Soviet space program omitted reports of failure or trouble". Out of fear of admitting any defeat, reports of cosmonauts' missions leaned towards an exaggerated positive spin rather than factual substance. "The USSR was famously described by Winston Churchill as 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma' and nothing signified this more than the search for the truth behind its space program during the Cold War. Although the Space Race was literally played out above our heads, it was often obscured by a figurative 'space curtain' that took much effort to see through" says Dominic Phelan in the book "Cold War Space
The Riddle of the Sands alleged military unpreparedness." It was a notable influence on John Buchan, and on Ken Follett, who described it as "an open-air adventure thriller about two young men who stumble upon a German armada preparing to invade England." Follett has also called it "the first modern thriller". Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones listed "The Riddle of the Sands" as one of the ten classic spy novels, in "The Guardian"'s best spy novel list. Robert McCrum of "The Observer" included it in his list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. "The Daily Telegraph" has cited the book as the second best spy novel