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Sam Durell #32
Assignment Golden Girl
Book by Aarons, Edward S.
- GenresEspionage
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
37 people want to read
About the author
Edward S. Aarons
264 books17 followersAKA 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.
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.
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January 13, 2022
By this time, 1971, in the series about CIA agent Sam Durell, Edward Aarons has all but forgotten about the Soviet Union as an adversary. Instead, his focus has turned almost entirely towards China. So, here, in this story, the CIA tasks Durell with protecting a young African prince who has returned to his newly independent country in the southeast of Africa. The prince, however, has a rival for the throne, his half sister, the "Golden Girl," of the book's title. Alas for the prince and his sister, a neighboring country, already allied with China, invades and ousts the prince, the princess, and Durell. Now, all Durell can do is to get them safely out of the country, where they can organize a resistance to the occupiers.
The plot itself is a good one. Most of the action takes place on a dilapidated train that Durell presses into service to escape the victorious invaders. Yes, that has been an effective storyline in plenty of stories. In this one, however, I'm more than a little reminded of a film that came out just four years before Aarons' novel. The film is Dark of the Sun. It traces the evacuation of white colonists in the Congo during the uprising there, in 1960. Many, many similarities with that film are at work. The film, of course, is based on the Wilbur Smith novel of the same name that was published in 1965. That just might be the next thing I read to see exactly how close Aarons' story is to Smith's.
The plot itself is a good one. Most of the action takes place on a dilapidated train that Durell presses into service to escape the victorious invaders. Yes, that has been an effective storyline in plenty of stories. In this one, however, I'm more than a little reminded of a film that came out just four years before Aarons' novel. The film is Dark of the Sun. It traces the evacuation of white colonists in the Congo during the uprising there, in 1960. Many, many similarities with that film are at work. The film, of course, is based on the Wilbur Smith novel of the same name that was published in 1965. That just might be the next thing I read to see exactly how close Aarons' story is to Smith's.
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