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Sam Durell #1
Assignment to Disaster
It was the tough agent's toughest assignment. In SAM DURELL's deadly race against time, this girl was his only clue to the missing man. Another hardboiled spellbinder by a master of the spy-chase thriller, the FIRST in Edward S. Aarons' classic series starring Sam Durell of the K Section of the Central Intelligence Agency.
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
4 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Edward S. Aarons
261 books17 followersAKA Paul Ayres, Edward Ronns.
Edward Sidney Aarons (September 11, 1916 - June 16, 1975) was an American writer, author of more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1962. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (Dead Heat), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous articles for detective magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Scarab.
Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Literature and History from Columbia University. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In World War II he was in the United States Coast Guard, joining after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
Edward Sidney Aarons (September 11, 1916 - June 16, 1975) was an American writer, author of more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1962. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (Dead Heat), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous articles for detective magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Scarab.
Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Literature and History from Columbia University. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In World War II he was in the United States Coast Guard, joining after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 3, 2016
A couple of weeks ago I came across a bunch of vintage paperbacks by Edward S. Aarons, all with the word “Assignment” in their title. I had never heard of these books or the author, but they looked to be spy thrillers from the 1950s and 60s and since they would cost me all of 25 cents each, I took a small chance and bought a boatload of them.
And so it was that I picked up this first novel in the “Assignment” series. This novel came out just after Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale was published and so many people today seem to regard this series as a Bond rip-off. But since this novel was published before 'Casino Royale' had a chance to make much of an impact yet, I would disagree. The main character in this series is CIA agent Sam Durell and yes, he is sort of like an American version of Bond. But in its day, the books in the Sam Durell series were very popular. There are 48 novels in the series; the first 42 were written by Edward S. Aarons and the final 6 were reportedly written by his brother although there is speculation that the name Will B. Aarons was just a house name for Fawcett. All were published over a span of 28 years. That’s quite a successful run by any standards.
The novel itself is a hoot. Of course, the reader must keep in mind the age in which it was written and so, like the Bond books, you’ll see some cultural references and attitudes that may seem odd today. What we would call male chauvinism today was treated more like chivalry in the 1950s. World War II is over and the world’s concerns tend to revolve around rockets and the power that can be unleashed at the whim of a mad scientist. Durell is on the lookout for a missing American scientist, one of the brains behind the world's first man-made satellite, named Cyclops, a bomb of dramatic proportions. With just a few hours to go before launch, it is vital that Durell find the man and put an end to the sabotage.
Another nice thing about the series is that they really don't have to be read in order. There are no overarching story lines that I am aware of that reach across individual novels but I understand Durell's relationship with Dierdre does run through the books. The publisher usually lists the books in alphabetical order rather than by published date. I am a stickler about reading series in order if at all possible but with so many in a series it would be a shame to hold up reading them just because you can’t locate book #2 in your local used book store.
Largely, because of the Bond movies, series like this Sam Durell set have fallen by the way side. I’ll definitely be reading more and doing my best to spread the word about their existence. If you’ve enjoyed Bond or other spy novel series of that era, I recommend you give these a try.
And so it was that I picked up this first novel in the “Assignment” series. This novel came out just after Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale was published and so many people today seem to regard this series as a Bond rip-off. But since this novel was published before 'Casino Royale' had a chance to make much of an impact yet, I would disagree. The main character in this series is CIA agent Sam Durell and yes, he is sort of like an American version of Bond. But in its day, the books in the Sam Durell series were very popular. There are 48 novels in the series; the first 42 were written by Edward S. Aarons and the final 6 were reportedly written by his brother although there is speculation that the name Will B. Aarons was just a house name for Fawcett. All were published over a span of 28 years. That’s quite a successful run by any standards.
The novel itself is a hoot. Of course, the reader must keep in mind the age in which it was written and so, like the Bond books, you’ll see some cultural references and attitudes that may seem odd today. What we would call male chauvinism today was treated more like chivalry in the 1950s. World War II is over and the world’s concerns tend to revolve around rockets and the power that can be unleashed at the whim of a mad scientist. Durell is on the lookout for a missing American scientist, one of the brains behind the world's first man-made satellite, named Cyclops, a bomb of dramatic proportions. With just a few hours to go before launch, it is vital that Durell find the man and put an end to the sabotage.
Another nice thing about the series is that they really don't have to be read in order. There are no overarching story lines that I am aware of that reach across individual novels but I understand Durell's relationship with Dierdre does run through the books. The publisher usually lists the books in alphabetical order rather than by published date. I am a stickler about reading series in order if at all possible but with so many in a series it would be a shame to hold up reading them just because you can’t locate book #2 in your local used book store.
Largely, because of the Bond movies, series like this Sam Durell set have fallen by the way side. I’ll definitely be reading more and doing my best to spread the word about their existence. If you’ve enjoyed Bond or other spy novel series of that era, I recommend you give these a try.
October 3, 2021
Well, this is actually pretty good. I didn't expect much from it, but I was entirely surprised. The first in the series of Sam Durrell spy novels about a CIA agent was written in 1955, during the height of the Cold War. It has room, even, for a focus on the Korean War, something almost forgotten in contemporary America's memory. What made this special? Perhaps it's because of the inherent skepticism Durrell brings to his job. He maintains his loyalty, even as he realizes the institution he works for, the CIA, is not only flawed at times but subject to fail and betray those who work for it hardest. All in the name of the highest power of all, bureaucracy. Just think Military Industrial Complex six years before Eisenhower popularized the phrase.
What is Durrell doing in this story? Why, saving the world from a psychopath and enemy agents determined to derail and subvert America's latest piece of military technology, an orbiting platform that aims nuclear bombs at the planet. It's called Cyclops. And it, too, figures into the morality play that Aarons offers the reader, because in a world where ICBMs were still a few years down the road from deployment, Cyclops was the all seeing eye of nuclear devastation. It was the final crossing of the boundary beyond which the world would be forever changed.
This is a good story. And Sam Durrell isn't merely the cardboard cutout he was when I read the 33rd iteration of him in Assignment Bangkok. No, this Sam Durrell is fresh and alive. And it is easy to see why Assignment to Disaster launched such a successful series.
What is Durrell doing in this story? Why, saving the world from a psychopath and enemy agents determined to derail and subvert America's latest piece of military technology, an orbiting platform that aims nuclear bombs at the planet. It's called Cyclops. And it, too, figures into the morality play that Aarons offers the reader, because in a world where ICBMs were still a few years down the road from deployment, Cyclops was the all seeing eye of nuclear devastation. It was the final crossing of the boundary beyond which the world would be forever changed.
This is a good story. And Sam Durrell isn't merely the cardboard cutout he was when I read the 33rd iteration of him in Assignment Bangkok. No, this Sam Durrell is fresh and alive. And it is easy to see why Assignment to Disaster launched such a successful series.
December 11, 2020
Sometimes you find a gem when searching for an out of print book. This book is one such gem. I have never heard of the author before, but he wrote over 40 of these Assignment books featureing Sam Durell. Many of them follow a particular naming scheme Assignment… with the next words changing every book. After researching the author, I discovered he wrote other books under various pseudonyms like Paul Ayres and many works under the name Edward Ronns, which he primarily used for pulp Detective stories. When I looked up the author on Amazon, I could find many used books by Edward S. Aarons. I could not find any books still in print or published digitally. It is quite sad, as I find this book to be a very good entry in the Spy genre. However, like many books in the genre written in the 1950s and 60s, it is very out of date, which is probably why it is out of print.
The best way to describe this book and its hero Sam Durell is the “American James Bond” (the Ian Fleming James Bond, not the various movie versions). It is the 1950s or so and the US is locked in a Cold War with USSR (a theme that will permeate many of the books that I review). The US is about to launch an anti-nuclear missile satellite, code named Cyclops that will pretty much cause all Russia’s missiles to become useless. If all this sounds familiar, in the 1980’s, approximately 25 years after this book was written, US president Ronald Reagan initiated such a system, code named “Star Wars”. It was never completed and pretty much became moot with the end of the Cold War. I do wonder if this book might have influenced someone to come up with such a system.
The book begins with a mundane premise before really picking up speed. One of the scientists on the Cyclops program, Calvin Padgett, has disappeared and Agent Sam Durell of the CIA has about 4 days to find him before the Cyclops satellite is sent into orbit. This adds a ticking clock in the proceedings, but only towards the end did it feel like the characters were being rushed.
There is a little bit of background about Sam Durell that is revealed in the book. He is “Born on the Bayou” and has a shotgun totting grandfather who plays a critical role towards the end of the book. This is far cry from the proper Scottish upbringing of James Bond. However, Durell is like Bond in that he smokes, drinks (bourbon seems to be his drink of choice) and is attractive to the ladies. I also detected no sense of an accent on Durell, but it is pretty fun to imagine a “Cajun James Bond”.
The story is a slow burn at the beginning. The only lead to the missing scientist, Calvin Padgett, is his sister Dierdre, who the CIA know he has recently contacted. And yes, Diedre will be the Bond… I mean Durell girl for this book. There is a lot of staking out of Dierdre of her place that really didn’t push the plot along. In fact, this mundane first few chapters gives us a sense of the impatience of the characters who know they have a ticking clock and are hoping for something to happen.
Everything changes when a large brute of a henchman named Franz (the perfect name for a brute henchman) kills Durell’s partner. There are many tender moments as the book humanizes Lew and has a few scenes where Durell visits with his widow. He just doesn’t become a nameless dead cop that pushes the plot forward, he is presented as an actual human being.
The book picks up a fancy hotel named the Salamander. It is in the same town as the Cyclops program. This hotel becomes its own interesting character as it is run by Cora Nevelle who may be a spy or some innocent being blackmailed. She has a loyal workforce that keeps her updated of all that happens in her hotel. This makes her information very valuable. Another character in the hotel is the manager George West, who seems to have some compromising information on Cora and who may or may not be a spy. He plays a prominent role later in the book. There is also Miguel who carries Durell’s luggage and tragically comes into the orbit of the spy network.
It is here at the Salamander that things become exciting as many of the players of the book converge and the ticking time clock becomes a thing again. As the book continues, Durell is chased by the bad guys and by the CIA who believe that he has fallen under Dierdre’s spell. Dierdre herself has a lot of baggage she is carrying that made me wonder if she was playing another angle.
By the end of the book, Durell has been chased across the country and knocked out a lot. In fact, he was knocked out several times later in the book. The main villain of the book is someone who is mentioned earlier in the book but doesn’t show up until later. This gives the book an air of mystery as we are never sure who the bad guy really is.
I really enjoyed this book and glad that I came upon it. It is too bad that these spy novels of the 1950’s and 60’s (except for James Bond) have not made it to Kindle or other reprint houses as they are a lot of fun.
The best way to describe this book and its hero Sam Durell is the “American James Bond” (the Ian Fleming James Bond, not the various movie versions). It is the 1950s or so and the US is locked in a Cold War with USSR (a theme that will permeate many of the books that I review). The US is about to launch an anti-nuclear missile satellite, code named Cyclops that will pretty much cause all Russia’s missiles to become useless. If all this sounds familiar, in the 1980’s, approximately 25 years after this book was written, US president Ronald Reagan initiated such a system, code named “Star Wars”. It was never completed and pretty much became moot with the end of the Cold War. I do wonder if this book might have influenced someone to come up with such a system.
The book begins with a mundane premise before really picking up speed. One of the scientists on the Cyclops program, Calvin Padgett, has disappeared and Agent Sam Durell of the CIA has about 4 days to find him before the Cyclops satellite is sent into orbit. This adds a ticking clock in the proceedings, but only towards the end did it feel like the characters were being rushed.
There is a little bit of background about Sam Durell that is revealed in the book. He is “Born on the Bayou” and has a shotgun totting grandfather who plays a critical role towards the end of the book. This is far cry from the proper Scottish upbringing of James Bond. However, Durell is like Bond in that he smokes, drinks (bourbon seems to be his drink of choice) and is attractive to the ladies. I also detected no sense of an accent on Durell, but it is pretty fun to imagine a “Cajun James Bond”.
The story is a slow burn at the beginning. The only lead to the missing scientist, Calvin Padgett, is his sister Dierdre, who the CIA know he has recently contacted. And yes, Diedre will be the Bond… I mean Durell girl for this book. There is a lot of staking out of Dierdre of her place that really didn’t push the plot along. In fact, this mundane first few chapters gives us a sense of the impatience of the characters who know they have a ticking clock and are hoping for something to happen.
Everything changes when a large brute of a henchman named Franz (the perfect name for a brute henchman) kills Durell’s partner. There are many tender moments as the book humanizes Lew and has a few scenes where Durell visits with his widow. He just doesn’t become a nameless dead cop that pushes the plot forward, he is presented as an actual human being.
The book picks up a fancy hotel named the Salamander. It is in the same town as the Cyclops program. This hotel becomes its own interesting character as it is run by Cora Nevelle who may be a spy or some innocent being blackmailed. She has a loyal workforce that keeps her updated of all that happens in her hotel. This makes her information very valuable. Another character in the hotel is the manager George West, who seems to have some compromising information on Cora and who may or may not be a spy. He plays a prominent role later in the book. There is also Miguel who carries Durell’s luggage and tragically comes into the orbit of the spy network.
It is here at the Salamander that things become exciting as many of the players of the book converge and the ticking time clock becomes a thing again. As the book continues, Durell is chased by the bad guys and by the CIA who believe that he has fallen under Dierdre’s spell. Dierdre herself has a lot of baggage she is carrying that made me wonder if she was playing another angle.
By the end of the book, Durell has been chased across the country and knocked out a lot. In fact, he was knocked out several times later in the book. The main villain of the book is someone who is mentioned earlier in the book but doesn’t show up until later. This gives the book an air of mystery as we are never sure who the bad guy really is.
I really enjoyed this book and glad that I came upon it. It is too bad that these spy novels of the 1950’s and 60’s (except for James Bond) have not made it to Kindle or other reprint houses as they are a lot of fun.
February 3, 2016
SPOILERS AHEAD: I was drawn inexorably--to use one of Aarons' favorite words--to finish this thrilling, suspenseful novel. After about the halfway mark I used every free moment to read another chapter or two. It was "unputdownable" until after Sam bolts from McFee's office, then it did drag a little. I got the impression the editor at Gold Medal told Aarons to stretch it out a little, so false climaxes and some drawn-out scenes slow the pace near the end, such as when Sam comes out and finds Deirdre gone, and when he's later held prisoner in the wooden shack that leads to the protracted brawl with Franz. Those are quibbles, however, just speedbumps along the way to what I thought was a satisfying finish, albeit one that was cleanly and neatly resolved. All the bad guys were dead or in custody and the good guy got the girl. Cyclops is in its heaven and all's right with the world. And what's wrong with that?
This was my first Assignment novel and I'm glad I started with the first of the series since I see from other reviews that Deirdre Padgett will be a recurring character. She's a strong woman and this story impressively introduced her. I liked how Aarons gave the novel some emotional heft by contrasting Lew and Sidonie with Sam and Deirdre. It raised the question of how involved should someone get whose life could be snuffed out at any moment, like police, soldiers, and spies. Sidonie came across a little too stoical about Lew's death, but she nonetheless left Sam and the reader thinking about it (and the ending resolves that question for Sam).
I know the Assignment books are often compared to James Bond, but this first one is far from it. If anybody Sam reminded me of Jim Rockford of THE ROCKFORD FILES. The number of beatings he suffers in the course of this book and the disrespect and distrust he endures from his superiors strip from the spy biz all the glamor and glow that the Bond movies would soon lend it. Swayney, for example, is no M nor even MacDonald from the Matt Helm series. Swayney, sounding like "swagger," "swine," and "whiney," is incompetent and insecure, an example of the Peter Principle long before the term was coined. General McFee is a victim of groupthink and military rigidity, unable to envision possibilities outside the box--his mind is made up; don't confuse him with facts. The only person Sam can trust is Swayney's secretary Hazel, whose faith in Sam is as unflagging as Miss Moneypenny's was in James Bond.
The story was very much a Cold War story, but I lived through the end of it and can cast my mind back to those days and worries of nuclear holocaust and fallout. Cyclops even had parallels to President Reagan's Star Wars missile defense shield, so the concept was timely to readers of a certain generation.
Based on the strength of this opening salvo in the series, I'm going to stick with it!
This was my first Assignment novel and I'm glad I started with the first of the series since I see from other reviews that Deirdre Padgett will be a recurring character. She's a strong woman and this story impressively introduced her. I liked how Aarons gave the novel some emotional heft by contrasting Lew and Sidonie with Sam and Deirdre. It raised the question of how involved should someone get whose life could be snuffed out at any moment, like police, soldiers, and spies. Sidonie came across a little too stoical about Lew's death, but she nonetheless left Sam and the reader thinking about it (and the ending resolves that question for Sam).
I know the Assignment books are often compared to James Bond, but this first one is far from it. If anybody Sam reminded me of Jim Rockford of THE ROCKFORD FILES. The number of beatings he suffers in the course of this book and the disrespect and distrust he endures from his superiors strip from the spy biz all the glamor and glow that the Bond movies would soon lend it. Swayney, for example, is no M nor even MacDonald from the Matt Helm series. Swayney, sounding like "swagger," "swine," and "whiney," is incompetent and insecure, an example of the Peter Principle long before the term was coined. General McFee is a victim of groupthink and military rigidity, unable to envision possibilities outside the box--his mind is made up; don't confuse him with facts. The only person Sam can trust is Swayney's secretary Hazel, whose faith in Sam is as unflagging as Miss Moneypenny's was in James Bond.
The story was very much a Cold War story, but I lived through the end of it and can cast my mind back to those days and worries of nuclear holocaust and fallout. Cyclops even had parallels to President Reagan's Star Wars missile defense shield, so the concept was timely to readers of a certain generation.
Based on the strength of this opening salvo in the series, I'm going to stick with it!
February 10, 2018
#1 in the Sam Durell series. Author Aarons begins the saga of a counter-espionage agent during the cold war of the 1950s, just a few years after Ian Fleming debuted James Bond. Very much a story of its time, this cold war tale has foreign intelligence agents and some questionable domestic characters. This debut novel is feeling its way developing background and supporting characters. I felt the writing was clumsy in spots but as the series had over 30 entries, I'm sure the writing will smooth out. I'm looking forward to the next of the series.
Sam Durell, works for K-Section, CIA, at 20 Annapolis Street, Washington, D.C. He has previously worked with G2 intelligence, and the OSS during WWII. He is one of our first cold war soldiers and tough customer in and of himself. Hailing from Louisiana's Peche Bayou off a gambler grandfather's river boat. A space scientist has gone missing, and Sam (or Cajun as he will later be called), has only 96 hours in which to find Calvin Padgett. He has orders to find him, stop him, kill him if necessary. Sam is totally committed to this mission, while all people around him turn completely against him. He becomes a man alone in this mission, "in a deadly race against time".
Sam Durell, works for K-Section, CIA, at 20 Annapolis Street, Washington, D.C. He has previously worked with G2 intelligence, and the OSS during WWII. He is one of our first cold war soldiers and tough customer in and of himself. Hailing from Louisiana's Peche Bayou off a gambler grandfather's river boat. A space scientist has gone missing, and Sam (or Cajun as he will later be called), has only 96 hours in which to find Calvin Padgett. He has orders to find him, stop him, kill him if necessary. Sam is totally committed to this mission, while all people around him turn completely against him. He becomes a man alone in this mission, "in a deadly race against time".
February 28, 2011
While I'm not crazy about the very ending (It's a product of it's time), this book is a great read. coming just a year after Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale", the Sam Durell books are often derided as James Bond copies, though "Assignment to Disaster" was out before Fleming's book really had much of an impact.
Want to read
December 8, 2019Synopsis: Sam Durell is a special CIA agent. A girl was his only clue. It's a spy thriller a la James Bond.
October 27, 2019
Assignment To Disaster is the first in the vintage series written by Edward Sidney Aarons featuring Sam Durrell. Mr. Aarons was an American writer who authored more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1975. Mr. Aarons is known for his spy thrillers, particularly his "Assignment" series, which are set all over the world and have been translated into 17 languages. The 42 novels in this series starred CIA agent Sam Durell. The first "Assignment" novel was written in 1955, and Aarons continued writing the series until up to his death. Fictional CIA agent Sam Durell is the protagonist for all of the stories in this series. The stories were written over a span of 28 years, from 1955 to 1983. Each book set, more or less, in the time it was written.
This book was published a couple years after Ian Fleming's Casino Royale. With a 'cold war' background and the ICBM missle race, hard hitting, realistic spy fiction was selling well.
Sam Durell, works for K-Section, CIA, at 20 Annapolis Street, Washington, D.C. He has previously worked with G2 intelligence, and the OSS during WWII. He is one of our first cold war soldiers and tough customer in and of himself. Hailing from Louisiana's Peche Bayou off a gambler grandfather's river boat, he is a person with few illusions but much tenacity of spirit.
This novel has a space scientist gone missing, and Sam has only 96 hours in which to find Calvin Padgett. He has orders to find him, stop him, kill him if necessary. And for 160 pages Sam is totally committed to this mission, while all people around him turn completely against him. He becomes a man alone in this mission, "in a deadly race against time".
The action of this novel moves from Washington to Maryland to New Mexico to Louisiana and back to D.C. before eventually working itself out. The writing is very clean with excellent plotting.
If you enjoy espionage, you will find Sam Durell series worth your reading time. However, if you are a hard core loyalist of the genre, there is no way you can miss this series as it sets the tone for the genre as whole for years to come. This series is a pure vintage collection that you must have in your library.
This book was published a couple years after Ian Fleming's Casino Royale. With a 'cold war' background and the ICBM missle race, hard hitting, realistic spy fiction was selling well.
Sam Durell, works for K-Section, CIA, at 20 Annapolis Street, Washington, D.C. He has previously worked with G2 intelligence, and the OSS during WWII. He is one of our first cold war soldiers and tough customer in and of himself. Hailing from Louisiana's Peche Bayou off a gambler grandfather's river boat, he is a person with few illusions but much tenacity of spirit.
This novel has a space scientist gone missing, and Sam has only 96 hours in which to find Calvin Padgett. He has orders to find him, stop him, kill him if necessary. And for 160 pages Sam is totally committed to this mission, while all people around him turn completely against him. He becomes a man alone in this mission, "in a deadly race against time".
The action of this novel moves from Washington to Maryland to New Mexico to Louisiana and back to D.C. before eventually working itself out. The writing is very clean with excellent plotting.
If you enjoy espionage, you will find Sam Durell series worth your reading time. However, if you are a hard core loyalist of the genre, there is no way you can miss this series as it sets the tone for the genre as whole for years to come. This series is a pure vintage collection that you must have in your library.
July 8, 2025
“Assignment To Disaster” (1955), first in the 'Sam Durrell' series, is an unashamedly old-style P.I. novel (ok, he's not a P.I., he's in the CIA, but he largely operates outside the system).
Sam is tasked with tracking down a missing computer scientist, Calvin Jackson Padgett, who had been working on a super-secret military project.
Initially, the only clue he has is Calvin's sister, Deirdre, but she dislikes him on sight and refuses to give much more than her name.
There's a four day deadline before a nuclear super-weapon is launched into space as a deterrent.
Soon there's a rising body count, disinformation, dead men come back to life, multiple change of venue, there's even time (during a chase) for a little nookie.
The final third, while providing a satisfactory ending with no threads left hanging, does read as if it was deliberately stretched out.
Despite the lack of mobile phones or other modern technology it stands up pretty well.
3 Stars.
Sam is tasked with tracking down a missing computer scientist, Calvin Jackson Padgett, who had been working on a super-secret military project.
Initially, the only clue he has is Calvin's sister, Deirdre, but she dislikes him on sight and refuses to give much more than her name.
There's a four day deadline before a nuclear super-weapon is launched into space as a deterrent.
Soon there's a rising body count, disinformation, dead men come back to life, multiple change of venue, there's even time (during a chase) for a little nookie.
The final third, while providing a satisfactory ending with no threads left hanging, does read as if it was deliberately stretched out.
Despite the lack of mobile phones or other modern technology it stands up pretty well.
3 Stars.
September 24, 2021
Sam Durell, super duper CIA agent, has to find the guy who disappeared with secrets to a new deadly super weapon. If he fails, Washington/ New York/ Boston may become nuclear ash. If only his bosses weren’t raging dunderheads, saving the world would be sooo much easier.
Good enough thriller that delivers exactly what a paperback reader in the 50s was looking for. Action. A sense of place (Washington, a disguised Los Alamos, the Louisiana Bayous) and a little bit of love for our tired agent. It feels like a Bond knockoff, with its bitter supervillain pulling the strings, but it was written before Ian Fleming had become a publishing juggernaut.
I understand why this became a long running series. I won’t turn away from these Assignment books when I bump into them in the future, though I doubt I’ll seek them out. 3.5 stars.
Good enough thriller that delivers exactly what a paperback reader in the 50s was looking for. Action. A sense of place (Washington, a disguised Los Alamos, the Louisiana Bayous) and a little bit of love for our tired agent. It feels like a Bond knockoff, with its bitter supervillain pulling the strings, but it was written before Ian Fleming had become a publishing juggernaut.
I understand why this became a long running series. I won’t turn away from these Assignment books when I bump into them in the future, though I doubt I’ll seek them out. 3.5 stars.
October 7, 2021
It's probably about time I read the first book in this series... since I've read almost twenty of the others by now. Sam Durell has an assignment to find a missing scientist - but is he being misled and distracted by the man's gorgeous sister? Everybody but Sam seems to think so - even the villains.
It's easy to see why Edward S. Aarons felt compelled to bring his hero back for plenty more adventures, because he's a great creation, and this is a fine, fun book to start the series rolling.
It's easy to see why Edward S. Aarons felt compelled to bring his hero back for plenty more adventures, because he's a great creation, and this is a fine, fun book to start the series rolling.
February 6, 2024
Whenever they pull a gun on him the invincible hero simply knocks it out of their hands. As other reviewers have remarked: very James Bondsy, indeed. A good script for a short TV adventure. As a read it works a bit too simplistic to be captivating. ("Simplistically"? Native speakers - or anyone: always welcome to correct my English.) 2.5 stars.
January 15, 2019
This book was written in the 50s, but it is more exciting than any movies these days
September 7, 2014
An early (1955) Sam Durell novel. This is the book in which he meets the lovely Deirdre Padgett, the love of his life. In this one he must stop a sabotaged atomic satellite from being launched. The science in this tale seems to be very outdated, although the concept precedes the first real satellite launch. Okay if you like spy novels, otherwise fairly dated.
February 27, 2016
Recently purchased about 38ish of the 42 books in this series in an eBay lot. This was more or less what I expected from the first entry. I wasn't crazy about it, but it was a very quick and well paced read. Only liking this one doesn't diminish whatsoever my desire to plow through a few more. I'm very interested to get a better feel for the series as a whole.
October 13, 2014
Heard good things about this series and decided to check it out. Nice good old fashioned thriller is always an enjoyable read. Look forward to reading more of the series.
January 9, 2017
A fast paced and enjoyable spy thriller.
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January 25, 2018just started
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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