The Quantum Spy

September 1, 2017
China and the U.S. scramble for cyberdomination in this spy thriller by Washington Post columnist and bestselling novelist Ignatius (The Director, 2014, etc.).Like the Chinese, the Americans want the quantum computing technology being developed by Quantum Engineering Dynamics. Whichever power possesses the technology can decrypt the undecryptable and do it thousands of times faster than any existing supercomputer. No adversary will ever be able to keep a secret again. In fact, such a contraption can even replicate the very essence of human thought. But QED isn't selling to anyone for any price. Meanwhile, CIA agent Harris Chang visits the hotel room of Chinese computer scientist Dr. Ma Yubo at a conference in Singapore, hoping to turn him into a spy. Ma's fundamental weakness is greed--he wants to be rich, to support a family in China and a mistress in Vancouver. Chang is an "ABC," or American-Born Chinese, who grew up in Arizona, graduated from West Point and bleeds "red, white, and blue." But when he steals Dr. Ma's mijian, or diary, Ma commits suicide instead of cooperating. From the diary, the CIA learns that Ma kept "notes on all the dirty deals made by his friends in the [Ministry of State Security]." But most important, the CIA learns of the existence of a mole in the CIA named Rukou. So the chase is on: find the mole and get the technology even though serious doubt exists about whether a quantum computer is even a possibility. Such a device would operate at nearly absolute zero temperature, where superpositioned particles do strange things like exist in two places--or exist and not exist--simultaneously. That's the stuff of quantum physics, which itself is probably sense and nonsense at the same time. The story moves along well, weaving in the author's extensive research without slowing the pace. While the science gets geeky in spots, it's still fun--and the complex intrigue will please thriller fans.

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September 15, 2017

"Like I said, pull on the thread. Eventually, no more sweater." That's the advice that CIA spook Harris Chang receives from his boss as he searches for a mole inside the agency. Someone is reporting to the Chinese on U.S. efforts to develop a quantum computer, a machine powerful enough to crack any code in lightning time. Chang's search is a process of small steps. Often he's in the dark; sometimes he doesn't know whether he's sleuth or bait. But once he gains some leverage, he uses it to gain more, then more, until the truth, or a semblance of it, comes into view. In his tenth spy thriller, Washington Post columnist Ignatius (The Director) demonstrates again his superior storytelling skills. This engrossing tale of spy vs. counterspy rockets back and forth from Washington, DC, to CIA headquarters in Langley, VA, to Beijing, with stops along the way in Dubai, Singapore, Mexico City, Kyoto, and Amsterdam. In this sly, fast-moving story, everyone is hiding something. The trick is finding out what--and then using that knowledge for one's own ends. VERDICT Ignatius's latest is up to his usual high standards and should appeal to all lovers of spy fiction.--David Keymer, Cleveland

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 25, 2017
Will the U.S. or China build the world’s first quantum computer? That’s the question at the heart of this fine espionage thriller from Ignatius (The Director). The Americans appear to have the edge through a company in Seattle—actually a front for the CIA—that’s developing the superfast technology. But the Chinese are just a step behind thanks to corporate theft and good old-fashioned tradecraft; they have managed to turn a disgruntled CIA officer into a spy for the Ministry of State Security. Meanwhile, Harris Chang, an American interrogation specialist new to Langley, uses his Chinese heritage to infiltrate Beijing’s intelligence operations in the U.S. and secretly keep tabs on the Chinese efforts to achieve dominance. In past books, Ignatius has been better at characterization; Chang, for example, at times behaves in ways that seem too naive for a well-trained professional. Still, Ignatius’s realistic peek into the inner workings of the CIA and its Chinese counterpart shows why he’s at the top of the thriller pack. Agent: Raphael Sagalyn, Sagalyn/ICM.