Customer Reviews

The Ambushers (Coronet Books)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Our Man Helm is in trouble. It seems he carried out a mission as required but overlooked an ex-Nazi agent and a Russian missile in the process. Matt is sent to find both after they disappear. He is also given a broken female agent to rehabilitate as an extra duty. An above average Helm adventure, this mission introduces Vadya, the seductive Russian agent who will bedevil our hero in several more adventures. The political assassination in the first chapters will also have future repercussions for Helm. As always, Hamilton mixes an exciting tale with bits of Helm's sardonic humor ( a hallmark of the Fawcett paperback series heroes). By all means find this book.

Matt Helm embarks on a secret mission in Costa Verde at which time he finds a Russian missile, a Nazi WWII soldier, and a severely tortured girl. When Matt reports to Mac, he is assigned to find the missile which is now in Mexico. Here he has his first encounter with a beautiful Russian agent named, "Vadya" and enters into a contest to destroy the missile. This is another of author Donald Hamiltons great Matt Helm series.

I want to give this one 4.5 stars--I'd give it 5, except there was a scene or two that seemed a little "cartoony", maybe. Even those slight faults were forgivable, even sort of fun (even had a few nice "realistic" touches to them) but it was a little "too much" compared to what I've gotten used to in this series.

However, beyond that quibble (and I hope the time I spent on it doesn't make it seem more significant than it is, that's the problem with going to some length trying to explain how something isn't a big problem, I guess...) this might've been as good as any Helm I've read so far, and is arguably the best (I started from the first and have so far read thru to this one). A new, and well-rendered locale opens the book, and the characters encountered are all pretty interesting.

This is definitely ANOTHER don't miss, as far as I'm concerned, if you like Matt Helm books.

THE AMBUSHERS doesn't feature the best opening paragraph of all the Helm books, that would be THE MENACERS, but it's still a great read. Helm performs an un-Eric-like long range hit with a high-powered rifle on a political figure the same year Kennedy visited Dallas. AMBUSHERS also has my favorite line of dialogue Hamilton ever put in Eric's mouth. After a bad guy works Helm's bare chest over with a blow torch the heroine expresses concerns for his wounds and our stalwart assassin quips: "I've singed myself worse with a cigarette lighter."

That's not the best line of dialogue in Hamilton's series, he saved that for Mac. For the uninitiated, Helm's boss Mac makes Rumsfeld look like a wuss. Mac's the most gleefully bloodthirsty man in fiction, delightfully unencumbered by scruples, morals or principles, firmly entrenched in the Fu Manchu big league somewhere between Blofeld and Baron Harkonnen. In a different book than AMBUSHERS Mac dispatches Eric to make yet another revenge touch by saying, "Teach them not to monkey with the buzz saw when its busy cutting wood."

Even the celebrated Sam Durrell can't hang with Eric and Mac once they get to feelin' it!

Every Matt Helm book is great. Don't delay getting this book. You'll fall in love with this rough, tough, lovable guy.

One of the classic -- early -- Matt Helm books. Forget most other rivals, only Mr Helm, with his taste in women, hunting knives and total espionage professionalism -- will do.