The Night-Comers [UK] / State of Siege [US]

Set in a fictional Southeast Asian country undergoing a coup, State of Siege is a pure action adventure novel. But it's one with clear political overtones. If we are to take the discussions between Steve Fraser, a British engineer who is the protagonist of this story, and his interlocutor, Major Suparto, as the voice of the author, then it's clear that Ambler is pessimistic about the short term outlook for newly independent countries emerging from colonial rule. The choice, here, is between a corrupt and incompetent government and a corrupt and fanatical one. Neither one has the answers for the people of the country. But at least the incumbent government might allow for the eventual development of a mature somewhat peaceful and show more semi-liberal state. Why? Because its incompetence will give a chance for new and reasonable elements of society to emerge.

Clearly, Ambler had his finger on the pulse of what was happening in Southeast Asia during the 1950s. This novel, which mirrors much of what had and was going to happen in Indonesia, sees the danger of falling into the competing ideological camps of major political powers. And it also echoes the concerns Ambler explored in another later novel set in Southeast Asia, Passage of Arms, which was published just two years later, in 1959. There, a Communist rebellion made possible gun running and the pursuit of an anti-Communist Islamic revolution. The humor, irony, and wit of Passage of Arms, however, doesn't exist in State of Siege, which is charged with melancholy, especially towards the end. Yet it's a story you don't want to end. Why? Because of the love story Ambler puts in place to foreground his tale. The bitterness of Fraser's ultimate departure from the Sundan Eurasian woman he meets, Rosalie, is sharp and sudden. The reader wants more. But of more there is none to be had. show less

A thriller worthy of the name, from the days shortly before Ian Fleming got his typewriter out and everything began to get a just a little bit silly.

Steve Fraser is the reluctant hero of this short retelling in the first person of his horrific involvement in a coup (or counter-coup) in colonial SE Asia. He's a resourceful fellow, of perhaps better than average height, build, courage, intelligence, etc., but no superman. Fraser's an engineer, so has practical knowledge and skills, and he speaks the local language, which is always useful.

He finds himself (we find ourselves!), through a short series of wholly credible accidents and coincidences, caught up, with a woman, in a military revolution, just as he's on his way out of the country. show more It's a dreadful mess, in the way that such things must, in truth, be, and it's terrifying to watch it unfolding with all the inexorable inevitability of an uncontrollable natural disaster...

Without a single gadget in sight! show less

This was written in 1956 and is actually one of the later Ambler's, but one I had never read. It is a familiar story. The protagonist is an engineer who gets involved in a coup in the Indonesian part of the world. Unlike most of Ambler's story there is a very poignant romance that begins and ends in about 200 pages. Like most Ambler stories the characters and plot are mostly in shades of gray. The good guys and bad guys have their other sides and in this tale the only real goal is to survive the violence of the situation.
The bad guy is killing people but he has been talked into doing it by a double agent. The double agent doesn't think either side is right. One side is guilty of incompetence and brutality and the other side is show more maliciously destructive. To avoid years of malicious destruction to his country the double agent sacrifices his honor and instigates the bad guy to go forward with his coup d'etat while he can still be destroyed by the not so bad guy.
Two people fall in love half out of fear. They part knowing that the memory of their love is better than their love would turn out to be. There is an Asian, Eurasian and European triangle that focuses on the netherworld of the Eurasian. A lot of grays like life really is. I will give this a four star recommendation for an engrossing afternoon. It gets the fifth star for some good food for thought from the romance, the double agent and the focus on the half breed status of the Eurasian . It is the food for thought that separates this book from the usual suspense thriller and makes Ambler one of the best writers in this genre. show less

This is a compelling read - especially because (as my husband noted) the majority of it takes place in a single small room. Ambler's prose is direct and engaging, and the story of an Englishman effectively taken hostage (along with his female escort) by a revolutionary group is intriguing. Sadly, the editing lets this edition down; there are an irritating number of typos and other errors in the text. But recommended as a very satisfying and quick high-adrenaline story.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be caught up in a revolution in a country not of your own, this book delivers that experience. Written in 1956, the story deals with the aftermath of the colonial period in the Dutch East Indies and the rise of Islam. The book held my interest from the first page.