So if this book had been "oh I'm kinda sci-fi-y" from the start, then I'd have been a bit more accepting of the talking apes. But when they arrived, my reading brain just threw all its toys out of the pram, went and had a bit of a break, and left whatever remained to finish the book. It's a fine book. I just wasn't happy to suspend my disbelief as far as was required. I can believe a guy builds a car by himself in a freezing cave. I can believe everyone falls madly in love with him for no discernably good reason. Those are all acceptable things within the spy-story framework. Talking chimpanzees are not. Davidson wrote a number of children's novels under the pseudonym David Line. Run For Your Life is an example. Carroll, James (26 February 1995). "The Spy in the Cold". The New York Times . Retrieved 23 September 2021. I first read Kolymsky Heights during a heatwave a few years ago in Ukraine. Lying sweltering in an unbearably stuffy hotel room in Kiev, I'd never felt colder, immersed in the bone-chilling world of hero Johnny Porter, huddled in the depths of the Siberian winter. Well, I saw 'Kolymsky Heights' on a list of the best 25 thrillers of the past few years, read a couple blurbs by other authors about it (Charles Cumming, what have you done???) and thought I'd be in for a superior reading experience. Not! Note to self: don't rely on author's blurbs about other authors!

Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson - AbeBooks Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson - AbeBooks

Kolymsky Heights from the late Lionel Davidson has just been re-released by Faber & Faber with an introduction from Philip Pullman with the testimonial that it was “The best thriller I’ve ever read.” I thought that this was a very big statement and would I be let down by the boast, and to be honest I think he undersold it! As someone who has enjoyed reading classic adventure thrillers from the inter war period of the 20s and 30s it reminded me very much of that excellent but long forgotten genre. Kolymsky Heights is an adventure, with spy –espionage wrapped up in a thriller out in the frozen tundra of Siberia. The most closely-guarded secret of the Cold War is about to be exposed – the identity of a SIXTH member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring. And people are killing for it… Davidson’s prose is very readable (the many typos notwithstanding!), although maybe a little over-involved with some of the many technicalities involved in the caper. This is a 2015 re-publication of a solid thriller from the immediate post-Cold War period with a slightly breathless introduction by the children's fantasy writer Philip Pullman.No, it is unfair. Once you get used to the unusual structure -build-up with what turn out to be almost irrelevant characters, long, drawn-out disguise sequences, highly technical worries, short underwhelming 'climax' followed by breath-taking action chase sequence- it is enormous fun. Basically, I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, other than to say that the last quarter is very, very tense and highly successful. Lionel Davidson was a three-times winner of the Gold Dagger Award (for The Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shilo and The Chelsea Murders). His thrillers and adventure novels have won him enormous international acclaim. He also wrote children's books under the name of David Line. Walker, Maxton (3 August 2014). "A book for the beach: Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 September 2021.

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Kolymsky Heights is a 1994 thriller novel by Lionel Davidson. It was his first thriller novel in 16 years, following The Chelsea Murders. [1] Plot summary [ edit ] But get all that nonsense out of the way and you have a very much above average effort. Davidson could actually write. The obligatory formulaic aspects of the genre are transformed into more plausibility than you usually get within these masculine fantasies. This has been the biggest literary disappointment I’ve had in a while, because I was genuinely expecting to like this. This is my first book by Davidson; I always try to give an author a second chance if I don’t enjoy a book of theirs, and since I already (perhaps stupidly) grabbed Rose of Tibet when I bought this, I will be reading that at some point to see if Davidson can somewhat redeem himself for me. Not that he would care, and if you enjoyed this book, neither should you.

Kolymsky Heights - IMDb Kolymsky Heights - IMDb

Publishers Weekly described it as "shameless, wonderful, riveting entertainment". [1] The New York Times described it as "an icy marvel of invention". [2] A review in The Guardian described it as "a masterpiece of suspense". [3]Read about the Faber story, find out about our unique partnerships, and learn more about our publishing heritage, awards and present-day activity.