What should have been a simple final mission — delivering a small parcel to a man in Iceland — quickly spirals out of control for ex-MI6 spy Alan Stewart. Soon after his arrival, he is forced to kill a KGB agent who tries to take the package, and when he attempts to complete the delivery, he realizes he has been double-crossed — his own former boss, the menacing Slade, is playing both sides. Suddenly Stewart finds himself pursued not just by the KGB, but by the CIA and his own people, who now believe he has turned traitor — a Cold War nightmare where agents and double agents blur together and no one can be trusted.
What follows is a taut, breathless game of cat and mouse across the wild Icelandic hinterland, with Slade as the ruthless antagonist orchestrating the chaos from the shadows. Stewart must navigate natural obstacles — boiling geysers, fast-flowing rivers, sheer cliffs and steep-sided valleys — aided only by his Icelandic girlfriend Elín, in a desperate bid to survive and expose the truth. It is in these moments of exhaustion and paranoia that Stewart’s voice rings most powerfully: “I’m getting tired of running blind; I’m getting tired of running. Maybe if I stood my ground for once in a while I’d be better off.” That line captures Stewart’s fatigue and resolve — a man worn down by a world of shadows, finally ready to fight back.
This was Bagley’s first espionage novel and the first of his books to be researched on location, and it shows — the spectacular landscape of Iceland is captured and used to tremendous effect. Bagley goes beyond mere scenery, offering vivid insights into Icelandic culture and cuisine along the way — including the observation that “it takes an Icelander to appreciate hakarl – raw shark meat buried in sand for several months – or pickled whale blubber.” The audiobook edition, narrated by Paul Tyreman, is a particularly fine way to experience the novel. Tyreman’s performance is a fine match for Bagley’s craftsman-like storytelling — he handles a wide range of voices across genders and nationalities with ease, and his Icelandic-accented English adds an authentic texture that grounds the story in its setting. He is especially strong with pacing, understanding instinctively when to let silence do the work, and when to press forward — mirroring Bagley’s own gift for building and releasing tension. More than five decades after its publication, Running Blind remains a well-plotted, expertly written thriller that has aged remarkably well.
