‘An utterly distinctive voice in spy fiction. Nobody captures espionage quite like Beckner. Cerebral and unvarnished, with dialogue so sharp it's like dancing on hot coals.‘
I.S.Berry – Author and Former CIA Officer
In this episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast, Shane Whaley interviews Michael Frost Beckner, the writer of the movie Spy Game. They discuss Michael's Spy Game book series including a new novella called Kaleidoscope and how it fits into his Spy Game trilogy.
They also talk about the complexity of the characters in Michael's Spy Game books and the inspiration behind them. Michael shares his thoughts on the spy genre and the attraction it holds for him.
“KALEIDOSCOPE does for the CIA what THE SOPRANOS did for the mob… The function and dysfunction of a whole family where the patriarch is ensnared in a dark and dangerous world.”
MICHAEL APTED, Academy Award nominated film director of COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, ENIGMA
Watch our conversation about the Spy Game books with Michael Frost Beckner
This video interview is thanks to your Patreon dollars. Spybrary thanks you all for your support!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:28 The Origins of Spy Game
06:39 The Making of Spy Game
08:22 The Success and Impact of Spy Game
13:25 The Spin-Off: Kaleidoscope
21:05 Reading Order and Recommendations
22:22 Complex Characters and Influences
25:12 The Most Fun Character to Write
27:13 Writing Aiken and Check
27:35 Aiken's Three Kinds of Madness
28:27 Writing Aiken's Speech and Writing Style
29:23 Writing Muir's Point of View
30:19 Muir's Complex Internal Voice
31:41 Gwen and Silas in the Novella
32:29 Michael Kingston's Character in the Kaleidoscope Series
33:55 The Family Saga and the International Plot
35:04 Tragedy, Success, and Big Stakes
35:36 The Ending of the Novella
39:07 Attraction to the Spy Genre
39:40 The Moral Complexity of Spies
40:59 Early Influences and Attraction to Spy Books
46:17 The Agency TV Series
48:55 Appreciation for the Spyberry Community
49:11 Availability of Books and Release of Kaleidoscope
The Spy Game Books In Order By Michael Frost Beckner
The Aiken Trilogy
1. Muir's Gambit
2. Bishop's Endgame
3. Aiken in Check
The Muir Trilogy
1. Drought (Fall 2024)
Kaleidoscope: A 5-Part Spy Game Serial (novellas)
Part 1: 4th of July (25 March)
Part 2 – 5 (June – Dec 2024)
What is Kaleidoscope 4th of July All About?
“KALEIDOSCOPE does for the CIA what THE SOPRANOS did for the mob… The function and dysfunction of a whole family where the patriarch is ensnared in a dark and dangerous world.” MICHAEL APTED, Academy Award nominated film director of COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, ENIGMA
“An utterly distinctive voice in spy fiction. Nobody captures espionage quite like Beckner. Cerebral and unvarnished, with dialogue so sharp it's like dancing on hot coals.” – I.S. BERRY, Author of THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW, A New Yorker & NPR Best Book of the Year & Edgar Award Nominee
With his critically acclaimed and award-winning Muir's Gambit, Bishop's Endgame, and Aiken in Check, novelist and screenwriter Michael Frost Beckner thrilled espionage fans worldwide with a return to his classic Robert Redford/Brad Pitt movie Spy Game.
Kaleidoscope: 4th of July expands Beckner's Spy Game universe to dig deep into the personal and professional lives of three generations of a CIA family trapped in the web of the Agency's oldest and darkest secret.
Praise for the Spy Game Series:
“Pass the popcorn!” Amazon Editors' Pick, Vanessa Cronin, Sr. Editor
“The top of the thriller heap.” “Chilling.” “Inspired.” Editor's Pick, Publishers Weekly
“Marvelous.” “Relentlessly tense.” Kirkus Reviews
While furthering the exploits of Nathan Muir and Tom Bishop, Beckner introduced readers to memorable new characters: Russell Aiken, Lara van Eyck, Charlie March, and Nina Alverez. But perhaps most provocative were CIA Chief of Counterintelligence Silas Kingston—”the most feared man at Langley;” the only person who ever outmastered Nathan Muir at the spy game—and his determined, conscientious but emotionally-scarred daughter, CIA operations manager Lynn.
Now, following in the footsteps of Charles Dickens and Stephen King (The Green Mile), Beckner embarks on his most ambitious project to date: an espionage saga told in five parts to be released throughout 2024. A tale of loyalty and love, betrayal and redemption, Kaleidoscope spins around three generations of the CIA Kingston family…
PART ONE: 4TH OF JULY
There are other families, neither happy nor mindfully sad; sanctioned to deception, these families kindle their lives with the flint of authorized deceit. Their pyre is “service,” and it is “national security.” Its flame is “duty.” “Honor.” And it is “faith.” Thus fueled, these families allow this fire to consume their every honest emotion.
Relentlessly.
Equally.
And to completion.
“Nobody vanishes,” Silas Kingston insists, but one Kingston has…
A vanishing or an escape? Conspiracy, or treason? When clandestine officer Michael Kingston goes missing in Turkey, the secrets and lies of three generations of a CIA family—spies, spouses, lovers, children—collide with the most fiercely protected operation within the CIA.
KALEIDOSCOPE
Since the 20th century, energy—its possession, production, distribution—has been the key to a nation's power. The “why-eternal” of all conflict. Today, global demand for energy outstrips resources. As directed by Silas Kingston, KALEIDOSCOPE is the hidden hand within the CIA, older than the Agency itself, overscoring all operations.
Intimately personal and international in scope, the secrets of KALEIDOSCOPE entwine with those of the Kingston family, pitting the survival of one against the destruction of the other.
BUY NOW and receive A SPY GAME BONUS! Three preview chapters of Beckner's upcoming (Fall 2024) Spy Game novel, Drought – Book I of The Muir Trilogy.
Did you know that one of the UK's top journalists Tim Shipman of The Sunday Times, has a passion for espionage novels? And that he has meticulously curated a compendium of his favorite 125 spy authors for the Spybrary Podcast and Community, all carefully ranked with suggestions on which book to start with from each spy author.
Grab your copy of this invaluable dossier and as a bonus, your enlistment ushers you into the monthly Spybrary Briefing, where we divulge imminent and upcoming spy book releases.
- Buy Kaledioscope 4th of July A Spy Game Novella
- Buy The Spy Game Books series
- Follow Michael Frost Beckner
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