Yet another re-read of this classic I first read in my teens. Wiki. As this review says1, it has aged a bit. When I can remember the entire plot, or at least mostly, then the twists and turns seem less realistic, more dictated by the author's need for scenes; especially the pacific atoll stuff (and in retrospect, the idea of Jay's people being able to spirit Our Hero away under all that security is not believable; but at-the-time, you don't know it's Jay doing it, so you ride with it).The un-named-ness of Our Hero is excellent; as is some of the dialogue such as “Hello Harry.” Now my name isn’t Harry, but in this business it’s hard to remember whether it ever had been. And the our-hero-captured who turns out to be in London bit is also excellent.
There are some bits I could quibble (the weird-for-a-spy obsession with people's clothes for one) but I have an affection for the book so I won't; Goodreads will do it for you if you're interested.
Refs
* Book review: With a Strange Device.
Notes
1. Though I think "it doesn’t live up to its reputation" is wrong; it does indeed live up.
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