tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post6449149378978085310..comments2013-04-28T14:44:48.079+02:00Comments on JEREMY DUNS: The Quiller InterrogationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-1015506872450120782010-12-05T13:38:09.471+01:002010-12-05T13:38:09.471+01:00I am one of those that feel the Daniel Craig has t...I am one of those that feel the Daniel Craig has this edge of thugginess , though I feel, unfortunately, its a sign of the times.<br /><br />AS to its realism I wouldn't know, but, these days callousness, thuggery,corporate hooliganism and the oligarch all have contributed to produce the latest Bond.<br /><br />He seems to be this new kind of 'mind-controlled'trained product, robotic in his relentlessness.<br /><br />cheersaferrismoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10323962086698914361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-40350704049486821732010-11-15T23:55:35.984+01:002010-11-15T23:55:35.984+01:00It's a new world which reminds me of the excit...It's a new world which reminds me of the excitment of reading Ludlum and Fleming. Knowing there is more Hall books to come is quite exciting. I already have The Tango Briefing but thought it better to read them in order so purchased the 2nd one in the series today. Thanks for doing the article and interview and also the tip about reading them, I will space them out a little and try not to get too excited. It's fantastic that your writing about Quiller and Adam Hall. It's good to be in the Quiller Club!Nick Meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03328019045417555028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-1327072478143409402010-11-15T23:26:04.321+01:002010-11-15T23:26:04.321+01:00Nick, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! I love th...Nick, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! I love the description of you on your lunch break, and yes, I think that is precisely what a great novel should do, and which I think Hall did time and again: carry you into another world so you forget even the surroundings of this one.<br /><br />The Quiller Memorandum was the first I read in the series, and I really enjoyed it but found I did get a bit lost in it from time to time. It also stands a bit apart from the rest, as like Casino Royale with Fleming it was written more as a standalone. In the next few books some of the series' Hallmarks (if you like!) get established, and they really are terrific. They're so good that my only advice would be to ration them out - it can be tempting to devour them all in one go, and then inevitably after a few you lose the taste as they are very intense and as a series naturally have some similarities. But you have 18 more superb spy thrillers to enjoy, set all over the world. They're gripping reads, but I think also an astonishing tour de force in fiction, with the sustained voice of one character in monologue over 19 novels. I can think of very few writers who approach some of what Hall did in these books - in or out of the spy genre.<br /><br />A warm welcome to the Quiller club. :)Jeremy Dunshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14442728222534667107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-40877985564308035912010-11-15T23:00:44.564+01:002010-11-15T23:00:44.564+01:00I have just read “The Berlin Memorandum” and I cou...I have just read “The Berlin Memorandum” and I couldn’t have been more impressed. And if the books get better (Which I have read they do) then I feel that I have found the spy series to end all spy series.;-)<br /> <br />Personally I like to read during my lunch hour, swivel my chair around to face the wall and get lost in a book for an hour (Of course to the casual observer a man sat facing a wall behind his desk might look a little odd, but its how I rock at lunch) Reading “The Berlin Memorandum” was like stepping through the wardrobe of Narnia and into another world, just replace Narnia at the back of the wardrobe with Berlin. And the wardrobe with an office and, well you get my drift. This is exactly what spy fiction in my opinion should be all about. Complete escapism with Desk’s, walls and everything around you vanishing until you are firmly in that world. And I was with Quiller every step of the way. The flashback scene to the Nazi concentration camp captured the darkness, the atmosphere felt so real. Hall captures this with such ease; it’s very dark in places. I had read that Quiller didn’t believe in carrying guns but it’s not until he explains why that it becomes clear and actually a wise choice, Quiller convinces you so. He’s also the first spy you ever going to meet where, to save the girl from certain peril from the enemy he plays the hero and faints. Quiller is also the first spy that I know of who chucks keys at peoples faces and suffers from a twitching eyelid. Taken out of context it sounds comic but comic it isn’t. This has such a feeling of reality to it or what I as a spy reader would imagine the reality is really like. Hall strips away the fantasy and hits with the gritty reality. You’ll be left out of breath as Quiller is integrated and you will find out why he is called Quiller. Quiller is a clever spy who always lives on the edge and for me Ill put my neck out and say I personally found it much more readable than “The Ipcress File”. To a certain degree I got lost with Ipcress with an over complicated storyline that turns out not to be that complicated. You don’t need to turn the pages back on “The Berlin Memorandum”, you just don’t get lost. I also felt hints, and it was just hints, of Philip Marlowe. Perhaps I have drawn that because it’s told in the first person narrative and I picture Quiller in a raincoat easing his way around Berlin feeling his six senses for tags. Quiller doesn’t make as many (if any) wise cracks as Marlowe, although there are humorous moments. Quiller should be up there with Bond and Bourne, as should Adam Hall be held in the same regard as Fleming, Le Carré and Deighton as you point out in the article Jeremy. I don’t understand why these books are not more readily available or talked about. Some reprints would be nice as the second hand ones do tend to smell a touch on the musty side. I am a convert and intend to read them in order. <br />Quiller really should be a legend.Nick Meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03328019045417555028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-27831923325533415532010-11-12T19:45:40.261+01:002010-11-12T19:45:40.261+01:00Thanks, everyone.
Michael, I'm also a fan of ...Thanks, everyone.<br /><br />Michael, I'm also a fan of Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond. And, in fact, I think he could have made a great Quiller.<br /><br />Nicholas, thanks for those comments. Would be fascinated to hear what you make of Quiller.<br /><br />Matthew, thank you very much. I really enjoyed your interview with AH/ET on quiller.net, as well as the insights you posted on your blog a few months ago. <br /><br />Tanner, thanks for dropping by - I'm a regular reader of your excellent blog. I didn't know about the Clemens retrospective. I have heard that episodes were wiped or had gone missing, but I can't remember what the source for that was. I've only seen a couple of clips of the series on Youtube, and would love to see more. But there's always the books.Jeremy Dunshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14442728222534667107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-77936010749377360852010-11-09T22:20:46.693+01:002010-11-09T22:20:46.693+01:00Wow, great interview! Thanks for posting it. All...Wow, great interview! Thanks for posting it. All that information about MGM and Quiller was fascinating. <br /><br />I'd also love to see the Jayston series, despite it's bad rep. Is it really rumored to be wiped? I didn't think that was happening so much anymore in the Seventies. At least one episode survives, because they showed one as part of the BFI Brian Clemens retrospective this past summer.Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03910873055922510145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-6631318899165724802010-11-04T04:43:49.008+01:002010-11-04T04:43:49.008+01:00Outstanding, Jeremy---thanks so much for posting t...Outstanding, Jeremy---thanks so much for posting this. Not only do we share our affection and admiration for Elleston (the only author to equal Richard Matheson in my personal pantheon for many years, and a great personal friend as well), but also we have the same favorite Quiller novel. All the more tantalizing that THE TANGO BRIEFING was, I believe, the only published Quiller material used on the BBC series, and scripted by Elleston himself, no less. As bad as its reputation is, I'd kill to see it, and I loved Michael Jayston in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. Nothing would please me more than a Quiller/Trevor revival. As big a Bond fan as I am, I think it may be time to put the MGM series to bed, so let's let Quiller take his rightful place in the cinema instead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-60696289005548126862010-11-03T20:38:40.971+01:002010-11-03T20:38:40.971+01:00This interview has encourged me to just purchase T...This interview has encourged me to just purchase THE BERLIN MEMORANDUM and THE TANGO BRIEFING via Amazon at very good prices. I love the Paul Dark Novels so if its inspired by Adam Hall then Adam Hall is a must read in my book. Great read.Nick Meadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03328019045417555028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138728502354978457.post-22617553284632717272010-11-03T20:11:24.381+01:002010-11-03T20:11:24.381+01:00Thank you for this interview. My only disagreemen...Thank you for this interview. My only disagreement is the opinion of Craig's Bond. I feel that Craig's portrayal of Bond is the best Bond ever and much more realistic than his predecessors.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07105333486244297714noreply@blogger.com