For those who read spy novels, the word “company” should only mean one thing: the organization known as the Central Intelligence Agency. So this week, we have three books all dealing with company men, be they first-timers or at the top of their game.

THE AMATEUR by Robert Littell – I would have reviewed Littell’s acclaimed tome THE COMPANY at some point, but it was ruined for me one day in a bookstore. Some loudmouth and her friend were discussing the book at the top of their lungs, giving away huge plot points and spoilers. So instead, here is a 1981 book well worth searching out for.

The amateur in question is Charlie Heller, a cryptologist for the CIA. He goes about his life breaking ciphers in his little office until one tragic day, when his girlfriend is killed on live TV by terrorists at the American Embassy in Munich. Fuming mad, he wants the company to do something about it, but they seem to be dragging their feet about retaliation, giving all kinds of excuses.

Heller takes it upon himself to push a operation through by blackmailing his bosses. He is put through the training and sent on his mission with much trepidation. Once the company does get the upper hand back, Heller needs to be taken care of.

There is a great twist at the end that Littell hides from you so well. He makes you feel what Heller must be going through; his time with the CIA was never as a field agent, but he seems to pick it up real quick. I’m not saying he suddenly becomes Sam Durrell – just an amateur who gets lucky. Make sure to read this since Hollywood is busy updating it for today’s times in the movies soon.

THE SPY IN THE JUNGLE by Bill S. Ballinger – For a book that is only about 125 pages, this 1965 novel sure felt like a lifetime. What happens when you sit down to read a spy book but get a theology lesson instead? This sad excuse for a book. This was just so boring that even if I wanted to enact our 100-page rule, I couldn’t, because then there would’ve been only 25 pages left.

The company man this time is a half-Indian/half-Spanish hero (shades of THE PENETRATOR). Our government’s test missiles are disappearing over Southeast Asia. Oooh, missing missiles, let’s send off the Indian agent because he might pass for Asian. Yeah, that’s a huge pill to swallow.

I could not have been bored more by this predictable spy tale that has nothing to grab you at all. But then Ballinger throws in such a left turn, I had to look at the cover to make sure I was reading a espionage book. Yes, a religous element is thrown in when our hero, Joaquin Hawk, goes to a Vietnamese temple, where a religious priest gives us some mumbo jumbo that, to be honest, I could have cared less for.

Sure, Hawk saves the day, but you really won’t care, since most likely, you’ll put this book down long before it even gets started. At least the girl on the cover looks cute. But then, any semi-naked lady will grab my attention.

MALKO #1: WEST OF JERUSALEM by Gerard De Villiers – Even though this 1967 book is numbered one and was the first to appear in the States, it’s actually the ninth in a long-running series from Europe. I’m bending the rules the bit with the theme, since Malko Linge is a spy who only sometimes works for the CIA, but this book is very well-versed in the who’s and why’s of the agency. Again, since this is actually the ninth book, the publishers at least give us a short intro, structured as if you’re reading Malko’s personnel file. He’s a European prince who does not have a dime to his name, yet is the owner of a castle he’s restoring.

The main focus lies with the apparent suicide of the CIA director, who seemingly throws himself off the ledge of the CIA building, for no apparent reason. Conveniently, Malko shows up for a meeting with the director that day. We find out the director previously helped out Malko in a big way – I’m guessing in one of the eight previous adventures. While there with the bigwigs, they come across the brilliant idea of having Malko stand in for the director, to see if anyone who might have a tie to the reasons for the suicide contacts him.

This book is gritty and uncompromising. We’re not talking about a typical spy tale; people die brutally for their own actions. It’s a globetrotting rush, with the trail of the blackmailers behind the whole thing in Europe. They seem to have had something over the director concerning his daughter, thought to have died years ago, and Malko is on a mission to make people pay for it.

Now, I’ve only seen two books in this series floating around; perhaps this kind of cruel realism did not sit well with the Nick Carter crowd. But, hey, sometimes spies can’t save everyone, no matter how super they are. This is well worth searching out, even though it looks like they let NAPOLEON DYNAMITE – the worst movie I’ve ever seen in a theater, by the way – do the cover art.

Next time: In not exactly a narrow field, the worst KISS song ever. –Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• LEGENDS by Robert Littell