The Silent Man by Alex Berenson
The Wall Street Journal called Alex Berenson's Edgar Award-winning first novel, The Faithful Spy, "one of the best spy stories ever told." Its follow-up, The Ghost War, was hailed as "mesmerizing . . . an extraordinary achievement."Now Berenson's third novel featuring CIA agent John Wells, The Silent Man, is hitting the shelves, and we had a chance to talk to the bestselling author about both his writing and his "day job" as a reporter for the New York Times:
In The Silent Man, Wells faces an old enemy, even as terrorists plot to use a nuclear weapon to provoke war between Russia and the United States. You currently cover the pharmaceutical industry and medicine for the New York Times, yet your books aren't medical thrillers, but deal instead with espionage and countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia. You obviously know a lot about this stuff, but how? Or shouldn't I ask?
When I started writing The Faithful Spy, I drew heavily on my experience covering Iraq for the paper. I worked there for about four months in 2003 and 2004. More broadly, my experience as an investigative reporter helps me find and process information that isn't readily available -- and also gives me insight into the way big organizations and bureaucracies behave. There is less difference between a drug company like Eli Lilly and an agency like the CIA than you might imagine. Bureaucracies are inherently self-protective organizations.
People seem to turn to fiction when times are tough, maybe because it gives us a sense of control when everything else seems out of control. Is there any of that in the correspondent who, in his day job, reports the news, but in his writing creates it -- at least, fictionally?
Yes, I very much enjoy having a world I control, where I understand the characters and their motivations fully. I sometimes tell readers that my characters may lie to each other -- and sometimes even to themselves -- but they never lie to me.
One reviewer said your books are not so much "ripped from the headlines, but eerily destined to be set in type for tomorrow's." My question, of course, is how do you do it?
In the short term, say one to five years, certain scenarios are reasonably probable. The Chinese will gain military power as their economy grows. We will need to find ways to engage with Iran. The United States will pull out of Iraq. I simply try to imagine one move beyond that, what the next step might be.
Beyond the near-term, though, I don't think anyone really knows what the future will hold, and the rate of technological change is actually accelerating. No one in 1900 could have imagined 2000. It's possible that in our lifetimes we'll have super-intelligent robots and a "living" Internet. What that will actually mean for us, I don't know.
I know that you have degrees in history and economics, both from Yale. What brought you to reporting?
Reporting is a great job, especially at the Times. I get to ask people uncomfortable questions and generally cause lots of trouble.
More seriously, I enjoy being in a position to give people information that perhaps they didn't have previously and help them see hidden conflicts of interest that may affect them. This is especially true in covering the pharmaceutical industry -- many patients have no idea of the limited efficacy and potential side effects of many medicines.
You've said that you nearly killed off your protagonist John Wells at the end of the first novel, but changed your mind. Is there anyone in your books you wouldn't kill?
It would be tough for me to kill Wells at this point. I've lived with him for several years now, and he's very real to me. That said, I do want to explore other novels and other characters, and the only way to get that freedom may be to put Wells away permanently. In any case, I have a new three-book deal with Putnam for Wells novels, so he's not going anywhere for a while.
You've called The Faithful Spy a story of loneliness and The Ghost War, a story of betrayal. What about the new book?
The Silent Man is a story of revenge.
And what about Alex Berenson. What's next for you?
More writing. If I couldn't write, I don't know what I would do with myself . . . .
Contributing editor Sandra Balzo turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management, and publicity. Bean There, Done That, the sequel to her Anthony and Macavity-nominated novels, Uncommon Grounds and Grounds for Murder, received a starred review from Kirkus last year and will be followed this spring by Brewed, Crude and Tattooed.
In the short term, say one to five years, certain scenarios are reasonably probable. The Chinese will gain military power as their economy grows. We will need to find ways to engage with Iran. The United States will pull out of Iraq. I simply try to imagine one move beyond that, what the next step might be.Beyond the near-term, though, I don't think anyone really knows what the future will hold, and the rate of technological change is actually accelerating. No one in 1900 could have imagined 2000. It's possible that in our lifetimes we'll have super-intelligent robots and a "living" Internet. What that will actually mean for us, I don't know.
I know that you have degrees in history and economics, both from Yale. What brought you to reporting?
Reporting is a great job, especially at the Times. I get to ask people uncomfortable questions and generally cause lots of trouble.
More seriously, I enjoy being in a position to give people information that perhaps they didn't have previously and help them see hidden conflicts of interest that may affect them. This is especially true in covering the pharmaceutical industry -- many patients have no idea of the limited efficacy and potential side effects of many medicines.
You've said that you nearly killed off your protagonist John Wells at the end of the first novel, but changed your mind. Is there anyone in your books you wouldn't kill?
It would be tough for me to kill Wells at this point. I've lived with him for several years now, and he's very real to me. That said, I do want to explore other novels and other characters, and the only way to get that freedom may be to put Wells away permanently. In any case, I have a new three-book deal with Putnam for Wells novels, so he's not going anywhere for a while.
You've called The Faithful Spy a story of loneliness and The Ghost War, a story of betrayal. What about the new book?
The Silent Man is a story of revenge.
And what about Alex Berenson. What's next for you?
More writing. If I couldn't write, I don't know what I would do with myself . . . .
Contributing editor Sandra Balzo turned to mystery writing after twenty years in corporate public relations, event management, and publicity. Bean There, Done That, the sequel to her Anthony and Macavity-nominated novels, Uncommon Grounds and Grounds for Murder, received a starred review from Kirkus last year and will be followed this spring by Brewed, Crude and Tattooed.
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