The Cold War doesn't get much colder than at 60,000-feet.... The British-built Striker SK-6 swing-wing jet fighter is at the heart of NATO's front-line defence strategy on the western side of the Iron Curtain; so why have thirty-six crashed inexplicably and with no survivors? The pilots have already nicknamed the aircraft `The Widowmaker' but are the mysterious crashes down to design faults or sabotage? The super-tough, ultra-cool agent Quiller is sent into West Germany - alone and unarmed as usual - to find out and almost loses his life and his sanity in the process. On first publication, the third `Quiller' novel was praised by reviewers as an "urbane, fast-moving, hyper-knowledgeable action story" and for its "sound, sensitive writing" and one of the best car chases ever described in spy fiction.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By M. D. Ripley
Format:Paperback
Adam Hall's super-tough, totally self-reliant lone wolf agent Quiller is on top form in The Striker Portfolio, first published in 1969.
The plot revolves around the unexplained fatal crashes of the British-designed jet fighter the Striker in West Germany on the front line of the Cold War. So many Strikers are dropping out of the sky that the Luftwaffe pilots flying them have renamed it 'The Widowmaker'. Operating alone and unarmed (as usual), Quiller offers himself as a target on both sides of the Iron Curtain in order to draw out a conspiracy which extends beyond mechanical sabotage. Not for nothing does Quiller's code name carry the suffix "9" meaning "reliable under torture" and Adam Hall's expertise with machinery and technology (Hall was the pen-name of Elleston Trevor who wrote the famous thriller The Flight of the Phoenix)comes to the fore with a superbly detailed car chase on the Autobahn near the famous Neuberg Ring test circuit so beloved by fans of "Top Gear".
Quiller was a unique hero in thriller fiction and an early prototype for lone protagonists such as Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher, preferring rational, cold analysis of a dangerous situation to an instant recourse to gadgets, weapons and violence. Quiller was an agent who talked the talk and fearlessly walked the walk.
The plot revolves around the unexplained fatal crashes of the British-designed jet fighter the Striker in West Germany on the front line of the Cold War. So many Strikers are dropping out of the sky that the Luftwaffe pilots flying them have renamed it 'The Widowmaker'. Operating alone and unarmed (as usual), Quiller offers himself as a target on both sides of the Iron Curtain in order to draw out a conspiracy which extends beyond mechanical sabotage. Not for nothing does Quiller's code name carry the suffix "9" meaning "reliable under torture" and Adam Hall's expertise with machinery and technology (Hall was the pen-name of Elleston Trevor who wrote the famous thriller The Flight of the Phoenix)comes to the fore with a superbly detailed car chase on the Autobahn near the famous Neuberg Ring test circuit so beloved by fans of "Top Gear".
Quiller was a unique hero in thriller fiction and an early prototype for lone protagonists such as Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher, preferring rational, cold analysis of a dangerous situation to an instant recourse to gadgets, weapons and violence. Quiller was an agent who talked the talk and fearlessly walked the walk.
By H. T. Davies
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This excursion for Quiller is his shortest, but still manages to pack in the action in. Fighters are falling from the sky and when London receives information predicting the next crash, Quiller is sent find out why.
We move from the claustrophobic atmosphere of a West German airbase where the latest crash occured to a chase on the autobahn to a re-education centre on the other side of the wire. The oblique narrative style makes the most of the difficulties of telling who is on who's side in a divided Germany and is there just a hint of doomed romance?
All in all a taught and effective tale, even though 40 years on the changes in the political landscape may make this seem almost like a historical novel.
We move from the claustrophobic atmosphere of a West German airbase where the latest crash occured to a chase on the autobahn to a re-education centre on the other side of the wire. The oblique narrative style makes the most of the difficulties of telling who is on who's side in a divided Germany and is there just a hint of doomed romance?
All in all a taught and effective tale, even though 40 years on the changes in the political landscape may make this seem almost like a historical novel.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
More info on Quiller series at www.quiller.net fan site
9 July 2004
By J. Wilkinson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
There is a lot more info on the Quiller series at www.quiller.net, a fan site.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Quiller Thriller!
5 Sep 2006
By Beth Fox
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Quiller is back, this time to investigate why so many of the West German SK-6 aircraft, known as "Strikers," were crashing on test flights. There is no discernable pattern: different planes taking off from different airbases at different times are crashing. Was it a mechanical difficulty? Pilot error? And, in either case, who was behind it? Adam Hall takes the reader on a taut hunt through Cold War Germany, as Quiller attempts to uncover the secret. As always, Quiller employs his psychological training to analyze the motives of the characters and his own reactions to stress (and torture). Although not quite as good as "The Quiller Memorandum," this novel is first rate and deserves your attention.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Striker Portfolio
7 Oct 2009
By Richard J. Martiny
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The product is fine. It came before the required date. However, the vendor did not notify me of shipment ( the otehr two vendors invovled int eh purchase did so.) I had to contact the vendor to find out the status. They sent an initial notice that really didn't say anything.
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Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
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