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The Big Needle
Successful, pleasure-loving Chad Carstairs risks his fortune, his future, and his life to seek revenge on the powerful members of the world's deadliest criminal conspiracy. Reissue. NYT.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
6 people are currently reading
868 people want to read
About the author
Ken Follett
601 books59.1k followersKen Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 170 million copies of the 36 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages.
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.
He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.
Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.
In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.
Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.
Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.
Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.
He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.
Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.
In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.
Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.
Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.
Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 13, 2023
If you’ll pardon the cliché, this novel is “So bad, it’s good.” Long before he became a highly-respected bestselling author of international thrillers and epic historical novels, Ken Follett was writing deliciously decadent 1970s smut like this! Mr. Follett himself may not be proud of this particular book, but I consider it a guilty pleasure.
I first read it back in 1987 at the tender age of 12, when I was way more (ahem) innocent in the ways lf the world. Now that I’m 47 y/o and have (ahem again) been around the block a bit…well, let’s just say that a lot less of the material goes over my head now like it did back then.
This book sure as hell ain’t Nobel Prize for Literature material. But sooooo much guilty pleasure and cheap thrills!
I first read it back in 1987 at the tender age of 12, when I was way more (ahem) innocent in the ways lf the world. Now that I’m 47 y/o and have (ahem again) been around the block a bit…well, let’s just say that a lot less of the material goes over my head now like it did back then.
This book sure as hell ain’t Nobel Prize for Literature material. But sooooo much guilty pleasure and cheap thrills!
June 15, 2016
This second try at Follett was a winner. This was a taut thriller that is also fun to read. The down side, for me, was the surprising amount of sex and drug use through out.
Apparently Follett wrote this first of a three part series under the name of Symon Myles. The main character is named 'Apples'. An odd name with a lousy reason for using such a lousy name. Despite the name the character is well developed as are most all of the characters in this short novel.
A big plus to this story is Follett's ability to put the reader in the setting. There are many settings throughout as Apples travels. Each is unique from the tight alleys to the wide spread of a farm.
The conclusion is satisfying, if not obvious to the casual reader.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of ten points.
Apparently Follett wrote this first of a three part series under the name of Symon Myles. The main character is named 'Apples'. An odd name with a lousy reason for using such a lousy name. Despite the name the character is well developed as are most all of the characters in this short novel.
A big plus to this story is Follett's ability to put the reader in the setting. There are many settings throughout as Apples travels. Each is unique from the tight alleys to the wide spread of a farm.
The conclusion is satisfying, if not obvious to the casual reader.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of ten points.
October 29, 2017
THE BIG NEEDLE is Ken Follett’s first published novel – as by “Symon Myles” in 1974 – and what it lacks in complexity and subtlety is readily overcome with its streamlined, almost men’s adventure-like, plotting and enthusiasm.
Apples Carstairs is a wealthy London real estate investor. He is divorced with a seldom seen teenage daughter, Jane, and two live-in lovers he enjoys as something more than wanton distraction. Apples’ world shudders when his ex-wife arrives at his doorstep with dark news: “Jane is in hospital in a coma.” Jane’s coma is the result of a heroin overdose. Apples is stunned with guilt for ignoring his daughter for so many years and then anger toward the heroin pushers. In an instant, Apples decides to destroy the man responsible for importing heroin into London. Not the street pusher, or distributor, but rather the top-level executive of the enterprise. A man he calls, “Mr. H”. His mission leads him from the underworld of London to the streets of Marseilles and back.
THE BIG NEEDLE is more action than crime novel. It is plotted from car chase to shoot out to sex scene, of which there are many, and back again. The criminal element – identifying and destroying London’s heroin syndicate – is less mystery and more obstacle to both Apples and the reader. And Apples uses a methodical, if unbelievable, approach to accomplishing his mission. Unbelievable, because of Apples’ easy access to the crime syndicate in England and its French supplier, which is forgivable because of the novel’s quick, linear plot and lean prose. It doesn’t hurt that there is a subtle tongue-in-cheek feel to the whole enterprise.
Apples Carstairs is a wealthy London real estate investor. He is divorced with a seldom seen teenage daughter, Jane, and two live-in lovers he enjoys as something more than wanton distraction. Apples’ world shudders when his ex-wife arrives at his doorstep with dark news: “Jane is in hospital in a coma.” Jane’s coma is the result of a heroin overdose. Apples is stunned with guilt for ignoring his daughter for so many years and then anger toward the heroin pushers. In an instant, Apples decides to destroy the man responsible for importing heroin into London. Not the street pusher, or distributor, but rather the top-level executive of the enterprise. A man he calls, “Mr. H”. His mission leads him from the underworld of London to the streets of Marseilles and back.
THE BIG NEEDLE is more action than crime novel. It is plotted from car chase to shoot out to sex scene, of which there are many, and back again. The criminal element – identifying and destroying London’s heroin syndicate – is less mystery and more obstacle to both Apples and the reader. And Apples uses a methodical, if unbelievable, approach to accomplishing his mission. Unbelievable, because of Apples’ easy access to the crime syndicate in England and its French supplier, which is forgivable because of the novel’s quick, linear plot and lean prose. It doesn’t hurt that there is a subtle tongue-in-cheek feel to the whole enterprise.
April 3, 2009
I beleive this was Follett's first novel and was originally released under the pen name Symon Myles. I had just finished "World Without End" and enjoyed it so much that I decided to go back through and read all the other Follett novels on my bookshelf.
It is amazing to see how the quality of his writing changed/improved over from the time "The Big Needle" was written in 1974 and today.
It is amazing to see how the quality of his writing changed/improved over from the time "The Big Needle" was written in 1974 and today.
March 8, 2024
I recently decided to start in on reading some Ken Follett books, and being a completist I started at the beginning. First novels are often pretty bad ... and here we are. This book is ... pretty dreadful. In fact, my choice of rating was either going to be a 1 or a 2, and I had to ponder it for awhile. Here's why ...
This is the kind of novel where the hero unapologetically has the name "Apples." Of course he has to be quirky, so he doesn't just have an ex wife and a troubled daughter who he hasn't seen in a long time (of course!), but he lives with two voluptuous women as part of an open thruple. He does edgy things and knows lots of colorful characters. And when the story calls for it, he can use his riches to facilitate his entry into the international heroin trade. Yep, that all checks out ... perfectly logical! As with many 70s era heroes, he's also perfectly happy to get busy ... not just does he sleep with two paramours several times during the short novel (it's just 180 pages long), but he also has sex with mutliple other women who he randomly runs across on his missions. I don't have such a problem with that, but the women in his life are also treated horribly in the book (not by the main character, who seems ... fine I guess, but by the author!) including one who is raped multiple times in a matter of a couple of days. Even worse, after one such incident the police don't ask HER if she wants to press charges, they ask HIM ... yikes. After the other, even more serious incident, her desire for sexual activity with him comes back shockingly quickly. I guess I don't expect enlightenment out of 70's era crime thrillers but sheesh.
The experience of reading this reminded me a lot of reading Clive Cussler's first novel, Pacific Vortex!, which I also gave a 2 star rating (something that stuns me, looking back on it - it really deserved a 1). In relation to that, The Big Needle is a little better. The writing is at least competent (Cussler's was dreadful in that first effort). The characters are just as thinly drawn, and the heroes both engage in equally implausible activities. Since I gave that book a 2/5 I suppose this one also deserves a 2/5, but in my head I was on the fence here between a 1 and a 2 until I decided, at least, that the hero in in this novel at least couldn't do EVERYTHING (although he certainly could do quite a lot), and also that he seemed to have at least a little bit of introspection.
In the end, I can only recommend this if you are a Follett completist. If not, there's nothing here for you.
This is the kind of novel where the hero unapologetically has the name "Apples." Of course he has to be quirky, so he doesn't just have an ex wife and a troubled daughter who he hasn't seen in a long time (of course!), but he lives with two voluptuous women as part of an open thruple. He does edgy things and knows lots of colorful characters. And when the story calls for it, he can use his riches to facilitate his entry into the international heroin trade. Yep, that all checks out ... perfectly logical! As with many 70s era heroes, he's also perfectly happy to get busy ... not just does he sleep with two paramours several times during the short novel (it's just 180 pages long), but he also has sex with mutliple other women who he randomly runs across on his missions. I don't have such a problem with that, but the women in his life are also treated horribly in the book (not by the main character, who seems ... fine I guess, but by the author!) including one who is raped multiple times in a matter of a couple of days. Even worse, after one such incident the police don't ask HER if she wants to press charges, they ask HIM ... yikes. After the other, even more serious incident, her desire for sexual activity with him comes back shockingly quickly. I guess I don't expect enlightenment out of 70's era crime thrillers but sheesh.
The experience of reading this reminded me a lot of reading Clive Cussler's first novel, Pacific Vortex!, which I also gave a 2 star rating (something that stuns me, looking back on it - it really deserved a 1). In relation to that, The Big Needle is a little better. The writing is at least competent (Cussler's was dreadful in that first effort). The characters are just as thinly drawn, and the heroes both engage in equally implausible activities. Since I gave that book a 2/5 I suppose this one also deserves a 2/5, but in my head I was on the fence here between a 1 and a 2 until I decided, at least, that the hero in in this novel at least couldn't do EVERYTHING (although he certainly could do quite a lot), and also that he seemed to have at least a little bit of introspection.
In the end, I can only recommend this if you are a Follett completist. If not, there's nothing here for you.
November 17, 2022
POSITIVE
1. Good, easy read that I could have finished in one sitting, had I been so inclined
2. If you're a Ken Follett fan, The Big Needle is his first published book (under the pen name "Symon Myles").
NEGATIVE
1. Characters and props appear and exit whenever convenient
2. French dialogues are not translated. With digital versions, they're easy to handle. However, in 1974 (the original publication year) and now with hard-copy versions, not so easy.
3. Full of clichés
4. The ending is weak in several ways. The last few chapters of the Zebra edition needed a better proofreading for typos.
OVERALL
The Big Needle is the first of three books in the Apples Carstairs series. I cannot find The Big Black and The Big Hit anywhere.
Campaign by leaving a message at Ken Follett's official website that he digitize the Apples Carstairs series and place it in the public domain; surely it's no longer producing income for him.
1. Good, easy read that I could have finished in one sitting, had I been so inclined
2. If you're a Ken Follett fan, The Big Needle is his first published book (under the pen name "Symon Myles").
NEGATIVE
1. Characters and props appear and exit whenever convenient
2. French dialogues are not translated. With digital versions, they're easy to handle. However, in 1974 (the original publication year) and now with hard-copy versions, not so easy.
3. Full of clichés
4. The ending is weak in several ways. The last few chapters of the Zebra edition needed a better proofreading for typos.
OVERALL
The Big Needle is the first of three books in the Apples Carstairs series. I cannot find The Big Black and The Big Hit anywhere.
Campaign by leaving a message at Ken Follett's official website that he digitize the Apples Carstairs series and place it in the public domain; surely it's no longer producing income for him.
September 30, 2023
I’m a big Ken Follett fan and have almost all his books in my library. This slim volume “The Big Needle” caught my eye. Then I started reading… whoa… this doesn’t feel like the Ken Follett I know.
I did some googling and discovered this was one of his very first books. It was first published in 1974 when Ken Follett was only 25 at the time. His pen name was Symon Myles. He wrote two more books, The Big Black and “The Big Hit” featuring “Apples” - Chadwell Carstairs. (I can’t find these other two books anywhere)
The story was quite engaging but the sex scenes, by today’s standards, were gratuitous and misogynistic. I was a bit stunned 😂 But then I realized he was in his early 20’s and wanted a little titillation to sell his book.
What a spectacular author he has become. It’s fun to see how beautifully he has evolved as a writer.
I did some googling and discovered this was one of his very first books. It was first published in 1974 when Ken Follett was only 25 at the time. His pen name was Symon Myles. He wrote two more books, The Big Black and “The Big Hit” featuring “Apples” - Chadwell Carstairs. (I can’t find these other two books anywhere)
The story was quite engaging but the sex scenes, by today’s standards, were gratuitous and misogynistic. I was a bit stunned 😂 But then I realized he was in his early 20’s and wanted a little titillation to sell his book.
What a spectacular author he has become. It’s fun to see how beautifully he has evolved as a writer.
November 13, 2022
I found this recently in a box of my father's books that I had never unpacked. Unless you are the person who wants to read everything by your favorite author and that author is Ken Follett, stay away. So many bad 70s clichés. So many badly drawn caricatures of what Ken thought drug dealers and bad people were like. So much bad sex. On the positive side, you get to see how much Ken has developed his skills over the years. Pick up any random Ken Follet from the past 20 years and then this and you'll swear they were written by 2 different people. Also on the positive side, you can read this in about 2 hours. It's small, the plot is minimal, and does not require you to engage your brain much.
March 26, 2023
I don’t think I’ve ever hated a book this much. Misogyny, racism, homophobia all wrapped into an insufferable main character.
The initial motivation is his child’s overdose and then he proceeds to basically never talk about her again. The only purpose of the female characters are for sex scenes which don’t serve a purpose to the story or to act out the main characters insane savoir complex. The ending is unraveled in about one sentence and is laughable...
Making me question whether or not I still like this author... do not read!!
The initial motivation is his child’s overdose and then he proceeds to basically never talk about her again. The only purpose of the female characters are for sex scenes which don’t serve a purpose to the story or to act out the main characters insane savoir complex. The ending is unraveled in about one sentence and is laughable...
Making me question whether or not I still like this author... do not read!!
October 11, 2025
Vintage Follett. For the longest time, Ken Follett has been my favorite author, and it all began when I read "Eye of the Needle", and with this book's title having the word 'Needle' in it, I thought it may be related to the spy thriller. Nope, not even close! But it was fun to read an earlier work by The Master, when he was just cutting his teeth, albeit by pseudonym. There was a surprising amount of French used in this story, which I found to be very fun!
August 3, 2019
An action packed thriller that satisfies, if the reader doesn't think about the story too deeply. Its misogynistic and homophobic hero is apparently the norm at the time of writing, but logical holes and misspellings are distracting.
February 3, 2022
This book was soooooo bad I could not finish it. The random sex, drugs, and thin plot could not hold my attention. It was terribly misogynistic and very flippant about lesbians and rape. I realized that I accidentally got this book instead of "Eye of the needle" by the same author. What a waste!
July 26, 2017
not good.
February 22, 2020
Exciting and a really fast read (it’s short!)
October 18, 2020
This book gave me an opportunity to see Ken Follet's development as a writer. Written near the beginning of his career, it lacked the flow and polish of his more current work.
Read
August 27, 2024A father goes after the Heroin dealer after his daughter's overdose. A short, fast paced read.
February 9, 2025
I can’t believe this book is written by Ken Follett.
August 11, 2008
Wow, this was unbelievably awful. I couldn't get through this 150 page book, even though I slogged through Jane Eyre and White Noise earlier in the summer. Absolute garbage, like a 16 year old's fantasy. Lesbians become bisexual after watching the insipid narrator copulate with his other comic book character-bodied partner, every 20 pages has a meaningless fantastical sex scene, etc. Totally intolerable.
September 18, 2012
Nice and short, exciting and fun. The little things are great, but it's the plot where this book falls way short. It's so contrived and cliche. I still don't know why a guy like the protagonist would risk his fortune, his life, and the well being of those closest to him, to go after the bad guys. The more I think about the book, the more I think it's just a bunch of fluff.
August 23, 2015
This book reads like much of the early pulp fiction of the fifties. What is so interesting is that Ken Follett develops into one of the finest mystery fiction writers of his day, but this early book written under a pseudonym shows him early in his journey. A fast paced book which seemed to be selling explicit behavior more than the story.
June 21, 2014
Eh a good wee read! At only 180 pages this book is easily read in one sitting. It helps when the sun is shining and you're off work for the afternoon.
I was content reading from start to finish, it wasn't amazing, in fact it wasn't all that good but it was a short entertaining period of my life.
I was content reading from start to finish, it wasn't amazing, in fact it wasn't all that good but it was a short entertaining period of my life.
October 28, 2009
Couldn't finish it. I'm trying to work up the gumption to read another of his books as this was my first attempt.
October 22, 2010
Sweet and short book. The crime, sex, and drugs keep it interesting. Yet the ending was unfulfilling. A child could have dreamt up a better one with all that happened leading up to it...
February 14, 2013
This was his first novel and I can definitely see flashes of the greatness of his later work, but he is not there yet.
March 26, 2021
Not one of his best works but entertaining. Sex, drugs, fast cars, and double cross mixed in a way that could only be fiction.
July 20, 2015
Definitely not one of Follett's gems. underdeveloped characters, plot full of holes, no real hero to root for... but it was a quick and easy summer read.
December 22, 2015
Typical Ken Follett with his well-developed, engaging characters, and his page-turner plot.
September 17, 2013
Not bad for Ken Follet's first book, but not amazing either. Clearly he has evolved tremendously.
December 1, 2015
Interesting
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews