This was a re-read. The Matarese Circle is one of my favorite books, written by perhaps my favorite author. Without getting too far into it, I recently had to replace almost my entire Robert Ludlum collection, and when I had them back in my possession, I had to read one right away. The Matarese Circle was my pick; I hadn't read it since high school, when I was first discovering Ludlum and voraciously tore through his bibliography in a way I've never been able to do with another author. In ninete

This was a re-read. The Matarese Circle is one of my favorite books, written by perhaps my favorite author. Without getting too far into it, I recently had to replace almost my entire Robert Ludlum collection, and when I had them back in my possession, I had to read one right away. The Matarese Circle was my pick; I hadn't read it since high school, when I was first discovering Ludlum and voraciously tore through his bibliography in a way I've never been able to do with another author. In nineteen years, it hasn't lost an ounce of its power, and I'd forgotten quite a bit more about it than I'd thought.



After a pair of assassinations of American and Russian officials, a vast conspiracy decades in the making begins its final power play, and a secret society of killers and power brokers called the Matarese is poised to essentially take over the world. Only two men have the drive and the know-how to stop them: Brandon Scofield, an American spy for Consular Operations, and Vasili Taleniekov, the KGB's top agent. But the two would-be heroes are arch enemies, sworn to kill each other in revenge for personal losses. Can they get over their hatred of each other long enough to stop the Matarese?



*SPOILERS*



Like all of Ludlum's best books, the tension in The Matarese Circle never lets up. There's a constant sense of dread and danger, even when the characters are sitting in a hotel room or shopping for clothes. The power and influence of the Matarese are established early on, and as a result, we know they can be anywhere, and anyone Scofield and Taleniekov encounter could be a Matarese agent. When they do show up, it feels like the good guys may not make it out of their current predicament alive. Scofield and Taleniekov are also built up to be master spies with skill sets that make them legends in their world, but Ludlum uses this not to make them superheroes, but to show how deadly the Matarese are, and to make what should be two living gods all too human. It adds just enough realism to what is ultimately a spy fantasy to invest you in the story.



Just as good are the characters. Scofield and Taleniekov are both veteran spies in at least their mid-forties, and they've reached a point where they're disillusioned with espionage. Scofield, once a cold-blooded professional, now balks at using deadly force on people who don't deserve it. And Taleniekov, while still a ruthless killer, can feel his soul being chipped away with every body he leaves in his wake. He's more ready to kill than Scofield is, but he hurts just as much because of it; there's a moment when Scofield is initially angry at him for preparing to murder what is essentially an innocent, but eventually realizes that Taleniekov is silently begging Scofield to find a reason for him not to kill. It's a sobering moment, where the fantasy of the superspy melts away and shows the dour, painful reality of men who have sacrificed their humanity. And then there's Anotnia, the Corsican woman they meet along the way. She's a wonderful character, a woman who, we slowly discover, has gone through hell to keep herself alive, who is scared to death of reliving the horrors she barely escaped, and who is passionate and loyal to those she loves. The love story between her and Scofield is strong and believable, and rooted in their characters: Scofield is rediscovering his humanity, and he's helping Antonia reclaim her will to live.



The Matarese is the coolest evil organization this side of SPECTRE. They've existed since after World War I, and they've bided their time, performing impossible assassinations for all the world governments, tempting them with their skills and their offers to shift the balance of power, until finally no one can act because everyone is guilty, and the Matarese can hang everyone with their own sins. It's an interesting commentary on the Cold War, with a stalemate due to mutually assured destruction leading to an outside actor hurting everyone. And peeling the onion proves difficult for Scofield and Taleniekov as well; every time they think they have the Matarese figured out, they realize they're wrong, and someone ends up dead, with a new rung of the ladder to climb. Their final plan is absolutely chilling, and all too believable; no death rays, no triggered wars, just a relatively simple deception that will give them the world.



Speaking of the Cold War, I also appreciate how Ludlum highlights the evils of communism and they way it warps the minds of the young and impressionable. Antonia is an avowed communist (much to Taleniekov's joy), but she comes to realize that she isn't really an idealistic freedom fighter, but a captive of evil people who use her in every way imaginable, her life an ongoing case of Stockholm Syndrome. Scofield manages to get her to overcome it little by little, and it's through him that she's finally able to conquer her fears and be her own person, the person the Red Brigades tried to destroy.



The Matarese Circle is magnificent, and reading now as an older and wiser fellow, I appreciate it even more.