Fri 17 Jan 2025
KEITH LAUMER – The Gold Bomb. Berkley X1592. paperback original; 1st printing, 1968. #7 in The Avengers series.
Steed and Tara, on the trail of radioactive gold being smuggled into England, discover that it is actually being used to bring uranium into the country. And so the hunt is on, looking for a madman walking a large Newfoundland dog, to find him before he can bring together the components if a nuclear bomb capable of wiping London off the map.
Laumer is off and running with his Retief style here, which seems to fit the Avengers type of humor fairy well, with constant retorts and witticisms. He also seems to find a good bit of humor in having Tara confused as Steed’s daughter, or in Steed’s luck in a fiancée.
An early critical comment by Steed on the decline of the British workingman in an unionized country seems irrelevant, but their construction site turns up later as the bomber’s idea for a perfect hiding place. Rubbing their noses in it, so to say.
Rating: ***
The Avengers series by Keith Laumer —
5. The Afrit Affair (1968)
6. The Drowned Queen (1968)
7. The Gold Bomb (1968)
January 18th, 2025 at 12:39 am
At first these seemed an odd fit for Laumer, though he was ideal for the Invaders books. Still they were fun and I actually think he did the best of them.
January 18th, 2025 at 6:52 am
I agree with David that these were the best of the lot, but I would not equate them with Laumer’s pre-stroke Retief tales. This was the third of three tie-in novels Laumer wrote based on the series; the first four books in the series were written by John Garforth, the last two by Norman A. Daniels.
January 18th, 2025 at 10:13 am
I have just added to the review a list of the three Avengers novels that Laumer wrote. You are probably right in saying that they are not up to par with his early Retief stories, but I can think of only a very few writers of the time (late 60s) whose style fit in as well as his did with that of the TV series.
January 18th, 2025 at 5:19 pm
I would’ve liked to see what John Sladek would’ve made of one…
January 18th, 2025 at 6:16 pm
Sladek was primarily known as an SF writer, and especially for his ultra ultra satirical way of thinking (and writing). He also produced a couple of very good detective novels. You’re right, Todd. I really have to wonder what The Avengers would have been like in his hands.
January 18th, 2025 at 8:28 pm
And let us not forget that it was Sladek who discovered the 13th sign of the Zodiac.
January 19th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
I haven’t read it, but here’s the tale:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3951617-arachne-rising