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Al Colby #2
Plunder of the Sun
ON THE TRAIL OF THE LOST TREASURE OF THE INCAS – WITH EVERY FORTUNE HUNTER IN SOUTH AMERICA CLOSING IN!
Al Colby should never have agreed to smuggle the package from Chile to Peru. Now one man’s dead, two beautiful women have betrayed him, and a couple of gunmen are hot on his trail. All because of an ancient Quechua manuscript pointing to the hiding place of a priceless hoard, lost for centuries.
Now the race is on – by train, by plane, by motorboat and by mule – first to find the treasure and then to escape with it alive…
Al Colby should never have agreed to smuggle the package from Chile to Peru. Now one man’s dead, two beautiful women have betrayed him, and a couple of gunmen are hot on his trail. All because of an ancient Quechua manuscript pointing to the hiding place of a priceless hoard, lost for centuries.
Now the race is on – by train, by plane, by motorboat and by mule – first to find the treasure and then to escape with it alive…
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
10 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
David Dodge
89 books27 followersDavid Francis Dodge (August 18, 1910 – August 1974) was an author of mystery/thriller novels and humorous travel books. His first book was published in 1941. His fiction is characterized by tight plotting, brisk dialogue, memorable and well-defined characters, and (often) exotic locations. His travel writing documented the (mis)adventures of the Dodge family (David, his wife Elva, and daughter Kendal) as they roamed around the world. Practical advice and information for the traveler on a budget are sprinkled liberally throughout the books.
David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California, the youngest child of George Andrew Dodge, a San Francisco architect, and Maude Ellingwood Bennett Dodge. Following George's death in an automobile accident, Maude "Monnie" Dodge moved the family (David and his three older sisters, Kathryn, Frances, and Marian) to Southern California, where David attended Lincoln High School in Los Angeles but did not graduate.
After leaving school, he worked as a bank messenger, a marine fireman, a stevedore, and a night watchman. In 1934, he went to work for the San Francisco accounting firm of McLaren, Goode & Company, becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1937. On July 17, 1936, he was married to Elva Keith, a former Macmillan Company editorial representative, and their only daughter, Kendal, was born in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, emerging three years later with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
David Dodge's first experience as a writer came through his involvement with the Macondray Lane Players, a group of amateur playwrights, producers, and actors whose goal was to create a theater purely for pleasure. The group was founded by George Henry Burkhardt (Dodge's brother-in-law) and performed exclusively at Macondria, a little theater located in the basement of Burkhardt's house at 56 Macondray Lane on San Francisco's Russian Hill. His publishing career began in 1936 when he won First Prize in the Northern California Drama Association's Third Annual One Act Play Tournament. The prize-winning play, "A Certain Man Had Two Sons," was subsequently published by the Banner Play Bureau, of San Francisco. Another Dodge play, "Christmas Eve at the Mermaid," co-written by Loyall McLaren (his boss at McLaren, Goode & Co.), was performed as the Bohemian Club's Christmas play of 1940, and again in 1959. In 1961, the Grabhorn Press published the play in a volume entitled Shakespeare in Bohemia.
His career as a writer really began, however, when he made a bet with his wife that he could write a better mystery novel than the ones they were reading during a rainy family vacation. He drew on his professional experience as a CPA and wrote his first novel, Death and Taxes, featuring San Francisco tax expert and reluctant detective James "Whit" Whitney. It was published by Macmillan in 1941 and he won five dollars from Elva. Three more Whitney novels soon followed: Shear the Black Sheep (Macmillan, 1942), Bullets for the Bridegroom (Macmillan, 1944) and It Ain't Hay (Simon & Schuster, 1946), in which Whit tangles with marijuana smugglers. With its subject matter and extremely evocative cover art on both the first edition dust jacket and the paperback reprint, this book remains one of Dodge's most collectible titles.
Upon his release from active duty by the Navy in 1945, Dodge left San Francisco and set out for Guatemala by car with his wife and daughter, beginning his second career as a travel writer. The Dodge family's misadventures on the road through Mexico are hilariously documented in How Green Was My Father (Simon & Schuster, 1947). His Latin American experiences also produced a second series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy adventurer Al Colby, who first appears in The Long Escape (Random House, 1948).
Two more well-received Colby books appeared in 1949 and 1950, but with the publication of To Catch a Thief in 1952, Dodge abandoned series ch
David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California, the youngest child of George Andrew Dodge, a San Francisco architect, and Maude Ellingwood Bennett Dodge. Following George's death in an automobile accident, Maude "Monnie" Dodge moved the family (David and his three older sisters, Kathryn, Frances, and Marian) to Southern California, where David attended Lincoln High School in Los Angeles but did not graduate.
After leaving school, he worked as a bank messenger, a marine fireman, a stevedore, and a night watchman. In 1934, he went to work for the San Francisco accounting firm of McLaren, Goode & Company, becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1937. On July 17, 1936, he was married to Elva Keith, a former Macmillan Company editorial representative, and their only daughter, Kendal, was born in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, emerging three years later with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
David Dodge's first experience as a writer came through his involvement with the Macondray Lane Players, a group of amateur playwrights, producers, and actors whose goal was to create a theater purely for pleasure. The group was founded by George Henry Burkhardt (Dodge's brother-in-law) and performed exclusively at Macondria, a little theater located in the basement of Burkhardt's house at 56 Macondray Lane on San Francisco's Russian Hill. His publishing career began in 1936 when he won First Prize in the Northern California Drama Association's Third Annual One Act Play Tournament. The prize-winning play, "A Certain Man Had Two Sons," was subsequently published by the Banner Play Bureau, of San Francisco. Another Dodge play, "Christmas Eve at the Mermaid," co-written by Loyall McLaren (his boss at McLaren, Goode & Co.), was performed as the Bohemian Club's Christmas play of 1940, and again in 1959. In 1961, the Grabhorn Press published the play in a volume entitled Shakespeare in Bohemia.
His career as a writer really began, however, when he made a bet with his wife that he could write a better mystery novel than the ones they were reading during a rainy family vacation. He drew on his professional experience as a CPA and wrote his first novel, Death and Taxes, featuring San Francisco tax expert and reluctant detective James "Whit" Whitney. It was published by Macmillan in 1941 and he won five dollars from Elva. Three more Whitney novels soon followed: Shear the Black Sheep (Macmillan, 1942), Bullets for the Bridegroom (Macmillan, 1944) and It Ain't Hay (Simon & Schuster, 1946), in which Whit tangles with marijuana smugglers. With its subject matter and extremely evocative cover art on both the first edition dust jacket and the paperback reprint, this book remains one of Dodge's most collectible titles.
Upon his release from active duty by the Navy in 1945, Dodge left San Francisco and set out for Guatemala by car with his wife and daughter, beginning his second career as a travel writer. The Dodge family's misadventures on the road through Mexico are hilariously documented in How Green Was My Father (Simon & Schuster, 1947). His Latin American experiences also produced a second series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy adventurer Al Colby, who first appears in The Long Escape (Random House, 1948).
Two more well-received Colby books appeared in 1949 and 1950, but with the publication of To Catch a Thief in 1952, Dodge abandoned series ch
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 27, 2022
An illegal treasure hunt
Dodge, the author of TO CATCH A THIEF, brings to life a treasure hunt for Inca artifacts of gold, silver and gemstones. The two partners don't trust each other and their hunt is against Peruvian law. Things get sticky and violent.
Dodge copyrighted the book in 1949 so don't expect a story of modern South America. However the story didn't seem too dated to me. Times change. People don't.
Dodge, the author of TO CATCH A THIEF, brings to life a treasure hunt for Inca artifacts of gold, silver and gemstones. The two partners don't trust each other and their hunt is against Peruvian law. Things get sticky and violent.
Dodge copyrighted the book in 1949 so don't expect a story of modern South America. However the story didn't seem too dated to me. Times change. People don't.
August 6, 2020
This is the first edition hardcover of the book.
Al Colby, a private eye based in Mexico City. Colby is a tough-guy adventurer and is in Santiago, Chile, where he meets up with Alfredo Berrien, a sickly man in a wheelchair, and his nurse, Ana Luz. Berrien has a proposition for Colby. He wants him to transport a small package on board a ship heading from Valparaíso, Chile to Callao, the Peruvian seaport. Once there, Colby is supposed to return the package to Berrien and to get paid.
The first Al Colby novel was "The Long Escape" (1948), and the third was "The Red Tassel" (1950)
The book is both a tale of suspense and an introductory course in Peruvian geography and history.
Dodge was a travel writer as well as suspense novelist, and did two other series, one with ‘Whit’ Whitney a CPA sleuth and another with John Lincoln an American Secret Service agent. Dodge is one of the most underrated suspense novelist of this era with intelligent plots, exciting action, exotic locales, and bit of an edge to most of his works.
The book was filmed in 1943 staring Glenn Ford as Al Colby, co-staring Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Sean McClory (as the villain). The Screenplay was written by: Jonathan Latimer, and Directed by John Farrow.
David Dodge, was the author of 'To Catch a Thief". This book tells a much more fascinating story than the movie.
Al Colby, a private eye based in Mexico City. Colby is a tough-guy adventurer and is in Santiago, Chile, where he meets up with Alfredo Berrien, a sickly man in a wheelchair, and his nurse, Ana Luz. Berrien has a proposition for Colby. He wants him to transport a small package on board a ship heading from Valparaíso, Chile to Callao, the Peruvian seaport. Once there, Colby is supposed to return the package to Berrien and to get paid.
The first Al Colby novel was "The Long Escape" (1948), and the third was "The Red Tassel" (1950)
The book is both a tale of suspense and an introductory course in Peruvian geography and history.
Dodge was a travel writer as well as suspense novelist, and did two other series, one with ‘Whit’ Whitney a CPA sleuth and another with John Lincoln an American Secret Service agent. Dodge is one of the most underrated suspense novelist of this era with intelligent plots, exciting action, exotic locales, and bit of an edge to most of his works.
The book was filmed in 1943 staring Glenn Ford as Al Colby, co-staring Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Sean McClory (as the villain). The Screenplay was written by: Jonathan Latimer, and Directed by John Farrow.
David Dodge, was the author of 'To Catch a Thief". This book tells a much more fascinating story than the movie.
May 2, 2020
This is described as the second in a series featuring the character of Al Colby, a U.S. citizen who has spent most of his life in Latin America and who “specialises in unusual jobs”. I haven’t read the first in the series and chose this one because of its setting. I had a trekking holiday in Peru in the 1990s and ever since then I’ve been a soft touch for books set in that part of the world. Much of the action here is set in Arequipa, Cuzco and Puno, all of which I can still picture in my mind. The author apparently travelled a lot in Latin America and he does a great job with the locales.
The book is pure 1940s pulp fiction, with various tough guys and shady characters competing to find lost Inca treasure. Inevitably a couple of beautiful dames (to use the language of the era) are in the mix as well, although sex itself doesn’t feature and even the violence is kind of muted. I mean, there are a few shootings and a lot of guys get socked on the jaw, but the violence isn’t as graphic as it would be in a modern novel.
It’s quite an entertaining read as long as you aren’t expecting a literary masterpiece. I understand Hollywood made a film of it although they switched the location from Peru to Mexico. That would be a disappointment to me, because the background atmosphere was probably my favourite bit of the novel.
The book is pure 1940s pulp fiction, with various tough guys and shady characters competing to find lost Inca treasure. Inevitably a couple of beautiful dames (to use the language of the era) are in the mix as well, although sex itself doesn’t feature and even the violence is kind of muted. I mean, there are a few shootings and a lot of guys get socked on the jaw, but the violence isn’t as graphic as it would be in a modern novel.
It’s quite an entertaining read as long as you aren’t expecting a literary masterpiece. I understand Hollywood made a film of it although they switched the location from Peru to Mexico. That would be a disappointment to me, because the background atmosphere was probably my favourite bit of the novel.
August 14, 2020
David Dodge is best known for his book, To Catch A Thief, and that book is perhaps best known as a well-known Hitchcock movie of the same title, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Like To Catch A Thief, Plunder of the Sun takes place in exotic locales in the 1950's. Dodge wrote mysteries in addition to travel books, often based on the traveling that he took his family on around the world. Dodge eventually settled in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This particular book is a top-notch treasure hunt story about South America and the lost treasure of the Inca kings. Dodge does an excellent job of slowly taking the reader step by step into the story. A well-written story that has just the right pacing and just the right amount of intrigue. The narrator is Al Colby, an American in Chile, who is hired at the price of $1,000 to carry a manuscript on a ship bound for Peru. The manuscript holds the secret to the buried treasure of the ancient kings, a treasure the Spanish never found. But, there are others who are after the treasure, the nurse, a man named Jefferson, a fast- talking American woman, her latest beau.
November 22, 2022
Update 1 May 2022: read for the second time today. The one indicator of a great book is that it increases its impact with subsequent rereadings. So it is, here. This time, I went through the text much more methodically--because I'm writing on the film and the novel. I took time to research and find photos of the places mentioned as they were near or in 1949, when Dodge would have known them. Also rewarding to research the origins and context of the Spanish phrases and idioms he employs. This is a vastly under appreciated novel. Original review follows:
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Plunder of the Sun, the 1953 movie starring Glenn Ford, has long been one of my favorites. Now, so is David Dodge's novel from which the film was adapted. More of a pure adventure than is the noirish film version, Dodge's novel opens in Chile and ends up being a quest for hidden Inca treasure in Peru. Along the way, a beautiful woman intervenes to frustrate American expatriate Al Colby from his achieving the riches and then turns around to help him in the end. All this is routine enough subject matter for an adventure novel. What makes Dodge's novel so special, however, are two things. First, he not only scatters the use of Spanish words and phrases into the text to give color, he also incorporates Spanish and South American idioms into the plot itself. The novel simply wouldn't work without their presence. For example, Dodge describes Ana Luz as Naharro's criatura. Her parents sold her into servitude to the wealthy archeologist and she thus takes on the role of what the term translates into English as both "infant" and "creature," a belonging expected to bend to Naharro's will and purpose even after she has become a woman who respects him for the fatherly treatment he accorded her during her lifetime. Second, there is Dodge's form of writing. Yes, it's smooth. But more than that, it's persistent. There is no lag, no sidetracking, in this story. Many an adventure and detective story open with a gallop, then proceed to flutter and stall, before regaining momentum towards the climax. Dodge doesn't have that problem. He just pins the reader to the page and never gives them an excuse to look away from it. The unadorned hard boiled English also helps in this regard.
Finally, there is the matter of atmosphere. Dodge is a master in creating it. And not just of the places he writes of, not just of Chile and Peru. He embeds lingering elements of history that would otherwise go unnoticed. How many English language adventure/detective stories actually work in the War of the Pacific between Peru and Bolivia as an important element of the plot? How often does the language of the Incas, Quechua, figure into the mystery and resolution of a twentieth century American novel? Dodge was an expatriate himself, living in Central America and Mexico. So he drew not only upon fictional elements to create his world of postwar South America but upon the direct experience of being a foreigner in a culture that would never really be something he could be part of.
Notes on differences with the film:
1) The film version merges some elements of Dodge's Whit Whitney character into Al Colby.
2) The setting is moved from Chile and Peru to Cuba and Mexico
3) The archeological mystery hinges on Incan Quechua in the novel and Zapotecan in the film.
4) Dodge's Tacho, Jefferson's Indian helper, is replaced with the film's Captain Bergman, whose behavior, accent, and appearance imply he is a Nazi war criminal hiding out in Mexico.
------------------
Plunder of the Sun, the 1953 movie starring Glenn Ford, has long been one of my favorites. Now, so is David Dodge's novel from which the film was adapted. More of a pure adventure than is the noirish film version, Dodge's novel opens in Chile and ends up being a quest for hidden Inca treasure in Peru. Along the way, a beautiful woman intervenes to frustrate American expatriate Al Colby from his achieving the riches and then turns around to help him in the end. All this is routine enough subject matter for an adventure novel. What makes Dodge's novel so special, however, are two things. First, he not only scatters the use of Spanish words and phrases into the text to give color, he also incorporates Spanish and South American idioms into the plot itself. The novel simply wouldn't work without their presence. For example, Dodge describes Ana Luz as Naharro's criatura. Her parents sold her into servitude to the wealthy archeologist and she thus takes on the role of what the term translates into English as both "infant" and "creature," a belonging expected to bend to Naharro's will and purpose even after she has become a woman who respects him for the fatherly treatment he accorded her during her lifetime. Second, there is Dodge's form of writing. Yes, it's smooth. But more than that, it's persistent. There is no lag, no sidetracking, in this story. Many an adventure and detective story open with a gallop, then proceed to flutter and stall, before regaining momentum towards the climax. Dodge doesn't have that problem. He just pins the reader to the page and never gives them an excuse to look away from it. The unadorned hard boiled English also helps in this regard.
Finally, there is the matter of atmosphere. Dodge is a master in creating it. And not just of the places he writes of, not just of Chile and Peru. He embeds lingering elements of history that would otherwise go unnoticed. How many English language adventure/detective stories actually work in the War of the Pacific between Peru and Bolivia as an important element of the plot? How often does the language of the Incas, Quechua, figure into the mystery and resolution of a twentieth century American novel? Dodge was an expatriate himself, living in Central America and Mexico. So he drew not only upon fictional elements to create his world of postwar South America but upon the direct experience of being a foreigner in a culture that would never really be something he could be part of.
Notes on differences with the film:
1) The film version merges some elements of Dodge's Whit Whitney character into Al Colby.
2) The setting is moved from Chile and Peru to Cuba and Mexico
3) The archeological mystery hinges on Incan Quechua in the novel and Zapotecan in the film.
4) Dodge's Tacho, Jefferson's Indian helper, is replaced with the film's Captain Bergman, whose behavior, accent, and appearance imply he is a Nazi war criminal hiding out in Mexico.
March 26, 2020
PLUNDER OF THE SUN (first published 1949) is good old fashioned pulp with substance. It takes the reader on a cross continent journey full of mystery, intrigue, broads and bullets - and some murder to liven (or deaden) things a little.
I've been reading books about smugglers recently (see The Hong Kong Caper) and wanted to delve back into the dangerous world of Al Corby; a grifter with penchant for private detecting (on the wrong side of the law in most cases). As far as re-reads go, this one still felt fresh and was even better the second time around (granted I did read this 5yrs ago).
The plot is pretty simple and that's part of the attraction, allowing the characters to develop and assume roles in a more fleshed out and realistic capacity. Given the page count (a tick over 200) this is sign of a well written book.
I won't give much away as it's easy to spoil the mystery to prospective readers but I will say, PLUNDER THE SUN has loads of twists and turns - everyone isn't necessarily who they seem.
I've been reading books about smugglers recently (see The Hong Kong Caper) and wanted to delve back into the dangerous world of Al Corby; a grifter with penchant for private detecting (on the wrong side of the law in most cases). As far as re-reads go, this one still felt fresh and was even better the second time around (granted I did read this 5yrs ago).
The plot is pretty simple and that's part of the attraction, allowing the characters to develop and assume roles in a more fleshed out and realistic capacity. Given the page count (a tick over 200) this is sign of a well written book.
I won't give much away as it's easy to spoil the mystery to prospective readers but I will say, PLUNDER THE SUN has loads of twists and turns - everyone isn't necessarily who they seem.
January 3, 2024
Al Colby is alike many hard boiled protagonists: distinguished enough to hold himself in a fight, but a decent and square enough narrator to let any man think he could fill the same shoes (foolishly). I liked this one! A damn good caper and seemingly down the chronological line of the work of Gregory Mcdonald. I’ll certainly be getting into Dodge.
Happy new year!
Happy new year!
September 30, 2021
This adventure story is so good that I cannot write a review - just yet. Finished it this morning, having read it more or less at one go (that's been some years), and haven't done thinking about it - and it's almost six PM now). F.i., about that tremendously powerful ending, morally powerful: hére is honour, true honour, honour of the highest kind ... our hero, the likeable enough roguish type, increases in moral stature as the story progresses, and in the end ... does the unthinkable ... can't think how to put it without giving away spoilers .... I believe I've never seen such a sublime "romantic" ending - séén!: how I will milk that for all it's worth "in the movie I was going to make" ... - yep folks, sixty-one years old and you just read a book you can't stop analyzing* and dreaming of turning into a movie - (a real good one, this time, OK, Paul?- wink). That's been a long, long time.
*That was my left brain half talking. As for some initial analysis:
It's a rather straightforward adventure story. A very good one. Deliciously devoid of attempts at beautiful or clever penmanship. Filled with salient humour - in delightfully light doses. Treasure hunt. Page turner. You're a bit jealous, from the start, of the big macho male protagonist - wins the fights, gets the girls - and yet, from the very beginning, there was no danger that those pinpricks of jealousy would turn into anything akin to envy. Because our hero, like his creator, I'm convinced after reading this book, is a thinkling man. (Yes, I meant thinking - but actually like "thinkling", so I'll let it pass.) The hero is mentally on his feet all the time. Quickly, deftly, expertly he deposes of the obstacles put in his way. He's no superhero. He's a fallible, ánd superior, human animal. At some point his timing (of the impending attack's ETA) is off - (mine would have been) - and the outcome is well-nigh lethal - first thing he does when he comes to is curse himself for his stupidity - (I was there). Imaginitive plot with no holes I could point to - a rarity. There's a twist about twenty-five pages before the end which begs a sequel. And then, on the last pages, there is the twist in the twist ... and there is where you realize the hero is a bétter man than you are ... because the writer is a bétter man than you are ... more of a thinking man than you are ... thus on a higher ethical level than you.
Well, if ever there was praise. Five stars - and I don't dole them out - one or two, over the years - rather take back a star or two from books I considered wonderful when young - so ...
Cannot wait to read more David Dodge. Must get a hold of To Catch a Thief. (Started Loo Loo's Legacy day before yesterday - DNF - happy I didn't let that put me off Dodge.)
(And thanks, GR buddy Paul, for your irresisitible reviews, which put me on to him.)
*That was my left brain half talking. As for some initial analysis:
It's a rather straightforward adventure story. A very good one. Deliciously devoid of attempts at beautiful or clever penmanship. Filled with salient humour - in delightfully light doses. Treasure hunt. Page turner. You're a bit jealous, from the start, of the big macho male protagonist - wins the fights, gets the girls - and yet, from the very beginning, there was no danger that those pinpricks of jealousy would turn into anything akin to envy. Because our hero, like his creator, I'm convinced after reading this book, is a thinkling man. (Yes, I meant thinking - but actually like "thinkling", so I'll let it pass.) The hero is mentally on his feet all the time. Quickly, deftly, expertly he deposes of the obstacles put in his way. He's no superhero. He's a fallible, ánd superior, human animal. At some point his timing (of the impending attack's ETA) is off - (mine would have been) - and the outcome is well-nigh lethal - first thing he does when he comes to is curse himself for his stupidity - (I was there). Imaginitive plot with no holes I could point to - a rarity. There's a twist about twenty-five pages before the end which begs a sequel. And then, on the last pages, there is the twist in the twist ... and there is where you realize the hero is a bétter man than you are ... because the writer is a bétter man than you are ... more of a thinking man than you are ... thus on a higher ethical level than you.
Well, if ever there was praise. Five stars - and I don't dole them out - one or two, over the years - rather take back a star or two from books I considered wonderful when young - so ...
Cannot wait to read more David Dodge. Must get a hold of To Catch a Thief. (Started Loo Loo's Legacy day before yesterday - DNF - happy I didn't let that put me off Dodge.)
(And thanks, GR buddy Paul, for your irresisitible reviews, which put me on to him.)
September 2, 2011
David Dodge’s best-known book is To Catch a Thief, on which Hitchcock’s movie was based. Plunder of the Sun is a similar kind of story - a combination of crime, adventure and romance.
Al Colby is offered what sounds like an easy job. All he has to do is take a package from Chile to Peru. His employer is a dealer in art and antiquities so the package probably contains some kind of ancient artifact. Smuggling such an item is illegal, but not overly dangerous. Or so he imagines.
The art dealer insists on accompanying him, but Colby will have to carry the merchandise. Since the dealer has a bad heart they must go by steamer. Colby soon makes the unpleasant discovery that someone on board wants that package. Wants it enough to kill.
That apparently innocent package draws Colby into a chase for Inca gold. Lots of Inca gold. Treasure on a scale to stagger the imagination. And there are at least three parties after that gold.
Colby is the first-person narrator but we find out very little about his background. Since he’s happy to be involved in smuggling we assume his past is a little shady but he’s no thug. Nor is he a loser. He has flexible morals, but he does have morals. And he’s no fool. We assume he’s probably been a private detective but he’s not fanatical about staying on the right side of the law. He’s tough and resourceful however, and he has moments when he feels a sudden overwhelming urge to do something honourable.
This is not quite a hardboiled novel although it has affinities with that genre. There are certainly plenty of double-crosses and there’s a pleasing mix of action, romance and adventure. There’s also a femme fatale, or rather two femmes fatale.
Dodge’s prose style is relaxed and easy.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable tale, and was brought back into print by Hard Case Crime in 2005. It’s not quite the sort of book you expect from that imprint but it’s still worth checking out.
Al Colby is offered what sounds like an easy job. All he has to do is take a package from Chile to Peru. His employer is a dealer in art and antiquities so the package probably contains some kind of ancient artifact. Smuggling such an item is illegal, but not overly dangerous. Or so he imagines.
The art dealer insists on accompanying him, but Colby will have to carry the merchandise. Since the dealer has a bad heart they must go by steamer. Colby soon makes the unpleasant discovery that someone on board wants that package. Wants it enough to kill.
That apparently innocent package draws Colby into a chase for Inca gold. Lots of Inca gold. Treasure on a scale to stagger the imagination. And there are at least three parties after that gold.
Colby is the first-person narrator but we find out very little about his background. Since he’s happy to be involved in smuggling we assume his past is a little shady but he’s no thug. Nor is he a loser. He has flexible morals, but he does have morals. And he’s no fool. We assume he’s probably been a private detective but he’s not fanatical about staying on the right side of the law. He’s tough and resourceful however, and he has moments when he feels a sudden overwhelming urge to do something honourable.
This is not quite a hardboiled novel although it has affinities with that genre. There are certainly plenty of double-crosses and there’s a pleasing mix of action, romance and adventure. There’s also a femme fatale, or rather two femmes fatale.
Dodge’s prose style is relaxed and easy.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable tale, and was brought back into print by Hard Case Crime in 2005. It’s not quite the sort of book you expect from that imprint but it’s still worth checking out.
March 1, 2013
Plunder of the Sun is filled with tough men and beautiful women,schemes and betrayals and lost Incan gold.Al Colby agrees to help smuggle a package from Chile to Peru, but things become complicated when the man who hired him dies on the way to Peru.Al finds himself the possessor of a document that leads to a hoard of Incan gold.He has to walk carefully between ever changing alliances with different players in the race for the gold.
A cross between Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, this is a fun and suspense filled treasure hunt.Written in the late 1940's but still holds up today.Another winner from the defunct Hard Case line.
A cross between Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, this is a fun and suspense filled treasure hunt.Written in the late 1940's but still holds up today.Another winner from the defunct Hard Case line.
August 4, 2016
Indiana Jones meets Pulp Crime – I think this is a good classification for 'Plunder of the Sun'. It's all about the race for a hidden Inca treasure and takes the reader to several places in South America. I really liked this fast read – in my opinion, David Dodge combines all the virtues needed for a thrilling and entertaining crime story: He has a descriptive narrative style which is precise and not too abundant; nevertheless, he manages to sketch a very atmospheric picture of the main settings and most of the characters. And finally, there is a good amount of suspense and some hinted romance. It's a minor flaw that the protagonist is kind of a blank page. All you get to know is that he is a smart, patronizing guy who is almost too good, bringing the character close to inconspicuousness. But that doesn't impair the story much. I really liked the classical and prudent finish of the novel – in the end, it's all about the life of two people and not so much about finding a treasure.
July 1, 2014
This is the second novel by David Dodge featuring his private detective Al Colby. In this story, Al is on the hunt for an Incan treasure in Peru while being pursued by another treasure hunter who will stop at nothing, including murder, to achieve his ends.
Very good book. Great dialog and characters, and also a wealth of knowledge about South America and the Incas thrown in for good measure.
A bit more gritty than "The Long Escape", but another great story and ending.
This was made into a movie in the 1950's which I saw at least twice before reading this book. It starred Glenn Ford as Al Colby and the treasure was changed from Incan to Aztec and was filmed at some famous Aztec ruins in Mexico.
Very good book. Great dialog and characters, and also a wealth of knowledge about South America and the Incas thrown in for good measure.
A bit more gritty than "The Long Escape", but another great story and ending.
This was made into a movie in the 1950's which I saw at least twice before reading this book. It starred Glenn Ford as Al Colby and the treasure was changed from Incan to Aztec and was filmed at some famous Aztec ruins in Mexico.
March 18, 2018
Archaeological adventure in 1950's South America...that doesn't involve Nazis. Brisk and action packed, with a flavor built by the author's firsthand experience that cannot be replicated today.
July 8, 2020
A whopping good yarn. Hard Case Crime rarely disappoints.
June 13, 2017
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August 5, 2015
Finished reading: October 27th 2013
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
November 30, 2014
This story is a tight-knit little yarn of priceless treasure hidden in the ruins of South America and the assortment of treasure-hunters out to find it. Detective Al Colby is hired to carry a parcel via ship from Chile to Peru, a cake-walk task since he has to hold onto the parcel for ten days and return it once the ship docks in Peru. Only his employer dies mysteriously on the voyage. Investigating further, Colby realizes that the parcel may not have been as innocent as was claimed. From there, it’s a mad chase through exotic scenery to see who ends up with the treasure, with alliances shifting and forming all the way.
David Dodge wrote To Catch a Thief, one of my favorite Hitchcock flicks, and the similarities show through the pacing and character development. All of the characters are well-rounded, especially the female characters, and you get a fairly good idea of all the characters as the novel proceeds. This combines well with the betrayals, as the protagonist ends up crossed and double-crossed at every twist and turn.
Reading through the story is a joy. There’s a real sense of mystery here, and the narrative twists and turns its way around a skillfully complex plot as a myriad of characters, each with their own motives. Quick-paced and never dull, I found little to complain about with this one. There’s plenty of mystery, plenty of danger, and it’s all set in an exotic South American setting, complete with a firm authorial authenticity regarding the setting. Highly recommended, I really enjoyed this one.
(Full review found here.)
David Dodge wrote To Catch a Thief, one of my favorite Hitchcock flicks, and the similarities show through the pacing and character development. All of the characters are well-rounded, especially the female characters, and you get a fairly good idea of all the characters as the novel proceeds. This combines well with the betrayals, as the protagonist ends up crossed and double-crossed at every twist and turn.
Reading through the story is a joy. There’s a real sense of mystery here, and the narrative twists and turns its way around a skillfully complex plot as a myriad of characters, each with their own motives. Quick-paced and never dull, I found little to complain about with this one. There’s plenty of mystery, plenty of danger, and it’s all set in an exotic South American setting, complete with a firm authorial authenticity regarding the setting. Highly recommended, I really enjoyed this one.
(Full review found here.)
August 13, 2020
The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking "I can't believe Hollywood hasn't adapted this into a movie yet." The book opens in classic Agatha Christie style, with several suspicous characters thrown together on a freighter. A murder is committed, and our fast-talking, tough-acting, down-on-his-luck protagonist has to solve the mystery. The second act introduces several interesting plot twists. An ancient lost treasure may be up for grabs, and several people are hot on the trail. The gritty noir atomosphere and desperate frustation of the characters reminded me a lot of Humphrey Bogart's Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Surprisingly for an adventure yarn of this sort, Dodge keeps the plot grounded in reality, whether it be extrapolating aunthentic Incan lore or depicting the South American custom of selling children into indentured servitude.
The only flaw in this book might be that Dodge could have slowed the pace a little in order to give his characters, and their messy intricate relationships with each other, time to breathe and more fully develop.
Of course, it turns out Hollywood did adapt this into a film starring Glenn Ford back in 1953, but it wasn't a very good one. It's unfortunate, because this story had more raw potential than Dodge's better known novel To Catch A Thief.
The only flaw in this book might be that Dodge could have slowed the pace a little in order to give his characters, and their messy intricate relationships with each other, time to breathe and more fully develop.
Of course, it turns out Hollywood did adapt this into a film starring Glenn Ford back in 1953, but it wasn't a very good one. It's unfortunate, because this story had more raw potential than Dodge's better known novel To Catch A Thief.
May 8, 2012
Hard Case Crime: Bless their hearts for trying to resurrect the spirit of the old Gold Medal paperback adventure days, bringing back novels that haven't graced bookstore shelves in half a century. "Plunder of the Sun" is such a reprint and features tough-guy-for-hire Al Colby, who's lounging around on a park bench in Chile when he's offered a job: Help smuggle an ancient artifact on a ship to Peru. No worries, piece of cake, his employer assures him right before Colby is embroiled in murder, untrustworthy dames, double- and triple-crosses and a hunt for long lost Incan treasure. "Plunder" offers all the requisite manly thrills packed into a tight, economically written package. But it's missing the bourbony sting of the best of the '50s pulpsters. Aside from the exotic locales, Dodge doesn't add much to the formula, and he doesn't have the skid row vitality that Gil Brewer or David Goodis brought to their writing. It's a fine book, and I'm happy to see it return for a new generation. It's just not likely to stick with you once you finish it and move onto the next month's Hard Case offering.
April 30, 2010
Dodge is an entertaining writer. Plunder of the Sun is not the most thrilling book I've ever read, but it is more than passable as a thriller. The story wasn't compelling and I laid the book down for several days more than once before I finally finished it. The ending does pick up steam and finishes well.
Clearly influenced by the noir genre, its protagonist, Al Colby, is an adventurer who is supposed to be fairly amoral, but in the end always does the right thing. The rest of the characters are mostly unlikeable, and the story is fairly slight.
The book's strength lies in the great detail with which the South American locations are described. Dodge was as much a travel writer as novelist, so as a reader you always have a good understanding of the physical setting the characters are in.
Clearly influenced by the noir genre, its protagonist, Al Colby, is an adventurer who is supposed to be fairly amoral, but in the end always does the right thing. The rest of the characters are mostly unlikeable, and the story is fairly slight.
The book's strength lies in the great detail with which the South American locations are described. Dodge was as much a travel writer as novelist, so as a reader you always have a good understanding of the physical setting the characters are in.
August 9, 2015
For Al Colby, the job is simple. Smuggle a elderly gentleman's package on a ship traveling from Chile into Peru, and return it to him once they arrive in port. unfortunately, the gentleman dies before the ship docks, leaving him with the package and a mystery to solve, whilst trying to keep an eye on everyone around him.
A fast paced and engaging novel, featuring untrustworthy partners, two beautiful double crossing women and a fortune in lost ancient Incan gold.
For a novel of its pace, Al Colby is a character of immense dimension. I've read that there were a series of Colby books. I now have more books to hunt...
if you can find a copy of this book, pick it up. Read it.
A fast paced and engaging novel, featuring untrustworthy partners, two beautiful double crossing women and a fortune in lost ancient Incan gold.
For a novel of its pace, Al Colby is a character of immense dimension. I've read that there were a series of Colby books. I now have more books to hunt...
if you can find a copy of this book, pick it up. Read it.
January 10, 2017
Written in 1949. This novel is a great example of noir fiction published in the pulp era. A good yarn with plenty of action, treasure, double crosses, exotic locations, and sexy women. I can visualize the novel as one of the black and white "B" movies made in the 50's. In fact, it was dramatized in a movie that starred Glen Ford. Unfortunately the movie version changed too much and Glen Ford does not fit the main character role. Forget the movie and pick up the book. This is a good read and a worthy addition to the Hard Case Crime portfolio.
September 13, 2015
They just don't make em like this anymore. You can get a synopsis anywhere so you don't need one from me, suffice to say this book is a classic adventure tale told well. The plot shifts about and there are actually a few good surprises along the way. The chapters are fully realized without being stereotypes. I liked the main character and Dodge does an excellent job of putting the reader wholly in his shoes. A quick read, well written.
December 5, 2010
Infinitely predictable plot, but Dodge writes will and an entertaining quick read.
February 8, 2019
“I must have the package, Señor Colby. It is more important to me than I can say.” Lightweight piffle. One year after John Huston put “The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” into cinemas Old Man Lovejoy – a ‘heart case in a wheel chair, with a good-looking nurse’ – hires manly Al Colby to safeguard a packet of Incan parchment telling of “the Treasure of Amarú”. An adventure singularly lacking in thrills ensues.
The first third of this is pure ‘Death On The Nile’ but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There is a lot of fun to be had on-board a boat, leaving poker games early to creep about deck in the dead of night while pretty girls get threatened, cabins get ransacked and grandees get offed. It’s an atmospheric setting with a bit of mystery and skulduggery thrown in and this reader strongly suspects the travel-loving David Dodge thought so too, possibly magicking his Peruvian diaries into this slight affair. Once shacked up in the Hotel de Turismo (hotels are fastidiously namechecked) Colby keeps running into his shipmates, fending off the amorous advances of tipsy Julie or getting tied up by the dastardly Jeff. Everyone wants that pesky parchment it turns out and Colby – mouthing the words, one suspects – reads of Incan gold stashes and treasures beyond belief. He’s duped by a man he was warned of, tied up, shot, falls for obvious delaying tactics on-board ship and is surprised when the man he is expecting to double-cross him double-crosses him. One suspects Mr Bean might have made a better fist of proceedings,
This would make for an average episode of ‘Danger Man’ or a so-so entry in a ‘Stories For Boys’ anthology but it’s thin gruel post ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’. What this needs in the middle of it all is a whisky-soaked bruised romantic – say, one Humphrey Bogart – but Dodge is too blissed out on Vitamin D to venture into hard-boiled waters. It’s a perfectly amenable, even moreish read, but the Hard Case Crime cover promises waaaaay more than the novel delivers. Save this for a couple of hours in a departure lounge. “Adiós, smart guy.”
The first third of this is pure ‘Death On The Nile’ but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There is a lot of fun to be had on-board a boat, leaving poker games early to creep about deck in the dead of night while pretty girls get threatened, cabins get ransacked and grandees get offed. It’s an atmospheric setting with a bit of mystery and skulduggery thrown in and this reader strongly suspects the travel-loving David Dodge thought so too, possibly magicking his Peruvian diaries into this slight affair. Once shacked up in the Hotel de Turismo (hotels are fastidiously namechecked) Colby keeps running into his shipmates, fending off the amorous advances of tipsy Julie or getting tied up by the dastardly Jeff. Everyone wants that pesky parchment it turns out and Colby – mouthing the words, one suspects – reads of Incan gold stashes and treasures beyond belief. He’s duped by a man he was warned of, tied up, shot, falls for obvious delaying tactics on-board ship and is surprised when the man he is expecting to double-cross him double-crosses him. One suspects Mr Bean might have made a better fist of proceedings,
This would make for an average episode of ‘Danger Man’ or a so-so entry in a ‘Stories For Boys’ anthology but it’s thin gruel post ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’. What this needs in the middle of it all is a whisky-soaked bruised romantic – say, one Humphrey Bogart – but Dodge is too blissed out on Vitamin D to venture into hard-boiled waters. It’s a perfectly amenable, even moreish read, but the Hard Case Crime cover promises waaaaay more than the novel delivers. Save this for a couple of hours in a departure lounge. “Adiós, smart guy.”
January 17, 2022
As this is a genuinely old piece of pulp, 1949 I think, a lot of my issues with it could simply be because it is dated.
The story in and of itself is a quick read of 200 tiny pages, but could easily have been half of that. My main issue is that not only did the protagonist seem like he had no interest being involved in the treasure hunt (despite occasionally saying “i want the treasure”) most of it, if not all of it, could have happened if he wasn’t in the story at all.
The plot is basically man gets treasure map and hunts for treasure, but the man lacks any sort of charm and his opinion on the other characters is almost never represented in his behaviour, and nothing about what he says or thinks makes me feel like he has any interest in doing anything. I genuinely said “why dont you just go home” like i was dealing with someone at a party that has become too drunk and has started screaming at some poor girl cos she betrayed him, despite having never spoken to the guy before.
Though somewhat heavy handed, the moments of “I wish I had agreed to write a travel guide of Peru instead of some hard boiled bullshit” were interesting, they were not as informative as I would have liked to balance out the dry dialogue. However it was a quick read and was a relatively fun and harmless adventure on a superficial level, it just wasn’t particularly bien.
The story in and of itself is a quick read of 200 tiny pages, but could easily have been half of that. My main issue is that not only did the protagonist seem like he had no interest being involved in the treasure hunt (despite occasionally saying “i want the treasure”) most of it, if not all of it, could have happened if he wasn’t in the story at all.
The plot is basically man gets treasure map and hunts for treasure, but the man lacks any sort of charm and his opinion on the other characters is almost never represented in his behaviour, and nothing about what he says or thinks makes me feel like he has any interest in doing anything. I genuinely said “why dont you just go home” like i was dealing with someone at a party that has become too drunk and has started screaming at some poor girl cos she betrayed him, despite having never spoken to the guy before.
Though somewhat heavy handed, the moments of “I wish I had agreed to write a travel guide of Peru instead of some hard boiled bullshit” were interesting, they were not as informative as I would have liked to balance out the dry dialogue. However it was a quick read and was a relatively fun and harmless adventure on a superficial level, it just wasn’t particularly bien.
August 20, 2023
In the second of the series Al Colby agrees to smuggle a small package into Peru and it all leads to a search for Inca treasure and a tale of intrigue. I just love the way Dodge tells a story and manages to keep you interested as it develops. I even almost believed the excessive number of times in this book that our hero is knocked out by a blow to the head. It’s a great story well told that goes a little astray when Colby starts to resolve the problems in the lives and relationships of the female characters. It was, of course, a sign of the times with the mid 20th century being renowned as a period when women couldn’t possibly solve their own problems or live their own lives. It kind of spoiled the novel and even my wishful thinking that maybe it was all the knocks to the head that made Colby act so stupidly didn’t get me over it. One expects these attitudes in novels of this period but this just detracted from the buildup in the story. Still and all, a pleasurable read.
August 17, 2022
3.6/5
Not bad. David Dodge's writing style is just the right amount of hard-boiled and sardonic, and his pacing is brisk. The novel is a lean 223 pages, if that, and is refreshingly straightforward in its plotline about a hunt for a missing treasure, and one man's single-minded, almost spiteful pursuit of that treasure. Characters are barely two-dimensional, but they serve their purpose and that's what counts for this kinda pulpy novel, at least for me. There isn't a whole lot of action, and it's not a super-exciting, mile-a-minute thriller, but Plunder of the Sun is still a fun way to spend an afternoon, written with workmanlike precision without much filler getting in the way of the important things.
I breezed through the last two thirds of this on my camping trip, which was perfect.
Not bad. David Dodge's writing style is just the right amount of hard-boiled and sardonic, and his pacing is brisk. The novel is a lean 223 pages, if that, and is refreshingly straightforward in its plotline about a hunt for a missing treasure, and one man's single-minded, almost spiteful pursuit of that treasure. Characters are barely two-dimensional, but they serve their purpose and that's what counts for this kinda pulpy novel, at least for me. There isn't a whole lot of action, and it's not a super-exciting, mile-a-minute thriller, but Plunder of the Sun is still a fun way to spend an afternoon, written with workmanlike precision without much filler getting in the way of the important things.
I breezed through the last two thirds of this on my camping trip, which was perfect.
January 8, 2021
Set in South America, this adventure written in 1950 reads easily and has some good local colour. Al Colby is a PI based in Santiago, Chile, where he is contracted to help smuggle by ship possible archaeological contraband into Peru. There he becomes involved in a plot concerning the uncovering of Inca treasure buried at the time of the Spanish conquest. It’s pretty unsophisticated compared to modern thrillers but the exotic setting and the sympathetic account of the Inca make up for any deficiencies
July 7, 2022
“Los muertos no muerden.”
Al Colby agrees to smuggle an unknown item from Chile to Peru on an American ship, for $1,000. But when the man who hired him ends up dead, things get messy. And then, a treasure hunt breaks out! Shootings, stabbings, and double dealings ensue, and it gets really messy!
Unfortunately, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't like Mr. Colby, and I didn't like any other character either. It wasn't just because they were all criminals, I just didn't like them. The last three words of the book were pretty much what I fought during my reading of it!
Al Colby agrees to smuggle an unknown item from Chile to Peru on an American ship, for $1,000. But when the man who hired him ends up dead, things get messy. And then, a treasure hunt breaks out! Shootings, stabbings, and double dealings ensue, and it gets really messy!
Unfortunately, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't like Mr. Colby, and I didn't like any other character either. It wasn't just because they were all criminals, I just didn't like them. The last three words of the book were pretty much what I fought during my reading of it!
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