Quiller Salamander

Rating:
Summary: Adieu, Quiller - you are the best
Review: Adam Hall's Quiller is the spy who makes other literary spies look like kids playing Spy vs Spy. And with the passing of Hall (real name Elliston Trevor), this will be the last Quiller book, and for that the world is a poorer place.

Quiller Salamander contains all the elements that make reading Quiller delicious: the pragmatic, thoughtful, scarily capable Quiller faced with an impossible mission in impossible circumstances, in a story populated with genuine, solid characters, in an authentic-feeling world. Some spy stories delight in their improbability; Quiller's work is real, in the actual world we all live in. Quiller doesn't rely on gadgets and tricks; he doesn't even routinely carry a gun. But he accomplishes more in a single mission than most of us could in a lifetime. Hall's writing style packs more action in a paragraph than most Hollywood movies can fit in two hours.

Re-reading (for example) Ian Fleming's James Bond books just makes me feel embarrassed. But I will enjoy re-reading Quiller all my life, as I enjoy Sherlock Holmes. If you want to immerse yourself in another world, meet Quiller.

Rating:
Summary: Haere ra, Quiller
Review: In New Zealand, where I live, haere ra is a Maori term meaning more than goodbye. It expresses sorrow at the departure, regret at the necessity for parting, hope for a reuniting in the future.
Adam Hall, creator of Quiller, is no more. Quiller has performed his last service with his usual stoicism, his acknowledged courage, his down-at-heel humanity.
I've enjoyed meeting with Quiller on a regular basis; I regret that he shall tell me no new tales.
However, I have his old tales to refresh my mind as to what an extraordinary character he was.
Haere ra, Quiller.

Rating:
Summary: More info on Quiller series at www.quiller.net fan site
Review: There is a lot more info on the Quiller series at www.quiller.net, a fan site.