Customer Reviews

The Lonely Skier

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I have read several books by Hammond Innes and have always enjoyed the adventure and exotic found in his stories.

The Lonely Skier, however, stands apart.

This book, with its post-war-time story of espionage in a remote ski chalet on the Italian/German border, will not disappont the reader looking for adventure, action, or intrigue. In addition, The Lonely Skier is also packed with dry comedy, interesting characters, and is akin to watching an elegant black and white movie of the forties.

It is rare that I read a book more than once, but I have read this book so many times that it has literally fallen apart and I need to find a new copy. I might also add that I took this book along during twelve years in Africa and I always found its snowy backdrop more effective than the most powerful of air conditioners.

Neil Blair is an unemployed ex-army officer. One day he bumps into his old Battery Commander Derek Engles who offers him several months' well paid work as a script writer. Indeed Engles is now a hard-bitten film director shooting in the Dolomites. To Blair, this seems like the chance of his lifetime and he thinks that his luck has turned at last. What he doesn't know is that the job also means getting caught in a breathtaking adventure with plenty of suspense and drama.

An old fashioned adventure story much in the vein of what Hammond Innes usually wrote.

This book is classic Innes. But it has also been published under the title "Fire in the Snow". So if you are like me, trying to catch up on his early books, just be aware that the same book lurks under different titles.

This is the first Innes book that I read. It introduced me to Innes's exciting story telling. Since then I have been working on reading them all. This is one of his best.