
The Briefing
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Deeper analysis. Exclusive content. Advance material. For those who go deeper.

Writing a Convincing Mole
Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole. A mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate...

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers
Ask readers to name the greatest fictional spies and the conversation quickly becomes an argument. James Bond? George Smiley? Jason Bourne? Carrie Mathison? Jackson Lamb? The problem is partly the question. “Spy” is an extraordinarily broad description. Espionage...

What Makes a Spy Novel a Spy Novel?
Everyone knows a spy novel when they see one. Until they don't. James Bond is easy. George Smiley is easy. A CIA officer running an agent in Moscow is easy. But what about a political thriller involving stolen classified documents? A military novel built around...

Writing a Convincing Mole
Few characters are more at home in espionage fiction than the mole. A mole sits inside an intelligence service, government agency, military organization, corporation, or other institution while secretly serving an adversary. Unlike the outside spy trying to penetrate...

The Best Fictional Intelligence Officers
Ask readers to name the greatest fictional spies and the conversation quickly becomes an argument. James Bond? George Smiley? Jason Bourne? Carrie Mathison? Jackson Lamb? The problem is partly the question. “Spy” is an extraordinarily broad description. Espionage...

What Makes a Spy Novel a Spy Novel?
Everyone knows a spy novel when they see one. Until they don't. James Bond is easy. George Smiley is easy. A CIA officer running an agent in Moscow is easy. But what about a political thriller involving stolen classified documents? A military novel built around...
