The God’s Eye View

Full Praise

“Eisler’s expert knowledge of spy craft and hand-to-hand combat combine with his ultra-deep distrust of government intelligence to propel this suspenseful yarn into the front ranks of paranoid thrillers.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

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“Piercingly plausible…will have readers perched on the edge of their seats from page one. Beyond being exciting and entertaining, the book serves as a profoundly disturbing cautionary tale.”
—San Jose Mercury News

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“More than just a page-turner, the book is clearly inspired by the Snowden revelations, and not only does it have tons of little Easter Eggs for people who have followed the surveillance debate, but it also includes at the end details of how many of the ‘crazy’ and outlandish spy programs and tactics described in the book are actually happening today…”
—Techdirt

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“When Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove was having its run, service people left the theater muttering, ‘That wasn’t a satire. That’s what they’re like.’ So it is with Eisler’s fine thriller…”
—Don Crinklaw, Booklist, Starred Review

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“…incredibly entertaining…a thriller that travels the world and encounters some of the most dangerous, distasteful people in its darkest corners…sex, love, and violence…More than just a thriller, it is a statement about the degradation of privacy and liberty in America.”
—George Lichman, Crimespree Magazine

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“Eisler maintains the vivid international flavor of his John Rain series…this is an update on Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, but with an Americanized, Hollywood-style spirit of entertainment.”
—Yomiuri Shinbun’s Japan News

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“One of the best books I’ve read on what goes on at the NSA. The buildup of the plot and the various scenes throughout keeps you connected. A must-read book!”
—Night Owl Reviews

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“An engaging tale about a serious issue. Read it and squirm.”
—Kirkus

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“Eisler’s CIA background serves him well in this political thriller that ratchets tension up so high that it may increase your blood pressure. The plot is made even more chilling when you realize many facets of the book are based on current events.”
—Romantic Times (Top Pick)

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“In The God’s Eye View, former CIA insider Barry Eisler brings his experience to bear in crafting a novel that shines a bright light into the dark world of surveillance and counter-terrorism measures. A gripping and timely warning about over-reaching government interference, The God’s Eye View is sure to please techno-thriller lovers.”
—Cindy A. Matthews, Authorlink

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“Eisler takes us deep into the world of politics and gives us a number of ‘what if’ scenarios…If you enjoy political thrillers and conspiracies this is a must-have for your library. One read through is simply not enough—you will find yourself going back for another read to catch up on all the nuances that may have been missed. Prepare to be terrified and looking over your shoulder as you catch up with The God’s Eye View.”
—Leslie Wright, Blog Critics

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“An outstanding book…like the recent movie, The Big Short, God’s Eye takes great pains NOT to dumb down the material…made me cry, smile, grimace, feel joy, and whoop…way to go.”
—The BookSage

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“A great thriller filled with well-realized characters and a frenetic pace…also gives an uncomfortably realistic, and frighteningly prescient, view of the NSA’s capabilities and the loss of privacy threatening every American…Highly recommended.”
—Michael Patrick Hicks

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“This edge-of-your seat thriller has a great combination of sympathetic characters, non-stop action, insight into recent headlines, and more than enough reality to scare readers sufficiently. To bring even more fright to the table, the author has included an extensive bibliography of additional resources on technological advancements in the world of surveillance that could keep any reader up all night.”
—Christine Zibas, Reviewing the Evidence

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“Eisler spent three years as a covert operative for the CIA and he’s got a real talent for the physical action and weapons parts of his story. He also does an outstanding job of describing modern security and surveillance technology. Few thriller novelists combine those skills as well as Eisler does here.”
—James Barber, Under the Radar, Military.com

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“Eisler has managed to evoke a half-hidden global conflict that is still largely misunderstood even by many of its own participants. In documenting the parts and making accessible the whole, he has done the public a profound service that goes well beyond entertainment.”
—Barrett Brown, imprisoned journalist

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“Read this book because it’s wildly entertaining. Respect it because it paints a portrait of America that is more timely, terrifying, and relevant than anything gracing the bestseller lists. This is fiction that thrills, makes you think, and makes you consider the surveillance state that is fast becoming our daily lives. What more can a novel aspire to do? The God’s Eye View is one of the most important books that will be published this year.”
—Blake Crouch, author of Wayward Pines

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“Barry Eisler writes terrific political thrillers, but they have a deeper message. He wants us to think about the surveillance state we’re creating, a world of pervasive spying on everything we say and do. This book will entertain, as all good thrillers do, but it’ll also ask you to consider the price we’ll all pay if unaccountable governments know everything about us while we know little or nothing about what they do with our money and in our names.”
—Dan Gillmor, teacher of digital media literacy at Arizona State University, journalist, and author

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“Barry Eisler takes us into the most forbidding—and forbidden—places, programs, and conversations in the Intelligence Community. We’re in the room as the generals and bureaucrats charged with protecting us instead plot to deny Americans our constitutional liberties. It’s not pretty, and blood is going to be spilled. The only way I can sleep after reading this book is by trying to convince myself it’s fiction.”
—John Kiriakou, whistleblower, former CIA

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“Creepy. This story is much more plausible than I expected—or care to admit.”
—Chelsea Manning, former army intelligence analyst and transparency advocate

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“An absolute page-turner I couldn’t put down—complete with real world details and references. If you want to learn why we should fear the NSA, while being tremendously entertained, this is the book for you.”
—Mike Masnick, founder and CEO of Techdirt

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“Barry Eisler has done it again. The God’s Eye View is a character-driven action tale grounded in real-life events. With the knowledge of an intelligence community insider, Eisler explores the slippery slope of authoritarian impulses that are unleashed when fear and power combine in unaccountable government agencies, and the destruction–of lives and ideals—that inevitably follows.”
—Elisa Massimino, President and CEO, Human Rights First

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“The God’s Eye View is a delicious, thrilling read about a deep state surveillance program that even Edward Snowden did not unearth…This page-turner is replete with references to real-life voices of truth and transparency, and shows how easily and quickly democracy can be subverted by government secrecy and unchecked power.”
—Jesselyn Radack, lawyer for Edward Snowden

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“There are few authors alive who can weave real-life headlines and state-of-the-art technology into riveting storytelling as convincingly as Eisler. The God’s Eye View is a prescient and page-turning tale about just how powerful secretive government spy agencies like the NSA have become…and how quickly they can spin out of control.”
—Trevor Timm, Executive Director, Freedom of the Press Foundation

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“This is the nightmare scenario: when the director of our national surveillance machine goes out of control. But there are certainly hints in both leaked and released documents that such a scenario might be possible, as well as in the ease with which intelligence officials can contract out specific tasks. The God’s Eye View is a compelling picture of why we need to rein in our surveillance state. Plus, it’s an awesome read.”
—Marcy Wheeler, Emptywheel