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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #2
The Man From Uncle # 2 -The Doomsday Affair
Vintage TV Tie-in Paperback
Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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138 people want to read
About the author
Harry Whittington
179 books42 followersHe also wrote under the names Ashley Carter, Harriet Kathryn Myers, and Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.
Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 13, 2020
“The Doomsday Affair” by Harry Whittington is a little different from other U.N.C.L.E. books that followed in the series. A little more violence and death than was usual.
The beautiful young woman, Ursula Baynes-Neefirth, had been staring fearfully across the bed at Napoleon Solo, the next she was dead as she raised the lei up round her neck. Napoleon and his partner, Illya Kuryakin, had come to Hawaii to meet her, a Thrush agent wanting to defect. Only two other people besides then knew of their meeting, Alexander Waverly and a man in the State Department.
Now the defecting spy was dead from a bomb placed in the lei. The only thing Napoleon Solo finds in her room is a letter with nonsensical words and a silver whip. Napoleon calls Illya in and the blond Russian develops pictures the other agent had taken with his cigarette lighter camera. Solo had grown suspicious when a young Chinese woman had given her a “free” lei. The little strip developed, Napoleon leaves for the airport to find the lei thrower and Illya, waiting, calls the police to report the body, leaves, only to be accosted by a Chinese-American man that forces him back into the room, holding him long enough for the police to arrive. Somehow he goes out the window and disappears, leaving Illya to be arrested, with the need to escape before it’s learned he’s an U.N.C.L.E. agent.
Harry Whittington is best-known for his hard boiled noir thrillers, he was also an author of westerns. He penned about twenty-eight westerns during his forty-year writing career, six of them “Longarm” stories, a further four movie paperback tie-ins. Whittington wrote, produced and directed a low-budget horror film of his own in 1960, “Face of the Phantom”.
For some time, Whittington had been writing novelettes for Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine under the name Robert Hart Davis. Now, the magazine's publisher wanted him to write an original, full-length novel to cash in on the popularity of the TV series. There was, however, a catch. Where Whittington had always previously signed royalty contracts, the publisher now offered a flat fee of fifteen hundred dollars for the purchase of all rights.
Advised to accept by his agent, Whittington's book, “The Doomsday Affair” (1966),
Around this same period, the author was hired to write one 60,000-word sex novel a month, each to be issued under one or other of the publisher's various house-names. Greenleaf was the largest of the adult publishers who flourished at a time when the boundaries of what was considered to be pornography were being tested in the Federal courts, and for a thousand dollars a book, Whittington needed no second urging. Incredibly, he produced a new title for them every month for the next thirty-nine months.
(Harry Benjamin Whittington) 1915 - 1989) altogether he wrote over 200 books.
pen names used: Ashley Carter, Whit Harrison, Harriet Kathryn Myers, Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.
The beautiful young woman, Ursula Baynes-Neefirth, had been staring fearfully across the bed at Napoleon Solo, the next she was dead as she raised the lei up round her neck. Napoleon and his partner, Illya Kuryakin, had come to Hawaii to meet her, a Thrush agent wanting to defect. Only two other people besides then knew of their meeting, Alexander Waverly and a man in the State Department.
Now the defecting spy was dead from a bomb placed in the lei. The only thing Napoleon Solo finds in her room is a letter with nonsensical words and a silver whip. Napoleon calls Illya in and the blond Russian develops pictures the other agent had taken with his cigarette lighter camera. Solo had grown suspicious when a young Chinese woman had given her a “free” lei. The little strip developed, Napoleon leaves for the airport to find the lei thrower and Illya, waiting, calls the police to report the body, leaves, only to be accosted by a Chinese-American man that forces him back into the room, holding him long enough for the police to arrive. Somehow he goes out the window and disappears, leaving Illya to be arrested, with the need to escape before it’s learned he’s an U.N.C.L.E. agent.
Harry Whittington is best-known for his hard boiled noir thrillers, he was also an author of westerns. He penned about twenty-eight westerns during his forty-year writing career, six of them “Longarm” stories, a further four movie paperback tie-ins. Whittington wrote, produced and directed a low-budget horror film of his own in 1960, “Face of the Phantom”.
For some time, Whittington had been writing novelettes for Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine under the name Robert Hart Davis. Now, the magazine's publisher wanted him to write an original, full-length novel to cash in on the popularity of the TV series. There was, however, a catch. Where Whittington had always previously signed royalty contracts, the publisher now offered a flat fee of fifteen hundred dollars for the purchase of all rights.
Advised to accept by his agent, Whittington's book, “The Doomsday Affair” (1966),
Around this same period, the author was hired to write one 60,000-word sex novel a month, each to be issued under one or other of the publisher's various house-names. Greenleaf was the largest of the adult publishers who flourished at a time when the boundaries of what was considered to be pornography were being tested in the Federal courts, and for a thousand dollars a book, Whittington needed no second urging. Incredibly, he produced a new title for them every month for the next thirty-nine months.
(Harry Benjamin Whittington) 1915 - 1989) altogether he wrote over 200 books.
pen names used: Ashley Carter, Whit Harrison, Harriet Kathryn Myers, Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.
July 19, 2018
Did you read my review of the first Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel? No? Didn't see my confession of looking back on my "youth" with nostalgia? Oh well... no accounting for taste. :)
I was a huge Man From U.N.C.L.E. fan and was probably a marketers dream... Put "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." on it...and I wanted it. I read all the novel tie ins, and a few of them were very good... others weren't. This one comes across as more of a hard-boiled detective novel, not surprising as the author (Harry Whittington) primarily wrote those and I believe some westerns. This was still one of the weaker novels...Tixe Ylno apparently wants to destroy the world..(like KAOS from "Get Smart" who are, "out to destroy the world for their own gain"....rrriiiggghhhttt?). Anyway, as I said, a somewhat weaker novel, but still it's a man From U.N.C.L.E. tie in, and as I said, I liked/like anything Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Corrected a couple of typos here...and decided to stop and note, I've ordered a few more used Man From U.N.C.L.E. novels. Got to watch the cost, I wish I'd been more careful and kept the ones I bought back in the 60s. The irony of paying $3 TO $5 FOR A $.50 book is not lost on me(I can't bring myself to order the ones that run like $20...I don't have that kind of "bucks") Still, looking forward to them. Maybe I'm entering my second childhood....err, or adolescence?
I've got the entire T.V. series on DVD also....
I was a huge Man From U.N.C.L.E. fan and was probably a marketers dream... Put "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." on it...and I wanted it. I read all the novel tie ins, and a few of them were very good... others weren't. This one comes across as more of a hard-boiled detective novel, not surprising as the author (Harry Whittington) primarily wrote those and I believe some westerns. This was still one of the weaker novels...Tixe Ylno apparently wants to destroy the world..(like KAOS from "Get Smart" who are, "out to destroy the world for their own gain"....rrriiiggghhhttt?). Anyway, as I said, a somewhat weaker novel, but still it's a man From U.N.C.L.E. tie in, and as I said, I liked/like anything Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Corrected a couple of typos here...and decided to stop and note, I've ordered a few more used Man From U.N.C.L.E. novels. Got to watch the cost, I wish I'd been more careful and kept the ones I bought back in the 60s. The irony of paying $3 TO $5 FOR A $.50 book is not lost on me(I can't bring myself to order the ones that run like $20...I don't have that kind of "bucks") Still, looking forward to them. Maybe I'm entering my second childhood....err, or adolescence?
I've got the entire T.V. series on DVD also....
July 19, 2018
A relentless series of the UNCLE protagonists, Solo and Kuryakin, getting beat up, captured, drugged and chased page after page drive the narrative of this weakly plotted TV tie-in. The extremely sudden ending that left many unanswered questions didn't help either. Maybe my expectations were too high considering that I like both the TV series and the author.
July 19, 2018
The plot in this second novel in the Man From U.N.C.L.E. Television tie-in series jumps right into the middle of the action when a young woman (and THRUSH defector) removes a lei from around her head that she had recently received from Honolulu airport. Unfortunately, there is an explosive device within the lei and her movements trigger the bomb which kills her immediately. This happens right in front of Napoleon Solo and literally blows the action wide open in the first paragraph. It all leads to a diabolical plot by a mysterious entity named Tixe Ylno (Exit Only spelled backward) to blow up a major American city with an atomic bomb and pin the deed on Russia, thereby launching World War III.
Yes, we’ve seen this plot numerous times before but since this was published in 1965, perhaps it was a newer concept then. For this second book in the series, author duties were handed over to Harry Whittington, who is known as one of the most prolific pulp authors of all time, managing to churn out 85 novels in the space of only twelve years. That sort of churn and earn approach, unfortunately, is quite evident in this book, and its quality is not nearly as high as in book one, The Thousand Coffins Affair written by Michael Avallone. Lots of action sequences but all crammed together with little expository or explanatory effort. The ending is especially representative of this as it all ends rather abruptly. I turned the last page expecting to see at least a couple more paragraphs but no, nothing there. No extraneous words wasted on what the consequences of that final scene were or how the characters dealt with it. Also, the big reveal of the identity of Tixe Ylno is handled just as obviously as thousands of novels before, as well as practically every episode of Scooby Doo you've ever seen.
There was one scene that I was happy to read. As I watched the television series I kept wondering about the guy who ran the tailor shop that doubled as the secret entrance to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. Was he simply a tailor? Was he a retired agent? In this novel, Napoleon Solo wonders the same thing but even though we don’t get an actual answer, at least it was good to know that Napoleon and I think alike.
I did find it interesting that this volume did include Illya in a major role (unlike in book one where he is clearly a minor character). But he is still obviously subservient to Solo, telling me the book was written based on early scripts or shortly after the first couple of episodes had filmed. It only took the TV series 5 or 6 episodes before these two characters began to be almost equal in skills, experience, and air-time so I’m expecting the book series to evolve that way as well in short order.
Looking forward to book 3 which is written by yet another author, John Oram (John Oram Thomas) who seems to have been anything but prolific.
Yes, we’ve seen this plot numerous times before but since this was published in 1965, perhaps it was a newer concept then. For this second book in the series, author duties were handed over to Harry Whittington, who is known as one of the most prolific pulp authors of all time, managing to churn out 85 novels in the space of only twelve years. That sort of churn and earn approach, unfortunately, is quite evident in this book, and its quality is not nearly as high as in book one, The Thousand Coffins Affair written by Michael Avallone. Lots of action sequences but all crammed together with little expository or explanatory effort. The ending is especially representative of this as it all ends rather abruptly. I turned the last page expecting to see at least a couple more paragraphs but no, nothing there. No extraneous words wasted on what the consequences of that final scene were or how the characters dealt with it. Also, the big reveal of the identity of Tixe Ylno is handled just as obviously as thousands of novels before, as well as practically every episode of Scooby Doo you've ever seen.
There was one scene that I was happy to read. As I watched the television series I kept wondering about the guy who ran the tailor shop that doubled as the secret entrance to U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. Was he simply a tailor? Was he a retired agent? In this novel, Napoleon Solo wonders the same thing but even though we don’t get an actual answer, at least it was good to know that Napoleon and I think alike.
I did find it interesting that this volume did include Illya in a major role (unlike in book one where he is clearly a minor character). But he is still obviously subservient to Solo, telling me the book was written based on early scripts or shortly after the first couple of episodes had filmed. It only took the TV series 5 or 6 episodes before these two characters began to be almost equal in skills, experience, and air-time so I’m expecting the book series to evolve that way as well in short order.
Looking forward to book 3 which is written by yet another author, John Oram (John Oram Thomas) who seems to have been anything but prolific.
May 31, 2016
Until I found this cover while surfing the Web I'd forgotten ever having read this, the second Man from UNCLE book. Previously I'd only admitted to the first. It's embarrassing to admit that so much of my early adolescence was spent reading such trash while other thirteen-year-olds were reading the Lucian in Latin.
Still, sadly, I was addicted to spy thrillers in junior high school. I'd recently earned enough by cutting lawns and shovelling walks to buy my own television, an enormous brown black-and-white set, and spent hours in my room watching The Beachcomber, I Spy, Secret Agent, Mission Impossible, Man from UNCLE and the like--in addition to The Twilight Zone of course. I also followed the news, partly because that's all the networks ran during some hours, partly because I'd recently become interested in (and critical of) U.S. foreign policy. Spies fit into that, of course, and into my increasingly paranoid sense of international relations.
UNCLE, however, was on the silly side of espionage, a B-grade spinoff from the James Bond craze that occupied most of my male generation, not something to be taken seriously like The Ipcris File, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or The Manchurian Candidate (I didn't just read trash).
Now I still read espionage material, but, except for LeCarre, pretty much only the stuff found on the nonfiction shelves.
Still, sadly, I was addicted to spy thrillers in junior high school. I'd recently earned enough by cutting lawns and shovelling walks to buy my own television, an enormous brown black-and-white set, and spent hours in my room watching The Beachcomber, I Spy, Secret Agent, Mission Impossible, Man from UNCLE and the like--in addition to The Twilight Zone of course. I also followed the news, partly because that's all the networks ran during some hours, partly because I'd recently become interested in (and critical of) U.S. foreign policy. Spies fit into that, of course, and into my increasingly paranoid sense of international relations.
UNCLE, however, was on the silly side of espionage, a B-grade spinoff from the James Bond craze that occupied most of my male generation, not something to be taken seriously like The Ipcris File, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold or The Manchurian Candidate (I didn't just read trash).
Now I still read espionage material, but, except for LeCarre, pretty much only the stuff found on the nonfiction shelves.
September 12, 2020
It has honestly been a while since I've read book 1, The Thousand Coffins Affair. So I wasn't exactly sure where it ended off and how this book would go either. That being said, I didn't even hesitate to dive into The Doomsday Affair.
After reading this book, I kind of want to dive back into the movie. I just love Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer so much. That being said, this book was just an okay read. Maybe it's because I can't really picture the actors as these characters at the moment. Not sure why I can't but just got with it.
I mean Tixe apparently wants to destroy the world.. but who doesn't in these books? Besides that, things just seemed to be a bit repetitive for me which for a short book - got annoying real quick. It also seems to me that the main characters are constantly going through the same thing. Which, again, is a weird thing to think of while reading book 2. Book freaking 2. I should be thinking that at like book 7, 20, 75.. not 2.
In the end, I guess I'm glad that I dove into this book even if my main reason was because of a challenge. I'm hoping that the next book in this series will be a lot better, if not, I'm not sure what I will do.
After reading this book, I kind of want to dive back into the movie. I just love Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer so much. That being said, this book was just an okay read. Maybe it's because I can't really picture the actors as these characters at the moment. Not sure why I can't but just got with it.
I mean Tixe apparently wants to destroy the world.. but who doesn't in these books? Besides that, things just seemed to be a bit repetitive for me which for a short book - got annoying real quick. It also seems to me that the main characters are constantly going through the same thing. Which, again, is a weird thing to think of while reading book 2. Book freaking 2. I should be thinking that at like book 7, 20, 75.. not 2.
In the end, I guess I'm glad that I dove into this book even if my main reason was because of a challenge. I'm hoping that the next book in this series will be a lot better, if not, I'm not sure what I will do.
December 22, 2015
Of the six tie-in novels I've finished so far, the Doomsday Affair is hands-down the most stressful. Napoleon and Illya are, of course, always being kidnapped or beaten up or what have you, usually multiple times per affair, but this took it to an entirely new level with the villain's use of a drug that essentially robbed their bodily autonomy. The amount of near-misses and almost-escapes kept me on my toes, but ultimately I really can't say that's a positive, as it was so incredibly stressful and the villain such a racist caricature.
Also, I'm fairly convinced that the "silver whip nightclub act" with Ursula and her partner Candy Kane has to have been some kind of lesbian strip show, especially given the goldfish lady worked with them and honestly what kind of job is that, being a goldfish in a west coast nightclub. I'd have liked a series or short about Ursula and Candy's daring spy adventures (done by an actual lesbian, please).
Also, I'm fairly convinced that the "silver whip nightclub act" with Ursula and her partner Candy Kane has to have been some kind of lesbian strip show, especially given the goldfish lady worked with them and honestly what kind of job is that, being a goldfish in a west coast nightclub. I'd have liked a series or short about Ursula and Candy's daring spy adventures (done by an actual lesbian, please).
March 22, 2025
Considering this book was written in 1965 number 1 at the time was Dune and of course no comparison, the series UNCLE on TV was excellent and books based on this where fast reads and mirrored what we imaged spy’s would be like Napoleon Solo and kuryakin the epitome of this. Language in the book mirrored societies blunt thinking such as those with mental ‘retardation’ as retards. It’s was an ok read, 23 in the series all written and published 1965- 1966.
September 25, 2021
A bit of a trip down memory lane. I loved watching Man from U.N.C.L.E. and enjoyed reading the early tie-in novels. They are all incredibly cheesy and dated. Still, for the time period, it isn’t too bad.
August 2, 2024
this is an ebook. great as all the Man From UNCLE books are. lots of action.
June 27, 2016
This one could be better, but it could be a lot, lot worse. You get the sense that the author has his tongue firmly in cheek at times, in proper Uncle tradition. He has the characters of Solo and Kuryakin down well, and introduces us to a cast of proper Uncle good guys and diabolical bad guys, with perfectly preposterous names, although he does stray into racism at times - not something the original series was entirely free from either. Illya, of course, gets the worse end of the stick. I got a bit bored towards the end, but this was never going to be highbrow fiction, and it was pretty enjoyable.
June 21, 2024
When U.N.C.L.E. gets wind of a Thrush bigwig only known as Tixe Ylno (yes, that is "Exit Only" spelled backwards) and his/her plan to cause global devastation, Napoleon and Illya endeavor to discover just what is going on. I have long been a fan of an exciting, alternating story line, and Whittington's book gives us a doozy. Thus, in Oahu, Solo meets defecting Thrush agent Ursula Baynes-Neefirth, who is killed when an exploding lei blows her face right off! Solo then engages in a breakneck car chase around Honolulu with some minor Thrushies and later gets into a street fight with some knife-wielding thugs. Meanwhile, Illya is framed for Ursula's murder by Thrush agent Samuel Su Yan, arrested by the cops, paralyzed in his jail cell by a Thrush chemical, breaks out somehow, and later races around Honolulu trying to escape. In Acapulco, Illya goes after Su Yan and is unfortunately paralyzed again, while Solo travels to San Francisco to interview nightclub entertainer Barbry Coast, a friend of the late Ursula. And finally, in a former insane asylum in California now covering as a Thrush base, the U.N.C.L.E. agents--reunited again--and Barbry try to stop Thrush's plan to drop an atomic bomb somewhere in the U.S. Whittington's only novel in the series is tough, fast moving and colorful. The author demonstrates that he has also done his homework as regards tech matters (hence, the Ian Fleming-like references to the Berns-Martin holster, the Accutron watch, the Karmann Ghia car, the Astra pistol) as well as the geography of Honolulu (Kapiolani Park and around a dozen actual street names are mentioned). Sam Su Yan and Tixe Ylno make for very acceptable villains, as does Violet Wild, a particularly nasty villainess who is sadly underused here. The book features a very suspenseful wrap-up, as that bomb is being loaded onto its jet carrier while Solo lies paralyzed, his friends equally helpless. Whittington writes well and effectively, with a gift for well-rendered dialogue. I particularly like when he has Su Yan say of the U.N.C.L.E. agents "Heroics … A kind of illness with these people," and when Waverly is described as having "rhesus-monkey eyes." Still, the book has its problems. Tixe Ylno's actual identity is way too easy to figure out, Su Yan's mysterious disappearance from an 8th floor balcony is never explained, and the fact that three separate car chases in the book end with an automobile falling over a cliff is really two too many. The book's inclusion of the Oahu and Acapulco locales seems forced, and the number and names of the departments in the U.N.C.L.E. organization differ from what Michael Avallone had told us in Book 1. (Granted, things might have changed during the interim.) Odd that Napoleon has no romantic dalliances in this book, as well. All told, a solid if flawed effort, but still one that kept me enthralled throughout.
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ....)
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ....)
August 29, 2024
I rated the first book in the series a 3/5 for being a perfectly competent pulp fiction spy fiction that's over almost as soon as it starts.
This one gets a 1/5 because the main characters are written to be hilariously incompetent - which I suspect to be a problem with the author - my vague memories of reading the rest of the series don't have constant captures occurring multiple times per book.
- Illya gets caught off guard by Thrush, and they arrange for him to be captured and thrown in jail.
- Solo accidentally causes the deaths of the people he's chasing - and incidentally, can't seem to avoid slow moving groups of tourists.
- Illya gets paralyzed while in jail by a Thrush agent he gets too close to in the jail. When he escapes, he literally walks head-first into the room of the guy who got the better of him the last time, gun still in holster, gets jumped, drugged, and captured again.
- Solo then promptly gets captured by the same guy after drinking drugged alcohol from the bad guy's own room.
- Solo then nearly escapes from being captured two more times - the first he is thrown back in his cell, and the second he is again gassed and rendered helpless.
Drugging people and being captured happens so much... I almost wonder if it's the author's kink.
This goes on for about 140 of the book's 159 pages. And then when the men from U.N.C.L.E. finally muster up enough competency to finally escape their captors, the finale is over in a rushed 19 pages where they basically gas everyone else and blow up a mountain. The bad guy is exactly who you suspect it to be when they're introduced halfway into this mess, and is nowhere near as dangerous as they are presented as being.
And the book ends with them bailing out of the car they were in before it explodes. That's it. That's the ending. No denouement, nothing. The car rolls over the cliff, they're lying on the roadside... that's it.
Docking another point because Whittington's writing style was just odd at times; talking about how so and so 'knew X was the case' or 'saw X happening' rather than showing the writer descriptively. And again - that ending. Really felt like he just ran out of ideas and said, "Waitasec, I'm over my page count. Okay, I'm done!"
I have no idea what Whittington thought they were doing. Laughably bad.
This one gets a 1/5 because the main characters are written to be hilariously incompetent - which I suspect to be a problem with the author - my vague memories of reading the rest of the series don't have constant captures occurring multiple times per book.
- Illya gets caught off guard by Thrush, and they arrange for him to be captured and thrown in jail.
- Solo accidentally causes the deaths of the people he's chasing - and incidentally, can't seem to avoid slow moving groups of tourists.
- Illya gets paralyzed while in jail by a Thrush agent he gets too close to in the jail. When he escapes, he literally walks head-first into the room of the guy who got the better of him the last time, gun still in holster, gets jumped, drugged, and captured again.
- Solo then promptly gets captured by the same guy after drinking drugged alcohol from the bad guy's own room.
- Solo then nearly escapes from being captured two more times - the first he is thrown back in his cell, and the second he is again gassed and rendered helpless.
Drugging people and being captured happens so much... I almost wonder if it's the author's kink.
This goes on for about 140 of the book's 159 pages. And then when the men from U.N.C.L.E. finally muster up enough competency to finally escape their captors, the finale is over in a rushed 19 pages where they basically gas everyone else and blow up a mountain. The bad guy is exactly who you suspect it to be when they're introduced halfway into this mess, and is nowhere near as dangerous as they are presented as being.
And the book ends with them bailing out of the car they were in before it explodes. That's it. That's the ending. No denouement, nothing. The car rolls over the cliff, they're lying on the roadside... that's it.
Docking another point because Whittington's writing style was just odd at times; talking about how so and so 'knew X was the case' or 'saw X happening' rather than showing the writer descriptively. And again - that ending. Really felt like he just ran out of ideas and said, "Waitasec, I'm over my page count. Okay, I'm done!"
I have no idea what Whittington thought they were doing. Laughably bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2018
One of the dumbest books I've ever read.
It starts right in the action, which I don't mind, but then goes downhill very fast. The protagonists seem to be able to do nothing but get beat up, caught, drugged, caught, beat up, get caught again, drugged more, and beat up.
Illya was pretty much out of commission for 75% of the book. He was just drugged and moved around and had no real understanding or ability to influence the events around him... until the climax when he suddenly rips through his restraints somehow (???).
Napoleon is at least a little more active but only so he can keep getting caught over and over and over again.
The villains are too dumb to live because they continue to keep the heroes alive for no real reason whatsoever. Really, they have 0 reason to not just shoot them immediately, and are given about a million opportunities to do so. They poison the heroes just so they can take them to their evil lairs... just because. Hey, why not poison them TO DEATH, guys?
The Barbry character is totally random and I don't know why she was suddenly a main character, she had no place or reason or right to be. And then she's captured and hypnotized. And then ULTRA DRUG HYPNOTIZED.
The villains do the whole "now, Bond, I will leave you to die in a trap" thing instead of JUST SHOOTING THEM. HEY IDIOTS, JUST SHOOT THEM!!!
The ending was also one of the weirdest/worst I have ever read. The main characters are fleeing an explosion and the car is about to explode too and they jump out - the end. What?? It's mid-climax when the book just stops. I had to check to make sure there wasn't a page or two ripped out. There is no resolution to anything in this book.
So yeah it really sucked.
It starts right in the action, which I don't mind, but then goes downhill very fast. The protagonists seem to be able to do nothing but get beat up, caught, drugged, caught, beat up, get caught again, drugged more, and beat up.
Illya was pretty much out of commission for 75% of the book. He was just drugged and moved around and had no real understanding or ability to influence the events around him... until the climax when he suddenly rips through his restraints somehow (???).
Napoleon is at least a little more active but only so he can keep getting caught over and over and over again.
The villains are too dumb to live because they continue to keep the heroes alive for no real reason whatsoever. Really, they have 0 reason to not just shoot them immediately, and are given about a million opportunities to do so. They poison the heroes just so they can take them to their evil lairs... just because. Hey, why not poison them TO DEATH, guys?
The Barbry character is totally random and I don't know why she was suddenly a main character, she had no place or reason or right to be. And then she's captured and hypnotized. And then ULTRA DRUG HYPNOTIZED.
The villains do the whole "now, Bond, I will leave you to die in a trap" thing instead of JUST SHOOTING THEM. HEY IDIOTS, JUST SHOOT THEM!!!
The ending was also one of the weirdest/worst I have ever read. The main characters are fleeing an explosion and the car is about to explode too and they jump out - the end. What?? It's mid-climax when the book just stops. I had to check to make sure there wasn't a page or two ripped out. There is no resolution to anything in this book.
So yeah it really sucked.
October 5, 2020
The stakes are higher in this book than in most of the TV episodes.
I was a big fan of this show as a kid and picked up a bunch of the books over time.
This one was pretty exciting and kept to the style and themes of the show pretty well.
There was one plot point where the bad guys had to get Kuryakin and Solo to call Waverly to assure them all was well or their plan would be disrupted.
And then the author forgot about it as this never happened.
In the final scenes, our heroes are rushing away from a disaster resulting from their thwarting the bad guys when they have to jump from a speeding car just before it explodes.
And that's where the book ends, just after the explosion.
No wrap up, no Solo going off with the woman, not even an explanation of how they
survived the disaster.
I had acquired two copies of this book and checked the other in case some pages were missing.
But no, that was how the book ended.
It's as if the publisher said the book could only 159 pages and just threw away any pages after that.
So, if you're a fan of the TV show, you might enjoy this.
If you only saw the recent movie, then none of the books or the TV show will make any sense
as the movie is about two characters who coincidentally have the same names as the characters in the TV show. Other than the names, the movie is completely unrelated to the TV show.
I was a big fan of this show as a kid and picked up a bunch of the books over time.
This one was pretty exciting and kept to the style and themes of the show pretty well.
There was one plot point where the bad guys had to get Kuryakin and Solo to call Waverly to assure them all was well or their plan would be disrupted.
And then the author forgot about it as this never happened.
In the final scenes, our heroes are rushing away from a disaster resulting from their thwarting the bad guys when they have to jump from a speeding car just before it explodes.
And that's where the book ends, just after the explosion.
No wrap up, no Solo going off with the woman, not even an explanation of how they
survived the disaster.
I had acquired two copies of this book and checked the other in case some pages were missing.
But no, that was how the book ended.
It's as if the publisher said the book could only 159 pages and just threw away any pages after that.
So, if you're a fan of the TV show, you might enjoy this.
If you only saw the recent movie, then none of the books or the TV show will make any sense
as the movie is about two characters who coincidentally have the same names as the characters in the TV show. Other than the names, the movie is completely unrelated to the TV show.
December 11, 2025
Much better than the first Man from U.N.C.L.E. novel I read earlier this year, but still not fantastic. It’s just kinda casually racist in that vague 60s way, which isn’t very enjoyable obviously. I thought the writing was absolute bs, with too much told instead of shown. Also the author had a weird thing with street names where he literally had to name any street the characters were on. Also we’ve got some cute lil sexism here and there, so that’s not very fun either. Alexander Waverley is completely mischaracterized but I suppose better him than my boys. The twist is extremely obvious so even that was written poorly.
But I liked it to be honest, despite its many, many deficiencies. You know why? Because I just love Napoleon and Illya. They are two of my favorite characters ever honestly. And yeah you know what I ship them real hard and there’s some very interesting happenings in this book that only supported my conclusions. Like why make it a point to say that once Illya saw Napoleon on the floor in a room that he forgot everyone else in the room to rush over to him. Why say that if they aren’t kissing.
Typical Man from U.N.C.L.E. where Napoleon is out romancing a woman and Illya is experiencing horrors previously unheard of.
But I liked it to be honest, despite its many, many deficiencies. You know why? Because I just love Napoleon and Illya. They are two of my favorite characters ever honestly. And yeah you know what I ship them real hard and there’s some very interesting happenings in this book that only supported my conclusions. Like why make it a point to say that once Illya saw Napoleon on the floor in a room that he forgot everyone else in the room to rush over to him. Why say that if they aren’t kissing.
Typical Man from U.N.C.L.E. where Napoleon is out romancing a woman and Illya is experiencing horrors previously unheard of.
April 10, 2021
Harry Whittington never lets me down. "The Doomsday Affair" featured slimy, stuck-up, pompous villains that gave Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin constant grief. Our heroes are one step behind them the entire time until the grand finale. Any novel that starts with a woman getting her face blown off by a lei, those Hawaiian flower wreaths that loop over your head and hang around your neck cannot be all bad. I plan to read more of these U.N.C.L.E. tv-tie in novels to see if the other authors are more gritty than Whittington. Solo and Kuryakin spend most of their time as doped-up hostages for the villains. Thrush, the evil organization that U.N.C.L.E. wages a never-ending war against, is determined to drop a bomb on Washington. This novel is a genuine cliffhanger, but not as gritty as Whittington's usual crime thrillers.
July 29, 2023
plenty of Cold War propaganda which makes sense based on the release date. Kuryakin CARRIES the mission in the novella. Down three stars because Solo ‘magically’ regains the ability to stand up even if it’s like a newborn colt, leaving a lot of holes in the plot. Why do women have to be so expendable to the author??? Still, putting the book down is hard especially when Solo is almost certain to die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2024
To be fair, I've read better fanfiction. The author didn't really capture the dynamic of the show all that well. It wasn't nearly as fun and was missing the partnership chemistry between Illya and Napoleon. It was also very repetitive, like the author needed to hit so many words, so he just described the same thing over and over again. The girl was scared. We get it. Finally the book just ended abruptly.
July 12, 2021
For a book about stopping a doomsday plan, it was a little….dull. Not terrible, but not great either. I would have maybe given it 3 stars if it weren’t for the racism and misogyny littered throughout it. Also it ended abruptly as of the author just ran out of ideas and didn’t know how to wrap things up.
October 17, 2025
I read this shortly after publication and did not remember it being so bad.
Solo and Kuryakin and much of their time drugged up so they are helpless, as a madman uses THRUSH; his plan to drop a nuke on Washington DC so the Russians get the blame so there is a limited nuclear war (which is said to be like being a bit pregnant).
Solo and Kuryakin and much of their time drugged up so they are helpless, as a madman uses THRUSH; his plan to drop a nuke on Washington DC so the Russians get the blame so there is a limited nuclear war (which is said to be like being a bit pregnant).
October 15, 2018
This is the second time I read this book. The first time in the mid-1960's as a 9-year-old. It is not great literature, it is a fun romp down memory lane. Highly recommended for U.N.C.L.E. fans, skip it if you are not.
November 24, 2020
Much darker and more violent than your usual Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode or book, which made this one kind of a chore to read. I don’t think this author really captured the lighthearted spirit of the thing... oh well. On to the next book in the series!
May 31, 2025
Actually super fun.
October 21, 2024
This is the second book in the MAN FROM UNCLE series of tie-in novels, written by the prolific Harry Whittington. Whittington churned out scores of paperback originals throughout his career. Most of them are good and a lot of them are great. He worked in a number of different genres, with his hard-boiled crime novels and his Westerns being among his best works. Desert Stake-Out (1961), for instance, is one of the best Westerns I've ever read.
When he turned to U.N.C.L.E., he had Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin racing to save the world. A bad guy known only as Tixe Ylno is planning on setting off an atomic bomb, starting World War 3, and then rising from the ashes to take over whatever is left.
I doubt there is a connection, but this was published two years before Ernst Stravo Blofield tried the same thing in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
The action picks up in Hawaii and Whittington starts out the novel with one of the best opening lines ever: "An instant before, she had been alive."
Solo had made contact with a woman defected from THRUSH, the evil organization that Tixe Ylno works with. But before she can tell him anything, a small bomb hidden in the lei around her neck explodes, killing her.
Solo is soon tracking down the person who gave the now-dead woman the lei. Illya is there as well, but the bad guys manage to arrange for him to be suspected of the murder, necessitating a jail break and an escape from both the cops and from THRUSH assassins.
Illya trails a villain to Mexico, while Solo tracks down a friend of the dead woman in San Francisco. Both end up getting captured. Illya's situation is particularly creepy. He's given a drug that causes him to move in spasmodic jerks and prevents him from speaking in anything other than inarticulate grunts. THRUSH agents walk him out of a hotel on the pretext that he's mentally disabled.
The climax of the book involves two failed attempts to escape from an insane asylum that's actually a THRUSH base, then one final effort to break out while the atom bomb is being loaded aboard a bomb. This last attempt is hampered by a fellow prisoner who has been brainwashed into killing Solo.
Whittington's prose is clear and the action scenes are exciting. The villains do grab hold of the Idiot Ball a few times--their justification for not simply killing the U.N.C.L.E. agents after capturing them is a little weak.
But those villains are otherwise top-notch in their villainy. Tixe Ylno's insanity is downright frightening. His top henchman is a sadist who deludes himself into thinking he's a scholar and an idealist. Both are great characters and legitimately scary at times.
Whittington effecttively injects a hard-boiled edge into a novel based on a relatively light-hearted TV series. It is one of the best tie-in novels I've ever read.
When he turned to U.N.C.L.E., he had Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin racing to save the world. A bad guy known only as Tixe Ylno is planning on setting off an atomic bomb, starting World War 3, and then rising from the ashes to take over whatever is left.
I doubt there is a connection, but this was published two years before Ernst Stravo Blofield tried the same thing in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
The action picks up in Hawaii and Whittington starts out the novel with one of the best opening lines ever: "An instant before, she had been alive."
Solo had made contact with a woman defected from THRUSH, the evil organization that Tixe Ylno works with. But before she can tell him anything, a small bomb hidden in the lei around her neck explodes, killing her.
Solo is soon tracking down the person who gave the now-dead woman the lei. Illya is there as well, but the bad guys manage to arrange for him to be suspected of the murder, necessitating a jail break and an escape from both the cops and from THRUSH assassins.
Illya trails a villain to Mexico, while Solo tracks down a friend of the dead woman in San Francisco. Both end up getting captured. Illya's situation is particularly creepy. He's given a drug that causes him to move in spasmodic jerks and prevents him from speaking in anything other than inarticulate grunts. THRUSH agents walk him out of a hotel on the pretext that he's mentally disabled.
The climax of the book involves two failed attempts to escape from an insane asylum that's actually a THRUSH base, then one final effort to break out while the atom bomb is being loaded aboard a bomb. This last attempt is hampered by a fellow prisoner who has been brainwashed into killing Solo.
Whittington's prose is clear and the action scenes are exciting. The villains do grab hold of the Idiot Ball a few times--their justification for not simply killing the U.N.C.L.E. agents after capturing them is a little weak.
But those villains are otherwise top-notch in their villainy. Tixe Ylno's insanity is downright frightening. His top henchman is a sadist who deludes himself into thinking he's a scholar and an idealist. Both are great characters and legitimately scary at times.
Whittington effecttively injects a hard-boiled edge into a novel based on a relatively light-hearted TV series. It is one of the best tie-in novels I've ever read.
April 19, 2010
A bit too much testosterone-pumped for my normal reading taste, but I've had this in my collection (along with a few others from the series) for over 40 years.
I loved the show when it was on in the '60's and would sometimes dream of becoming a spy for U.N.C.L.E. My cousins, brother and I would spend hours playing agents on important missions.
The story caught some of the action and tension that made the shows so much fun. What it missed for me was some of the interplay between the two main characters. The missing comradeship may be a result of this being so early in the series and it still hadn't been developed.
I loved the show when it was on in the '60's and would sometimes dream of becoming a spy for U.N.C.L.E. My cousins, brother and I would spend hours playing agents on important missions.
The story caught some of the action and tension that made the shows so much fun. What it missed for me was some of the interplay between the two main characters. The missing comradeship may be a result of this being so early in the series and it still hadn't been developed.
February 3, 2012
I read this book in the summer of 1966. Today, while walking through the Chicago airport there was a sign by a restaurant that said "Exit Only" I had glanced at it very quickly and the writing gave me an impression of being spelled backwards (it wasn't...). But backwards (Tixe Ylno) was the name of the villain in this book in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" series. Really, I don't recall any of the others, but I might have read them (after all, 45 years ago is bit of time)
September 10, 2015
If you grew up watching the TV show and remember it fondly, then this story will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane, however, if you aren't familiar with the show then this might just be a disappointing schlocky and dated pulp spy thriller.
January 18, 2013
easy, fun read. If you remember the television series, then this can be a fun read. If you don't, reading it will bring you back quickly.
March 1, 2013
As a preteen, young teen, I never realized how poorly these TV novels were written. I didn't care as much then, I guess. I loved the show, that is what mattered to me then.
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