A WWII Spy Thriller That Will Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat
Introduction
Eye of the Needle is a heart-pounding WWII espionage novel that will have you racing through the pages. Published in 1978, this was Follett’s breakthrough thriller that launched his career as one of the most popular authors of our time.
Follett crafts an unputdownable tale Around a cunning German spy with the code name “Needle” who discovers crucial invasion plans about the allied D-Day landings in Normandy. This sets off a relentless chase between Needle and MI5 agent Henry Faber to see who can get the secret documents back to their side first.
You can find Eye of the Needle by author Kenneth Martin Follett on your favorite bookstore, including Amazon.com and Amazon UK.
Table of Contents
About author Kenneth Martin Follett
With over 160 million copies of his books sold worldwide, Kenneth Follett stands as one of the most popular and widely read authors of our time. His novels have enthralled readers across the globe with their gripping stories of love, courage, tragedy and triumph.
Follett burst onto the literary scene in 1978 with Eye of the Needle, a taut World War II thriller about a ruthless German spy operating in England. The breakout novel earned him the 1979 Edgar award and launched his career as a bestselling author. He continued writing successful thrillers before making a pivot to historical fiction in 1989 with The Pillars of the Earth. The nearly 1000-page medieval drama about the building of a cathedral cemented Follett as a leading voice in the genre.
Over a decorated 40+ year career, Follett has published over 30 books. While he started in thrillers, he has become most known for his Kingsbridge series – historical fiction epics that track several families through major world events over centuries. These rich, sprawling tales brim with love, revenge, despair and hope. Works like World Without End and A Column of Fire immerse readers in the sights, sounds and emotions of critical eras in history.
Follett’s exhaustive research and eye for rich, relatable characters shine through in every novel. His books reveal historical periods through an intimate, personal lens that makes each momentous event feel immediate and real. He studied philosophy in college before working as a reporter and publisher. These experiences helped shape his controlled, propulsive writing style that keeps readers rapidly turning pages.
Born in Cardiff, Wales in 1949, Follett now splits time between homes there and in Stevenage, England. He serves as a founding director of Dyslexia Action – a leading charity for people with learning difficulties. Follett also helped launch the National Year of Reading initiative. Despite his phenomenal sales and fame, he remains devoted to promoting literacy and overcoming reading challenges.
At 73 years old, the prolific author shows no signs of slowing down. His next Kingsbridge novel, titled The Light We Carry, arrives in November 2022. Loyal readers eagerly await this next chapter by their beloved storyteller. For four decades, Kenneth Follett’s books have illuminated times past while speaking to universal hopes, dreams and truths. His unique ability to enthrall both casual and serious readers alike solidifies his place among the great spinners of historical fiction.
An Opening That Grabs You Instantly
The novel pulls you in right from the start by opening on a vicious storm raging across the English Channel. We meet a cold-hearted Nazi spy aboard a small fishing boat fighting through monstrous waves to reach the British coastline on a secret mission for Hitler himself.
Through the driving rain, Needle barely makes out the white cliffs of Dover glowing eerily in the night. The captain shouts desperately for Needle to let down the sails so they don’t capsize. But Needle shoots him dead without hesitation, takes control of the boat, and steers it perilously towards the rocks as the waves batter the vessel mercilessly.
You can almost taste the salt spray stinging your cheeks as Follett places you amidst the blood and thunder of this dramatic scene. It’s a powerful introduction that sets the stakes high from the very first page.
A Ruthless Spy On A Critical Mission
Code name Needle is actually a cold-blooded aristocrat named Henry Faber who has wormed his way into the upper ranks of British society while secretly working for Germany. He’s cultivated the perfect cover and charm to conceal his true identity.
But when Faber stumbles upon the drafted D-Day orders sitting unlocked on a desk during a visit to an Allied fortification, he realizes the unbelievable intelligence coup he’s been handed. The next hundred pages become a breathless chase as Faber attempts to uncover the full scope of the plans and photograph the documents before escaping with Britain’s most precious military secrets.
An MI5 Agent In Hot Pursuit
To track down Needle and prevent the D-Day papers from reaching Germany, the cunning MI5 spy Henry Faber is put on the case. These two masterminds spar off in an intense game of cat and mouse full of close calls as Needle tries to maintain his disguise while transmitting the photographs from under Faber’s nose.
The insightful Faber carefully puts together the breadcrumb clues about Needle based on his interactions at parties and his comings and goings around town. When he gets wind of Needle’s real identity, the stage is set for the final confrontation between the two worthy adversaries.
Who will come out on top? Faber must catch Needle before he boards a U-boat back to Hamburg or the pending D-Day landings designed to open the western front will be disastrously compromised.
Rich Sensory Details Pull You In
Follett’s vivid descriptions plop you right down in the middle of the action. Like when Needle is developing photos in an abandoned gasworks basement:
“In the glow of the red light he looked satanic, with his evening dress and red-lined opera cloak: Mephistopheles at photographic work.”
Little visceral touches like this make the events feel real and heighten the tension. Follett also peppers funny minute observations throughout which offer delightful breaths to break up the suspense.
The Pace Quickens
The second half moves swiftly between Faber, Needle, and connections in the German high command. Short punchy chapters skip back and forth between characters accelerating the pace to a fever pitch.
Follett also shifts perspective to let us inside Needle’s mind, understand his motivations, and see events from both sides. This gives the story intriguing moral complexity and richer emotional impact.
The final taut chapters will leave you breathless right up until the satisfying denouement where the winner is revealed after a dramatic showdown.
Is This Follett’s Best Work?
Many critics and readers consider Eye of the Needle Follett’s finest novel. It’s less lengthy and convoluted than massive epics like Pillars of the Earth, yet still delivers an impressive sweeping storyline tied intimately to real history.
The tight plot propels you forward chapter-by-chapter through ever more thrilling events while centered around only a handful of well-developed characters. There’s no excess filler weighing things down.
And the WWII atmosphere and believable spycraft elements drawn from Follett’s research gives this an authentic tone you can’t find in more extravagant blockbuster bestsellers. Eye of the Needle feels like the most even, complete, and satisfying of Follett’s library because of its consistency and realism.
Should You Read Eye of the Needle?
If you crave a smart, full-steam-ahead thriller, absolutely dive into Eye of the Needle. The breakneck pacing and high stakes war intrigue will leave you completely immersed in this engaging espionage tale set during one of history’s most dramatic eras.
Readers say they devoured it greedily in two or three late nights because the suspense glues your eyes to the page. Once the action takes off in the second act, there’s simply no putting it down. So clear your schedule before you crack the cover on this wild ride.
Eye of the Needle also avoids any of the repetitive soap opera family drama subplots that clutter some of Follett’s later bestsellers, which is another point in its favor. This is thriller writing executed at its most precise and masterful.
Any history buff, suspense lover, or Follett fan should add Eye of the Needle to the top of their must-read list if they hope to enjoy this prolific author’s talents at their peak. It’s a brisk, moving, and deliciously tense read destined to keep you enthralled.
Other Recommended Espionage Novels To Check Out
If you become hooked on the spy game intrigues after Eye of the Needle, here are six similar pulse-pounding page turners to check out next:
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – A dark Swedish crime thriller featuring a disgraced journalist and a troubled hacker investigator.
- The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre – The book that made Le Carre’s name and perhaps the defining espionage novel, this follows a veteran British agent sent on one final mission across the Berlin wall.
- The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum – Amnesiac spy Jason Bourne races to regain his memory and outrun assassins in this explosive first installment that spawned a blockbuster film series.
- The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy – A new Russian sub captain defects to the US with a cutting edge nuclear missile boat in this military techno-thriller that rocketed Clancy’s career.
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre – Many call this Le Carre tour de force the best spy novel ever written. It dives into Cold War era MI6 to uncover a Russian mole at the highest ranks.
- The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson – The concluding book of Larsson’s smash hit Millenium trilogy finds defiant punk hacker Lisbeth Salander on trial for her life after being shot in the head.
So recharge your adrenaline reserves after Needle and Faber’s clash by diving into these stellar spy classics next. They promise the same nerve-frying thrills born from elaborate espionage deceptions, daring near-misses, and shocking betrayals that have made this genre a fixture for book lovers.
FAQs
What genre is the book Eye of the Needle?
Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel that was published in 1978 by Welsh author Ken Follett. It fits squarely in the thriller genre, with elements of suspense, drama, intrigue, and action that keep readers turning the pages to see what happens next.
When and where is Eye of the Needle set?
The events of Eye of the Needle take place during World War II across England, Germany and remote Scottish islands. The time period provides an intriguing historical backdrop highlighting the tensions and technologies unique to wartime Europe in the 1940s.
Who are the main characters in the book?
The main protagonists are Henry Faber, a cold-blooded German spy, and Lucy Rose, a young woman living alone managing sheep on Storm Island. Their fates become intertwined as Faber hides out on Lucy’s island waiting for his chance to escape with vital information for the Nazi war machine.
What is unique about the title Eye of the Needle?
The eye of the needle refers to the narrow hazardous gap of stormy seas that Faber must traverse off the coast of Scotland to deliver his secret war message back to Germany. It symbolizes a point of ultimate danger that perfectly encapsulates the tense life-or-death action in the story.
Why has Eye of the Needle been so commercially successful?
Eye of the Needle has sold over 10 million copies worldwide because of its masterful blend of history and imagination. Follett’s well-paced plotting and intriguing characters draw readers into this cat-and-mouse story full of shocking twists, revealing both the darkest and brightest sides of human nature that appeal to a wide mainstream audience.
What was Kenneth Follett’s motivation for writing Eye of the Needle?
As a young journalist, Follett learned about a German spy nicknamed The Needle who eluded capture in Britain during WWII which inspired the idea for the book. He sought to explore not only the exciting true espionage scheme but what could psychologically motivate treason through the lens of rich fiction.
How did writing Eye of the Needle impact Kenneth Follett’s career?
The explosive success of Eye of the Needle allowed Follett to pursue writing full time and quickly establish himself as master of historical suspense thrillers that deeply research their time period. It remains his bestselling solo novel and put him on the international map as an esteemed author.
How was Eye of the Needle adapted for film?
Eye of the Needle was turned into a 1981 movie starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. While the adaptation takes some liberties with the storyline and characters, it captures the tension-filled psychological drama that made the book such a hit.
What is the critical consensus on Eye of the Needle?
Beyond commercial success, critical reviews consistently highlight Follett’s vivid imagination for thrilling plotting, dramatic character portraits that connect with audiences, strong historical command of WWII details, and masterful pacing right up to climatic showdowns readers won’t soon forget.
Why should new readers pick up Eye of the Needle?
Eye of the Needle pioneered the wartime spy genre that combines rich historical detail with gripping suspense to deliver an entertaining, stay-up-all-night reading experience. It offers timeless appeal to both fans of historical fiction and adrenaline-rushing adventure stories.