The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Number 15:The Utopia Affair

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #15

by David McDaniel

collectible.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Adventure, Media Tie In

Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Utopia Affair," as it turns out, is one of the very best entries in the 23-book U.N.C.L.E. series so far; unsurprisingly, it was written by David McDaniel, who seemed to have an unfailing knack for these thrillers. Thus, in his fifth of six offerings, the author gives his readers one of the most unusual setups of any U.N.C.L.E. novel. Here, Mr. Waverly--who has seemingly been at his command post, day or night, all along, despite being in his 70s, thus generating rumors of his actually being a robot (!) in one of the earlier books--is forced to take a six-week medical leave/vacation at an ultraposh, high-security resort called Utopia in southern Australia; a resort that caters to extremely wealthy, ailing executive types. And so, off Waverly goes, very much against his will, leaving Napoleon Solo in charge of operations for U.N.C.L.E. North America. A heavily disguised Illya Kuryakin is sent to Utopia as well, unbeknownst to his chief, to act as a bodyguard. Waverly, using the alias Leon Dodgson, soon settles in and befriends a chap named Silverthorne; his opponent in a series of simulated war games. But what Waverly seems to be unaware of is the fact that Silverthorne is a high-ranking member of Thrush, who, impressed by the elderly gent's battle tactics, recommends him to Thrush for recruitment. But when Thrush's Ultimate Computer recognizes Dodgson, two of the world's most lethal assassins--the Turkish Kiazim Refet and the renegade ninja Sakuda Matsujiro--are dispatched to eliminate him. Thus, McDaniel's novel winds up giving us no fewer than three exciting story lines: In one, Waverly pits his skills against Silverthorne's during the mock war games; in another, Illya, under the guise of a kitchen worker, does his darnedest to discreetly keep Waverly safe and "not make waves"; and in the third, Thrush attempts to mentally break Solo by throwing a nonstop barrage of crises at him, including the murder of the pet dog of an Arabian ruler, a revolution in Central America, a 1,500-foot-tall smoke monster in the wilds of Manitoba (!), mysteriously intentioned subs off Clipperton Island in the Pacific, sabotage in a Colorado missile complex, gold smuggling in Alaska, tribal agitation in Tanzania, a planned gold heist in France, and riots in Hong Kong!

As you can tell, there's quite a bit going on in this outing, and McDaniel keeps his story percolating along at a relentless clip. It is a wonderfully well-written affair, one of the most detailed of the bunch, that allows us to learn more about the day-to-day inner workings of U.N.C.L.E. than any of the books so far. For the first time, we are made to appreciate what a crushingly high-pressure job Waverly has been dealing with for so many years; a job that Solo bungles so badly at one point that he shockingly, albeit briefly, considers suicide! If "The Cross of Gold Affair" (Book #14) was a particularly tough outing on Napoleon physically, this one proves to be every bit as grueling mentally. McDaniel manages to incorporate four very fine scenes into this novel: the extremely tense sequence in which Illya plants a "bug" in Refet and Matsujiro's suite; the Thrush raid on U.N.C.L.E.'s NYC HQ, during which Solo gets to try out the experimental "portable visual shield," a kind of invisibility device; Illya's brutal fight with Refet; and his punishing treatment at the hands of that lethal ninja. The book also makes winning references to Book #11, Thomas Stratton's "The Invisibility Affair," and to McDaniel's own Book #13, "The Rainbow Affair"; I believe I have expressed my admiration before for these instances of pleasing continuity. The novel even includes cameos by the so-called "Girl From U.N.C.L.E.," April Dancer, and her partner Mark Slate; as in "The Rainbow Affair," these cameos are unnamed but unmistakable. And McDaniel's book gives us some tidbits that we'd not been privy to before: the secret of Waverly's hidden office exit, and the names of his counterparts in South America, Europe and Africa...respectively, Jorge da Silva, Carlo Amalfi, and Shomambe. It is a suspenseful and completely triumphant affair...with the inevitable problems, of course.

For one thing, despite his attempt to be discreet and "not make waves," Illya yet leaves two dead Thrushes laying on the Utopia grounds. How is that supposed to shake out? Too, despite much emphasis being placed upon it, we never do learn who won that simulated war game...Waverly or Silverthorne. Finally, we are told that Tanzania is "almost south of Brittany, with Addis Ababa nearly between them." Look at a map...does that strike you as being accurate? Still, these are merely quibbles, and "The Utopia Affair" remains a very fine contribution to this series, indeed.

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ....)

[Bill Donhiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waverly has a forced vacation, leaving Napoleon in charge. Thrush takes the opportunity to test Solo and maybe even assassinate Waverly.

[Kent Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lot of interesting details about how big, complicated and sometimes mundane UNCLE and Thrush are. Waverly involved in a short of LARP game and the Flin Flon monster

[Read1000books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Waverly (head of U.N.C.L.E.) takes a vacation, agent Illya Kuryakin tries to keep him from being assassinated, and lead spy Napoleon Solo does double duty, running the organization all the while foiling world takeover by THRUSH. One of the best UNCLE books I've read yet.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book adaptation of the TV series. Great spy adventure book. This is how the CIA and FBI should operate. Recommended

[A.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as entertaining as some of these novels, but well done, and with a satisfying ending.