Quiller, the Bureau's top intelligence agent, prowls the streets of Hong Kong, trailing his prey to the opulent Oriental Club and to an oil rig on the South China Seas. Reprint.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A strong premise marred by flirtation with Bond formula.,
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This review is from: The Mandarin Cypher (Hardcover)
For those who prefer the more plausible exploits of Elleston Trevor's (who long used pseudonym Adam Hall for the series) Quiller to the often outlandish sweep of Bond, "The Mandarin Cypher" comes as a bit of a disappointment. Although there is much for longtime readers of Quiller to love about this book, there is an obvious, undeniable influence of Ian Fleming and the formula of the Bond films, especially as we near the climax. This isn't to say that Quiller's mission suddenly involves saving the world (there is always a level of realistic modesty regarding the expectations put on our protagonist) or that Trevor's amazing level of detail is any less rich, but rather that the "set pieces" here (submarine, oil rig, SCUBA fight), atypical for Quiller, would be standard for the climax to a number of Bond films. It is likewise difficult to read the aquatic scenes without thinking of the film "Thunderball" or to learn that sexual dysfunction is what is motivating a couple main characters without recalling any number of Fleming's villains. To be fair, as "Cypher" was published in 1975, there is a legitimate question of who is influencing whom. One could, for instance, easily imagine Raymond Benson's 1997 Bond novel, "Zero Minus Ten" (which is also set in Hong Kong and, thereby, shares a few locations in common) or even a few of the recent Bond screenplays (there is a scene in GoldenEye that comes to mind) as being partially inspired by "Mandarin Cypher". "Cypher" itself moves with such a frenetic pace that it practically begs for screen adaptation.In this sixth installment, Quiller is coaxed into investigating the death of engineer Tewson in Hong Kong. Whereas the previous book, the stellar "Tango Briefing", reunited Quiller with his field director from the second book, Trevor returns to the similarly cinematic third book, "The Striker Portfolio", for the character of Ferris. "Mandarin Cypher" offers a much better characterization of Ferris than "Striker Portfolio" did (in the following books, Ferris becomes a regularly recurring character), and, truly one of the great strengths of this book is in its character development. Quiller himself is given a semi-steady love interest, "Moira", who lends motivation for him to live and the sudden death of a fellow agent early in the book makes him somewhat more introspective. Also, where the previous novels could be taken as stand-alone adventures that had few references from one to the next, "Mandarin Cypher" surprises with a much greater level of continuity, going back as far as passing reference to the murder of "KLJ" at the start of "Quiller Memorandum". Despite the eventual, unwelcome similarities to the world of Bond, one has the impression throughout that "Mandarin Cypher" could be one of the best in the series. Unfortunately, everything fizzles out in an abrupt and unconvincing final chapter. Bond has had worse anti-climaxes, but, for Quiller, this is comparable only to the end of "The Ninth Directive". The late Seventies became a pretty spotty period for the spy genre in general and this book seems gradually to foreshadow the unsuccessful divergence of the following two Quiller novels, "Kobra Manifesto" and "Sinkiang Executive". All in all, this is a gripping, entertaining read and, while not quite the worthy follow-up to "Tango Briefing" readers hope for, "Mandarin Cypher" is not a title deserving of obscurity.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Run Silent,
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This review is from: The Mandarin Cypher (Hardcover)
If you happen to be me, a solid reason to be very intrigued with The Mandarin Cypher is the usual one-- a family connection to submarines named Swordfish.Although elsewhere a reviewer complains that Adam Hall's battler is dipped here too much into a James Bond plot, fans of the series, with all its various Arctic Circle freight depots/swamp fevers etc., will say it's cerainly about time he got a nice vacation. And if he has to break the commandment against adultery in the name of global arms restraint, well, let him who is without fault....'so forth', as Quiller would say, which is more or less his motto, and there is actually something profound there. All of it will bring you back to his mistress, the 'brink', as well, for more.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Descriptive narrative,
This review is from: The Mandarin Cypher (Paperback)
I like they way Quiller describes both the case and his inner workings. His relationship with his control is interesting as are his descriptions of his physiological responses to some very stressful situations. Will read other Quiller books.
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