Gavin LyallRezensionen

This one was a nice surprise I have to admit. Also it shows that history only repeats itself.

It is almost 20 years after the WW2 and all the veterans that where involved in the dangerous hide-and-seek game behind German front-lines in France are now involved into more shadier activities as hired guns for underworld, assassins, bodyguards, information-brokers and every role in between that requires tough, action driven person that is more than capable to take care of oneself with or without weapons.

And here enters Lewis Cane, former SOE operator in France, hired to transport famous businessman from shores of France to Liechtenstein so that businessman can attend a very important meeting while avoiding the police wanting him for questioning in regard to the sexual abuse.

Cane is joined by Harvey Lovell, veteran bodyguard of US Secret Service and [as they elude hired guns that try to kill them all] his friends from days of WW2 struggle. All of the characters have their own problems, and "mental-baggage" from the past. But the way they act and behave shows that they are professionals in their field. I have to admit level of details is exquisite.

Story is very fast paced and very, very modern. I have read some of the older thrillers but for this one I would never guess that it was written int he 1960's. I would place it in the more recent time-range (90's, even 2000's).

I am currently looking out for more works by this author.

Highly recommended for all fans of action thrillers.

From the brilliant summer nonchalance of 1940 to the grim, anonymous exhaustion of the bomber crews delivering the infernos of Hamburg and Dresden. All the great dramas of the air war are here, described by the men in the British and Commonwealth Air Forces who did the fighting. We accompany them in the desperate days of the fall of France; during the Battle of Britain; throughout the agony of Bomber Command; over the high seas, Malta, the desert battles and in the struggle with Japan.

This is the second volume in the unique Freedom's Battle trilogy, which provides intensely vivid accounts of war at sea, in the air and on land. Far better than any single narrative, the extracts build up a complete picture of the War as it was experienced by the men and women who actually took part in it.

The operator of a small airline has been hired to fly twelve cases of champagne to a hotel in Nicosia, Cyprus. On arrival he finds the hotel in receivership and not only is there no payment but he is roped into helping out as chef and manager to try and keep the business afloat. He is aided by his partner who is fresh out of a two-year stretch in an Israeli jail. When an important guest requests champagne, well, the twelve cases still on the 'plane are the obvious source, until one box is opened and found to contain arms. Complicating matters even further, the champagne drinker is an archaeologist who claims to have discovered an artifact of fabulous historical importance. This is an exciting thriller if not very serious and I enjoyed that there was plenty of authentic aviation details including a dicey flight to Israel that has the reader hanging on by their fingernails. Lyall gave a very accurate portrayal of the area just after the Cyprus Emergency in the fifties when terrorist attacks were still common. Published in 1975 this an excellent example of thriller novels of the time. This was only my second Lyall book but I'll be looking for more.

Former fighter pilot Keith Carr is living a quiet life as a charter pilot in the Caribbean, picking up cargo and taking the odd student up for flying lessons. Then he receives two lucrative offers in the space of a week. The one he accepts is to fly a film crew around to do some aerial shots for a film starring acclaimed Western actor Walt Whitmore. But revolution is in the air, and Carr may be compelled to take a part in it…

I found this a briskly paced book with lots of excellently technical discussion about planes. It has a kind of almost James Bond vibe, perhaps because it’s set on Jamaica and makes direct reference to Ian Fleming and his Goldeneye estate. This book features a handy female lead, J.B. the film company’s lawyer, and remarkable discretion in the romance department (of course there’s a romance! but it left me rolling very few eyes, so hurray).

This was included on the British Crime Writers’ Association’s list of the top 100 crime novels of all time, as established in 1990. I’m grateful to the compilers of the list for bringing this book to my attention; it looks like Lyall has some other airplane-related books that I’ll have to hunt for.

Roy Care se ha hecho cargo de un vuelo de contrabando de champagne a Chipre, para entrar en contacto con su socio, preso en una cárcel israelí. Las situaciones se complican cuando aparecen un arqueólogo, que puede saber dónde está la espada de Ricardo Corazón de León; su hija, una hermosa medievalista de Nueva York; un "agente" israelí y varios capitalistas de Beirut, uno de ellos extrañamente interesado en el contrabando de champagne. Pero el hallazgo de la espada es la solución para muchos de los protagonistas de esta apasionante novela policial.

I first read this many years ago and it is just as good as I remember. The characters are well written and convincing. I particularly like the way Harry’s personality is revealed - partly through his actions, partly through the observations of others, and partly through his interior monologue that reveals the doubts and uncertainties that his outer confidence and skills hide from the world.

It is interesting to get a glimpse into the attitudes of the different groups - army, spies, Whitehall and politicians - and, whilst this was written a long time ago (pre mobile phones - what a difference that can make to a plot!) I doubt the fundamental attitudes have changed that much.

There is a certain amount of technical information, as the book concerns the hunt for a missing tank of revolutionary design, but not so much that it would be tedious for the reader whose knowledge of car maintenance is limited to knowing when to take it to a mechanic.

A very good read. Now I want to re-read the others in this series

This is an action thriller from 1965 that is reminiscent of James Bond stories. The protagonist is asked to escort a businessman from France to Liechtenstein for a meeting of shareholders which must happen before "midnight plus one minute" on the appointed date. The business is located in Liechtenstein because of the tax laws. The adventures that follow include lots of shooting, car crashes, double-crossing and the like - and lots of fun.

The third outing of Major Harry Maxim. Cold War conspiracy done with a very high degree of professionalism which provides lots of tension.

Major Harry Maxim is a rather reluctant hero: an Army major who has missed a crucial step in the promotion stakes, he finds himself sidelined into a meaningless job at Number 10, trying to make sense of the machinations of the politicians and civil servants. And then he is pitchforked into high international intrigue as a minder for a nuclear strategist who has a particularly nasty skeleton in his closet.

Lively adventure of a pilot for a shoestring air freight company who gets inmvolved with dangerous charactrs in search of a missing treasure in the Mediterranean after WWII; great sense of respect for good flying. Vivid first-person narration.

Caribien, ca 1965.
Keith Carr har en fortid som jagerpilot i Korea, men ernærer sig nu som selvstændig i Caraibien. Det hænger ikke alt for godt sammen økonomisk, men han lader sig alligevel ikke friste af et tilbud om at blive jagerpilot under Oberst Ned Rafter. I stedet falder han i med et filmselskab, som er ved at optage en film i området. De vil godt til den republik, hvor Rafter træner flyvevåbnet - en flok aldrende Vampire fly og nogle halvgrønne piloter. Keith har ikke glemt alle tricks fra Korea, så da et af jagerflyene presser hans lille to-motorers Dove fly, lokker han det i en fælde og flyvevåbnet mister en Vampire og en pilot. Filmselskabet blander sig og Keith og filmfolkene slipper med at få flyet konfiskeret, inden de selv bliver smidt ud af landet. Keith har givet en lokal, Diego Jiminez Ingles, flyvetimer uden at vide at han var søn af oprørslederen i Republica Libre. Det finder han først ud af da Diego bliver fundet død. Filmholdet ser også ud til at være med i oprøret, for planen gik ud på at Diego skulle flyve et bombetogt mod Vampire styrken.
I stedet lader Keith sig overtale til jobbet. En skuespiller, Luiz Monterrey, kommer med som skytte. Og det går under togtet op for Keith at det var Luiz, der skød Diego for at sikre at det var en rigtig pilot, der skulle flyve bombetogtet - hvor bomberne forresten bliver erstattet af mursten, fordi bomberne aldrig når frem.
Togtet lykkes, for Vampirereskadrillen bliver uskadeliggjort, men den aldrende bombemaskine må nødlande på en nærliggende strand.
Ned Rafter dukker op og anholder Keith og Luiz. Filmmanden Whitmore dukker op sammen med den kvindelige sagfører J. B. som Keith har en affære med.
De rafler (med forfalskede terninger) og slipper ud, selv om Ned bliver skudt undervejs. Luiz bliver tilbage for at hjælpe revolutionen lidt på vej.
J. B., Keith og Whitmore flyver ud mod solnedgangen i Keith's nyistandsatte Dove.

Der er en masse hårdkogte bemærkninger, som falder dødt til jorden i dansk oversættelse. Udgaven er i det hele taget skæmmet af en dårlig oversættelse.

This book was purchased in a brown paper bag with the title saying "mystery". Not often do I run across a book that I really can't get into. I found the story boring. I did learn about aviation, a bit about espionage but not enough to get excited about. Can't give his more than 11/2 stars.

Gavin Lyall had three phases in his life as a fiction writer. First, he wrote a series of thrillers (usually about aviation) starting with "The Wrong Side of the Sky" in 1961. In 1980 with "The Secret Servant" he introduced the four Harry Maxim novels about an Army security expert attached to 10 Downing Street. His final series began in 1993 with this book, and told the story of the birth of the modern British Secret Service, centred around an unlikely agent called Matthew Ranklin.

Ranklin is a likeable but troubled character, not very confident in his work and unsure about the morality of the way the Service operates but quick in thought and deed. In Corinna Finn, Lyall has given us another of his attractive and smart heroines, and doesn't neglect to describe her outfits in his usual detail.

The plot is perhaps a little too fast-paced but is just believable (thanks to Corinna's connections), and was clearly designed to lead into the others in the series. It's pity that he could only manage four of these books, but then who knows - he may have taken off in yet another direction.