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Len Deighton
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The Ipcress File (Secret File #1) Paperback – August 2, 2011

by Len Deighton (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 2,224 ratings
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When a number of scientists mysteriously disappear in Berlin, a seemingly straightforward case rapidly becomes a journey to the heart of a deadly conspiracy--a conspiracy that will test Deighton's working-class hero to the limits of his ingenuity and resolve. To come out alive, he'll have to prove himself a spy at the very top of his game. 
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    The Harry Palmer Novels
  2. Print length
    230 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Sterling
  5. Publication date
    August 2, 2011
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1402790627
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1402790621
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Changed the shape of the espionage thriller.” --Daily Telegraph
“Deighton in top form…the best kind of action entertainment.” --Publishers Weekly “Deighton has written a spy thriller which outbounds Bond.” ---Daily Express “Deliciously sharp and flawlessly accurate dialogue, breathtakingly clever plotting, confident character drawing…a splendidly strongly told story.” --The Times “A stone cold, Cold War classic!” --The Guardian

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sterling; Reprint edition (August 2, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 230 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1402790627
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1402790621
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 2,224 ratings

About the author

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Len Deighton

Len Deighton

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
2,224 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book an engaging spy novel with interesting characters and a thrilling plot. They describe it as a great read and enjoyable, though some find the writing style confusing at times.

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ReadabilitySpy novelCharacter developmentEnjoymentWriting style
22 customers mention "Readability"16 positive6 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it a good Cold War story with an engaging writing style. Many consider it a satisfying alternative to Fleming's novels and a quick, enjoyable read.

"Deighton has a wonderful writing style and this is a really fun book to read, over 60 years after it was originally published...." Read more

"...It's a compelling read, with engaging characters and some pretty prose. With that said, the book is written in a deliberately obtuse manner...." Read more

"...unfolded in a consistently confusing way which is why I did not enjoy reading this book." Read more

"...I was in a way expecting it to be a rollicking good read but it wasn't quite that for me...." Read more

13 customers mention "Spy novel"13 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the spy novel. They find the main character interesting and say it's a touchstone of espionage fiction. The thriller and espionage component are also interesting, and some readers describe it as the best thriller of the second half of the 20th century. Overall, they consider it a fantastic piece of espionaged writing that still holds up after all these years.

"...It's a great spy novel, though you may feel a bit cheated by what exactly the IPCRESS File is...." Read more

"...The thriller/espionage component was interesting as well. However there were a few too many gaps in the delivery of the plot...." Read more

"Very nice copy of an old spy novel. Almost too nice to re-cycle. Would recommend seller." Read more

"This is an interesting spy novel whose main character is in many ways the opposite of Bond...." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character's development. They find him unassuming and human, which makes them like him better than James Bond.

"...It's a compelling read, with engaging characters and some pretty prose. With that said, the book is written in a deliberately obtuse manner...." Read more

"...He seems more human and I like him better than I like James Bond. I have only read a few early novels of Ian Fleming...." Read more

"...in history as a chap who always lands on his feet because of an unassuming character and hard work...." Read more

3 customers mention "Enjoyment"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and exciting. They mention it's interesting at points, but some parts can be painful.

"...Well, communism is exactly the reverse." Great fun." Read more

"...It's definitely an artifact of the 1960's though which, while interesting at points, can be painful in other parts...." Read more

"Reading for the third time and still exciting." Read more

27 customers mention "Writing style"17 positive10 negative

Customers have different views on the writing style. Some find it engaging with vivid descriptions and prose, while others find it confusing, tedious, and overwritten. The plot is described as intellectual and reasonably well-told.

"...is pitch-perfect 1960s snark, the dialog crackles, and the descriptive passages are vivid. He's a great writer. A couple of examples: "..." Read more

"...It's a compelling read, with engaging characters and some pretty prose. With that said, the book is written in a deliberately obtuse manner...." Read more

"...I don't think it was a fantasy, but the situation rapidly became confusing and scattered, particularly, when the main character is visiting a..." Read more

"...unnamed and I thoroughly enjoyed his sense of black humor, and deadpan dialogue. The thriller/espionage component was interesting as well...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Ian R. Bruce
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun Even 60 Years On
    Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Deighton has a wonderful writing style and this is a really fun book to read, over 60 years after it was originally published.

    The voice of the unnamed narrator is pitch-perfect 1960s snark, the dialog crackles, and the descriptive passages are vivid. He's a great writer. A couple of examples:

    "His face was 11 am November 11th."

    "Capitalism is the exploitation of man by man, right? Well, communism is exactly the reverse."

    Great fun.
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  • PraxJarvin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling but deliberately obtuse read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I powered through The IPCRESS File in about two days, downing 100 pages in a single afternoon. It's a compelling read, with engaging characters and some pretty prose. With that said, the book is written in a deliberately obtuse manner. It can be hard to track location and time and sometimes information is purposefully elided. While I followed it well enough, I sometimes felt like the book was designed to keep me from getting ahead of it. It's a great spy novel, though you may feel a bit cheated by what exactly the IPCRESS File is. (It appears so late in the book that I began to suspect we'd just be told the book was the file.) The Penguin version is great, a cool cover and compact style.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Cphe
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Ipcress file
    Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I've noticed this book mentioned on a lot of espionage/thriller lists over the years but hadn't got around to reading it, nor have I seen the movie. I was in a way expecting it to be a rollicking good read but it wasn't quite that for me. I did like that the narrator was unnamed and I thoroughly enjoyed his sense of black humor, and deadpan dialogue. The thriller/espionage component was interesting as well.

    However there were a few too many gaps in the delivery of the plot. Not everything was explained adequately, to my satisfaction. There seemed to be a lot of time spent on the mundane. I couldn't help but feel that there wasn't enough characterization with some of the secondary characters to give the novel a more rounded feel.

    Nevertheless I'm glad that I eventually got around to reading.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Copy
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Very nice copy of an old spy novel. Almost too nice to re-cycle. Would recommend seller.
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  • Frank Donnelly
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    "The Ipcress File" is a early spy novel Len Deighton published in 1962. It is of medium length and has no obscene language. It is relatively complicated and, at times, left me confused. I liked the novel a lot, but it is not always an easy read, required my full attention, and may not suit the taste of a reader seeking a simple light entertaining reading experience.

    The story is written in first person. The protagonist/narrator is unnamed. He exudes a casual, laconic manner and makes numerous sarcastic comments. He seems more human and I like him better than I like James Bond.

    I have only read a few early novels of Ian Fleming. In terms of early novels, I found this to be a more mature and more sophisticated novel than the early Ian Fleming novels that I have thus far read. I liked this novel more than the early Ian Fleming novels.

    Mister Deighton makes many references to British Culture and many historical references within this fine novel that, as an American, I sometimes found a bit confusing. I knew some, but not all of the historical and literary references, but I enjoyed studying the ones I did not know. That is a matter of taste and not everyone wants to "study" as they read a novel. Some of the cultural references left me at a loss, but that did not really keep me from following the storyline.

    In summary, I moderatly like this novel. I definitely intend to read another novel by Len Deighton. The novel is at times confusing and is not necessarily a light easy read. Thank You...
    16 people found this helpful
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  • H.L.J.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Believe nothing you're told - Trust no one you meet - Lie about everything you do - You're a Spy.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Len Deighton, in his first spy novel, initiates his readers into the English spy business as it muddles about during the earliest days of the Cold War. Here you meet men and women who survived the last war and who remain just cynical enough to accept the shades of gray on gray found in the No Man's Land of international espionage. Quick read, smooth writing style coupled with an understanding of the unique humor generated when Fate seems to have taken a personal interest in your life and regularly issues threats against it.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Tobias H.
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not solidly written - but with fits and gaps. Confusing.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I have read this book with relatively large gaps in between, i.e. over quite a long time. Perhaps that's why I could not really follow the plot. To me it wasn't quite clear what was going on, I was confused more often that not. The big picture involves some third party espionage outfit which of course a nation state cannot condone and therefore must hunt the leak. On the "operational level" the story unfolded in a consistently confusing way which is why I did not enjoy reading this book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Green
    4.0 out of 5 stars In some ways, the anti-Bond
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This is an interesting spy novel whose main character is in many ways the opposite of Bond. Whereas we know Bond’s name, and we are always aware of Bond’s efficiency, the nameless narrator of this book remains is capable of errors and of being surprised. This makes this protagonist more relatable than Bond ever was.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Dagoberto Bicca
    3.0 out of 5 stars Impede a cópia para tradução.Lástima
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 19, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Somente o impedimento de cópias de trechos para tradução
    Assim não vou mais comprar
    Report
  • drutgat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly Good
    Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This is going to be a review of superlatives, because ‘The Ipcress File’ is a work of virtuoso writing and story-telling, by (then) first-time novelist Len Deighton.

    Yes, as Deighton makes clear in the introduction to this 2015 edition of his classic 1962 spy thriller, at the time he started to write the book he was an illustrator by profession, who had no idea what it was like to write a novel, and who did so in happy ignorance of any of the potential challenges that often put off others more informed about the art of writing.

    These facts make Deighton’s achievement all the more stunning.

    ‘The Ipcress File’ is a gritty spy story, in which the main character is an anti-hero working for British Intelligence in London.

    Underpaid, and unnamed throughout the novel, our hero negotiates the incompetence of some of his colleagues, and often infuriating bureaucracy, within the context of a Black and White world which is now mostly gone, but to which we can still relate because of the strength of the plot and characters Deighton creates.

    Deighton weaves humour throughout the pages so skilfully that one is in an almost perpetual state of being ready to laugh, which is a novel state to be in when experiencing a dramatic work.

    The story is satisfying, the plot compelling, the characters interesting and realistic, and the overall experience highly engrossing, making this book a page-turner of the highest order.

    Five out of five stars.

    Buy it and absorb it.

    I highly recommend this book, and Deighton’s other works.
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  • Vasuket Atre
    5.0 out of 5 stars What did I just read
    Reviewed in India on May 6, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Well I’ve read several authors from JLC to Ambler , but this was my first from Deighton and I would say it’s an absolute pleasure to just go over it and understand the intricacies behind the writing during the 60s. The plot itself is very drab at the start but picks up over the last few pages (a staple with spy novels). The characters are not that great but I liked protagonist’s narration nonetheless. The notion about brainwashing was not unheard of in the 60s but to put it over a 200 odd pages with British humour was a task in itself. At times I felt lost but overall a great read.
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  • SHEILA
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not as gripping as I expected
    Reviewed in Spain on May 7, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Not as gripping as I had expected
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  • Ruggles
    1.0 out of 5 stars Totally Over-rated
    Reviewed in Japan on September 3, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Compared with his later novels this one feels amateurish, contrived and juvenile. I expected much more considering the unwarranted praise it seems to have received.
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