What Makes an Awesome Book: Reflections After Reading Keith Thomson’s “Once a Spy”

I finished reading an absolutely awesome book the other night: “Once a Spy” by Keith Thomson.

It was so awesome, in fact, that it got me thinking… What really makes a book THIS good?

One of the possible answers that immediately jumped out at me was how the novel featured non-stop drama. Every other second, someone was shooting at someone, it seemed.

Then again, I’ve read novels with action scenes crammed into every chapter… that still bit. (“Pirate Latitudes,” for one, had me wishing everyone would die already from any one of the back-to-back catastrophes so that the book – and my boredom – would end.)

So if that doesn’t do it, then how about entertainment value? I mean, Thomson does pack a snarky punch, throwing around sarcastic quips at the same rate his characters sling bullets. “Once a Spy” is every bit as amusing as it is thrilling.

Though I’ve also read entertaining books before that I haven’t been tempted to label “awesome.” Maybe because they were ONLY entertaining; they didn’t teach me or better me at all.

“Once a Spy,” on the other hand, definitely taught me a thing or two. Let me tell you. Thomson writes like he’s read the Langley handbook cover to cover, throwing in random facts about torture techniques, secret projects from eras gone by, weaponry capabilities… Really cool stuff!

At the risk of being repetitive though, I genuinely don’t think subject matter expertise is the key either when I’ve gone glassy-eyed too many times reading really interesting information conveyed in less-than interesting ways.

So what else is there to consider?

Compelling characters? Check. Unexpected plot twists? Check. Originality? Check.

And I could cross all those off the list too if I didn’t think I’d bore you to death in the process. So for now, I’ll just admit defeat and acknowledge that I don’t know the answer to my question.

What I do know is this: When I read a truly awesome book, I recognize it for what it is. And I’m sure you can say the same thing.

That je ne sais quoi might not be easy to define, but it is VERY easy to spot.

So congratulations to Keith Thomson for “Once a Spy.” I can’t wait to read the sequel!