Tue 26 Jun 2018
A Spy Thriller Review by David Vineyard: CHRISTOPHER NICOLE – Angel Rising.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
CHRISTOPHER NICOLE – Angel Rising. Anna Fehrbach #6. Severn House, hardcover, 2008.
A fair summation from the prologue of the sixth entry in a series of the heroine of this sexy playful historical series by Christopher Nicole, a British writer of big sexy historical thrillers in the Wilbur Smith/James Leasor vein, best known here for his popular spy novels as Andrew York about professional assassin Jonas Wilde (*) and later CID operator Tallant in the Cockpit country of Jamaica.
When I say sexy, I should point out I mean in the James Bond sense and not the Lady from L.U.S.T. or Man from O.R.G.Y. vein. While these may not stop at the edge of the bed neither do they overly dwell on activities between the sheets, the object being tease more than fulfillment. In fact the best I can describe this series is a cross between Ilsa She Wolf of the SS, Geoffrey Bocca’s soft core Commander Amanda titles about a sort of female Candide serving in the SOE during WWII, Modesty Blaise, and Flashman with far more ties to the latter two in style and mood.
At eighteen in 1938 Austro-Irish Anna Fehrbach and her family are arrested during the Hitler putsch in Austria. Forced by the SS, who hold her family hostage, Anna becomes the top agent of the SD, their number one assassin and mistress of Reyhard Heydrich, at one point even pursuing an attempt on Joseph Stalin, but eventually Anna is recruited by MI6 and her future husband Clive Bartley and becomes a double agent, even planning the execution of Heydrich in Czechoslovakia and plotting the failed coup against Hitler.
In and out of bed whether with Heydrich, Stalin, or Hitler Anna is a busy girl.
That is all back story as this one begins at the end of the war when the Soviets under Stalin’s orders and MVD (predecessor to the KGB) head Beria’s directions decide along with the Americans and Anna’s ex-American lover, Joe Andrews, formerly OSS and now the fledgling CIA, agree Anna is too dangerous to live, and join forces to find and kill her leaving her with no where to hide, pursued and betrayed by the deadliest killers in the world not to mention vengeful Nazis.
The chase takes her from the highlands of Scotland to Brazil, Germany and Switzerland, a confrontation with her SS trained and loyal Nazi sister, Katherine, and a reckoning with former lover Joe Andrews until Anna wins a brief respite and relieves the Soviets of a considerable sum of money along the way.
‘You wouldn’t include hate?’
‘Hate is merely an aspect of fear. We only hate the things we fear.’
‘And thus you hate no one.’
‘Not right now. Which is not to say that there are a few people I believe the world would be a better place without.’
Anna is described as amoral, but instead is something of an original moralist along the lines of Frank McCauliffe’s Augustus Mandrel, Mark Gattiss’s Lucifer Box, and Kyril Bonfigioli’s Mortdecai. She is all the more fun for it eschewing the tiresomely earnest purity of too many of contemporary fiction’s cold-blooded killers.
This history is of the playful behind-the-scenes type, both accurate and imaginative, the plot fast moving, and the pleasure in watching the beautiful and brilliant Anna (she has an IQ of 173) outwit everyone and anyone trying to use her or kill her, and often both. It is a lighter variation of the kind of thing both Ian Fleming and William F. Buckley did, offering a playful peek at the inner workings of the great and powerful with their hair down and make-up off.
Yes, it is nonsense, but not without some actual models in the case of Anna, albeit in a less superhuman mold. I don’t want to oversell this; it is fluff, but it is good fluff of the kind not seen as often as it should be these days, not bloated or self important, and Anna’s cheerful blend of amoral survival, healthy (and not so healthy) sexuality, and crisp action and violence is exactly the kind of beach read that used to be a summer staple before the advent of the hernia-inducing beach book.
The writing is crisp and professional, the nonsense factor the tongue-in-cheek sort of the better Bond and Modesty Blaise imitators (which Nicole was), and as I said, the history accurate if playfully tweaked as only the better thrillers manage. Think Dennis Wheatley’s Gregory Sallust without the clunky info dumps.
Best of all it never overstays its welcome unlike too many thrillers today.
By the time Anna has earned her rest you will likely feel she fully deserves it and be wanting to join her on other adventures, done in a high style that seems to be lost to many of today’s more heavy-handed thriller writers and their earnest Boy Scout heroes. Pink champagne and caviar with a Vodka chaser taken in proper amounts makes a nice change up from the lite-beer and potato chip boys of too many modern thriller series.
There is something to be said for style above all else in entertainment which is the only serious intent here.
‘Not right then. We had our moments. But I was about to find out just how cold the Cold War could get.’
‘So tell me, did you ever come face to face with Beria?’
Anna Fehrbach smiled.
To be, as they say, continued.
—
(*) Jonas Wilde debuted in The Eliminator and went on to a long and successful career, most of the books published here in paperback by Berkeley and even resulting in a solid little film, Danger Route, starring Richard Johnson as Wilde, which Quentin Tarantino champions as a model of its kind and has often said the wanted to remake.
As Nicole the author also penned a juvenile spy series about young agent Jonathan Anders (published here by Dell). He is a popular historical novelist in England with numerous series. The Anna Fehrbach series is up to the ninth entry in that series, and I warn you Nicole is nothing if not prolific…
The Anna Fehrbach series —
1. Angel from Hell (2006)
2. Angel in Red (2006)
3. Angel of Vengeance (2007)
4. Angel in Jeopardy (2007)
5. Angel of Doom (2008)
6. Angel Rising (2008)
7. Angel of Destruction (2009)
8. Angel of Darkness (2009)
9. Angel in Peril (2013)
June 27th, 2018 at 9:27 am
Prolific is an understatement. Here below, taken from his Wikipedia page, is a complete list of the books he’s written.
Nicole will 88 in December. I don’t know if he’s still writing. I see a book that was published in 2016, but there may be one I missed that came out later.
The only series I’m familiar with is his “Eliminator” series he wrote in the late 60s and 70s as Andrew York. There were a lot of authors trying to cash in on the James Bond craze at the time. The Jonas Wilde books were among the better ones.
Enough introduction. Here are the books:
As Christopher Nicole
[1]
Non fiction
West Indian Cricket: the Story of Cricket in the West Indies (1957)
The West Indies: Their People and History (1965)
Introduction to Chess (1973)
Single novels
Off White (1959)
Shadows in the Jungle (1961)
Ratoon (1962)
Dark Noon (1963)
White Boy (1966)
The Self Lovers (1968)
Thunder and the Shouting (1969)
Where the Cavern Ends (1970)
The Longest Pleasure (1970)
The Face of Evil (1971)
Lord of the Golden Fan (1973)
Heroes (1973)
The Secret Memoirs of Lord Byron (1979) aka Lord of Sin
The Ship with No Name (1987)
China (1999)
Ransom Island (2001)
Demon (2003)
The Falls of Death (2004)
Cold Country, Hot Sun (2005)
Deep Gold (2014)
The Lion Queen (2014)
Seas of Passion (2015)
Queen of Destiny (2016)
Amyot Saga
Amyot’s Cay (1964)
Blood Amyot (1964)
The Amyot Crime (1965)
Caribee of the Hiltons Saga
Caribee (1974)
The Devil’s Own (1975)
Mistress of Darkness (1976)
Black Dawn (1977)
Sunset (1978)
The Haggard Chronicles Saga
Haggard (1980)
Haggard’s Inheritance (1981) aka The Inheritors
Young Haggards (1982)
China Series
The Crimson Pagoda (1983)
The Scarlet Princess (1984)
Red Dawn (1985)
The Sun of Japan Series
The Sun Rises (1984)
The Sun and the Dragon (1985)
The Sun on Fire (1987)
Black Majesty Saga
The Seeds of Rebellion (1984)
Wild Harvest (1985)
McGann Saga
Old Glory (1986)
The Sea and the Sand (1986)
Iron Ships, Iron Men (1987)
Wind of Destiny (1987)
Raging Sea, Searing Sky (1990)
The Passion and the Glory (1988)
Kenya Series
The High Country (1988)
The Happy Valley (1989)
Murdoch Mackinder Saga
The Regiment (1988)
The Command (1989)
The Triumph (1989)
Pearl of the Orient Series
Pearl of the Orient (1988)
Dragon’s Blood (1989)
Singapura (1990)
Dark Sun (1990)
Sword of India Series
Sword of Fortune (1990)
Sword of Empire (1991)
Dawson Saga
Days of Wine and Roses? (1991)
The Titans (1992)
Resumption (1992)
The Last Battle (1993)
Bloody Sun Series
Bloody Sunrise (1993)
Bloody Sunset (1994)
Russian Saga
The Seeds of Power (1994)
The Masters (1995)
The Red Tide (1995)
The Red Gods (1996)
The Scarlet Generation (1996)
Death of a Tyrant (1997)
Arms Trade Series
The Trade (1997)
Shadows in the Sun (1998)
Guns in the Desert (1998)
Prelude to War (1999)
Berkeley Townsend Series
To All Eternity (1999)
The Quest (2000)
Be Not Afraid (2000)
Jessica Jones Saga
The Search (2001)
Poor Darling (2002)
The Pursuit (2002)
The Voyage (2003)
The Followers (2004)
A Fearful Thing (2005)
Anna Fehrbach Saga
Angel from Hell (2006)
Angel in Red (2006)
Angel of Vengeance (2007)
Angel in Jeopardy (2007)
Angel of Doom (2008)
Angel Rising (2008)
Angel of Destruction (2009)
Angel of Darkness (2009)
Angel in Peril (2013)
Jane Elizabeth Digby Saga
Dawn of a Legend (2010)
Twilight of a Goddess (2010)
Queen of Jhansi series
Manu (2011)
Queen of Glory (Indian Mutiny) (2012)
As Peter Grange
Single novels
King Creole (1966)
The Devil’s Emissary (1968)
The Tumult at the Gate (1970)
The Golden Goddess (1973)
As Andrew York
Jonas Wilde: Eliminator Saga
The Eliminator (1966)
The Co-ordinator (1968)
The Predator (1968)
The Deviator (1969)
The Dominator (1969)
The Infiltrator (1971)
The Expurgator (1972)
The Captivator (1973)
The Fascinator (1975)
Operations by Jonathan Anders Saga
The Doom Fisherman (1969) aka Operation Destruct as Christopher Nicole
Manhunt for a General (1970) aka Operation Manhunt as Christopher Nicole
Appointment in Kiltone (1972) aka Operation Neptune as Christopher Nicole
Single novels
Dark Passage (1976)
The Combination (1983)
Tallant for Saga
Tallant for Trouble (1977)
Tallant for Disaster (1978)
Tallant for Terror (1995)
Tallant for Democracy (1996)
As Robin Cade
Single novels
The Fear Dealers (1974)
As Mark Logan
Nicholas Minnett Saga
Tricolour (1976) aka The Captain’s Woman
Guillotine (1976) French Kiss
Brumaire (1978) aka December Passions
As Christina Nicholson
Single novels
Power and the Passion (1977)
The Savage Sands (1978)
Queen of Paris (1979)
As Alison York
Single novels
The Fire and the Rope (1979)
The Scented Sword (1980)
No Sad Song (1987)
A Secret Truth (1987)
That Dear Perfection (1988)
The Maxton Bequest (1989)
A Binding Contract (1990)
Summer in Eden (1990)
Love’s Double Fool (1991)
Distant Shadows (1992)
Tomorrow’s Harvest (1992)
Dear Enemy (1994)
Free to Love (1995)
As Leslie Arlen
[5]
The Borodins Saga
Love and Honor (1980)
War and Passion (1981)
Fate and Dreams (1981)
Hope and Glory (1982)
Rage and Desire (1982)
Fortune and Fury (1984)
As Robin Nicholson or C.R. Nicholson
Single novels
A Passion for Treason (1981) aka The Friday Spy
As Daniel Adams
Grant Saga
Brothers and Enemies (1982)
Defiant Loves (1984)
As Simon McKay
Anderson Line Series
The Seas of Fortune (1983)
The Rivals (1985)
As Caroline Gray
[6]
Single novels
First Class (1984)
Hotel de Luxe (1985)
Victoria’s Walk (1986)
White Rani (1986)
The Third Life (1988)
The Shadow of Death (1989)
Blue Water, Black Depths (1990)
The Daughter (1992)
Golden Girl (1992)
Spares (1993)
Crossbow (1996)
Masquerade (1997)
Helier L’Eree Trilogy
Spawn of the Devil (1994)
Sword of the Devil (1994)
Death of the Devil (1994)
Mayne Saga
A Woman of Her Time (1995)
A Child of Fortune (1996)
Colonial Caribee Saga
The Promised Land (1997)
The Phoenix (1998)
The Torrent (1999)
The Inheritance (1999)
As Alan Savage
Single novels
Ottoman (1990)
Moghul (1991)
Queen of the Night (1993)
Queen of Lions (1994)
Eight Banners
The Eight Banners (1992)
The Last Bannerman (1993)
Eleanor of Aquitaine Saga
Eleanor of Aquitaine (1995)
Queen of Love (1995)
The Sword Series
The Sword and the Scalpel (1996)
The Sword and the Jungle (1996)
The Sword and the Prison (1997)
Stop Rommel! (1998)
The Afrika Corps (1998)
The Traitor Within (1999)
Commando Series
Commando (1999)
The Cause (2000)
The Tiger (2000)
Balkan Saga
Partisan (2001)
Murder’s Art (2002)
Battleground (2002)
The Killing Ground (2003)
French Resistance Saga
Resistance (2003)
The Game of Treachery (2004)
Legacy of Hate (2004)
The Brightest Day (2005)
RAF Saga
Blue Yonder (2005)
Death in the Sky (2006)
Spiralling Down (2007)
The Whirlwind (2007)
A Honourable Duncan Morant naval thriller Saga
Storm Warning (2007)
The Flowing Tide (2008)
The Calm and the Storm (2008)
The Vortex (2009)
As Nicholas Grant
Single novels
Khan (1993)
Siblings (1995)
June 27th, 2018 at 8:15 pm
Nicole must be the illegitimate offspring of Edgar Wallace and John Creasey.
June 27th, 2018 at 8:37 pm
Most of these do not appear to be my kind of fiction but I’d be very tempted to sample some of these. On the other hand during the 1990s it looks like he must have written a book a month, if not more. You’d think that with a quantity of this size. the quality must start to fray around the edges, wouldn’t you?
July 7th, 2018 at 5:40 pm
Several of the series set in the early 20th Century and WWII era involve spies, intrigue, gun running, and such so are at least ascociated with the genre.
Most of the historical novels in earlier eras are in line with the kind of novels Wilbur Smith, John Masters, Gary Jennings, and James Leasor wrote, swords, heaving bosoms, and sweeping adventurous history.