Customer Reviews

The Care of Time

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This novel, by the author of thrillers admired as the classics of the genre by Graham Greene and Alfred Hitchcock, concerns a journalist's encounter with an anonymous international shaker& mover who has fallen from favor with the probably insane Arab ruler he is presently serving. If you would like to read a novel which has all that you need to understand international terrorism, this is it. If you would like to read another which makes clear Arab-Palestinian terrorism especially, read Ambler's earlier novel, The Levanter.

...seems to enjoy living in a fully furnished cave,with all the modern conveniences... It's hard to believe this novel,Mr. Ambler's last,is out of print. Suffice it to say that the similarities between this 1981 novel, and today's world, are interesting. I was fortunate to have met and spoken with Mr. Ambler at the time. In fact, he was a leading author and screenwriter for over forty years before this was written. If you can get hold of a copy, don't miss it!

This latter day Eric Ambler novel vividly demonstrates the author's ability to keep up with the times. It's impossible to discern just from reading The Care of Time that Ambler had been writing espionage themed books for the prior 50 years. What's more, though written more than a quarter century ago, the subject matter, Mideast terrorism, is probably even more relevant now than it was then.

The storyline revolves around the book's narrator Robert Halliday, ghostwriter and minor television personality. Halliday is an American who once spent time in an Iraqi jail. He has a healthy skepticism when it comes to government in general and intelligence services in particular. So it comes as a shock when he is enlisted to serve as a middleman between Western intelligence and an eccentric Arab potentate.

Byzantine plotting, worthy of Ross Thomas at his most outlandish, characterizes this deftly written novel of intrigue. Most of the action takes place in Italy and Austria but the fascinating cast of characters come from far and wide.

Recommended to readers who enjoy international thrillers with an abundance of bizarre plot twists.

The Care of Time was Eric Ambler's last novel and it's a winner. Ambler was THE master of novels of suspense and intrigue, and with this book he clearly demonstrated that he maintained his skills in this genre to the end. The opening pages are gripping and the ensuing plot is full of twists and turns, leading to a logical and satisfactory conclusion. Fans of suspense and intrigue -- and superb writing -- will not be disappointed.

The Care of Time may have been Eric Ambler's last novel, but he saved the best for last! Ambler, a master at weaving suspense and intrigue, demonstrates the skills he is so well-known for in this last novel. Ambler grabs the reader in the opening page with the delivery of a warning letter to Bob Halliday, telling him a bomb is to follow. Ambler goes on to spin a suspenseful tale that doesn't turn us loose till the last page. A spy mystery at its best, the plot is full of twists and turns, but leading to a satisfactory conclusion. You'll have to buy this book used, but you won't be sorry for looking for it.

Eric Ambler always relied on the contemporary political tensions to build his international espionage thrillers. The Care of Time is no exception except that it has stood the test of time for 22 years amazingly well. If you leave out occasional references to the Cold War, the rest of the book could easily have been set in January 2003. If you are interested in the question of how to control access to weapons of mass destruction, you will find The Care of Time provides you will chilling issues to keep you up late at night!

The Care of Time is Mr. Ambler's last novel, and is unfortunately out of print. Hopefully, the events in the Middle East over the last 12 years will increase interest enough in the novel to bring it back into print.

The key players in the book are an Arab ruler of a small Middle Eastern state, an American ghostwriter with a CIA background, and an international wheeler dealer in shadowy offerings. Amid them are sprinkled terrorists, generals, and reporters. The resulting stew builds around a thrilling, suspenseful plot in which the safety of all of us is put into question. To give you a flavor, here's how the book opens. "The warning mesage arrived on Monday, the bomb itself on Wednesday."

Those who like thrillers will find this one to be very satisfying unless they require the deaths of vast numbers of people in the story.

For Eric Ambler fans, I think this is the best of his work in his last decade.

In other words, don't miss this book! You may have to buy a used copy or find it in the library until it is back in print.

Be vigilant in seeking out the right solutions for all of us.

Donald Mitchell
Co-Author of The 2,000 Percent Solution, The Irresistible Growth Enteprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage