Quiller Balalaika

Rating:
Summary: THE END OF A LITERARY LEGEND!!!
Review: I read the QUILLER MEMORANDUM in the fall of 1969, during my freshman year in college and was introduced to a British agent who traveled to dangerous, exotic locales and put his life on the line time and time again, using only his mind and martial art skills to complete the mission and then return home safely. This was an agent who dared to let the reader into his mind and see just how human he really was, and how the stress of the job affected his solitary life. This was a spy who was totally different from the other fictional characters of the Sixties such as James Bond, Sam Durrell, and Matt Helm. This was someone I could actually identify with, feeling the fear and pressure of each assignment, not knowing if you would die some terrible death in a foreign land, or be coming back alive. Needless to say, I became a die-hard fan of Quiller and his author, Adam Hall (a.k.a. Elleston Trevor) and would diligently search out any Quiller novels over the next thirty years. Finding a book by Adam Hall was always a true gift of the spirit. It wasn't until I finally purchased a computer three years ago that I found out the author had died of cancer in 1995, just as he finished QUILLER BALALAIKA, the last novel in an utterly fantastic series. Though the book was immediately published in England after Mr. Trevor's death, it would be eight years before it saw publication in the United States. While not considered the best in the "Quiller" series, this novel is the last, and that makes QUILLER BALALAIKA very, very special. In this story, our famous secret agent is sent to Russia on what is basically a suicide mission. He knows it, as does the head of British Intelligence. Quiller is given the absolute best team to work with (Ferris and Croder) and then told to go to Moscow, infiltrate the Russian Mafia, and take out its leader, Vasyl Sakkas. Sakkas is about to bring down Boris Yeltsin and his Russian government, and this will have an astronomical affect on the rest of the world. To get close to Sakkas, Quiller will have to place his life on the line and hope there's a way out once the dirty deed is done. There are some truly excellent scenes in the book that stay in the reader's mind long after the novel has been finished. In one, Quiller finds himself in a room with three professional killers and realizes that he will have to take each of them out in hand-to-hand combat at the same time, or die. In another scene, to stay alive and escape the wrath of Sakkas' men, Quiller must navigate his way across the snow-covered roofs of several buildings during the night, trying not to fall as he jumps from one to another. The final scenes in the book do feel rushed and probably were since the author was dictating the last chapters to his son just before he died. Still, QUILLER BALALAIKA is an excellent read with the last page leaving the reader filled with a deep sense of sadness, knowing that there won't be any more missions for our British agent. Elleston Trevor was indeed a true master of the written word, and he is sorely missed by all of his fans. Wherever you are, Mr. Trevor, I bow my head in gratitude.

Rating:
Summary: Trevor's last and one of his best
Review: The last pages of this final Quiller novel were dictated to Trevor's son as the author was dying of cancer (you will want tissues ready whilst reading the afterwords by the author's wife and son--well, for goodness sake, what would you expect?). While this novel will have sentimental value for his fans, it stands on its own as one of the best novels of the series. In this final book, Quiller moves from one Red Sector to another with the skills of the top Executive we have come to know and love reading about. Trevor pulled out the stops for this last novel, engaging favorites from the series--Croder and Ferris, for example--and using them in ways that are simultaneously familiar and subtly different than in previous novels. Quiller has also clearly matured with his creator. At the plot level, the novel excels, and will not fail to keep even new Quiller readers glued to the book. This is a final, wonderful act from a truly gifted author and a deeply interesting character, the likes of which we may not see again. Send a rose to Trevor's wife, Chaille.

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Summary: More info on Quiller series at www.quiller.net fan site
Review: There is a lot more info on the Quiller series at www.quiller.net, a fan site.

Rating:
Summary: Anachronistic but fun
Review: This is the first Quiller I've read, and it put me in mind of the the original James Bond series in that the story is all implausible action and little introspection. Quiller is one of those secret agents who arrive on the scene capable of executing incredible physical feats in the face of overwhelming odds. Quiller is easily able to murder anyone with his bare hands, which he does repeatedly, and at the same time to be suave and clever enough to charm his way into anyone's good graces. In this yarn, after various car chases and other didos in Moscow, Quiller uses false papers to get himself incarcerated in Russia's most inescapable Siberian prison camp, where he seeks out a prisoner he has never seen and whose name he turns out not to know, gets the prison blacksmith to hammer out some rock-climbing gear, and then lifts himself and the other man to freedom up the side of a granite face during a nighttime blizzard, thereby eluding the pack of ravening wolves that roam the camp's perimeter. Unfortunately, the book ends without a suitable denouement, owing, apparently, to the death of its author, Elleston Trevor. The 2003 U.S. edition of the book includes remembrances of Mr. Trevor by his wife and son.

Rating:
Summary: Anachronistic but fun
Review: This is the first Quiller I've read, and it put me in mind of the the original James Bond series in that the story is all implausible action and little introspection. Quiller is one of those secret agents who arrive on the scene capable of executing incredible physical feats in the face of overwhelming odds. Quiller is easily able to murder anyone with his bare hands, which he does repeatedly, and at the same time to be suave and clever enough to charm his way into anyone's good graces. In this yarn, after various car chases and other didos in Moscow, Quiller uses false papers to get himself incarcerated in Russia's most inescapable Siberian prison camp, where he seeks out a prisoner he has never seen and whose name he turns out not to know, gets the prison blacksmith to hammer out some rock-climbing gear, and then lifts himself and the other man to freedom up the side of a granite face during a nighttime blizzard, thereby eluding the pack of ravening wolves that roam the camp's perimeter. Unfortunately, the book ends without a suitable denouement, owing, apparently, to the death of its author, Elleston Trevor. The 2003 U.S. edition of the book includes remembrances of Mr. Trevor by his wife and son.

Rating:
Summary: A rose for Moira
Review: This was the last Quiller novel written before author Adam Hall, the pen name of Elleston Trevor, died of cancer in July 1995. I started reading Quiller spy thrillers when I was a teenager, when the Cold War was at its coldest. This final one is, for me, like the rose that Quiller stipulated be sent to his Moira by the Bureau in London in the event of his death in the field.

Here, in QUILLER BALALAIKA, the KGB is passé. The mission, demanded by the British Prime Minister and controlled by the Bureau's Chief of Signals, the legendary Croder himself, is so high priority that Quiller demands and gets his favorite Director in the Field, Ferris, who must be yanked off a Beijing operation just about to enter a dodgy end phase. But the "Balalaika" mission is that important - the PM wants neutralized a major figure in the Russian mafiya, Vasyl Sakkas, a British criminal who'd previously escaped one of Her Majesty's prisons after killing two guards, and who's now undermining the struggling Russian economy, and thus the stability of the Yeltsin government, with his rapacious activities.

Quiller is a spy's spy, whereas James Bond is a man's or lady's spy depending on his activity of the moment. Quiller is virtually faceless, blending with his environment as needs dictate, whereas 007 is all flash in a tux. Bond relies on gadgets; Quiller relies only on his own physical endurance and natural skills - he doesn't even carry a gun. Bond has ability; Quller has ability AND street smarts. If the two were to go one on one, I'd place my bet on Quiller. The Commander will fraternize with anything that moves, especially if female; Quiller's the ultimate asocial loner. In decades of Quiller thrillers, his only point of caring contact with the rest of the human race is apparently Moira, about whom the reader otherwise knows virtually nothing.

The last two chapters of QUILLER BALALAIKA are afterwords by his son, Jean-Pierre, and his wife, Chaille. From them, we understand that the book was written in the last year of Trevor's life as he battled the disease that would ultimately kill him. Indeed, the last paragraphs were transcribed by Jean-Pierre as his father spoke them just three days before he expired.

As I age, I'm occasionally saddened by the death of a public figure whose contribution to our world consistently enriched mine through the decades. Based on personal preference, I deeply regret the absence of Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Hope, The Big D (ex-Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale), and historian Barbara Tuchman. And "Adam Hall".

A rose for Moira - and for me.

Rating:
Summary: For Quiller fans, a powerful, must-have finish
Review: While not his best Quiller novel, this final book in the 19-novel series carries a tremendous power that is unique in the series. The reader knows that this is the last book - both for Quiller and Mr. Trevor. Throughout the book there are references and comments that are clearly "final" messages from the author to his readers. Elleston Trevor put a bit of his soul on paper, and the book's intensity is that much higher for it. I couldn't put the book down - not just because of the story, but because of the author's story. I have to admit, I didn't want the book to end - and the end was a bit of a surprise to me. A great read, and I look forward to reading the entire series again. Hats off to you, Elleston Trevor. Signal ends.