I adore le Carré’s work, and the Smiley novels (particularly the Karla trilogy) hold a very special place in my heart. I will definitely read this when it comes out, but despite how talented an author Nick may be, I am slightly sceptical that he will be able to capture the magic of his father who had lived through the times he wrote about, and had practical experience of being an intelligence officer. I also have slight reservations about ’filling in the gaps’ of Smiley’s life because I feel that the large gaps leave a degree of mystery to him.

That all said, I do not need any encouragement to jump back into the Smiley-verse so can’t wait!