The book merges clever plot lines around dozens of characters, but even though the characters are full of details, their stories rarely run deep. The main example is Pilgrim himself, who Hayes has tried to make one-half testosterone-filled-super-spy, on the other hand a deeply sensitive person, a cocktail that never feels believable. It’s still a terrific book, despite this, and despite working within the clichés of the genre (it’s too similar to classics like The Day of the Jackal or Executive Orders). ‘I am Pilgrim’ is fast, humorous and not PC, and for this, I wouldn’t have minded if it lasted another 800 pages.