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Title: The best description of Armenia in fiction -- and much more
Review: I read SIRO for one reason only: it was the only work of fiction I could find that had scenes set in Armenia. Even if that leaves you indifferent, this is an excellent spy novel and well worth reading. Ignatius's research -- geographical, historical, and organizational -- is superb. While his story briefly spins into something not quite believable, his underlying description of the CIA and its employees rings true. Ignatius neither glorifies nor deamonizes them, he simply recounts what their lives must be like and what he believes they must feel.And if you are one of the rare few that is interested in Armenia as a backdrop for at least part of a novel, you will not be disapointed. Late in the novel we are introduced to Armenian character, and we are eventually transported to Armenia with some of the characters. Ignatius gets nearly every detail right, and it was as though I had actually visited Armenia, however briefly.
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