Tanner On Ice (Evan Tanner Suspense Thrillers) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2007 | Series: Evan Tanner Suspense Thrillers

Cold War superspy Evan Tanner lost the ability to sleep on a battlefield in Korea. So where the heck has he been since the '70s?

Frozen. Cryogenically. A Tanner-sicle. Which he never thought would happen when he walked into a basement in Union City, New Jersey, more than a quarter century ago. Now he's unthawed and ready to rumble, and his somewhat addled, former super-secret boss, "the Chief," is glad his favorite operative's active again.

Tanner awoke to a different world, though some bad things have remained the same . . . or gotten worse. Even before he can fully acclimate himself to this perplexing future, Tanner's off to Burma (which isn't really Burma anymore) to pose as a monk, destabilize the government, dodge a lethal double-cross, and rescue a beautiful prisoner.

The world's still full of conspiracy, corruption, greed, political chicanery—and beautiful women. So Tanner's back with a vengeance, with a lot of lost time to make up for.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Evan Tanner, the spy who never sleeps, was placed in cold storage at the end of the Cold War--literally and figuratively. But in Tanner on Ice Block defrosts one of his earliest and best series heroes and sends him to Burma to stir up the guerillas, destabilize the country's authoritarian regime, and incidentally assassinate the Nobel Peace Prize-winning daughter of the country's national hero. Before long, Tanner's been set up for murder, drug smuggling, and blowing up Burma's most sacred shrine. Accompanied by a beautiful Russian/French/Vietnamese woman who wants out of Myanmar for her own reasons and has a dwindling cache of precious rubies to pay her way, he snakes through Burma disguised as a monk. Along their journey the two dodge SLORC trackers, insurgent Shan tribesmen, and the henchman of Tanner's mysterious spymaster. In Block's skilled hands, the much anticipated return of Tanner is a perfect summer hammock read. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Never one to abandon a sound series hero indefinitely, Block (who recently resurrected burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr) has now also brought back international man of action Evan Tanner, after more than 25 years. As usual, Block has a good joke up his sleeve: Tanner, one of whose characteristics is his inability to sleep, had in fact been comatose?in a deep freeze, in fact?for all that time, and the scene where he wakes up, thinking Richard Nixon is still president, is as funny and sharp as a similar one in Woody Allen's Sleeper. After that, Tanner is off to a new exotic locale, activated as usual by his vaguely CIA manager: this time it's to Burma, where he's supposed to destabilize the government by assassinating a popular opposition figure. He doesn't do it, of course, but becomes involved instead with a beautiful woman who wants to flee the country and eventually, after participating in a guerrilla action, both manage to do so. It's never less than inventive and amusing, but Block is always most at home in Manhattan, and his overseas settings, deftly sketched as they are, lack the ultimate authenticity he finds there. Tanner, too, though endowed with the author's usual wry wit, is not as fully fleshed out as are Block's more recent creations; but this will do until another Scudder comes along.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061283932
• ISBN-13: 978-0061283932
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Block, Lawrence