BEST AUTHOR BEST : MARK GREANEY

Providing technical detail on spycraft is crucial, but '' a little goes a long way,'' says the author of the '' Gray Man '' espionage series. '' Midnight Black ''is the latest installment. [ Don't get him started on '' Goldfinger.'' ]

.-  What's the most terrifying book you've ever read?

" Four Battlegrounds, '' by Paul Scharre. It's all about the future of Artificial Intelligence, including but not limited to, the weaponization of technology.

Scharre lays out the incredible challenge the world will face in the years to come.

.-  What books are on your night stand?

I am reading '' Flames of Heaven'' by the criminally underappreciated thriller author Ralph Peters, probably for the fourth time.

It's one of my favorite novels, and it captures the chaotic end of the Soviet Union so well. For research I'm exploring the history of the Irish Republican Army. On my night stand is '' Four Shots in the Night,'' by Henry Hemming, nonfiction about an assassination in Ulster in 1986.

.-  What's the last great book you read?

'' Heat 2,'' by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner. As both a massive fan of the 1995 film and a cynic, I wasn't expecting much from a sequel, but I was blown away. The book is a masterpiece, and I can't wait for the movie!

.-  Disappointing, overrated, just not good : What book did you feel as if you were supposed to like, and didn't ?

It's probably heresy to say this - I'll start by saying I love James Bond books and movies. The first  Bond Film I ever saw was '' Moonraker. ''

It's ridiculous ; astronauts battling with space lasers and metal-jawed villains........... but I was 11 years old, so I thought it was the most extraordinary piece of cinema ever created.

I wonder sometimes if seeing '' Moonraker '' at that age fostered my love for the genre. That said, '' Goldfinger '' was not a great book. Ian Fleming put in too much golf and not enough .......... you know, secret agenting.

.-  Who's your favorite fictional villain?

Anton Gruber from '' Nothing Lasts Forever,'' the novel adapted into the movie '' Die Hard. '' He isn't nearly as quippy and charming as his cinematic counterpart, but he's still a near perfect '' baddie.''

.-  What's the last book you read that made you laugh?

'' I must say : My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend,'' by Martin Short. I've been a huge fan since I was a kid. His autobiography is as hilarious and wonderful as he seems to be.

.-  The last book that made you furious?

'' Red Notice,'' by Bill Browder. This nonfiction account of the Kremlin-sanctioned murder of a Moscow-based lawyer after the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from Browder's company reads like a top-notch thriller.

This book, and the equally infuriating and compelling sequel, '' Freezing Order,'' should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the nature and magnitude of state-endorsed crime and corruption in Russia today.

The Publishing continues to Part [2]. The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.