Review: The Illegals by Shaun Walker
Fresh off the Karla trilogy, I blazed right through this epic account of Russia's spy program. The focus is on a series of KGB "illegals", whose exploits and struggles brought The Americans back into my mind with every other turn of the page. Like, this kind of stuff actually did happen, complete with betrayals and assassinations and tumultuous family drama. There's even an illegal who managed to pull off becoming the ambassador of a country on the other side of the world. Walker also provides just enough historical context at every turn, giving us a coherent narrative all the way to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Tremendous non-fiction with the perfect balance of rigour and readability.