Eric Ambler - [Judgement on Deltchev]
Ambler was a British author of thrillers and specialised in spy thrillers. He was noted for adding a new realism into his novels. His novels appeared in two batches: the first six from 1936 to 1940 and then a gap of eleven years until Judgement of Deltchev which appeared in 1951: he continued publishing novels until 1981. His most acclaimed novel before the second world war was [The Mask of Dimitrios], which I read and enjoyed some years ago.

Judgement of Deltchev is a story based around the show trial of Bulgarian politician Nikola Petkov who was executed in 1947. Ambler turns these events into a power struggle between the ruling elite, and in his novel it is Deltchev who is on trial for treason in an unnamed Eastern European state. In several of his spy thrillers Ambler uses the trope of an amateur getting involved in a deadly political game and it is used again here. Foster is an American playwright, who unexpectedly receives a commission to report on a show trial taking place in a Balkan state. It is a first person account by Foster who admits that he finds himself over his head in the intrigue. He is met by Pashik on his arrival in the country, who becomes his guide/handler. He takes an instant dislike to Pashik who tells him that his account of the trial must go through the official censorship channels. Pashik's advice is to write nothing until he leaves the country. Foster strains against the restrictions imposed and seeks to meet members of Deltchev's family and his political allies to round out a portrait of the accused. This digging for information gets him involved in the political power struggle and endangers his and Pashik's life. A feature of the novel is the relationship between Foster and Pashik, with each of them struggling to trust each other.

The story has elements of mystery as the reader stumbles along in the dark with Foster as he tries to understand the events going on around him. Ambler creates a realistic atmosphere of subterfuge in a milieu of an eastern European state emerging from the second world war, with rival factions searching for influence in the East (Russia) or the West America. Fosters investigations serve to arouse the suspicions of almost everyone he meets and it becomes clear there is much more going on behind the scenes of the show trial. It all leads to a tense climax with Foster barely escaping becoming involved in a coup d'etat.

Amber has to rely on at least three significant information dumps within the novel to keep the reader informed of the necessary background to the story, and these happen when Forster seemingly puts himself in danger. It is however, a well written plot based novel with some interesting characters and reminded me a little of Graham Greene's entertainments, although characterisation and psychology in Amber's novel take second place to the unfolding story. Reading the novel some 70 years after publication enabled me to step back from the contemporary issues of the time, and the criticism that Ambler was more unsympathetic to the Eastern block countries than in his pre-war novels. 3.5 stars. ( )

Had I read Judgment on Deltchev before his other postwar novels, I think I would have clearly understood where Ambler is coming from. It's not just the experience and brutality of World War II that changed the upbeat tone of his prewar works into something more sinister laden. It's his seeing how Communist liberation was destroying the Balkans and the area of Europe he seems so enamored with.

This novel turns around an assassination. But it's not so much the actual assassination that is at the heart of the plot per se but the assassination of ideals. This novel makes an interesting complement, in a way, to Koestler's Darkness at Noon. In both, the beliefs that furthered commitment to communism twist back upon themselves and end not in tragedy but in obscure destruction of the soul.

The plot of Judgment on Deltchev does plod a bit towards the end and engage in excessive explanations. But the story and lesson from it is worth it. ( )

One of Ambler's better Cold War era thrillers. This one centres around the show trial of a supposed traitor to a fictional Eastern European state, and the political muck that's raked up in its wake. Like a lot of the best Amblers it's fast paced and well-plotted, with an interesting and shady group of characters and a morally ambiguous tone that prefigures the works of writers like le Carre and Deighton. ( )

One of Ambler's better Cold War era thrillers. This one centres around the show trial of a supposed traitor to a fictional Eastern European state, and the political muck that's raked up in its wake. Like a lot of the best Amblers it's fast paced and well-plotted, with an interesting and shady group of characters and a morally ambiguous tone that prefigures the works of writers like le Carre and Deighton. ( )

Another Ambler meditation on European politics, wrapped around a nifty thriller. This one is set in a small Balkan country, during the period of Communist take-over that followed the second world war. Deltchev is the (previoius) leader of a (non-communist) leftist party, on trial for crimes against the state. The manouverings behind the show trial , and the complex characters and choices involved, are the core of the book. It is an indictment of Stalinism, a powerful period piece, and a top notch thriller. ( )