Customer Reviews

The Peking Target

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I've always loved the more literary espionage novels, like those written by John Le Carre or Graham Greene; but for more purely escapist reading, I've enjoyed few books as much as Adam Hall's Quiller novels. Of these, "The Peking Target," remains a personal favorite (esp. since I was studying karate when I first read it). Few authors do as good a job of entering into, and involving the reader in the borderline insanity of an action hero's mind. Even fewer did a comparable job of describing a hand-to-hand fight scene from that same perspective (Quiller never used a gun, and both the author and character were long-time karateka). Adam Hall's Quiller books were really great fun and I'd love to see them back in print some day. If you like straight ahead action with a degree of psychological depth, try a Quiller novel (if you can find one) try it (and remember to tell me where you got it).

As it turns out, the hero's not the only one in the Peking Target who's feeling the heat. And he's lucky he's not, because this fact gives him a way through to his objective.

Which here is the stoppage of an escalating campaign that has been killing notable Americans visiting China, during a period of diplomatic goodwill. And no, it's not the government of Cameroon behind it.

Where the author's literary skill is reason enough to read--the metaphors and similes are never less than striking (a cat 'flowing' across a night wall, from another of his books, Quiller Balalaika)--here Hall provides a lot in the way of actual (or, say, ideal) spy craft. Avoiding and Eliminating a Long Range Marksman, for one, or How to Send a Top Priority and Completely Disguised Radio Signal under the noses of The Opposition, as two examples.

An Amazon reviewer of Quiller Meridian notes, so much of the voltage in these books has no way of translation to the big screen, still, it hardly needs it. One scene towards the end--a solitary if heavily guarded death march, across five hours of a rocky mountainside, is a study in perseverance.

Thank goodness he's on the right side.

From its earliest pages, "The Peking Target" moves at a brilliantly quick pace, never dropping its rigorous level of taut suspense; never allowing grumpy old Quiller the chance of remaining safe for very long. This tenth adventure in Elleston Trevor's (or "Adam Hall's") series is something of a continuation of the previous "Scorpion Signal" by revisiting a conflict between Quiller and his, now seemingly regular, "operator" Croder (really it's the same tension we had earlier between Quiller and Loman and, in one case, with Parkis), though there is little else in terms of continuity that would keep readers from enjoying this entry on its own. Occasionally though, to avid readers of the series, "Peking Target" may seem to sample scenes and elements from previous novels, or evoke similar ideas. There is a moderate leaning at times on scenes in the somewhat-flawed "Kobra Manifesto", for instance, making one wonder if Trevor isn't looking to revisit the material to try to get it right the second time within this new context.

The clandestine "terrorist" aspect is certainly better thought out than in "Manifesto", at least at first. Trevor uncannily describes a new sort of fanatical religious group who value the overwrought spectacle of "bizarre" public attacks over standard means of political assassination. The group decapitates those it sees as traitorous and their spiritual leader, Tung Kuo-feng hides in exile on a remote mountaintop, where he dictates their plans. The story though eventually turns in another direction that moots further comparison to Al Qaeda. The character "Spur", like the villains of the previous two novels, is appealing because of his disturbing similarities to Quiller. They are all, in a sense, Quiller looking at himself in the future and not liking what he sees. One surprising though confounding addition, readers will have to decide for themselves where Trevor was going with this, is Helen De Haven. It's interesting for Quiller to meet a female equal (similar to the frustratingly abandoned Helda of "Striker Portfolio"), but it becomes debatable whether her character's inclusion is ultimately necessary.

After one has finished reading "Peking Target's" final chapters, it becomes clear in afterthought that some motivations, some events, especially near the end, are ultimately preposterous. This isn't to say that it approaches the improbabilities of Bond, but rather that for the realism promised by the best Quiller entries, we have, on closer inspection, a pretty dubious series of events. Though with Trevor working at his cinematic best and everything at least seeming credible, it may be advisable to suspend all doubts and simply enjoy the ride.