What do you think?
Here there be dragons
Dexter Hill is catapulted into the world of espionage and counter-intelligence, blackmail and hair-raising intrigue, all involving Project Dragon, the anti-missile system on which the freedom of the western nations depends. One of the most chilling cold war adventure stories ever written.
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 5, 2017
Oh wow. I just finished reading this — one of the most gripping and interesting books I've read lately! It took me about 40 pages to really get into the story... and after that I was almost unable to put the book down. I started this book with no expectations — I didn't even know what it was really about. I only knew that it was mentioned in Josh Lanyon's Adrien English Mystery Fatal Shadows and that three of my Goodreads friends had enjoyed reading it.
I have to say: Robert Bentley's voice strangely sneaked into my heart. That's how it felt! The bigger the story grew, expanded — also in emotional level — the more I fell in love with his voice and his characters and the whole book. It was not a romance precisely, not at least the way we usually think about it, but there was a love story alright. With an ending I'm satisfied with.
So, if you happen to find this one — I think you should buy it. It's a fascinating combination of a cold war thriller and lyrical, beautiful, sensual writing. Five stars from me!
I have to say: Robert Bentley's voice strangely sneaked into my heart. That's how it felt! The bigger the story grew, expanded — also in emotional level — the more I fell in love with his voice and his characters and the whole book. It was not a romance precisely, not at least the way we usually think about it, but there was a love story alright. With an ending I'm satisfied with.
So, if you happen to find this one — I think you should buy it. It's a fascinating combination of a cold war thriller and lyrical, beautiful, sensual writing. Five stars from me!
August 20, 2016
I discovered this only because it was mentioned in Fatal Shadows. Wow!
The character's humanity and the gripping espionage tale let you _easily_ forget some plot points a bit difficult to believe. This is really pioneer work: it is from 1972, but you notice it only because of the references to technology and political situation. If not for this details, it could have been written anytime before the abolition of the «Don't Ask, Don't Tell» policy, that is 2011.
The action moments are interspersed with poignant observations about human nature or love. The POV also changes and I liked the glimpses in the minds of the secondary characters, all well fleshed out.
BTW the blurb quoted here above is taken from a Lambda Literary article by Drewey Wayne Gunn, GunnShots: Celebrating Great Gay Mysteries, which also lists other great books.
It doesn't look as if Robert Bentley wrote anything else, despite the promising sentence about the writer on the dustcover: «Home is in Glendale, California, where he is presently at work on a second novel». Such a pity!
I can't understand why it hasn't been read by more people: highly recommended.
ETA: Warning for friends reading only romance: it is not a romance, but there are elements of romance in it .
The character's humanity and the gripping espionage tale let you _easily_ forget some plot points a bit difficult to believe. This is really pioneer work: it is from 1972, but you notice it only because of the references to technology and political situation. If not for this details, it could have been written anytime before the abolition of the «Don't Ask, Don't Tell» policy, that is 2011.
The action moments are interspersed with poignant observations about human nature or love. The POV also changes and I liked the glimpses in the minds of the secondary characters, all well fleshed out.
BTW the blurb quoted here above is taken from a Lambda Literary article by Drewey Wayne Gunn, GunnShots: Celebrating Great Gay Mysteries, which also lists other great books.
It doesn't look as if Robert Bentley wrote anything else, despite the promising sentence about the writer on the dustcover: «Home is in Glendale, California, where he is presently at work on a second novel». Such a pity!
I can't understand why it hasn't been read by more people: highly recommended.
ETA: Warning for friends reading only romance: it is not a romance, but there are elements of romance in it .
September 23, 2019
Wow - just thought to look this book up to see if it had ever been published. I earned a little money by typing the original handwritten draft when I was in high school back in 1966. The author was a friend of my aunts and I always wondered about it. The premise was updated some, but I enjoyed it then and now - over 50 years later. . . .
December 9, 2024
Like many modern readers, it seems, the book came to my notice via another one: Josh Lanyon's Adrien English Mystery Fatal Shadows. And I am so glad I followed through and bought a copy.
Spy novels are not normally my jam but this one Cold War thriller, with its gay twist, got me hooked from the start and never let go. Bentley has woven his story with suspense, and although there isn't much action as such (as in gun fights and such), the book has a lot to offer: dream scenery, likable characters, nail biting moments, some moving ones, hot gay sex, and even a bit of romance. Someone needs to turn it into a film!
As the quote by one Michael Greer states at the back of my copy, it is "a damn good book!" What a shame Bentley doesn't seem to have published anything else (despite the promise of a second novel in the blurb).
Spy novels are not normally my jam but this one Cold War thriller, with its gay twist, got me hooked from the start and never let go. Bentley has woven his story with suspense, and although there isn't much action as such (as in gun fights and such), the book has a lot to offer: dream scenery, likable characters, nail biting moments, some moving ones, hot gay sex, and even a bit of romance. Someone needs to turn it into a film!
As the quote by one Michael Greer states at the back of my copy, it is "a damn good book!" What a shame Bentley doesn't seem to have published anything else (despite the promise of a second novel in the blurb).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews