Soldier No More

Dr David Audley & Colonel Jack Butler #11

by Anthony Price

In 1957, when all of France is preoccupied with the Algerian crisis, Intelligence Chief David Audley deals with the consequences as a young double agent tries to disengage himself from both sides

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Thriller, Mystery

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Born in Hertfordshire in 1928, Price was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and Oxford. His long career in journalism culminated in the Editorship of the Oxford Times. His literary thrillers earned comparisons to the best of Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, and Robert Goddard.

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series. Muddle of too many history lessons (Suez, Hungary, Visigoths and Vandals, Arabs and Berbers and Carolingeans, Algeria, etc.) with goofy "orgy" parties and a LeCarre-esque main plot. Still, enjoyable if you like the Audley books.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to get into because, after an initially intriguing set-up (how will a reluctant traitor survive when caught between the rock of Russia and the hard place of Great Britain?), it quickly transforms into a tedious and often patronising talk-fest spiced with ostentatious erudition straight from the Encyclopaedia Britannica and preposterous female characters who combine male wish-fulfilment with abject absurdity (check out the scene with Lexy and her friends frolicking in the river). I dug my nails into my palm and chanted 'My name is Laura Deeping' as I willed myself to keep going, but I only did so because I hate to leave a book unfinished. The section which slowly reveals that an errant academic is the author of a bodice-ripping historical novel is especially in need of a thorough edit (or complete excision). The political intrigue which lurks in the background for most of the book reads like a Fry and Laurie parody of espionage fiction, and there is no action to speak of until we pass the 400 page mark. Yes, 400 pages of chin-wagging, self-regarding pseudo-intellectualism. 400 pages...If Aldous Huxley had written a spy novel, this is what it would be like. Now, remind me again about the difference between a Visigoth and a Hun and explain why it might matter...

[Hildo · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Audley books. Set just after the Suez crisis, this is chronologically the fourth in the series. The main character, Captain Roche, is morally ambiguous but ends up trying to do the right thing. The historical setting, just post-Suez, post-Hungary and during the Algerian war, is distant enough to be interesting and much less well-known than WW 2.

The plot is to some extent a comedy of errors; touches upon Kipling, historical novels, Hollywood, and personal honor; and the characters themselves are interested in many other historical periods. A nice, fat, satisfying read.

[Read It · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last we get to read the story of how Audley was recruited. A much more wordy book than the previous adventures, but with some neat twists and turns and cloak and dagger from both sides in the cold war.

[Quentin · Rating 4 out of 5]

They're starting to look a touch dated, but you can't go wrong with these. Elegantly plotted and beautifully written around long slabs of dialogue that shouldn't work but do...

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

While 'Other Paths to Glory' remains my favourite Anthony Price novel 'Soldier No More' certainly runs it close. Set in the early 1950s, in a world where Britain, France and Israel on the naughty step with allies America following the debacle at Suez and the Hungarian uprising quelled by the Soviet Union. The main character is British Inteligience officer called David Roche who is tasked with bringing David Audley back in to the fold after he had left the service to become a writer. The problem is, Roche is double agent and getting Audley to do something for his pay masters is his real task. The action takes place in rural France where he meets the enchanting Lady Alexandra Champeney-Perowne who is part of a group intellectuals hanging out with Audley. Nothing is what it seems with Mossad and the CIA apparently interested in events. A rifting read with a terrific twist to finish.

[WTD · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the utterly brilliant "The hour of the donkey" this is a let-down. I'm a massive fan of Price and this is the only one that is a slight disappointment. It takes a lot of concentration to follow the complex layers of plot, the deceptions and the motivations.
I wonder if I'd have followed much of the plot it if I hadn't read the previous books. The central character of the series is David Audley and he doesn't appear in the first half of the book. There is a lot of talk 'about' him but he stays off-stage.
The late burst of action is as spectacular as ever in Price's books, but there's a lot of tangential discussion about all sorts of topics that barely touch on the plot.

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Price must have gone through a navel-watching stage, a desire to create a background history for his lead characters. This time it's all about David Audley, the intelligent, history-loving "agent". The main character (and I'm giving nothing away here) is a double agent working in Paris just after the Suez Crisis. He is suffering from a crisis of some sort himself when he is summoned to London. He has to recruit Audley to a new intelligence-gathering department being set up and, in order to be successful, has to build up a picture of what actually makes Audley tick.
The story is actually very well written and bears all the hallmarks of Price's books; conversations in the lounge over a cup of tea, in the kitchen, the pub, a local shop... It's almost like a jigsaw puzzle or a crossword and you have to work alongside our leading character in order to understand what's going on.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A British double-agent attempts to play off the two sides against each other. In the process he meets David Audley, two or three eligible young women, learns quite a bit about the Visigoths and the Huns, worries about Russians when he should be worried about Algerians and indulges in a series of intellectual 'orgies'. I liked it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story world have had more impact if it were less tangled.

[Steve Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, good plot, keeps you guessing

[ErnstG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good dialogue, potentially believable characters that weren't coloured in, and an admittedly clever plot. Perhaps too much plot and not enough story.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually listening to the Audible audiobook version, but Goodreads doesn't provide that as an option. This one goes back in time to 1956 (shortly after the Suez crisis) and the recruitment of Audley, as viewed by a reluctant double agent. The plot is somewhat byzantine, but ends up happily for almost all.