Boyd is such an engrossing author and the quality of his prose seems only to improve over time. Gabriel's Moon is classic Boyd. Even if some critics may have noted the stock nature of certain characters, it is hard to deny the page-turning nature of this novel. Sure, there is heavier reliance on coincidence and timing, but the reader is constantly kept on their toes and propelled forward in this (all-too-plausible) tale of espionage and double or treble crossing. The additional charm of Gabriel's Moon is that it captures superbly the morés of the much more carefree 1960s. Some younger readers may struggle to imagine a world where people did business over drinks and cigarettes, but the scenes depicted by Boyd evoke a certain Cold War glamour and chic. Think of Gabriel's Moon as a lighter version of Graham Greene or John le Carré, but absolutely none the worse off for it. I was gripped from beginning to end and am looking forward to the next part in this trilogy.
By William Boyd