Waiting for Orders
by Eric Ambler
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Waiting for Orders collects nine short stories that span the sixty-year career of master spy novelist Eric Ambler. The stories include thrilling portrayals of wartime Europe in "The Army of the Shadows" (1939); six cases featuring a refugee Czech detective, Dr. Czissar (1940); "The Blood Bargain" (1972), a Central American political thriller; and "The One Who Did for Blagden Cole" (1992), a detective story of sorts about the death of a painter. In four accompanying essays, Ambler shares show more intriguing anecdotes from different phases of his career, offering unique insight into his writing process. This intriguing and varied collection is a perfect introduction to the life and writing of one of the twentieth century's greatest thriller writers.. show less
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Subtitled “The Complete Short Stories of Eric Ambler,” most of these were written in 1939-1940 as Ambler waited for his call to military duty. Six detective stories feature a heel-clicking, umbrella-toting refugee (“Dr. Jan Czissar. Late Prague police. At your service”) who infuriates the outclassed Mercer of Scotland Yard by being insufferably and invariably correct. Two suspense stories, “The Army of the Shadows” and “The Blood Bargain," complete the collection.
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Dec 30, 2010Spanish
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ThingScore 75
Most of these eight mildly diverting short stories ... were written in 1939-40 as Ambler ... awaited his call to military duty. Six ingenious detective [stories] star a heel-clicking, umbrella-toting refugee ("Dr. Jan Czissar. Late Prague police. At your service''). ... Two suspense stories ... beg for further development. In "The Army of the Shadows'' ... Ambler expressed the show more soon-to-be-unpopular view that the enemy was not the German people but the Nazi tyranny. In "The Blood Bargain,'' salvaged from a failed novel, a corrupt Latin American tyrant uses subtle psychological tactics to gain his release from insurgents, then finds exile extremely dangerous. show less
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Author Information
71+ Works 10,378 Members
Eric Ambler was born in London on June 28, 1909. Ambler toured in the late 1920s as a music-hall comedian and wrote plays, following in the footsteps of his parents, who were entertainers. After studying engineering at London University from 1924 to 1927, he took an apprenticeship in engineering at the Edison Swan Electric Company. When the show more company became part of Associated Electrical Industries, he worked in its advertising department and wrote avant-garde plays in his spare time. By 1937 he was the director of a London ad agency. He later resigned and moved to Paris where he dedicated himself to writing. In 1936, his first novel, The Dark Frontier, appeared and followed by another five by 1940, as well as working as script consultant for Alexander Korda. During World War II he joined first the artillery and was then later posted to a combat photographic unit. He served in Italy as assistant director of army cinematography and during this period, wrote and produced nearly one hundred training and propaganda films. After the war Ambler was screenwriter for the Rank organization and starting from 1951 he published a number of novels with Charles Rodda under the pseudonym Eliot Reed. Several of his novels were made into films, including A Coffin for Dimitrios in 1944, Journey into Fear in 1942, and Topkapi in 1964. Ambler also wrote screenplays, including those for The Cruel Sea in 1953 and The Guns of Navarone in 1961. In the 1960s he moved to Hollywood and was responsible for the TV shows Checkmate and The Most Deadly Game. Ambler received the Gold Dagger in 1959 for Passage of Arms, in 1967 for Dirty Story and in 1972 for The Levanter. He also received the Diamond Dagger in 1986 plus an Edgar in 1964 for The Light of Day and was nominated Grand Master in 1975. Ambler was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1981, and received other literary awards in France and Sweden. He died in London in October 1998. Ambler published 23 novels total, 19 under his own name and four in collaboration Eric Amber died in London on October 22, 1998, at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Waiting for Orders
- Original publication date
- 1991
- Original language
- English
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- Members
- 41
- Popularity
- 717,845
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.08)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
