Watchman

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Ian Rankin

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Pages: 272 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0752877305

Pub: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

Pub date: 2006-02-02

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 28143

Editorial Review:

While Rendell, James and Walters jostle for the position of Britain's Crime Queen, things are much more straightforward when it comes to male writers: the appearance of Ian Rankin's early thriller Watchman is a reminder that Rankin is securely at the top of the tree in terms of sales, and pretty near the upper echelons in critical acclaim. His series featuring the troubled DI Rebus, with its brilliantly realised urban Scottish settings, has consolidated a powerful reputation, although later entries in the sequence may have lacked the sharpness of their predecessors.
Watchman is something of a collector's item among Rankin enthusiasts--out of print for 15 years, this stand-alone thriller (not featuring the doughty Rebus) has been changing hands on the Internet for very large amounts--but now it's possible to catch up with one of Rankin's most intriguing books at a reasonable price.
Miles Flint is low-level operative in the world of espionage, with a watching brief that satisfies him perfectly; he's not a man who craves more active duty. But IRA bombs are wreaking havoc on the British mainland, and Miles finds himself with all kinds of problems. His professional career is in trouble, as is his marriage--his involvement with a seductive Irish woman is problematical, and his attempts to avoid a persistent newspaperman are failing. Miles is sent to Belfast, where he finds that his job is much more than merely watching people; the stakes are very high (UK security being the trump card now), and his life has become a ploy in a dangerous game.

There are shades here of two of Rankin's illustrious predecessors in the thriller genre, Gerald Seymour and Len Deighton, but Rankin (even at this early stage of his career) was very much his own man. Miles is a distinctive and conflict-filled protagonist--very different from Rebus, though sharing a messy private life--and the action is handled with pulse-racing panache. The espionage genre was not to prove Rankin's métier, but this sole effort is essential for Rankin fans--and that means most of us. --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

Watchman is a delight (47/47 people found this helpful)

First class Writing , first class plot , first class authour Watchman is Rankin at his Best. Miles Flint Brings all the best qualities of rebus but is that little bit better. If you are a fan of rankin or appreciate good writing then this book is for you.

A pacey page-turner (6/6 people found this helpful)

The amazon review of this likens it to Len Deighton, but Rankin was clearly much more inspired by the ambivalent, grey-ish men of Le Carre and Greene. In fact the first part of the book, where a series of intelligence operations go suspiciously wrong and MI6 seems plagued by a mole, is pure Smiley's People and feels derivative. But then the writer Rebus fans will know starts to emerge from the pages and as Miles Flint, the central hardly-man, gets sent to Ireland to be disposed of, the book grows into something more original.

It's always interesting to look back at a writer's early works, and Rankin is one who has consistantly grown and developed rather than a flash and burn writer peaking young. Watchman shows signs of all that is good in Rankin and at least the elements that are derivative are drawn from sources of the calibre of Greene and Le Carre. It's a sign of Rankin's youth at the time of writing that he allowed himself to make Flint's cuckolding so much like Smiley, and the big boss so much like control at the end of his days, but it doesn't diminish the pure thriller pleasure to be had. I also think it shows that Rankin himself knew Rebus to be a more original creation and chose to develop that series instead of going more deeply into spook central.

Watchman - the early years (6/6 people found this helpful)

Miles Flint is a spy! His job is simply to watch, listen and report back his findings to his superiors at MI5. The job suits him just fine. Miles is not your typical action-craving spy. Being a Watchman is right up his street. Problem is he's not very good at it, and continues to attract trouble.

In the midst of a career and marriage crisis, Miles is sent off to Ireland on what he believes is a simple surveillance job. Within hours he is running for his life, mixed up in a terrorist assassination on the wrong side of the border. Someone must have made a mistake, right?

Ian Rankin is renowned the world over for his DI Rebus novels. However, here we have a re-issue of an early Rankin novel, which will no doubt please his loyal fans.

Miles Flint is a great character, whose personality and confidence develops during his attempts to survive everything that MI5 throw at him. Will we see more of Miles Flint in future Rankin novels? I certainly hope so.

An acceptable early work (10/10 people found this helpful)

Watchman is further proof that publishers are influenced by sales rather than quality. As Ian Rankin himself admits, he found it very hard to get a publisher for Watchman in 1988 and he certainly couldn't live off his profits. However with nearly 20 bestsellers under his belt his publisher has no problem printing it again now.

Watchman is perhaps slighly dated... its set in the late 80's when the IRA bombing campaigns against London where at their height. The main character Miles Flint is tasked with "watching" an Arab assasin and also supervising the observation of an IRA bomb making cell. The winding & complicated plot ties the apparently unlinked a dead Israeli "diplomat", an Arab assasin, an IRA cell, a gay MP & into one coherent story ultimating revolving around a power struggle within MI5. It also brings in a few characters that Rebus fans will instantly recognise- journalist Jim Stevens and masseur "the organ grinder".

Watchman is not as good as the Rebus books. Miles Flint doesn't have anything like the depth of character of the Scottish cop. Likewise the locations jump too much & lack the gritty realism of Rebus's Edinburgh. Likwise the plot is slow to get going & its not obvious how the various threads tie together making the book initially quite slow & confusing. That said its still worth reading, mainly because when it does come together it REALLY comes together in an explosive ending. Anyone who enjoyed the three novels Rankin wrote as "Jack Harvey" will be quite satisfied with this.

The Watchman (1/1 people found this helpful)

Ian Rankin well done it was a thrilling book and kept you second-guessing all the way through! No more Inspector Rebus this book is set in London and is a true spy catcher plot, it gives an insight into the wheeling dealing side of the secret services and hey do you really want to be a spy? I recommend this as a good read or get the audio book and with a mug of tea and stay in bed a few hours longer to listen to it!!!

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