'Spies and Other Gods' is an espionage novel by a former British intelligence officer

Summary

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NPR's Book of the Day – “Spies and Other Gods” by James Wolf

Episode Date: May 4, 2026
Host: Alyssa Nadworny (intro), Mary Louise Kelly (interview)
Guest: James Wolf (pseudonym), former British intelligence officer
Subject: The espionage novel “Spies and Other Gods”

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Overview

This episode spotlights the new espionage thriller “Spies and Other Gods,” written by James Wolf—a pseudonymous former British intelligence officer. The novel follows European intelligence agencies tracking a lethal Iranian assassin codenamed Caspian as real-world geopolitics intensify global interest in Iran. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly interviews Wolf, who delves into the psychology of spying, the unique stresses of intelligence work, and the personal costs often hidden behind the spectacle of espionage fiction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Anonymity of the Author (02:15)

• Wolf’s Identity:
  • James Wolf writes under a pseudonym and never shows his face, even in author photos.
  • His children are bemused by his secrecy, wishing he could publicly celebrate his success.
  • Quote:

    "They’re young enough that they don’t quite understand the reason for it...they feel proud on my behalf and so they’d like me to be able to be a bit more front footed about publicity for the book." — James Wolf (02:55)

2. Character Exploration: Sir William Rintoul (03:09)

• Sir William:
  • The aging head of British Intelligence, losing his mental acuity and grieving his late wife.
  • Represents the psychological cost and isolation stemming from a career in espionage.
  • Quote:

    "[Spying] is about creating illusions...double bluffs...creating a sense of uncertainty in your opponent. And I think he is a sad figure and in a way reflects some of the personal cost of spying..." — James Wolf (03:25)

3. The Topical Nature of the Novel & Iran Focus (04:29)

• Writing Prescience & Reality:
  • Wolf didn’t set out to write a “current events” thriller, but the timing aligns with a spike in real-world focus on Iran.
  • Emphasizes the dual scales of spy fiction: the global and the profoundly personal.
  • Quote:

    "When I wrote the book, I think no one was really interested in Iran...That felt like the central conflict that the world was focused on. So it definitely wasn't my intention to be current or contemporary. I'm much more interested in the psychology of spying..." — James Wolf (04:55)

• Unheralded Roles in Espionage:
  • Expresses dedication to depicting lesser-known intelligence roles, like “building escorts.”
  • Quote:

    "There's a character called Susan who is what's called a building escort... you basically will escort a tradesperson... I thought it's maybe my duty to introduce some of these less high profile roles into spy fiction." — James Wolf (05:55)

4. The Character of Zach, the Dentist-Turned-Asset (06:22)

• The Reluctant Asset:
  • Zach is a “mild-mannered dentist,” roped in to help track Caspian.
  • Struggles with addiction, divorce, personal disappointment—seeking redemption and meaning.
  • Quote:

    "He sees the brief glimmer of an opportunity to become involved in spying...something that will, in a way redeem him, that will transform his life and give it meaning and excitement again. But...I think he develops a more realistic sense of what's involved." — James Wolf (06:43)

5. “Confused About Your Confusion” – A Spy’s Mindset (07:50)

• Mary Louise Kelly: Observes that Zach is manipulated by everyone and reads a line reflecting his mental disarray.
• James Wolf’s Excerpt:
  • Quote:

    "Every book he’s read on the subject of spying has used the term smoke and mirrors at some point, but he didn’t appreciate until now how apt the phrase is. How it’s possible to be confused about your confusion, to be unsure whether you’re confused about the right things, to suspect that your confusion is a wispy simulacrum of some deeper confusion that you haven’t yet experienced but lies just around the corner or something like that." — James Wolf, reading from the novel (08:20)

• Realities of Intelligence Work:
  • Wolf agrees that the world remains muddled, even on the “inside.”
  • Contrasts the logical clarity of police work with the “head scratchers” of spy operations.
  • Quote:

    "...the truth is that it's frequently just as confusing on the inside as it is on the outside. I mean...spy operations are, you know, real head scratchers sometimes, and they begin in confusion and they end in doubt." — James Wolf (08:53)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s possible to pick up an intelligence file and read it and have no idea what it’s about, what the spies are doing, what they’re trying to fix, and whether they're making anything better.” — James Wolf (09:07)
• “Spy operations are...real head scratchers sometimes, and they begin in confusion and they end in doubt. And then a whole lot of stuff happens in the middle, and it's not always entirely clear what the point of the whole thing was.” — James Wolf (09:41)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:15 — Introduction to James Wolf, his pseudonym, and family reaction
• 03:09 — Exploration of Sir William’s character and personal cost of espionage
• 04:29 — Discussing the timeliness of Iran as a central conflict and lesser-known spy roles
• 06:22 — Introduction of Zach and the narrative’s use of a civilian asset
• 07:50 — Kelly and Wolf discuss Zach’s state of mind and “confusion about confusion”
• 08:53 — Wolf explains the reality of confusion in intelligence work
• 09:41 — Comparison between police investigations and spy operations

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Episode Takeaways

• The real-life confusion, mundane roles, and deep psychological tolls of espionage are front and center in “Spies and Other Gods.”
• Despite current events, Wolf’s intent is less about political currency and more about human cost, complexity, and existential uncertainty in spy craft.
• Memorable insights and honest reflection distinguish both the novel and Wolf’s commentary, offering a refreshingly unsensationalistic look at the life of a modern intelligence officer—one not filled with certainties, but clouded with “smoke and mirrors.”

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Transcript

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Hi, I'm Alyssa Nadworny, and this is NPR's book of the day. Who better to write a juicy spy novel than a former spy? Well, today we have one of those for you. Former British intelligence officer James Wolf, which is a pseudonym, has written a novel called Spies and Other Gods. It's a book about a handful of European intelligence officers tracking an Iranian assassin called codenamed Caspian who's killed Iranian dissidents all over Europe. Wolf talks with NPR's All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly about how his fictional villain comes at a time when the whole world is focused on Iran.

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[Mary Louise Kelly]

There's keeping a low profile. And then there's our next guest, James Wolf, except not his real name. That's a pseudonym. I would tell you what he looks like except his headshot on the jacket of his novels. Not to mention every photo you will find of him online is of the back of his head shot from behind so you can't glimpse his face. James Wolfe had a career as a British intelligence officer. Now he writes about them. His latest espionage novel is Spies and Other Gods. He's on the line from London. James Wolf, welcome.

[James Wolf]

Thank you very much.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

I Gather from your acknowledgments that even your kids give you a hard time about the pseudonym.

[James Wolf]

They do. They're young enough that they don't quite understand the reason for it. And in a very nice way, they feel proud on my behalf and so they'd like me to be able to be a bit more front footed about publicity for the book.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Well, let's go to the cast of fictional characters that you have invented for this novel and start with Sir William Rintoul. He's the head of British Intelligence. When we meet him, he is not enjoying it much.

[James Wolf]

No, he's at the tail end of a long and very successful career. But he's. He's suffering from. From what the book describes as a brain fog, the descent of brain fog, which is, which is making him struggle to remember names, details, faces even. And he's finding this enormously difficult because he's someone who's been celebrated throughout his life, really, for, for his mental acuity. You know, to get to the top of an organization like that, you have to be really on the ball, very capable, very good with people, very good with facts. And he feels that that is starting to slip away from him. He's also grieving the loss of his wife. And I think he feels that he's in a bit of a tailspin. You know, in a way, spying is about creating illusions. It's about double bluffs. It's about creating a sense of uncertainty in your opponent. And I think he is a sad figure and in a way reflects some of the personal cost of spying that you spend a lifetime lying to other people and also lying to those people near to you. And I think that he is looking back and counting the personal cost of all that and finding that perhaps it wasn't all worth it.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Well, the operation that is threatening to ruin Sir William's last days on the job has to do with an Iranian assassin codenamed Caspian, who has killed Iranian dissidents all over Europe. And does it feel strange to be putting out a novel with all these Iranian characters, an Iranian villain, at a moment when in real life, the whole world is focused on Iran?

[James Wolf]

Yeah, I suppose it does in a way. I mean, when I wrote the book, I think no one was really interested in Iran. There were far more pressing things to worry about with Russia and Ukraine. That felt like the central conflict that the world was focused on. So it definitely wasn't my intention to be current or contemporary. I'm much more interested in the psychology of spying in the way that spy fiction reveals character in the way that it places people under unique stress and in the way that it is a combination of the global, but also the personal. I mean, the individuals involved in the book, involved in spying are often doing something that no one else knows about. And so spy fiction does seem to me to have this unique capability of being, you know, of having the broadest possible canvas, something global that's happening, but also the smallest possible in that it's about an individual isolated, in secrecy, trying to do their best. So I'm always very interested in exploring areas of the spying world that might not have received very much attention before or characters or roles. So in this book, there's a character called Susan who is what's called a building escort. It's one of the most humble and lowly jobs. You basically will escort a tradesperson, a plumber, a painter, an electrician around the building as they do their work, and you sit with them to make sure they stay in the right area. And I thought it's maybe my duty to introduce some of these less high profile roles into spy fiction.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

So the book has intelligence services all over Europe cooperating, kind of to catch this assassin, Caspian. The only lead that British intelligence has is a mild mannered dentist. So introduce us to this character, to Zach.

[James Wolf]

Well, he is someone who the intelligence agencies have tried to use as a way of getting to this Iranian assassin. So the spies think they've worked out who the assassin is. The question then is how they get close to him. How do they find out his movements? How do they find out his intentions? When is he next planning to travel from Iran to Europe? And they, they discover that the assassin has a nephew, and then they discover that the nephew has an associate in the uk. But Zach, the character here is really someone who's struggling with addiction, with divorce, with a life of disappointment. I don't think he's in a place where we meet him in the novel where he is content or feels that he's done everything he could have done. And he sees the brief glimmer of an opportunity to become involved in spying. He sees it as something that will, in a way redeem him, that will transform his life and give it meaning and excitement again. But I think as he goes down that path and becomes more involved with the spies, I think he develops a more realistic sense of what's involved. And I'm not sure he is always totally happy with it.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

No. Poor Zach. He's constantly being manipulated on your pages by spies, by people pretending to be spies. I was sympathizing with him. And then I got to. I actually want you to read me a few lines that speak to his state of mind as he's trying to figure out what the heck is happening. In my copy, we're at the top of page 197. I'll read a few words and then pick up Every book he's read on the subject of spying.

[James Wolf]

Has used the term smoke and mirrors at some point, but he didn't appreciate until now how apt the phrase is. How it's possible to be confused about your confusion, to be unsure whether you're confused about the right things, to suspect that your confusion is a wispy simulacrum of some deeper confusion that you haven't yet experienced but lies just around the corner or something like that.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

To be confused about your confusion is just the perfect way of putting it. Is that what it feels like some days in your old world, the intelligence world?

[James Wolf]

Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think just before I joined intelligence world, I probably had this misapprehension that the moment you were on the inside, everything would be made clear.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Yeah. You'd get your hands on the classified intel and all would suddenly be clear.

[James Wolf]

Exactly. The world would make sense, finally. But the truth is that it's frequently just as confusing on the inside as it is on the outside. I mean, I think somewhere in the novel I make the point that it's possible to pick up an intelligence file and read it and have no idea what it's about, what the spies are doing, what they're trying to fix, and whether they're making anything better. You know, I've had the experience of looking at police files before, and police files are incredibly logical collections of documents. There's a crime, then there's the collection of evidence, there's interviews. They might charge a suspect, and then there's a court case. It all. It all follows according to a pattern that we're familiar with. But spy operations are, you know, real head scratchers sometimes, and they begin in confusion and they end in doubt. And then a whole lot of stuff happens in the middle, and it's not always entirely clear what the point of the whole thing was.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

We've been speaking with former British intelligence officer turned spy novelist James Wolf. His latest is Spies and Other Gods. James Wolf. Thank you.

[James Wolf]

Thank you.

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