Bruce Beckham's Blog - Posts Tagged "eric-ambler"
Short and sweet
Last night I finished Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler.
Right from the beginning I was pleased each time I came back to this slow-paced thriller.
It is written in a plain style with relatively little use of literary techniques; nonetheless the atmosphere conveyed is powerful, and the title very apt.
Set in the run-up to WW2, it provides a fascinating insight into European/Middle Eastern relationships, at both a state and individual level.
In a nutshell the story follows a British arms expert who is trying to travel home from Turkey. Enemy powers would prefer him dead. He finds himself trapped aboard a ship with an uncooperative crew and sinister passengers… and a highly tempting femme fatale.
If I have a criticism, it is that the book finished before I was ready. While the core mystery is resolved, the overall conclusion is rather abrupt. Reading on a Kindle I wasn't paying particular attention to my % progress, and felt like I had another 30% or so to go.
Perhaps a good incentive to read the next one!
Right from the beginning I was pleased each time I came back to this slow-paced thriller.
It is written in a plain style with relatively little use of literary techniques; nonetheless the atmosphere conveyed is powerful, and the title very apt.
Set in the run-up to WW2, it provides a fascinating insight into European/Middle Eastern relationships, at both a state and individual level.
In a nutshell the story follows a British arms expert who is trying to travel home from Turkey. Enemy powers would prefer him dead. He finds himself trapped aboard a ship with an uncooperative crew and sinister passengers… and a highly tempting femme fatale.
If I have a criticism, it is that the book finished before I was ready. While the core mystery is resolved, the overall conclusion is rather abrupt. Reading on a Kindle I wasn't paying particular attention to my % progress, and felt like I had another 30% or so to go.
Perhaps a good incentive to read the next one!
Not quite Christie
I just completed Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler.
This book is part of Ambler's informal 'amateur sleuth' series, and resembles an Agatha Christie whodunit, set in a hotel on France's Cote D'Azur. The protagonist - a stateless immigrant - finds himself press-ganged by the authorities to unmask a spy among the cast of residents.
I am enjoying the collection, but Ambler is no Agatha, and in this case the development of the various suspects felt somewhat superficial and random. I once heard Melvin Bragg comment that he imagined it would be simple to pen a Christie-like plot - but that when he tried he found it impossible.
Ambler's style is economical and easy to read, and the subject matter - mixed Europeans thrown together during the tense pre-War years - provides an informative insight into the times, and a credible backdrop against which the plot is acted out.
This book is part of Ambler's informal 'amateur sleuth' series, and resembles an Agatha Christie whodunit, set in a hotel on France's Cote D'Azur. The protagonist - a stateless immigrant - finds himself press-ganged by the authorities to unmask a spy among the cast of residents.
I am enjoying the collection, but Ambler is no Agatha, and in this case the development of the various suspects felt somewhat superficial and random. I once heard Melvin Bragg comment that he imagined it would be simple to pen a Christie-like plot - but that when he tried he found it impossible.
Ambler's style is economical and easy to read, and the subject matter - mixed Europeans thrown together during the tense pre-War years - provides an informative insight into the times, and a credible backdrop against which the plot is acted out.
Eric Rambler
Last night (or, rather, this morning), suffering from jet lag, I finished my current Eric Ambler, Cause for Alarm.
Usually I only manage a handful of pages before I fall asleep, and I have found this series of 1930s espionage novels ideal bedtime reading.
There are generally few characters, a simple plot, and undemanding prose - so I can pick up where I dropped off the previous night, with little back-tracking.
I've been enjoying the insight these stories provide into pre-war Europe, at a time when movement across frontiers was still possible, if risky at times.
Ambler employs a recurring plot, in which a civilian protagonist finds himself embroiled - much to his annoyance - in some form of intelligence-related activity, and having to pit his wits against hardened professionals.
It's a clever device, and has kept me going through 4 books so far.
The latest is perhaps the weakest, a function of a promising first two-thirds that becomes a long and protracted attempt to escape from Italy, with the Fascisti in hot pursuit.
The hero takes refuge in the mountains with an insane mathematician who proceeds to ramble (over many pages!) on his theory of perpetual motion. Even then I could not sleep.
Quite what happened to Ambler when he was finishing this novel, I don't know, but I imagine with hindsight he would have liked to have revisited the last third.
However, I have just downloaded the next one, so no harm done as far as I'm concerned!
Usually I only manage a handful of pages before I fall asleep, and I have found this series of 1930s espionage novels ideal bedtime reading.
There are generally few characters, a simple plot, and undemanding prose - so I can pick up where I dropped off the previous night, with little back-tracking.
I've been enjoying the insight these stories provide into pre-war Europe, at a time when movement across frontiers was still possible, if risky at times.
Ambler employs a recurring plot, in which a civilian protagonist finds himself embroiled - much to his annoyance - in some form of intelligence-related activity, and having to pit his wits against hardened professionals.
It's a clever device, and has kept me going through 4 books so far.
The latest is perhaps the weakest, a function of a promising first two-thirds that becomes a long and protracted attempt to escape from Italy, with the Fascisti in hot pursuit.
The hero takes refuge in the mountains with an insane mathematician who proceeds to ramble (over many pages!) on his theory of perpetual motion. Even then I could not sleep.
Quite what happened to Ambler when he was finishing this novel, I don't know, but I imagine with hindsight he would have liked to have revisited the last third.
However, I have just downloaded the next one, so no harm done as far as I'm concerned!
