This is a kind of funny novel. The tone is variable throughout — sometimes almost sarcastic and cynical, and other times more serious. The plot of this novel, as you can almost imagine, is about a secret agent. But this is 1907, and well, there’s not a whole lot of wars or cold wars going on. So the secret agenting that is going on is bent on anarchy and disruption of old regimes more than through the specific aims of spycraft and evangelical governmental policy. […]