Spy fictions

The Spy Who Came in From Headquarters

Spying is about lying, but spy fiction by real-life insiders always arrives with a particular frisson: the tantalizing promise of truth. Spy fiction typically conveys a sense that behind the noisy chaos of the news headlines are the quiet, concerted efforts of unseen conspirators. So the pulse quickens at any hint that we’ve gained access to more than an outsider’s overheated imaginings, that we’ve been ushered into an exclusive, hidden domain of power. That’s the reality effect.
Yet the reality effect, in espionage fiction, is inscribed on a Möbius strip. John le Carré really did work for MI6, but the slang he popularized in his fiction — most notably, “mole” — then got taken up by the professionals.