Michael Idov

Three panels showing a bench on a small hill in London on a grey drizzly day. A man in a fedora carrying a suitcase arrives, then he is joined by a woman carrying an umbrella and a man in dark glasses reading a newspaper. They all look shifty and hurriedly converse: "Good." "Very." "Agreed." Then they all walk off down the hill. Caption: Every month, the Espionage Book Club discuss a classic work of spy fiction at a clandestine meeting. To minimise the risk of exposure, infiltration or surveillance by hostile agents, conversation is restricted to the essentials.

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.

A line of unrelated “red herrings” (Outcast, Salt-and-pepper, Rough Riders, and The Far Side) that could be read as a list of 90s’ hip-hop acts with corrected spelling

Yesterday’s Connections finally laid a perfect trap for my demographic

Secretly my favorite line in the book, so thanks for zeroing in on it

Oh thank you! Hope it sticks the landing for you

En Stapel mit Neuerscheinungen aus dem Suhrkamp-Verlag vor hellblauem Hintergrund.

Unsere neuen Bücher im Februar sind da: shrk.vg/Neuerscheinu...

@annanosthoff.bsky.social @quinnslobodian.com @breyger.bsky.social @s-punkt1.bsky.social @michaelidov.bsky.social @imtunnel.bsky.social

oh yes it was great! not me, that is, but the podcast itself. glad the archive is still out there

Thanks!

In These Mystery Novels, Evil Lurks in Unexpected Places

January's Crime & Mystery column is finally up, reviewing new books by Kelli Stanley, Malcolm Kempt, Amy Pease, and Michael Idov. (gift link)

Happy publication day to this electrifying spy thriller! #TheCormorantHunt by @michaelidov.bsky.social is a must-read for fans of political intrigue, espionage, and thrillers that don’t play by the rules. Start reading it now: https://bit.ly/4rXr3NB

"Be prepared to become an Idov espionage fan waiting on the next thrilling and compelling story.”—Maureen Palacios, Once Upon a Time Bookstore

#TheCormorantHunt hits shelves January 27th. You won't be able to put it down. https://bit.ly/4rXr3NB

A single face-to-face contact confirming a lifetime of conditioning and a promise of protection from a made-up enemy. I am curious what the progressive equivalent of this could be, and can’t think of anything. (Which is a good thing… but not for retail politics)

Yes! Yes!! My party is in power!! Time to hit the streets and do violence to my neighbors!! I'm assuming of course that no social, cultural, or political forces, let alone those caused by my own gleeful actions, will ever tip the balance of power away from us

The insane thing is, even Russia always puts some kind of fig leaf over its ambitions (historically Russian lands, a mistreated Russian population, our former allies betrayed us, NATO has forced our hand, etc etc) while this guy is… just out there saying “yes, this is pure territorial conquest”

I'm not religious in the least but this year, and especially given the last 24 hours, I see no choice but to celebrate the crap out of Hanukkah

Kirkus Reviews calls The Cormorant Hunt “spy fiction at its headiest and most addictive” in a starred review

Not a great day buuuut there's some good news, too: Kirkus Reviews just gave a rave, and its coveted star, to The Cormorant Hunt. (The Collaborators got one as well, so this series is two for two now). A serious honor, and a hell of a start

It's kind of nuts that you can currently hear R.E.M. songs live, but your two options are to hear them sung by the guy from Hootie & the Blowfish or Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon

“Read this book in a cooler place than I wrote it” challenge off to a strong start, I see

Book giveaway for The Cormorant Hunt (The Cormorant Trilogy, #2) by Michael Idov Nov 23-Dec 19, 2025 30 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Nov 23-Dec 19, 2025. The follow up to The Collaborators is here! Read as part of the series or as a standal...

The follow up to The Collaborators is here! Read as part of the series or as a standalone, you won't be able to put down THE CORMORANT HUNT by Michael Idov! Enter for a chance to win on Goodreads! No purch. nec. US res. 18+ 11/23-12/19.
https://bit.ly/4nAB1kw

An Open Letter to the Serving and Former Flag Officers of the U.S. Military The Steady State | October 31, 2025

I’ve been waiting and hoping for exactly this, but it’s still a chilling read. Hope enough people in the IC locate their spines now, so it doesn’t have to go the full von Stauffenberg route later

I would read all four volumes of Carol Sturka’s purple sand pirate smut series before reading a single word of that Olivia Nuzzi book

You could tell me this Pope Leo XIV quote was from a David Lynch interview and I’d believe you. Cool dude

That’s a fantastic idea, by the way

It was then adopted by RF embassies around the world, who started doing it in English to score easy anti-establishment and anti-U.S. points online. And now, 10 years later, the U.S. establishment speaks like this to its own citizens.

Womp womp indeed

Not for nothing, this style of gov’t communication was invented around 2015 by Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I remember a lot of jaws dropping when it began.

"Nuremberg," Two Ways How does James Vanderbilt's film about Nazis on trial differ from the Russian-made film of the same title? A side-by-side comparison speaks volumes about contemporary politics.

The Russians made their own film titled "Nuremberg," released two years ago. Watching it side by side with the new American one speaks volumes about how the two societies see themselves and each other, writes @michaelidov.bsky.social airmail.news/issues/2025-...

Book giveaway for The Cormorant Hunt (The Cormorant Trilogy, #2) by Michael Idov Oct 30-Nov 22, 2025 Enter to win one of 50 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Oct 30-Nov 22, 2025. Enter for a chance to win an early copy of this thrilling espionag...

Slow Horses meets Red Sparrow in this electrifying spy thriller: THE CORMORANT HUNT by Michael Idov. Enter for a chance to win on Goodreads! No purch. nec. US res. 18+ 10/30-11/22.
https://bit.ly/43Hexr0

Wildly proud to share this new addition to the cast of Stratagem: an actor I have hugely admired for literal decades, Mr. Dexter and David Fisher himself, Michael C. Hall

Flattered to have made the list, and can’t wait to get to work on this.

Hahaha I uhh stand corrected!

Every time you check out a Longines ad, an alarm goes off at the Intellectual Dark Web Marketing Department