Berlin Game

 is the first novel in the Samson series, not counting the historical prequel Winter. However Len Deighton explained that this was not his original intention: 'At first I'd planned to begin my story after the betrayal (at what is now the beginning of Mexico Set) but as my planning continued it became more obvious that more description of the betrayer* was needed. I decided that the story needed a prologue. The 'prologue' draft got longer and longer and eventually became Berlin Game' [Preface to Game, Set & Match omnibus edition].

[ * see Comments below re. discussion of the possible identity of the author's principal 'betrayer']

Deighton went on to state that 'The three stories take place over a year, so the action of each book takes approximately four months.' He later clarified that this first trilogy covered the period from spring 1983 to spring 1984 [Author's Note to Faith].

By way of context to the book, the post-World War II era does not appear to have been successful for London Central. According to Silas Gaunt it was: 'the time when the service was rotten with traitors, when certain colleagues of ours were reporting back to the Kremlin every bloody thing we did ' [Chap 4]. It is a view shared by Bernard, who believes this situation to be ongoing: ‘We haven’t run a good double agent in years and we haven’t landed any of their important agents either.’ That adds up to one thing only: someone here is blowing everything we do’ [Chap 14].

The novel begins with Bernard Samson in a car at Checkpoint Charlie, waiting for an intelligence asset supposed to be crossing from Communist East Berlin. Despite the revolver under Bernard's arm it's a boring, late-night job during which Bernard's companion in the car, his closest friend Werner Volkmann, reminisces about their shared childhood in the city in the aftermath of World War II - on the night the Berlin Wall went up [12/13 August 1961] both had been working for Bernard's father, however Brian Samson had kept his son back from going to reconnoitre the Russian-run East Sector. Instead, Werner says he travelled over there for a few hours with Silas Gaunt to assess developments.

Bernard is now certain the asset is not going to show, so plans to return the following day to London and to his wife, Fiona Samson.

 Key questions outstanding  – Berlin Game +

'''1. Is Zena Volkmann a full-blown intelligence officer, or perhaps a paid agent? If so, is she operating for London Central &/or for some other service? And is she being run by Frank Harrington &/or Werner Volkmann &/or who?'''

Bernard suggests that the chain responsible for a rumour that the KGB was about to blow the Brahms network consists of Frank to Zena, to Werner, to Rolf Mauser … the last of whom doesn’t contradict him [Berlin Game Chap19]. In the following chapter Frank seems to confirm Zena passed him secret material [‘''I get information from her. She gets none from me''’], the leak of which apparently triggers Rolf Mauser into killing Giles Trent, then the extraction of Brahms Four and, ultimately, London Central getting its wish for Fiona Samson to head behind the Iron Curtain.

'''2. Where do Max Binder’s loyalties lie? Is the Brahms network therefore as secure as London Central believes it to be?'''

We need to assess what it means for London Central’s critical Brahms network that Max Binder is part of it yet he decides he needs to move to East Berlin where, seemingly, he is highly valued by East German authorities: ‘''…he went back to the East’…’His wife was from the East wasn’t she?’…‘They got one of those “wedding cake” apartments on Stalinallee…He has a good job now. He’s in the customs service – chief clerk’ [Berlin Game'' Chap10].

'''3. Is the KGB actually involved in Giles Trent betraying Britain? Is it a false flag operation?'''

Bernard believes Trent’s nominal handler, Chlestakov, to be a Russian national, however he notes several instances - e.g. in Berlin Game chapters 8 & 14 - where this doesn’t appear to be a genuine KGB operation.

4. How is it that Bernard and, especially, Dicky Cruyer know senior officer Fiona Samson is a flight risk yet - despite simultaneously planning to keep Billy & Sally in the country - do nothing to prevent this occurring and the untold damage that would inevitably result?

Bernard instructs Werner to plan, with Dicky’s support, for the Samson children to be kept safe in case Fiona has made arrangements for their kidnap [Berlin Game Chap22]. The book ends with Werner confirming that this has been done successfully.

5. How trustworthy is Bernard Samson really?

A senior officer with London Central, Bernard hands across both gun and live ammunition to a non-British national (Rolf Mauser) on British soil, no questions asked. Sure, they hail from an era in which loyalty - or at least deciding who to help - has always been a compromised judgement call. But it’s now 1983: does Bernard not care at the very least that the revolver will likely be fired inside the nation which he seeks to protect?