Monday, February 25, 2008

LibraryThing: "The Bourne Betrayal"

I have updated my LibraryThing catalog with a review of The Bourne Betrayal [Jason Bourne #5] (a/k/a Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Betrayal) by Eric Van Lustbader.

One additional note about The Bourne Betrayal (repeated here for those who don't go to my LibraryThing page):

I was thrilled when I saw Eric Van Lustbader's dedication to Adam Hall, author of the Quiller novels. Quiller is one of my favorite characters of all time and I've always said that Hall's Quiller books are the best espionage books that nobody has ever read. Over the course of the 19 Quiller novels (and 1 short story), we learn very, very little about Quiller (we don't even know his name). One thing that we do learn is that, upon his death, Quiller wants a dozen roses to be delivered to Moira. We have no idea who Moira is (mother, sister, daughter, ex-wife?) or why Quiller wants her to receive the flowers. But fans of the Quiller books grab on to these rare nuggets of insight into who Quiller is and what makes him tick. So, imagine my surprise and giddy glee when, late in The Bourne Betrayal a main character, shortly before dying, asks Jason Bourne to be sure to deliver a dozen roses to Moira. I can't think of any better way for Lustbader to tip his cap to Adam Hall. After reading that passage, it took me quite a while to wipe the goofy smile off of my face.

I am now reading Into the Volcano [Mallory and Morse #1] by Forrest DeVoe Jr. (I have no idea what this book is going to be like; I saw it in hardback a few years ago and, for some reason it stuck in my mind. I wanted to wait for paperback [unknown author, etc.], but the paperback never made its way to the bookstores [just a trade paperback on Amazon]. So I finally bought the eBook...)

Update (February 28, 2008): I heard from Eric Van Lustbader and he corrected my use of his name. "Van" is his middle name, not part of his surname. So, I've corrected the reference above. Next, I need to go back into my book cataloguing software and correct references there.

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3 Comments:

At Monday, June 10, 2013 5:44:00 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mr Wallack,

I'm the son of Adam Hall who created QUILLER.
Your mention of Bourne Betrayal and the dozen roses for Moira has got me to buy a copy of the movie today.

My first thriller novel SUMMIT will be published this year (indie).
Here's the site promoting it: www.jptrevor.com

If you're up for reviewing it, my pleasure to email you a pdf copy.
I am about to email Alexis, Mr Lustbader's publicist, to ask Mr Lustbader if he would kindly review my thriller. Is this the best way to contact him?

JP

 
At Monday, June 10, 2013 11:43:00 AM , Blogger MSWallack said...

Trust me, JP, I know who you are! Your postscript to Quiller Balalaika was very moving. I've said for years that your father's Quiller books are the best spy books nobody has ever read. The good news is that I can only think of one person to whom I've recommended those books who hasn't really enjoyed them (and that one person was my father, so what am I gonna do...?). And I can brag for a moment, I'm the guy who "found" that Quiller short story "Last Rites" from the short-lived '80s magazine Espionage.

I'd love the opportunity to read (and review) "Summit" (though, if possible, either .mobi or .epub are much easier for me to read...). I'm leaving for my annual summer vacation in a few weeks where my goal is to let the kids splash and play while I sit by the pool, drink some margaritas, and see just how many books I can read in a week...

As to reaching Mr. Lustbader, I'd suggest email as well. I know that I communicated with him via email some years ago (as mentioned above), but I can't seem to locate his email address now.

May I also suggest one other person for you to reach out to? I'm not sure if you're familiar with Jeremy Duns. He is an English author (living in Sweden) who has written extensively about James Bond and other espionage fiction. More importantly, though, his series of Cold War novels featuring protagonist Paul Dark are, in terms of writing style, the closest thing to the Quiller novels that I've ever encountered.

Anyway, thanks for reaching out. I wish you every success with "Summit".

 
At Tuesday, March 15, 2016 2:23:00 AM , Blogger Detroit Black Jacket said...

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