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Assignment abacus
A security leak in the multimillion-dollar Saturn Industries sends Boyd Maskell, a prospering junior executive and financial wizard, to an isolated house on the Scottish moors for a top-secret meeting designed to uncover the source.
But when Maskell is transported to the site, he soon discovers himself a majority of one, and a strange series of visions and voices begins to make this cool young businessman doubt his own grasp on reality.
Slowly, Maskell begins to realize that a means of escape lies in a secret code he carries in his packet of orders. His one hope is to crack the puzzle before his mind snaps. . . .
A menacing tale of business chicanery and personal terror set against the lonely wilds of the Scottish lowlands.
Shapes moved ghostlike across an arena of which he was the center, twisting, turning, gyrating, now huge and monstrous, now shrinking almost to nothing. Light came greyly. A new shadow came growing up from out of the grey emptiness, spreading tall and wide, becoming a man wearing a long black cloak, his feet in the depths, his bare head, with its peculiar plastered curls, towering to touch the sky.
Arms out flung, cloak sweeping, the shape spun towards him, enveloped him, passed by. And behind came the scent of perfume and curves and smoothness and silkiness and long-nylon legs and rounded thighs and swelling breasts that rose from the black frills of a scarlet bodice. Warm sweet breath on his face, and soft delicacy touching, tantalizing and drifting lightly across his forehead and cheeks. And warm sweet breath on his mouth, and the rich softness of lips in a moment’s touch that lasted an eternity, and then the warmth and softness were snatched away and the blackness was sweeping him along a tunnel towards a distant speck of light. And then that last faint far-off glimmer faded, and he was alone in a night which had no sunset, no dawn, which went on forever and forever. . .
But when Maskell is transported to the site, he soon discovers himself a majority of one, and a strange series of visions and voices begins to make this cool young businessman doubt his own grasp on reality.
Slowly, Maskell begins to realize that a means of escape lies in a secret code he carries in his packet of orders. His one hope is to crack the puzzle before his mind snaps. . . .
A menacing tale of business chicanery and personal terror set against the lonely wilds of the Scottish lowlands.
Shapes moved ghostlike across an arena of which he was the center, twisting, turning, gyrating, now huge and monstrous, now shrinking almost to nothing. Light came greyly. A new shadow came growing up from out of the grey emptiness, spreading tall and wide, becoming a man wearing a long black cloak, his feet in the depths, his bare head, with its peculiar plastered curls, towering to touch the sky.
Arms out flung, cloak sweeping, the shape spun towards him, enveloped him, passed by. And behind came the scent of perfume and curves and smoothness and silkiness and long-nylon legs and rounded thighs and swelling breasts that rose from the black frills of a scarlet bodice. Warm sweet breath on his face, and soft delicacy touching, tantalizing and drifting lightly across his forehead and cheeks. And warm sweet breath on his mouth, and the rich softness of lips in a moment’s touch that lasted an eternity, and then the warmth and softness were snatched away and the blackness was sweeping him along a tunnel towards a distant speck of light. And then that last faint far-off glimmer faded, and he was alone in a night which had no sunset, no dawn, which went on forever and forever. . .
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
5 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Purnell Davies
34 books15 followersPseudonyms: Leslie Vardre, L.P. Davies, Leo Barne, Robert Blake, R. Bridgeman, Morgan Evans, Ian Jefferson, Lawrence Peters, Thomas Phillips, G.K. Thomas and Rowland Welch.
Leslie Purnell Davies was a British novelist whose works typically combine elements of horror, science fiction and mystery. He also wrote many short stories under several pseudonyms.
Davies' books deal with the defects, evolution or manipulation of human consciousness, and in some ways are comparable to the works of Philip K. Dick. His protagonists frequently suffer from amnesia or other loss of identity, and their quest to find out who they really are drives the plot.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
Leslie Purnell Davies was a British novelist whose works typically combine elements of horror, science fiction and mystery. He also wrote many short stories under several pseudonyms.
Davies' books deal with the defects, evolution or manipulation of human consciousness, and in some ways are comparable to the works of Philip K. Dick. His protagonists frequently suffer from amnesia or other loss of identity, and their quest to find out who they really are drives the plot.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 19, 2018
A warning for the unwary - the abacus is metaphorical.
February 9, 2019
Wanted to be a psychological thriller but just took forever to get to the point, and when it did he just laid it all right out.
May 2, 2017
I love L.P. Davies! His books are not exactly mysteries, but contain elements of mystery. As you read, you're thinking, "What is going on here?" Eventually, it all makes sense. Great stuff!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews