Today’s Between the Covers podcast is with Charles McCarry, author of Ark, a novel. McCarry is best known for his spy fiction, such as Shelley’s Heart (my favorite) and Tears of Autumn (a favorite of many others). Ark, however, is not much like these. It’s a novel of apocalypse. In a 10-minute conversation, we discuss the nature of hyperquakes, what it’s like to switch genres, and what McCarry thinks about being called a conservative version of John le Carré.
As for Ark, just try to resist a novel that includes this bit of dialogue:
You may be interested to know that specimens of Chairman Mao’s semen have been preserved.