The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Vampire Affair : UK Edition, No. 9

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #6

by David McDaniel

The body had been drained of blood...

In a remote area of the Transylvanian Alps, an U.N.C.L.E. agent had been killed in mysterious circumstances. The man's footprints in the snow led up to the base of the tree where he had been killed, but here were no pursuing tracks, no clues at all as to what doom had overtaken him.

There were only the two small holes in the neck, and a complete absence of blood.

Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin didn't believe in vampires - but as they investigated their fellow-agent's death they were forced again and again to wonder if perhaps the old terrors of the region had more reality than the world would like to think...

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Adventure, Action, Tv, Thriller

124 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1966

Reviews

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very silly, very fun. Illya autopsies a wolf. There are secret passages and caves. There is banter. There's also a very weird friend-of-author insert -- so transparent that I recognized it for what it was without knowing the person in question. (Some '60s SFF/horror magazine guy -- not my area of expertise.) But whatever. Snarky wolf autopsy. I got what I came for.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, this was fun, in a gruesome kind of way! It's a clever plot with some nice details, cleanly written and with some great dialogue. I can see why this author is the favorite of fans of the show; he gets the repartee exactly right. Here are a couple of examples:

(in the mountains of Romania, our heroes are being chased by a pack of - apparent - werewolves)
..Napoleon stopped and leaned against a tree. "I think we've lost them...The cold," he said sagely."Wolves don't hunt when the temperature gets below freezing."

Ilya looked at him in amazement. " You're thinking of rattlesnakes. Wolves just get more active when it's cold. I remember when I was a little boy in Siberia, being chased by a pack of wolves all the way from Yakutsk to Kirensk..." (pg 117)

And then there's this rather long exchange. The characters are a local nobleman, a young UNCLE agent, also local, and Napoleon:

"I'm coming, too," said Hilda. If this is what I think it is, you'll need everybody who can handle a gun."

Zoltan frowned. "I do not think you should. This is not a proper business for a young lady to be involved with."

"But I am involved! Who is more involved than I am? I found Carl's body; I was almost killed by that vampire...No one has more right than I to be in on the final attack. What about you?" she finished aggressively.

Zoltan drew himself up. "They are using my castle and my name," he said. "Your life may have been in danger, but my family honor means more to me than my life."

Napoleon looked at Illya. "I feel kind of left out," he said. I'm just doing it because it's a job. Maybe we should stay here and let them go." (pg 128).

I laughed aloud at that. Having been written in the '60s, there are some things I didn't like - namely, abuse and killing of wolves, and a gruesome dissection scene. Don't kill wolves, boys! You're supposed to be the good guys! Of course, it's the bad guys who are abusing the poor animals, and our guys just shoot in self-defense. Environmental faux pas aside, this is a solid, fast-moving story that captures the characters well and has some very entertaining scenes. If you're a fan of the show, you'll enjoy it.

[Tamora Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a well-written, short and tight thriller, set in the 1960s "Man from U.N.C.L.E." series, with a touch of fantasy at the end. Napoleon and Ilya are dispatched to Romania to investigate the murder of an U.N.C.L.E. agent. They find themselves caught up in an apparent vampire scenario involving a descendant of the Drakula family, Forrest Ackerman, wolves, the lost treasure of the Huns, and other fun touches. The writing is professional, smooth, and witty--great fun!

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are sent to Romania to investigate the murder of an U.N.C.L.E. agent. As you might expect given the title, they soon find themselves caught up in what appears to be a real vampire case, not to mention werewolves and other supernatural elements. The agents want to believe there is a rational explanation for what they come across but as evidence piles up to the contrary, they find that more and more difficult. Add in a character who is a decedent of the Dracula family and a lost treasure of the Huns, and we have a nice thrilling adventure tale.

This sixth book in the series, was written by David McDaniel, also author of book #4, The Dagger Affair which is often considered one of the best in the series. This one is good too, a tightly written thriller, with some clever plotting and a cool setting. The characters are spot on and I was pleased to read some humorous banter between the two agents, particularly on Illya’s part.

Having read six of these novels now, I am pleased to discover they aren’t just the typical TV tie-in books. Rather, despite a variety of authors (or perhaps because of that), they’ve proven to be quality reads. I’ll most definitely be continuing with them.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite thing about UNCLE, be it the novels or the TV episodes, is that they never quite end up where you expect them to. In this case, I was consistently and pleasantly surprised with the supernatural becoming the digitally unnatural and back to the supernatural again. THRUSH's motive seemed a bit weak, but the romping through mysterious mountain castles and chasing superstitions and werewolves through the countryside quite made up for it. The best part is almost certainly Illya and Napoleon's unwillingness to admit their belief in the supernatural and their backhanded attempts to reassure each other and themselves that everything is Logical, Rational, and Fine. (Illya carving crosses into his bullets was a nice touch.) McDaniel's works have consistently been my favorite of the UNCLE tie-in writers, and this one doesn't really disappoint at all, especially with the playful 'was it really' ending that had me actually laughing.

[Laurie Petersen]

Melanie Sears quit talking to me in 1967 because I accidentally bent the cover of her copy of this paperback over David Macallum's face. --Laurie

[A.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more sterile than the well-written Man From Uncle fanfiction that's out there, but this was an enjoyable read nevertheless, very much like an extended episode.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first repeat performance by an U.N.C.L.E. author, David McDaniel gives us a book that has, over the years, become a fan favorite. In this one, Budapest-based U.N.C.L.E. agent Carl Endros is killed, and completely exsanguinated with a pair of puncture holes in his neck, while investigating the similar murders of a pair of peasants in Rumania's Transylvania Mountains. His death prompts Mr. Waverly to send Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin to the area to investigate, and they are assisted by a Rumanian agent, Hilda Eclary, as well as an imposing count who they happen to meet in Hungary, by name of Zoltan Dracula, scion of the legendary house. In the small village of Pokol, the agents are startled to witness the visitations of a vampirelike figure who flies through the air and is impervious to bullets; a figure who looks remarkably like Zoltan's ancestor Tsepesh Stobolzny, dead now for over 250 years!

Highlights of this outing include a street fight in Budapest that our favorite U.N.C.L.E. agents engage in, to rescue Zoltan from a superstitious crowd; Napoleon and Illya getting lost in the woods and beset by wolves; Stobolzny attacking Hilda in her hotel room; the exploration of the tunnels beneath Zoltan's ancestral castle; Solo and Kuryakin encountering Tsepesh and the wolf pack again in the woods on a foggy night; the stomach-churning sequence in which Illya dissects one of the wolves to see what makes the animal behave so oddly; and the final battle inside that castle. But perhaps the single finest element of this adventure is the wonderful interaction between our two agents throughout, replete with many witty lines of banter as they become increasingly rattled by the supernatural proceedings. McDaniel's book is highly atmospheric and undeniably fun...especially when he includes the character of Gutte from Book 3, "The Copenhagen Affair" (the first minor character to make a reappearance in the series), and even more especially so when Solo flabbergastingly bumps into no less a figure than Forrest J Ackerman, real-life editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland," in a Brazov library! So yes, the book, blending as it does horror and espionage elements, is at times a genuine hoot. But is it the very best book in the 23-book series, as many readers seem to think? Well, I don’t think so, and much prefer McDaniel's previous offering, "The Dagger Affair," for starters. This particular book just has a few too many problems for me to give it a top grade. For one thing, some of the author's descriptions are a bit on the fuzzy side, the meeting with Forry Ackerman goes nowhere and seems to have been shoehorned in just for kicks, and there is an unconvincing explanation for all the supernatural mishegas at the novel's end. Even worse, McDaniel gets some of his facts wrong, such as when he tells us that Attila the Hun ransacked the region that is now Rumania in the 10th century; in actuality, Attila died in 453! Also unfortunate: when Illya uses the word "vulpine" (foxlike) to describe a wolf, when in fact that word should of course be "lupine." Still, as I say, a very solid and entertaining offering in this series, and one that has nothing at all to do with the Season 2 U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Bat Cave Affair," with a vampirelike Thrush agent, Count Zark (Martin Landau), using radioactive bats to jam the world's radar systems....

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

[Tim Deforest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun entry in the U.N.C.L.E. series of paperbacks. An U.N.C. L.E. agent is murdered in Rumania, with his body drained of blood.

Napoleon and Illya are sent to investigate. They know, of course, that the evidence they keep finding that a vampire is nonsense. Of course, there is a logical, rational explanation. No matter how strongly events keep pointing to a supernatural killer, there HAS to be a rational answer to it all.

Doesn't there?

In addition to the intriguing premise, the novel captures the humor of the TV series and gives us several great supporting characters. This includes an ally named Zoltan-- a descendant of Dracula who is always. being mistaken for a vampire by the. villagers. He proves to be a valuable ally.

There's also a wonderful cameo by real-life Forrest Ackerman, the founder of Famous Monsters of Filmland.

I'm reading the UNCLE novels in order and this one might be the most purely entertaining entry so far.

[Kent Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much creepier than I expected. Lots of somewhat accurate Dracula (the real one) lore.
Also, Napoleon meets with a real life person who is perfect for this book.
It's in the library scene, if you don't recognize the person, look him up.
His appearance in the book was delightful.
The characters sound like themselves and the plot is very much something that would have been on the show.
Long out of print, you might be able to find some of these books on abebooks.com (I am just a happy customer)

[Bill Donhiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun novel and quite nostalgic for me. It reminded me of an episode on many TV shows where they take on a holiday theme (Haloween) when the premise of the show really does not justify it. Then again The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was always a little tongue in cheek. If you were a fan of the series a good read.

[K.C. Murdarasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember liking this the first time I read it, and it didn't disappoint. The story is slight and the outcome is a bit predictable, but the characters were captured well, and there was a lot of light humour in the dialogue. The "plucky girl thrown into operation out of her depth" trope was a bit annoying, but very true to the series, and I think she only fainted twice 🙄

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these many, many years ago when they first came out (1966). I had originally collected the entire set and when I ran across this one, I wanted to revisit my youth. As a fan of the TV show, the books and even the monthly magazine, it still was an enjoyable read.

[Patricia - Lady with Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like fanfiction but it's a book. As good as anything I've read on the internet.

[Maryel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Solo and Illya adventure. Great characters and plot building.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. book? Just barely.

One of the challenges of novelizations is how to make a story from one medium, in this case TV, feel familiar in a new medium, a novel. McDaniel did this quite well in his previous U.N.C.L.E. book, but built in failure here by using the structure of a vampire story and making the little of the U.N.C.L.E. mythos he uses serve that story. He could change the names of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin and call their agency something else and readers would not notice this should be an U.N.C.L.E. book until the final 30 pages when it finally, finally feels a little like U.N.C.L.E. for a time. The story also suffers from the decidedly camp elements that eventually put off the viewership of the television series. Ugh.

The book gets one star for existing and another because of McDaniel's very readable prose, but this is a bad book. For junkie fans only.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of the best of the book series based on the TV series. (LOL) This is probably the one I remember most clearly (probably the "vampire" tie in, I was 14 or 15). At the time I snatched up most anything that had to do with The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Into the Transylvanian Alps we go to investigate the death of an U.N.C.L.E. agent. The story is good (well written) and the vampire plot twist doesn't come across as hokey. The characters are more true to "themselves" here than in some of the other books. Napoleon and Illya more like "themselves" (and if you don't think I was a "fanatical fan" I'm talking about fictional characters seeming more like their "real selves").

Again I freely admit to rabid nostalgia, a certain amount of prejudice and to having a fan's liking for anything "Man From Uncle"... However, this is a fun read. Enjoy.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in the popular series is a fun and manic romp through Transylvania, drawing upon the author's considerable knowledge about vampire lore, both the kind that came out of the old country and that which comes from Hollywood. One of McDaniel's impish pranks on the reader is the the inclusion of real-life monster maven Forest J. Akerman, creator of the luscious Vamperilla and then-editor of "Famous Monsters of Filmland." Much of the comedy derives from the byplay between the fannish Akerman and the UNCLE agents. A fun book for spy fans and classic vampire films enthusiasts.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

an old favorite in a different edition. Our favorite agents are sent to Romania to investigate the death of an U.N.C.L.E. agent found lying against a tree, apparently dead of suicide. But all blood had been drained from the body, twin punture marks on the neck and no footprints around the body but those left by the dead man. Waverly believes it all a hoax.

But is it? Or could it be an insidious new plot of Thrush using the old legends to mask what they were doing.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series

[Ltdanbandfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is campy, but still better than Twilight! Just sayin'....

[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