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Callan #2
Russian Roulette
Admittedly, he was a killer... the best the British had. It had something to do with the survival instinct, the patience of a hunting animal, the single, destroying blow.
His name was David Callan and the KGB lusted for his corpse - badly enough to ante up the top British spy held captive in the Kremlin.
Callan was alone out there, in the alleys and squares and parks of London, unarmed and half-blind, fair prey for three deadly Ivans.
But Callan was still the best the British had, and even without a gun he was a walking bloody arsenal...
His name was David Callan and the KGB lusted for his corpse - badly enough to ante up the top British spy held captive in the Kremlin.
Callan was alone out there, in the alleys and squares and parks of London, unarmed and half-blind, fair prey for three deadly Ivans.
But Callan was still the best the British had, and even without a gun he was a walking bloody arsenal...
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
24 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
James Mitchell
34 books9 followersJames William Mitchell (12 March 1926, South Shields - 15 September 2002, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was a British writer of crime fiction and spy thrillers. Mr. Mitchell also wrote under the pseudonyms James Munro and Patrick O. McGuire. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford.
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 22, 2015
Read in 1980 and quite enjoyed this book.
August 29, 2016
Another Callan novel from Mitchell the first book was the pilot for the tv show , I can't remember if this is not adaption of one of the episodes or both but is a good read .
February 4, 2025
Russian Roulette
, authored by James Mitchell and published in 1973, is the second in a series of novels about British government assassin-spy David Callan. Callan works for The Section—a shadowy agency of the UK government responsible for eliminating threats to the nation. He's a working-class answer to James Bond: cynical, streetwise and antagonistic to his upper class bosses. Unglamorous, not a ladies man, he takes his drinks straight without any "shaken, not stirred" nonsense, lives in a modest flat in London with his prized collection of war game miniatures, keeps a passport, gun and cash in a box under a floorboard, and never trusts anyone—least of all his bosses. He's also a master of his trade: lethal with firearms, deadly with karate-trained hands, skilled at lockpicking and adept at disguise. An orphan whose parents died in the London Blitz, veteran of the Malay Uprising guerrilla war, ex-thief, Callan has the kind of backstory that makes him almost ideally suited for the job of gray man government killer.
As the story opens, Callan's ruthless boss, Hunter, informs Callan that he has made a deal with the Russians that will get his most prized agent in that country, who has been captured, returned to the UK. In exchange, he will give them Callan. But to avoid a demoralizing scandal, he won't be apprehending his top operative and handing him over to the Soviets. He'll just be cutting him loose, giving him no support, taking his gun, freezing his bank accounts, and making it almost certain that he'll be taken out by enemy agents in short order. He further informs Callan that three of the KGB's top assassins have been sent to London to do the job, and wishes him good luck. To make Callan's plight even more dire, he suffered an eye injury on his previous mission that causes double vision, and needs special eye drops administered regularly to keep from going semi-blind.
Callan soon learns just how bad his predicament is, as he returns to his flat, pulls up the concealed floorboard and finds his gun, passport and cash gone. He obviously can't stay at his flat, and with no weapons, only a few pounds in his pocket and some spare clothes, he has to face the KGB killers alone, homeless and nearly broke. It's a fantastic setup for a cat-and-mouse, assassin vs. assassin thriller that will test Callan's skill, resilience and resourcefulness to their absolute limits.
The loner Callan does have one ally in this awful predicament: an old friend, a lovable loser and petty thief called "Lonely". Lonely is absolutely terrified of, yet loyal, to Callan; he provides hideouts, money and contacts in the underworld that prove very useful. He also tries to get Callan a gun, which in firearm-phobic England in those days was apparently very difficult indeed. Unfortunately, the Section has put out word to gun dealers that they are absolutely not to do business with Callan or Lonely, so he has to find some other way to arm himself.
What follows is a fascinating man-on-the run narrative, as Callan moves around London discreetly, trying to obtain a gun, looking out for tails, utilizing disguise, wary of both the KGB men and his own agency—all punctuated by brutal violence as he encounters the assassins or the bodies of those who crossed them. Callan also makes one other contact: a beautiful nurse from Barbados who administers his eyedrops and becomes his romantic interest. There's plenty of action, tradecraft, suspense, twists and personal dramas as Callan navigates the dark underbelly of London and has to kill or be killed.
This was a great read. I absolutely loved this character Callan; he's like a cross between the working class smart-aleck Harry Palmer of Len Deighton's famous novels and the ultra-competent and lethal Quiller of Adam Hall's brilliant series. If you took Quiller and gave him more backstory and personality, along with a firearm, you'd basically get Callan. I also liked the setting: the swinging sixties are over, and it's now the grim world of economically depressed and demoralized 1970s England—a world tailor-made for the cynical tough guy Callan. I will definitely be tracking down the other books in this series, and maybe even watching some episodes of the popular TV show where it all began. Highly recommended.
Get a copy of Russian Roulette here.
As the story opens, Callan's ruthless boss, Hunter, informs Callan that he has made a deal with the Russians that will get his most prized agent in that country, who has been captured, returned to the UK. In exchange, he will give them Callan. But to avoid a demoralizing scandal, he won't be apprehending his top operative and handing him over to the Soviets. He'll just be cutting him loose, giving him no support, taking his gun, freezing his bank accounts, and making it almost certain that he'll be taken out by enemy agents in short order. He further informs Callan that three of the KGB's top assassins have been sent to London to do the job, and wishes him good luck. To make Callan's plight even more dire, he suffered an eye injury on his previous mission that causes double vision, and needs special eye drops administered regularly to keep from going semi-blind.
Callan soon learns just how bad his predicament is, as he returns to his flat, pulls up the concealed floorboard and finds his gun, passport and cash gone. He obviously can't stay at his flat, and with no weapons, only a few pounds in his pocket and some spare clothes, he has to face the KGB killers alone, homeless and nearly broke. It's a fantastic setup for a cat-and-mouse, assassin vs. assassin thriller that will test Callan's skill, resilience and resourcefulness to their absolute limits.
The loner Callan does have one ally in this awful predicament: an old friend, a lovable loser and petty thief called "Lonely". Lonely is absolutely terrified of, yet loyal, to Callan; he provides hideouts, money and contacts in the underworld that prove very useful. He also tries to get Callan a gun, which in firearm-phobic England in those days was apparently very difficult indeed. Unfortunately, the Section has put out word to gun dealers that they are absolutely not to do business with Callan or Lonely, so he has to find some other way to arm himself.
What follows is a fascinating man-on-the run narrative, as Callan moves around London discreetly, trying to obtain a gun, looking out for tails, utilizing disguise, wary of both the KGB men and his own agency—all punctuated by brutal violence as he encounters the assassins or the bodies of those who crossed them. Callan also makes one other contact: a beautiful nurse from Barbados who administers his eyedrops and becomes his romantic interest. There's plenty of action, tradecraft, suspense, twists and personal dramas as Callan navigates the dark underbelly of London and has to kill or be killed.
This was a great read. I absolutely loved this character Callan; he's like a cross between the working class smart-aleck Harry Palmer of Len Deighton's famous novels and the ultra-competent and lethal Quiller of Adam Hall's brilliant series. If you took Quiller and gave him more backstory and personality, along with a firearm, you'd basically get Callan. I also liked the setting: the swinging sixties are over, and it's now the grim world of economically depressed and demoralized 1970s England—a world tailor-made for the cynical tough guy Callan. I will definitely be tracking down the other books in this series, and maybe even watching some episodes of the popular TV show where it all began. Highly recommended.
Get a copy of Russian Roulette here.
February 3, 2024
The second book in the David Callan series and reading it 50yrs after it was written makes it seem like a historical crime novel. No mobile phones, no computers and transport by bus, taxi or shanks’s pony.
In exchange for a British spy attached to the KGB the Russians demand the death of David Callan, his boss, Hunter, gives the OK and Callan is stripped of his passport, his bank account is froze, his gun is taken from him and he is left without any means to obtain another. Three Russian spies are sent to hunt him down but Callan is not a man to lay down and die. Apart from anything else Callan’s eyesight is failing and he needs an operation to correct it and also drops to keep the double vision at bay. The only person he can trust is his smelly sidekick Lonely, but can this meek and mild petty thief really help him?
I liked the simplicity of this short novel which was really well put together. I intend to read the rest of the series. 4/5
In exchange for a British spy attached to the KGB the Russians demand the death of David Callan, his boss, Hunter, gives the OK and Callan is stripped of his passport, his bank account is froze, his gun is taken from him and he is left without any means to obtain another. Three Russian spies are sent to hunt him down but Callan is not a man to lay down and die. Apart from anything else Callan’s eyesight is failing and he needs an operation to correct it and also drops to keep the double vision at bay. The only person he can trust is his smelly sidekick Lonely, but can this meek and mild petty thief really help him?
I liked the simplicity of this short novel which was really well put together. I intend to read the rest of the series. 4/5
May 15, 2022
Really excellent. No frills no airs & graces .
Again straight in & out . It reads like a film treatment.
Callan at large in an unfriendly city.
He is being made expendable!
Can he survive with help from lonely alone?
Fantastic thriller with no fat.
Scarily current it isn’t mired in the 70s, it could be shot now and make no difference.
Callan is a remarkable character, with no relationship to Mr Bond. Much more plausible with a lonely bachelor killing to order.
Callan as a character deserves to be better known and held in much better regard.
Again straight in & out . It reads like a film treatment.
Callan at large in an unfriendly city.
He is being made expendable!
Can he survive with help from lonely alone?
Fantastic thriller with no fat.
Scarily current it isn’t mired in the 70s, it could be shot now and make no difference.
Callan is a remarkable character, with no relationship to Mr Bond. Much more plausible with a lonely bachelor killing to order.
Callan as a character deserves to be better known and held in much better regard.
March 23, 2019
It is a great thriller and spy novel. It is up there with John Le Carre. It has loyalty and betrayal all the way through it with a peek at values that have disappeared post-1970. Callan is sold out to the Russians by his bosses and left to fend for himself against a number of assassins. There is an element of the James Bond books as he shows how resourceful and aware he is without the need for technology or organisational support.
April 22, 2023
Not so much "I Am Finished" as "I Am Through".
I am NOT for book bans and I am NOT for canceling any history: let all the nasty leech out, I say. No secrets! But I will also not be FORCED to read: n*gg*r, queer, queen, poof.....even if those terms were accepted back then.
I am also not going to let my reading go to waste and not count it. The PREMISE of the story would have made it enjoyable to finish.....probably.
I'll never freaking read Mitchell again.
I am NOT for book bans and I am NOT for canceling any history: let all the nasty leech out, I say. No secrets! But I will also not be FORCED to read: n*gg*r, queer, queen, poof.....even if those terms were accepted back then.
I am also not going to let my reading go to waste and not count it. The PREMISE of the story would have made it enjoyable to finish.....probably.
I'll never freaking read Mitchell again.
July 9, 2023
David Callan is a killer - for the British secret service. The Russians want him dead badly enough to offer a trade for a captured spy, and Callan's boss accepts the deal. As a result, Callan is left to run for his life - with no gun and no help, and with his eyes failing.
A first-rate adventure story, with Callan learning who his friends are (and aren't). Lots of finely drawn characters and plenty of action. They don't come much better that this.
A first-rate adventure story, with Callan learning who his friends are (and aren't). Lots of finely drawn characters and plenty of action. They don't come much better that this.
November 4, 2023
A tense thriller full of twists
James Mitchell has taken the main character of the big 1970s TV show "Callan" and written a series of books set in the same period. Callan is joined by a few other personnel from the broadcasts as well.
I haven't a dead the first, but this second of the series is a well written book that captures the imagination with it's descriptions of the earlier side of London life in the 70s.
All appears lost for Call an but......
James Mitchell has taken the main character of the big 1970s TV show "Callan" and written a series of books set in the same period. Callan is joined by a few other personnel from the broadcasts as well.
I haven't a dead the first, but this second of the series is a well written book that captures the imagination with it's descriptions of the earlier side of London life in the 70s.
All appears lost for Call an but......
November 11, 2017
The fact that the story was written in the seventies does not detract from it being an enjoyable read. Callan is a likeable rogue with a ruthless streak - a working class James Bond if you like. That in itself is enough to guarantee the book's success. The wonder is that it stands up very well with contemporary pulp fiction.
January 5, 2024
My copy has the same cover as the one shown here, cool! Another treasure I sourced at Camden markets. This book was written after the TV show had ended so it was never made into an episode or a Callan movie, so that makes it quite a rare and should be enjoyed by any Callan fan.
April 5, 2018
Excellent
The second of the Callan novels and less well known, this is an excellent book. Not covered by the TV show. Highly recommended.
The second of the Callan novels and less well known, this is an excellent book. Not covered by the TV show. Highly recommended.
January 17, 2024
good retro!
February 16, 2024
Bit dated in attitude but a real easy read, flashed through it in no time, gripping story, great writing style that pulls you along.
January 14, 2020
It's a solid 1970s spy novel with an outrageously cold-hearted premise. I have no complaints. Expectations met, pleasure experienced.
If you liked Callan, you'll like this. (Because it is also Callan.) Conversely, if you like this novel, you may like the 1970s British spy show Callan!
The weird thing about Russian Roulette is that James Mitchell doesn't seem to understand the character of Toby Meres. And I know that's a ridiculous thing to say, because Mitchell invented Meres, but... he and Callan don't hate each other like this, not even in the early running (which is arguably when this novel is set). But Meres is not very important to this novel, so it's no big deal.
Mitchell absolutely understands the Callan-Lonely relationship, which is deepened in some very nice ways in this novel. So it all balances out anyway.
If you liked Callan, you'll like this. (Because it is also Callan.) Conversely, if you like this novel, you may like the 1970s British spy show Callan!
The weird thing about Russian Roulette is that James Mitchell doesn't seem to understand the character of Toby Meres. And I know that's a ridiculous thing to say, because Mitchell invented Meres, but... he and Callan don't hate each other like this, not even in the early running (which is arguably when this novel is set). But Meres is not very important to this novel, so it's no big deal.
Mitchell absolutely understands the Callan-Lonely relationship, which is deepened in some very nice ways in this novel. So it all balances out anyway.
September 6, 2023
This really is very very good. But then, James Mitchell had toned his craft to perfection writing television scripts.
Callan was, for my money, the best espionage series ever, with a sympathetic lead character who hates what he has to do.
Like Mitchell's scripts (and his Callan short stories), this is gripping from the start, with believable dialogue, perfect construction, and no-nonsense prose. Not a word wasted.
If I could have read this in one go, I would have, but life has a habit of getting in the way. As it was, I kept picking it up to read the next passage at any given opportunity, because I was addicted.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read the next one.
Callan was, for my money, the best espionage series ever, with a sympathetic lead character who hates what he has to do.
Like Mitchell's scripts (and his Callan short stories), this is gripping from the start, with believable dialogue, perfect construction, and no-nonsense prose. Not a word wasted.
If I could have read this in one go, I would have, but life has a habit of getting in the way. As it was, I kept picking it up to read the next passage at any given opportunity, because I was addicted.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read the next one.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews