Assignment Afghan Dragon

Sam Durell #42

by Edward S. Aarons

Book by Aarons, Edward S.

Genres: Thriller

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 12, 1976

About the author

AKA Paul Ayres, Edward Ronns.

Edward Sidney Aarons (September 11, 1916 - June 16, 1975) was an American writer, author of more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1962. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (Dead Heat), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous articles for detective magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Scarab.

Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Literature and History from Columbia University. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In World War II he was in the United States Coast Guard, joining after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

Reviews

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent final Sam Durell novel from Edward Aarons. Six more Durell novels were published in the series after this one, but they were ghostwritten following Aarons' death in 1975. For his last effort, Aarons rose to the occasion. Assignment Afghan Dragon is one of his best works because it's more of an exotic adventure novel than a spy thriller. And Aarons always was at his best where setting, atmosphere, history, and culture dominated his plots. Here, the story takes place in Iran and Afghanistan before jumping to an island in the Gulf of Oman at the end. Published just three years before the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan Dragon has CIA agent Sam Durell on the trail of an ancient artifact, a jade dragon with ruby eyes, a pearl moon in its throat, and laden with a golden egg. It is a symbol of Afghan sovereignty. But the Chinese and Russians are in a race to acquire it. Behind the scenes are rogue Chinese and Russian hardliners who want to force a war between their two countries and possession of the dragon might lead one or the other to achieve it. Set along the so-called Hippie Trail that brought adventuresome backpackers from the West through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and on to Thailand, the novel depicted an iconic route of its time, the late 70s, that has now disappeared into history. Had contemporary readers of Afghan Dragon only known what awaited in the region during the 1980s and beyond.

And what of our glimpse of Sam Durell in this last true Assignment novel? As has been the tendency in the two previous stories in the series, Sam is more isolated than at any other time in his life. Longtime girlfriend Deirdre Padgett has disappeared from the plots. The fatherly figure of Section K director Dickinson McFee makes only a token appearance. Sam's friends are gone. Many dead, others turned traitor. Sam himself expresses a reluctant skepticism towards his employer and his nation. And he seems drained of energy. It's been twenty years, after all, since Sam started his career. The Durell of the first Assignment novel, in 1955, was still a young man, a veteran of the OSS in World War II. The Durell of Dragon must be on the bad side of 50 by now. Emotionally, he is so, although Aarons is not quite ready to let a more verile Sam disappear into old age. Thus Dragon, as with the Assignment novels beginning somewhere in the mid to late 1960s, omits Durell's background in the OSS. Dragon even alludes to one side character being in the organization, while remaining silent about Durell--Aarons' subtly trying to provide Sam with the elixir of youth???

All well and good. This makes for a satisfying conclusion to the saga of Durell and the Cold War he fought for two decades. Edward S. Aarons, you did superbly to bring it off as you did.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disposable espionage escapism from the mid-70s. This is apparently Cajun Sam Durell's 42nd literary outing and if all his previous adventures are like this one, he is lucky to have survived so far. The jewelled Afghan Dragon itself is a complete Macguffin, serving only to be the focus for international tensions between the evil Russians, the sinister Chinese and the peaceable, but if-you-push-me-I'll-come-out-shooting Americans. Sam finds himself allied with a beautiful female Soviet agent. Can she be trusted?

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Durell is on a new assignment - to help out an old school friend. A valuable antique dragon sculpture is being sought by the Afghans, the Chinese, the Russians and the Americans. But who already has it? Sam finds himself working with an admitted Russian agent - but can he trust her? And his contact has been butchered and mutilated - while she was present... Not knowing who to trust is nothing new to Sam, of course - but there are a lot of players in this particularly nasty game.

Fun, as always.