A Conspiracy of Ravens

The third book in Terrence McCauley’s international espionage trilogy was titled, A Conspiracy of Ravens. The first two books, Sympathy for the Devil and A Murder of Crows have been previously reviewed in this blog. The reader finally learns that the name of the other network, the evil network which is working to eliminate the University, is the Vanguard. The Vanguard is a non-government agency whose purpose seems to be only to enrich itself and is willing to use whatever brutality is necessary to achieve that. They were being staffed by ex-Russian and ex-Chinese intelligence officers, and their resources were far greater than those available to the University. For the first time, the University agreed to partner with the CIA in order to assault the Vanguard. There continues to be conflict between the loyalties for Tali, Hicks’ pregnant lover and Israeli spy. McCauley did give Tali a great line when, in reference to the ugly hotel in Berlin where she was staying. She quoted some old movie: “Ugly buildings, politicians, and whores all become respectable if they’re around long enough.” While she never thought of herself as a prostitute, she wondered if would survive the danger she was about to face. Roger Cobb, the psychopath who was working for the good guys, was the author’s second protagonist – woven tightly into the story line.

Hick’s problems, of which he thought as his Carousel of Concern now included Tali and the baby, the Vanguard and it’s director Tessmer, Demerest of the CIA, “every intelligence agency in Washingon’s alphaget soup,” the future of the University, and more. McCauley writes about a big international conspiracy about which most humans would never know about. The action shifted all around the world, finally ending in China, near the Mongolian border. If a fantasy about international espionage is your genre, then this is a must read.