The fifth entry in the Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel series is a lightweight romp even by the standards of the series. There’s no real sense of threat or menace from either the titular crazy scientist, or the Thrush agents on the scene.

Having said that it’s still a fun quick read with the banter between the two leads well represented. It also nice to see the the obligatory damsel who gets dragged into the adventure show character growth as she develops from innocent bystander to an equal partner in the action stakes by the story’s conclusion. ( )

Napoleon and Illya are not having the luck of the Irish in the Mad Scientist Affair.

Beer that removes the sense of self-preservation and inflates the ego is just one part of the trouble as the two deal with King Mike, a man in a castle with two lovely nieces and a lot of henchmen. King Mike brews beer, but he's brewing up a lot more than that in his bid to help rule the world.

King Mike wants to sell his secrets to THRUSH for a seat in the high command. UNCLE doesn't really think that's such a good idea and the two agents are there to stop a truly mad scientist before he ruins the oceans of the world. THRUSH isn't happy to have the two around messing up plans.

I found it amusing to watch Napoleon as he dealt with Illya and Sarah, both of them 'geeks' in the modern term. This book also (obviously) tended to more gadgets than the previous ones, which again made it seem more like the series.

A fun read, all in all. ( )