Thought I had strayed into a cookery book

If you could sum up Red Sparrow in three words, what would they be?

Forsyth meets LeCarre

Any additional comments?

An enjoyable spy thriller in modern Russia. Look forward to the other two books in the series. Bit baffled as to why the author insists on giving our food menues at the end of each chapter.

17 people found this helpful

The Dan Brown of spy fiction?

What disappointed you about Red Sparrow?

An unbelievable story filled with cliches and stereotypes - Russia bad: USA good - is it really that simple?

What could Jason Matthews have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have a credible plot and at least some characters you can believe in.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Story was well-read - but the narrator didn't have much to work with.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Red Sparrow?

Cut out all the sex scenes - they were woeful.

Any additional comments?

I'd like to know how books as weak as this get published?

58 people found this helpful

Not good story telling

Some years ago I read an author's guide to police procedure. It was written by an experienced police officer who was an articulate writer but by his own admission did not have what it takes to be a writer of crime fiction.
I feel something similar is going on here. Jason Matthews worked for the CIA for 33 years, so he obviously knows his onions (see end of review) but I don't think he's a thriller writer. I say this knowing there were plenty five star reviews but I wonder if the reviewers are so steeped in the genre that they know how to fill in the gaps. For my own part, there was nothing to get a handle on. The characters were just names, the romance was meh, and what little action there was just failed to engage.
Then there were the recipes. To coin an expression, "It was funny the first time... except it wasn't." Every chapter has a cooking scene shoehorned in, and after a while you start to spot them, and they are flipping annoying.
The most pleasure I got from this book was watching the time count down.


Ainsley Harriott French Onion Soup. Empty sachet into cup. Add boiling water and stir.

35 people found this helpful

A recipe for disaster...

...sorry.

Don’t get me wrong, the story and narrator are great, but what the hell is the deal with the recipes?!?

Initially, they just seem odd... but eventually they become *really* annoying... especially after a really violent confrontation - then a recipe? Why? Who is going to make any of them?!?

I guess it’s bad enough they were in the book, but at least then you could have skipped them. In audiobook form they are just a really terrible joke and actually detract from the enjoyment of the story as a whole.. which is a shame because it’s good (and different to the film). The atmosphere is tense, though I occasionally lost track of who was doing a particular thing because of all the Russian... but still entertaining!

Did I mention that I hated the recipes!

7 people found this helpful

It's what it says on the cover an excellant yarn

What made the experience of listening to Red Sparrow the most enjoyable?

The cast of characters, although somewhat predictiable make the novel an excellent listen. The well written and complext story is well composed and the reciep touch excellent in places, although some of the later ones seem a little insider and incomplete. I can recognise several of the recipes from visits to Russia'

Who was your favorite character and why?

Uncle Vanya, as the self obvsessed beaurocratic monster.

Have you listened to any of Jeremy Bobb’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have not heard him elsewhere, but some of his ponunciations seem like my spelling unusual.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The spies who kept warm

6 people found this helpful

Spy Story or Cookery Book

Jason Matthews can't seem to make up his mind on whether he wants to write a spy novel or a cookery book. The constant recipes and details of meals is very annoying

41 people found this helpful

Excellent spy thriller with taste...

Red Sparrow is a first class spy thriller with excellent narration. I will not comment on the storyline but leave it to other listeners to enjoy. This book has the unique addition of a recipe at the end of every chapter. Each chapter has some reference to food and to be given the recipe is a very nice twist. There are 40 chapters...........

I am looking forward to the next book by Jason Mathews and, hopefully, narrated by Jeremy Bobb.

Highly recommended.

9 people found this helpful

Spoilt by pretentiousness

What's with all the fucking recipes!? I suppose the author was trying to prove himself as an epicurean but . . . just awful. It's a shame because, for me, it spoilt an otherwise good story.

3 people found this helpful

Seriously dull book

Monotone American narrator, it honestly took me a while to figure out whether the book was being read by a robot, no emotion whatsoever. The plot starts well then flits between slow dull periods and faint glimmers of potential future excitement... However having reached past the halfway point I decided I could no longer continue holding on with the hope that something interesting might happen. My advice is give this book a miss...particularly if (like me) you find the American pronunciation of Mos'COW' totally annoying.

3 people found this helpful

Great spy thriller, ah those Russians....

Where does Red Sparrow rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 70%

Who was your favorite character and why?

Russian girl spy

Any additional comments?

A bit too propagandist,with Russians the baddies and Americans as the good guys. But a good thriller nevertheless

5 people found this helpful