Kolymsky Heights [Paperback]

Lionel Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Johnny Porter, a rebel with a gift for language and disguise, discovers a Russian scientific secret that could either be used to improve the world or destroy it. Reprint. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Davidson's first thriller in 16 years is likely to be a bestseller here, as it already is in Britain. When an aging Oxford don gets a coded message from a forgotten Russian colleague, Efraim Rogachev, that snares the interest of SIS and the CIA, the don grudgingly travels to British Columbia to enlist the aid of the man Rogachev seeks: Johnny Porter (ne Jean-Baptiste Porteur), a Gitskan Indian. A polymath and former Rhodes scholar with a talent for language, Porter had years before met the Russian, who now runs a Siberian science installation so secret the CIA didn't know it existed until an explosion was caught on satellite film. Rogachev is determined to get his work out of the paranoid grasp of post-Soviet Russia's bureaucracy, and the only person he trusts to do the job is Porter. The narrative focuses on how Porter--part James Bond, part Rambo and all genius--gets into the installation and escapes with the information. Along the way, he assumes various disguises (a Korean, an Evenk, a Chukchi), gets involved in Siberian tribal life, builds a Russian jeep and even falls in love, with the action culminating in a nerve-wracking flight across eastern Siberia that climaxes in a bullet-splattered dash over the frozen Bering Strait--and then there's a drop-dead romantic ending. To date, Davidson ( The Night of Wenceslas ) has won three of Britain's Gold Daggers for best thriller; this shameless, wonderful, riveting entertainment should make it four. Maps. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad / promo .
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Somewhere in an inaccessible part of northern Siberia, a scientific team is working on a project of astonishing significance. There is one drawback: once involved in the project, you can never leave. The West learns that something important is going on when Professor Lazenby of Oxford University begins to receive coded messages written on cigarette paper. He turns to a former student working for the highly secretive Scientific Services Department of the British government, who in turn gets the CIA involved. It seems the only man capable of solving the mystery is an old acquaintance of Lazenby: the brilliant scientist and linguist Johnny Porter. In Porter, Davidson (The Rose of Tibet, 1982) has created one of the most riveting characters in recent fiction. His presence keeps this taut thriller moving toward its satisfying conclusion. Recommended for all popular fiction collections.
--Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Mass Market Paper (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312956614
• ISBN-13: 978-0312956615
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of suspense, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kolymsky Heights (Paperback)

Not in many years have I read a book that kept me in such torture for so many pages. Will the hero uncover the mystery behind the secret Russian factory in Siberia? Davidson is a master of keeping you in suspense. Also one of the best love stories in any spy story, altho it probably doesn't take up ten pages in the whole book. I've on my fourth read of this book. I still find it full of suspense! A great book to study for any aspiring writer of thrillers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Spy!, January 6, 2000

By 

D. McGilvray (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kolymsky Heights (Paperback)

I've not read many techno-thrillers and am a big fan of the John LeCarre school of spy novels, so I was delighted to find that "Kolymsky Heights" combined the best elements of action, adventure, and intellectual suspense. Johnny Porter is a great spy, and it would be nice to read of his exploits again, but as others have suggested, this is a book that can be re-read and still thoroughly enjoyed. Davidson's plot twists keep you on the edge of your seat, but the fascinating details also keep you thinking, and amazed. A great read!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your average spy book., April 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Kolymsky Heights (Paperback)

I'd like to think this is the kind of spy book Umberto Eco would write. Well-researched, plausible plot. This is not James Bond. Instead, the reader is draw into a facinating puzzle: how does somebody sneak into a top secret military base in Siberia? And, how do you get out? Johnny Porter is an unforgetable character and the scenery and action is crisply told. I'm looking forward to Davidson's other books