What do you think?
Rate this book
The Damocles Sword
In the darkest days of WW II British Intelligence concocted a plan that would stymie the Germans. But it required a very brave man to carry it out, one who could infiltrate the elite SS corps. Martin Benedict was the man, and all went well until his cover got blown. Remarkably, success was still possible-- but at an increased risk. Could he bring it off? The answer reveals itself in an agony of suspense, which is no surprise, for Elleston Trevor is a master of the genre.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
56 people want to read
About the author
Elleston Trevor
127 books27 followersAuthor has published other books under the names: Adam Hall, Mansell Black, Trevor Burgess, Trevor Dudley-Smith, Roger Fitzalan, Howard North, Simon Rattray, Warwick Scott, Caesar Smith, Lesley Stone.
Author Trevor Dudley-Smith was born in Kent, England on February 17, 1920. He attended Yardley Court Preparatory School and Sevenoaks School. During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force as a flight engineer. After the war, he started writing full-time. He lived in Spain and France before moving to the United States and settling in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1946 he used the pseudonym Elleston Trevor for a non-mystery book, and later made it his legal name. He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Adam Hall, Simon Rattray, Mansell Black, Trevor Burgess, Roger Fitzalan, Howard North, Warwick Scott, Caesar Smith, and Lesley Stone. Even though he wrote thrillers, mysteries, plays, juvenile novels, and short stories, his best-known works are The Flight of the Phoenix written as Elleston Trevor and the series about British secret agent Quiller written as Adam Hall. In 1965, he received the Edgar Allan Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America and the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for The Quiller Memorandum. This book was made into a 1967 movie starring George Segal and Alec Guinness. He died of cancer on July 21, 1995.
Author Trevor Dudley-Smith was born in Kent, England on February 17, 1920. He attended Yardley Court Preparatory School and Sevenoaks School. During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force as a flight engineer. After the war, he started writing full-time. He lived in Spain and France before moving to the United States and settling in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1946 he used the pseudonym Elleston Trevor for a non-mystery book, and later made it his legal name. He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Adam Hall, Simon Rattray, Mansell Black, Trevor Burgess, Roger Fitzalan, Howard North, Warwick Scott, Caesar Smith, and Lesley Stone. Even though he wrote thrillers, mysteries, plays, juvenile novels, and short stories, his best-known works are The Flight of the Phoenix written as Elleston Trevor and the series about British secret agent Quiller written as Adam Hall. In 1965, he received the Edgar Allan Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America and the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for The Quiller Memorandum. This book was made into a 1967 movie starring George Segal and Alec Guinness. He died of cancer on July 21, 1995.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 10, 2013
This is probably my favourite Second World War thriller.
It continues to be even after re-reading it four or five times. It's about the transformation of a British public-school educated actor into a deep cover agent as a high ranking SS officer in the Directorate of Concentration Camps. His mission is to recover captured Jewish scientists and send them back to England. But his past growing up in Germany gets in the way. Wholly believable, the physical and psychological strain of the situation jumps out of the pages.
I don't want to post any spoilers, but if you like reading espionage thrillers, this one's going to be a doozy.
It continues to be even after re-reading it four or five times. It's about the transformation of a British public-school educated actor into a deep cover agent as a high ranking SS officer in the Directorate of Concentration Camps. His mission is to recover captured Jewish scientists and send them back to England. But his past growing up in Germany gets in the way. Wholly believable, the physical and psychological strain of the situation jumps out of the pages.
I don't want to post any spoilers, but if you like reading espionage thrillers, this one's going to be a doozy.
February 14, 2021
This is just brilliant, a taut and brilliantly plotted WW2 thriller, in which our British hero is dropped into Nazi Germany to rescue prisoners held in concentration camps, as well as kill off key members of the Nazi party.
Completely far fetched and completely brilliant for it, I haven't enjoyed a novel so much in ages. With an excellent cast of characters, including the truly ghastly Vogel, this is a must read for all fans of WW2 thrillers.
Completely far fetched and completely brilliant for it, I haven't enjoyed a novel so much in ages. With an excellent cast of characters, including the truly ghastly Vogel, this is a must read for all fans of WW2 thrillers.
October 9, 2025
Very good 2nd World War thriller which moves along at a cracking pace. I have read other books by this author and he always writes a good story of which my favourite book of his ,would be The Flight of the Phoenix..
January 3, 2026
Insane. No one does it like Elleston Trevor. Absolutely no one.
He writes with the greatest voice of any thriller author I've read, hands-down. The 19 Quiller novels confirmed this for me, and Squadron Airborne over the summer reinforced the idea that this quality extended to his standalones too. This book is the second standalone of his that I've read and my god, I'm ready to devour all the rest of them. Spybrary has a wonderful podcast ep on a Quiller round-table, where one of the guests identified Trevor's depiction of consciousness as one of his stylistic shining stars. When you read his work, you feel the weight of every decision and sensation—human to a fault—without getting bogged down in too much detail, being deftly guided back-and-forth with the grace and urgency of a swinging film camera (he's very cinematic). A former flight engineer, he also writes a mean plane/train/automobile chase with the sharp focus of technothriller (and that's putting it lightly—he'll ruin any other writer for you in this regard). This book is no exception to these hallmarks, and the scale/scope astounds beyond any Quiller to form a masterpiece of multiple plotlines hurtling towards collision.
I honestly can't go through and list specific things I loved about this book without just rehashing the whole thing. My biggest qualm was that some parts weren't longer, since I'd gladly read further about Martin's training or unauthorized kills—topics that warranted more discussion, I think. What I will comment on is a theory floated during the round-table: that Quiller is actually an older Martin, and this book is a backstory of his WWII service. (I'll admit this theory is what made me pick this one to read out of all the others!) I'm too much of a stickler for abiding canon to fully side with it (still not over the drastic Fane retcon from Quiller and never will be), though for some reason I've always pictured Quiller's real name as Martin (probably an alias from one of the early books that just felt like it rung true).
My take, though, (canon-compliant) is that the Damocles operation—being one cell of many—was the predecessor for similar operations that sprang up later in the war, carried out by new recruits. Trevor does leave a loose end in that Jock survives the raid, thus free to train other agents (and he fights the same way as Quiller). Quiller therefore becomes a successor, in a way, to the path that Martin paves (and maybe leaves behind?). One detail that I. LOVE., however, (and likely intentional given this book was released almost halfway through the Quillers) is Martin's alias being "Brinkmann" for his surname. Playing off of Parkes' reading of "Dollmann" from The Riddle of the Sands emphasizing his artificial, toying nature, Martin is literally a man at the brink, the very space that Quiller's entire existence (and that of a spy in essence) is tied to. In short, I do believe that this book is a powerful tie-in to my favorite spy series ever. But it also rises to the occasion all by itself.
He writes with the greatest voice of any thriller author I've read, hands-down. The 19 Quiller novels confirmed this for me, and Squadron Airborne over the summer reinforced the idea that this quality extended to his standalones too. This book is the second standalone of his that I've read and my god, I'm ready to devour all the rest of them. Spybrary has a wonderful podcast ep on a Quiller round-table, where one of the guests identified Trevor's depiction of consciousness as one of his stylistic shining stars. When you read his work, you feel the weight of every decision and sensation—human to a fault—without getting bogged down in too much detail, being deftly guided back-and-forth with the grace and urgency of a swinging film camera (he's very cinematic). A former flight engineer, he also writes a mean plane/train/automobile chase with the sharp focus of technothriller (and that's putting it lightly—he'll ruin any other writer for you in this regard). This book is no exception to these hallmarks, and the scale/scope astounds beyond any Quiller to form a masterpiece of multiple plotlines hurtling towards collision.
I honestly can't go through and list specific things I loved about this book without just rehashing the whole thing. My biggest qualm was that some parts weren't longer, since I'd gladly read further about Martin's training or unauthorized kills—topics that warranted more discussion, I think. What I will comment on is a theory floated during the round-table: that Quiller is actually an older Martin, and this book is a backstory of his WWII service. (I'll admit this theory is what made me pick this one to read out of all the others!) I'm too much of a stickler for abiding canon to fully side with it (still not over the drastic Fane retcon from Quiller and never will be), though for some reason I've always pictured Quiller's real name as Martin (probably an alias from one of the early books that just felt like it rung true).
My take, though, (canon-compliant) is that the Damocles operation—being one cell of many—was the predecessor for similar operations that sprang up later in the war, carried out by new recruits. Trevor does leave a loose end in that Jock survives the raid, thus free to train other agents (and he fights the same way as Quiller). Quiller therefore becomes a successor, in a way, to the path that Martin paves (and maybe leaves behind?). One detail that I. LOVE., however, (and likely intentional given this book was released almost halfway through the Quillers) is Martin's alias being "Brinkmann" for his surname. Playing off of Parkes' reading of "Dollmann" from The Riddle of the Sands emphasizing his artificial, toying nature, Martin is literally a man at the brink, the very space that Quiller's entire existence (and that of a spy in essence) is tied to. In short, I do believe that this book is a powerful tie-in to my favorite spy series ever. But it also rises to the occasion all by itself.
May 28, 2023
"Δαμόκλειος σπάθη", εκδόσεις Bell.
Ο Έλεστον Τρέβορ έχει γράψει το πολύ γνωστό περιπετειώδες μυθιστόρημα The Flight of the Phoenix που αποτελεί και τη βάση για την ομότιτλη ταινία του 1965 σε σκηνοθεσία Ρόμπερτ Άλντριχ, ενώ με το ψευδώνυμο Adam Hall έχει γράψει και την πολύ γνωστή σειρά κατασκοπευτικών μυθιστορημάτων Quiller. Δυστυχώς τίποτα από αυτά δεν έχει κυκλοφορήσει στα ελληνικά, ευτυχώς όμως κυκλοφόρησε το συγκεκριμένο που μόλις τελείωσα, το οποίο και με καθήλωσε από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σελίδα, με τη δράση, τα φοβερά σκηνικά, την αγωνία και την τρομερή ατμόσφαιρα που διαθέτει. Πρόκειται για μια πολεμική περιπέτεια που διαδραματίζεται κατά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο πόλεμο, η οποία προσφέρει όλα τα καλούδια του είδους, έστω κι αν σε μερικά σημεία το βιβλίο ίσως γίνεται κάπως υπερβολικό όσον αφορά αυτά που καταφέρνει να πετύχει ένας εκ των πρωταγωνιστών (ο Μάρτιν Μπένεντικτ). Αλλά εδώ που τα λέμε, αν δεν έχουν οι πολεμικές περιπέτειες και κάποιες υπερβολές, τι να τις κάνεις; Ωραίο μυθιστόρημα λοιπόν, δυνατό και έντονο, με εθιστική γραφή, γλαφυρές περιγραφές και καθηλωτική ατμόσφαιρα, με μετέφερε στη Γερμανία στις αρχές του πολέμου και μου χάρισε κάποιες ιδιαίτερα ψυχαγωγικές ώρες. Και η αλήθεια είναι ότι είχα αρκετούς μήνες να διαβάσω και να απολαύσω μια περιπέτεια που να διαδραματίζεται στον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο: Σχεδόν είχα ξεχάσει πόσο πολύ τις απολαμβάνω!
Ο Έλεστον Τρέβορ έχει γράψει το πολύ γνωστό περιπετειώδες μυθιστόρημα The Flight of the Phoenix που αποτελεί και τη βάση για την ομότιτλη ταινία του 1965 σε σκηνοθεσία Ρόμπερτ Άλντριχ, ενώ με το ψευδώνυμο Adam Hall έχει γράψει και την πολύ γνωστή σειρά κατασκοπευτικών μυθιστορημάτων Quiller. Δυστυχώς τίποτα από αυτά δεν έχει κυκλοφορήσει στα ελληνικά, ευτυχώς όμως κυκλοφόρησε το συγκεκριμένο που μόλις τελείωσα, το οποίο και με καθήλωσε από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σελίδα, με τη δράση, τα φοβερά σκηνικά, την αγωνία και την τρομερή ατμόσφαιρα που διαθέτει. Πρόκειται για μια πολεμική περιπέτεια που διαδραματίζεται κατά τον Β' Παγκόσμιο πόλεμο, η οποία προσφέρει όλα τα καλούδια του είδους, έστω κι αν σε μερικά σημεία το βιβλίο ίσως γίνεται κάπως υπερβολικό όσον αφορά αυτά που καταφέρνει να πετύχει ένας εκ των πρωταγωνιστών (ο Μάρτιν Μπένεντικτ). Αλλά εδώ που τα λέμε, αν δεν έχουν οι πολεμικές περιπέτειες και κάποιες υπερβολές, τι να τις κάνεις; Ωραίο μυθιστόρημα λοιπόν, δυνατό και έντονο, με εθιστική γραφή, γλαφυρές περιγραφές και καθηλωτική ατμόσφαιρα, με μετέφερε στη Γερμανία στις αρχές του πολέμου και μου χάρισε κάποιες ιδιαίτερα ψυχαγωγικές ώρες. Και η αλήθεια είναι ότι είχα αρκετούς μήνες να διαβάσω και να απολαύσω μια περιπέτεια που να διαδραματίζεται στον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο: Σχεδόν είχα ξεχάσει πόσο πολύ τις απολαμβάνω!
August 27, 2018
A very good thriller.
July 5, 2023
Doing a clear out.But any book in my collection for nearly 40 years was only kept because it was a good one.Can’t remember anything else :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews