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The Yermakov Transfer
A plot to kidnap the most powerful man in the Soviet Union.
- GenresFiction
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Derek Lambert
73 books8 followersDerek Lambert was educated at Epsom College and was both an author of thrillers in his own name, writing also as Richard Falkirk, and a journalist. As a foreign correspondent for the Daily Express, he spent time in many exotic locales that he later used as settings in his novels.
In addition to his steady stream of thrillers, Lambert also published (under the pseudonym Richard Falkirk) a series about a Bow Street Runner called Edmund Blackstone. These, the fruit of research in the London Library, were interspersed with detailed descriptions of early 19th century low life, as the hero undertook such tasks as saving Princess Victoria from being kidnapped, or penetrating skullduggery at the Bank of England.
Lambert made no claims for his books, which he often wrote in five weeks, simply dismissing them as pot-boilers; but in 1988 the veteran American journalist Martha Gellhorn paid tribute in The Daily Telegraph to his intricate plotting and skillful use of factual material. It appealed, she declared, to a universal hunger for "pure unadulterated storytelling", of the sort supplied by storytellers in a bazaar
Lambert was residing in Spain with his family at the time of his death at the age of seventy-one.
In addition to his steady stream of thrillers, Lambert also published (under the pseudonym Richard Falkirk) a series about a Bow Street Runner called Edmund Blackstone. These, the fruit of research in the London Library, were interspersed with detailed descriptions of early 19th century low life, as the hero undertook such tasks as saving Princess Victoria from being kidnapped, or penetrating skullduggery at the Bank of England.
Lambert made no claims for his books, which he often wrote in five weeks, simply dismissing them as pot-boilers; but in 1988 the veteran American journalist Martha Gellhorn paid tribute in The Daily Telegraph to his intricate plotting and skillful use of factual material. It appealed, she declared, to a universal hunger for "pure unadulterated storytelling", of the sort supplied by storytellers in a bazaar
Lambert was residing in Spain with his family at the time of his death at the age of seventy-one.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 24, 2008
A very quick read... I really enjoyed it...
The leader of the USSR is under threat.... but what is the underlying reason for the treason attempted?
A smashing plot with superbly sharp characters.... considering it was written in the early 70's it still feels contemporary today.
The leader of the USSR is under threat.... but what is the underlying reason for the treason attempted?
A smashing plot with superbly sharp characters.... considering it was written in the early 70's it still feels contemporary today.
April 19, 2018
Good start, great buildup, even a great step line... but the victory there at the end was super anti climatic.
May 17, 2018
Interesante la descripción del viaje, del tren y su ruta. La trama es más floja y tarda en arrancar.
August 19, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in August 2000.
The Yermakov Transfer is unusal among Cold War thrillers in being entirely set in the Soviet Union, almost all of it happening on a journey along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is a particularly significant journey, because one of the passengers is the Russian premier, Vasily Yermakov. A group of Jewish dissidents has come up with the idea of kidnapping him, demanding that several prominent Jewish scientists be granted exit visas so that they can emigrate to Israel.
With many Russian characters, The Yermakov Transfer is a novel infused with the fear of the gulag, and it clearly shows the influence of Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. It is decidedly at the literary end of the thriller market, and, though its ending might be considered predictable, has plenty of excitement.
The Yermakov Transfer is unusal among Cold War thrillers in being entirely set in the Soviet Union, almost all of it happening on a journey along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is a particularly significant journey, because one of the passengers is the Russian premier, Vasily Yermakov. A group of Jewish dissidents has come up with the idea of kidnapping him, demanding that several prominent Jewish scientists be granted exit visas so that they can emigrate to Israel.
With many Russian characters, The Yermakov Transfer is a novel infused with the fear of the gulag, and it clearly shows the influence of Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. It is decidedly at the literary end of the thriller market, and, though its ending might be considered predictable, has plenty of excitement.
October 2, 2009
This is the first book I chose to read.
January 23, 2010
I read the paperback in the 1970s. It wasn’t awful, but not memorable.
October 4, 2015
A book with a lot of descrptions, representing the comunist Russia and the ideals that they were looking for.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews