It’s that time of year I regret I’m a New Englander: winter. I enjoy snow as much as the next person; it’s the cold that is a pain. It has not gotten to the point of a deep freeze, but we still have a few months to go. So what better way to celebrate my disdain for the bitter winds than read some Cold War spy tales? Some column favorites are making a much-needed reappearance here, starting with some old-school secret-agent shenanigans in that lovely area of Warsaw.
THE WARSAW DOCUMENT by Adam Hall — Quller, how I miss your self-detached adventures so much. Unlike the two previous novels I’ve covered before, this 1971 one is light on the action pieces. It’s more in the line of Cold War espionage.
Quiller is sent to Poland to prevent the Soviets from messing up an agreement between the East and the West. This time, he is saddled with a partner, of all things. The office feels that the mission would be a great training for the young agent named Merrick, but things are never as easy as they seem in Quiller’s world, especially since it seems the Soviets are always one step ahead of Quiller throughout the operation, to the point that he’s picked up by enemy agents.
Of course, there’s a double agent in Quiller’s midst, and our hero is damn sure set on figuring out who it is. As Quiller works his spy magic in this adventure, you are drawn into this world of moles and false identities. Even as Quiller is putting things together while throwing a monkey wrench into the Soviets’ plot, you’re still not sure of why certain people acted the way they did, until all is revealed.
Hall doesn’t rely on packing the story with one action set piece after another. There are plenty of moments of suspense to hold a reader’s attention, especially when you have a character like Quiller in charge. It’s more in the line of John le Carré this time out than Ian Fleming, which goes to show that Hall’s creation is far greater than some of the compatriots of the time. This is the type of story that makes me want to dig out my DVDs of THE SANDBAGGERS — first two seasons only, though.
THE THIEF WHO COULDN’T SLEEP by Lawrence Block — From 1966, the first of the Evan Tanner books is actually not a spy book per se. Not until the final chapter when Tanner finally meets the man he claims he works for: the mysterious man known only as Chief. But I’m getting way ahead of myself.
When we meet Tanner, he gives his history of his bizarre condition of not being able to sleep, due to an injury in the Korean conflict. The novel opens with Tanner in Turkey, being questioned for the reasons he is there. See, Tanner is what you could call a Don Quixote type — someone who supports the lost causes, no matter how ill-conceived they are. Case in point: He’s a proud member of the Flat Earth Society.
No matter what obstacles come his way, Tanner is after some hidden gold he found out about through a lady friend’s grandmother, who claims to have been some sort of royalty back in the day. This sets off the chain of events that will make him a spy without ever trying. As you can suspect, Tanner wins in the end, but it’s only after a long journey and several countries that he pulls it off.
Again, this is not your usual spy book, but there are plenty of nods and winks to the genre, with the biggest being the constant references to the Bond movies, including Tanner catching a double feature. Block seems to just have fun poking and prodding the spy genre in total, especially how even people on the same side want to keep secrets from one another. There are eight books in the whole series, all beautifully reissued last year. Of course, you should read them in order.
THE CANCELED CZECH by Lawrence Block — Might as well tackle the second in the series, from 1966. Again, the story starts up mid-adventure, with Tanner being hunted down by the local government. This time, he is on a train and needs to get off in a hurry. The mission that Tanner is sent on is pretty much a suicide run: rescuing an imprisoned German with a few issues. Those issues include that he is probably the only Nazi who made some of the others seem tame.
How will Tanner do this mission justice, especially since the only reason to recover this prick is for the plans he supposedly has kept hidden all these years? Tanner uses all his tricks — namely, all the memberships in the fringe groups that provide shelter and help along the way. It gets to the point that Tanner has to pretend he is a Nazi sympathizer to get to where he is going.
He’s also saddled with a daughter of a die-hard who seems to have ideas of her own: bedding down anything in sight, including the dreaded enemies of her people. When Tanner finally recovers his prey, he then has to endure this crazy old Nazi who won’t follow anything Tanner says and constantly spouts old speeches, so Tanner uses a pen light to put the guy into a catatonic state.
This closes out all the Tanner books that Block produced, and there is no real carryover from the first one, except for the parts that deal with his boss. But Block covers his bases bringing most readers up to speed. Also, Block explains the reason for the title, since the main character is actually a Slovak, not a Czech.
THE TERMINATORS by Donald Hamilton — Since we just had two tongue-in-cheek spy books, I figured we should finish with the happiest spy on Earth: none other than the Mister Rogers of the spy world, Matt Helm. That’s a just a tiny bit of sarcasm.
Helm is being hired out once again to a friend of his boss Mac. The man is named Hank Priest and he has a bit of an ax to grind — the reasons for which, of course, are not revealed until much later in the 1975 book. All Helm knows is that he is to escort a woman under the cover of a married couple to pick up some information.
The honeymoon phase lasts as long as an ice cream cone in the blazing sun. This woman is killed off so soon, most readers will be surprised. But for longtime readers of Hamilton, it’s expected no one ever lasts long in these books … well, except Helm, who now has to recruit another of Priest’s people to now take over the role of the now-dead woman.
It becomes apparent there are other folks after the same information about this mysterious Sigmund Syphon, but this is all a smoke screen for what Priest is really after. To add to the tension, Helm runs into Kotko, a former agent he trained who now works for Priest’s quarry. Priest is a bit upset over the death of his wife many years ago and blames Kotko for it. He figures Helm will be able to take care of the situation. Helm is cold-blooded, but ruins Priest’s plans.
This being Hamilton’s writing, everyone gets what they deserve … just not in the way some people would like. Now for the umpteenth plea, someone — anyone — please reissue these books. They are so kick-ass and show the spy genre when it was lean and mean — not the current crop, which just relies on technobabble and never-diminishing funds.
Next time: R is for Ronald. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF LAWRENCE BLOCK:
• THE BURGLAR IN THE LIBRARY by Lawrence Block
• THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE by Lawrence Block
• THE BURGLAR WHO THOUGHT HE WAS BOGART by Lawrence Block
• A DANCE AT THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE by Lawrence Block
• A DIET OF TREACLE by Lawrence Block
• THE GIRL WITH THE LONG GREEN HEART by Lawrence Block
• GRIFTER’S GAME by Lawrence Block
• HIT AND RUN by Lawrence Block
• HIT PARADE by Lawrence Block
• LUCKY AT CARDS by Lawrence Block
• ME TANNER, YOU JANE by Lawrence Block
• ONE NIGHT STANDS AND LOST WEEKENDS by Lawrence Block
• THE SCORELESS THAI by Lawrence Block
• TANNER ON ICE by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S TIGER by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S TWELVE SWINGERS by Lawrence Block
• TANNER’S VIRGIN by Lawrence Block
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ADAM HALL:
• THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM by Adam Hall
• THE TANGO BRIEFING by Adam Hall
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF DONALD HAMILTON:
• THE AMBUSHERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE BETRAYERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE DEVASTATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTERLOPERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTIMIDATORS by Donald Hamilton
• IRON MEN AND SILVER STARS edited by Donald Hamilton
• LINE OF FIRE by Donald Hamilton
• THE MENACERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE MONA INTERCEPT by Donald Hamilton
• MURDERERS’ ROW by Donald Hamilton
• NIGHT WALKER by Donald Hamilton
• THE POISONERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE RAVAGERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE SHADOWERS by Donald Hamilton
• TEXAS FEVER by Donald Hamilton
• THE VANISHERS by Donald Hamilton
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Donald Hamilton Rulz! Reissues would be great. The books deserve the audience, plus there’s reportedly an unpublished Matt Helm he wrote before his death that I’d sure like to see.
Also love the Adam Hall! I’ve got a bunch of Quiller PBs on the shelf and have read them all…I even liked THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM, the ’60s movie, in spite of the liberties it took. (George Siegel as Quiller?)
Oh, yeah, and Lawrence Block is another favorite. Read everything he writes, too. Good columnizing this week, Bruce.
I’ve been wanting Helm reissues for a long time for two simple reasons. The two books that I don’t have to complete my collection. I’m not talking of the earlier books these are two from much later in the series. I might finally have to break down and get them off ebay.
Yeah I enjoyed the movie also Paul, but I mean he is supposed to be British and Alec Guinness is in the film. So why not let him play Quiller instead of George Segal who is great in other things.
Guinness was too soft for the role, I think. You needed a young Terrance Stamp or somesuch; someone with an edge. I love George Segal in so many other things (NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY, FUN WITH DICK & JANE, the list goes on) but he was a major box office draw in those days so I guess they went with front office thinking over art. Wotta shock!