The Matarese Circle: A Novel

An interesting/intriguing story but very complicated to follow. Two guys of polar differences unite. Following the pathways and characters is difficult for half the story.

I read this novel when it originally came out in, I think, 1979. Adored the American operative, Soviet KGB agent, and the beautiful girl caught in the middle of the horrid Materese Circle. Reread it and felt exactly the same way -- best thriller ever and the late Mr. Ludlum's best work. My husband, who only knows the author from the Bourne films, couldn't put this novel down. He was amazed by the characters, writing, and the overall power of the story. Highly recommended!

Ludlum is the first writer I encounter in my readings and I am truly excited with this book, which is a masterpiece of suspense, intricate details and the actions full of excitement. I have always enjoyed books by Brad Thor (i.e., State of the Union) and Michael Connelly (i.e., The Poet), but this author gives a another dimension of plots, treason, government complicity. I love it . In reading this book and maintaining my interest and suspense I compare it to The Poet, which I think is the best book by Michael Connelly. Long but high quality of writing and interest. You will be astounded by the succession of intense scenes by the two main characters, Scofield the American and Talenikov the Russian, who are bitter enemies who bear a hatred for each other, until they join together to stop an international powerful organization that has infiltrated in all levels of international governments , mainly United Sates and Russia. At the end the American Scofield succeeded in destroying the organization of international terrorists, but the sad part is that his partner and friend Talenikov having been tortured by the terrorists died in the fire of their place.Great experience and brilliant writing, and I will look forward to continue reading books by LudlumThank you

I'd wanted to read a Robert Ludlum book and anything other than one of the Bourne stories. All I'd see there was Matt Damon. The Matarese Circle is of the same vein though. Highly trained operative against a massive conspiracy, normal everyday stuff. As a tale of the 80s, pre-Reagan, the plot was interesting though the love interest took away from some possibilities. I admit, women in my spy stories should be either just as badass as the main character or a passing interest. Not mysogynist, just want my heroes focused. But, overall, a good story that moved at a good pace and didn't weigh itself down in details. So, worth the read.

I have given this book 4 stars because it is a fast moving thriller with all the required ingredients of its genre. The story is set in the post cold war period and involves two arch enermies, who are desperate to wreak revenge on each other. One of the protaganists has connections with and is trained, by the american secret service. The other is connected with the Russian secret services. Both men are expert assasins and both have fallen foul of their respective masters, both are being hunted by their previous controllers. But a far more dangerous group of conspirators have been uncovered that threatens the world community. The two old enemies agree to work together to track down this threat to the world order.If you like plenty of murder, deception and double dealings with fast moving situations, with a bit of romance thrown in, you will like this book.

This is the fifth Ludlum novel I've read. The later ones, like "The Bourne Ultimatum" suffered from certain excesses - meandering, repetitive plotting, ridiculuous villains and so forth. So I thought I would try this, one of his earlier works. It's pretty much what you'd expect from Ludlum - vast murderous conspiracy, lone super-agent (well two of them in this case) against the world, paper-thin characterizations, utilitarian dialogue, astronomical body count. So much so that I felt like this novel was a caricature of all of the excesses that characterize Ludlum. The climax was like something straight out of "McBain" from the Simpsons.I'll just come out and say, the plot is preposterous. I guess I don't buy into the conspiratorial view of the world. At least, this particular conspiracy didn't seem plausible to me. However, Ludlum does manage to make an interesting story, even a page turner, out of it.My other issue with this is that the main hero, Scofield, isn't nearly as interesting a character as his odd-couple partner, Taleniekov. Unfortunately, Taleniekov is kind of pushed to the margins of the story for the final act, and following Scofield for that length of time is just a bit tedious. Oh, and one other irritation, the Kindle edition has numerous typos and formatting errors.

Exciting build up of strategy and action.You will be reading all night.I recommend this book to fans of international espionage

Robert Ludlum was known as a master of spy novels, but I just discovered his name in an earlier book review. This reading is complex, but not without a sustained edge which kept me quite sleepless, moving from crisis to crisis. As I learned the core theory which propelled his two main characters who operated outside the spy agencies of opposing countries, I stepped back a moment, then took that leap of faith, and from there all the complimentary and opposing actions fell gradually into place in this masterful puzzle. Once or twice those actions seemed a little exaggerated, but once I had become a believer, they were easy to assimilate. This book was written before the internet and all sorts of technological apparatus' now available, yet the sharpness of apprehension is not lost. The author stood at the pinnacle of this genre during his life....and I will continue to plum the library of his works. If you like spy novels, this book stands with the best.

Have read this a numb we of times over the years and still entertains those of a newer generation might find it a bit dated, but given the way things are going it is still relevant.

Fantastic book with an extremely memorable story. Lots of parallels to a "Jason Bourne" type story, but in my opinion a much stronger plot overall. If you love fiction about spies.. this one is worth a read!

Brilliant, I cannot put the book down

Brilliant well written thriller

This is another brilliant tale of intrigue. Somewhat similar to real life in parts. This and its sequel, I would read over and over.