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Loading... The Eiger Sanction (original 1972; edition 1973)by Trevanian
Work InformationThe Eiger Sanction by Trevanian (1972)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Trevanian (aka Rodney Whitaker) wrote the Eiger Sanction, which became a million-volume seller in the 1970’s and was followed by a major motion picture, as a spoof on the super-spy action genre which was very popular in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Although Eiger Sanction has many things in common with Trevanian’s later masterwork Shibumi such as the super-spy trained in martial arts, the secret government-controlled hit squads, and the mountain climbing, the two novels are very different with Shibumi being a more serious work containing various themes contrasting Eastern and Western ideas and an epic-length history of the main character. Eiger Sanction is a much earlier work and more of a Bond-spoof than anything else. In fact, it appears that Trevanian was shocked that so few people recognized Eiger Sanction as a spoof and so many took it seriously. The oddities of the book included a super-spy who didn’t want to work for the CII (a spoof on the CIA) and preferred to collect art and teach college-level art history classes, but lived in a vast compound with an underground art storage facility, that he would be sent out to kill an unknown target and that he would encounter the target in a high-grade mountain climb in Switzerland (the Eiger), and that he would engage in a grudge match with another former agent in a posh mountain climbing training facility while preparing for his not- so-secret expedition. Of course, he is invincible in a fight and irrestible to the ladies. This is an enjoyable read as long as you don’t take it the espionage stuff too seriously. The long treacherous climb up the Eiger is perhaps the apex of this novel and it is worth reading even just for that amazing thrilling step by step climb. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesJonathan Hemlock (1) Is contained inHas the adaptationDistinctionsNotable Lists
In a renovated Gothic church on Long Island lives Jonathan Hemlock, an art professor and world-renowned mountain climber who finances his black-market art collection by working as a freelance assassin. Now, Hemlock is being tricked into a hazardous assignment that involves an attempt to scale one of the most treacherous mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps: the Eiger. His target is one of his three fellow climbers. The problem is that the people who hired him at CII canâ??t tell him which one. In a breathtakingly suspenseful story that is part thriller and part satire, Trevanian traces Hemlockâ??s spine-tingling adventures, introducing a cast of intriguing charactersâ??villains, traitors, beautiful womenâ??into the highly charged atmosphere of danger. The accumulating threads of suspicion, accusation, and evidence gradually knit themselves into a bizarre and death-defying climax.A Blackstone Audio No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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His Shibumi is one of my favorite books ever.
When I find an author I love, I read everything of theirs I can get my hands on.
This one was good. (But not his best! ;-) )
http://www.trevanian.com/?LMCL=OJjmMy
http://www.trevanian.com/indexold.htm
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