This is about the laborious bureaucracy of spying, the filing and expenses, the time sheets and assessments that people far from the field carry out every day.
John Le Carre captures the extraordinary paradox at the heart of spying, the people who spend their lives deceiving others and living with mistrust as an operational necessity to stay alive require extraordinary loyalty and trust in and from their own organisation.
One of the strongest aspects of the story is the way that infighting among the managements is as fierce as any struggle with external enemies and ultimately considerably more dangerous. This is spying as office politics and anyone with some experience of working in an organisation would see how accurately Le Carre has captured the way power struggles work.

The man at the heat of this book, George Smiley is a wonderful creation, he is a shell of a man when he is out of the secret world, when he is back in he is a master player. He has a strong appreciation of the damage done to the people who live in that world, he is bound to it and to duty.The writing is lush and extensive, it takes it time, much as the story does and it is a pleasure to read the descriptions and the dialogue, they give force and weight to the plot which is brilliantly constructed and unwinds with tremendous skill. The atmosphere of the Cold War has not dated at all, the concentration on the human characters allows it to be a necessary context for their conflicts without dominating or distracting.A great read, thoughtful, sad, considered and wonderfully written.