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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Parody of Mary Webb and Stella Gibbons,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Dark Frontier (Paperback)
Dark Parody of Mary Webb and Stella GibbonsThe Dark Frontier is the debut novel of Eric Ambler, who contributed so much to the espionage and crime genres through such marvelous books as Background to Danger, Epitaph for a Spy, Cause for Alarm, A Coffin for Dimitrios, and Journey into Fear. Written in 1936, it was not published in the United States for several decades. The book varies quite a lot from the rest of his work, and will be less satisfying to almost any reader. Serious Ambler fans, however, would be making a mistake if they passed up this book. Seeing this effort will help them appreciate the mature Ambler talent even more. Most Ambler fans would do well to wait to read this one until they have read all the others, because it is clearly a lesser work for several reasons. First, it is an extreme parody of two popular English novelists that Ambler fans will undoubtedly not have read. As such, some of the pleasure of reading the parody is lost. Second, the book depends in part on Ambler's concepts of what might develop in weaponry after 1936. He did pretty well for his day, but not being surprised by the astonishing conjectures of "science fiction" element of the story also causes it to lose what was powerful color for contemporary readers. Third, the plot complications are not quite as delicious as those in the later Ambler works, and are intended to be pretty transparent as part of the parody. That having been said, the sense of local color and suspense are strong and compelling. Mr. Ambler's story telling talents come through the parody quite well. I'm glad I read it, and I'm sure you will be too. Make your efforts as timeless and universal as you can! Donald Mitchell
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The first novel by THE master of suspense and intrigue.,
By D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Dark Frontier (Paperback)
The Dark Frontier, Eric Ambler's first novel, is often overlooked -- even by Ambler fans. This is unfortunate for, while it is not up to the standards of his subsequent novels, it is still quite good. Incidentally, although The Dark Frontier was written in the early 1930s, it involves the invention of a nuclear bomb -- one of the first (if not the first) novels on this subject.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great debut novel by prolific author,
By
This review is from: The Dark Frontier (Hardcover)
Reading "Dark Frontier" was quite an experience. Yes, parts of it are painfull outdated, and Ambler admits that in his introduction, but it was ahead of its time, and it is a great spy novel and adventure story. It stars an unlikely secret agent, Professor Barstow, a middle-aged and overworked physics professor, who turns into Conrad Carruthers, debonoir agent determined to stop nuclear proliferation. Alongside him in this adventure is a American reporter named Casey, and together they help the revolution in a fictional Balkan country overcome the evil aristocrats that want to use the A-bomb. Given it was written in 1935, 10 years before the first A-bomb was ever used, but in some ways, it is realistic. Very entertaining read.
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