paul_cornelius's review
5.0
Excellent final Sam Durell novel from Edward Aarons. Six more Durell novels were published in the series after this one, but they were ghostwritten following Aarons' death in 1975. For his last effort, Aarons rose to the occasion. Assignment Afghan Dragon is one of his best works because it's more of an exotic adventure novel than a spy thriller. And Aarons always was at his best where setting, atmosphere, history, and culture dominated his plots. Here, the story takes place in Iran and Afghanistan before jumping to an island in the Gulf of Oman at the end. Published just three years before the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan Dragon has CIA agent Sam Durell on the trail of an ancient artifact, a jade dragon with ruby eyes, a pearl moon in its throat, and laden with a golden egg. It is a symbol of Afghan sovereignty. But the Chinese and Russians are in a race to acquire it. Behind the scenes are rogue Chinese and Russian hardliners who want to force a war between their two countries and possession of the dragon might lead one or the other to achieve it. Set along the so-called Hippie Trail that brought adventuresome backpackers from the West through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and on to Thailand, the novel depicted an iconic route of its time, the late 70s, that has now disappeared into history. Had contemporary readers of Afghan Dragon only known what awaited in the region during the 1980s and beyond.
And what of our glimpse of Sam Durell in this last true Assignment novel? As has been the tendency in the two previous stories in the series, Sam is more isolated than at any other time in his life. Longtime girlfriend Deirdre Padgett has disappeared from the plots. The fatherly figure of Section K director Dickinson McFee makes only a token appearance. Sam's friends are gone. Many dead, others turned traitor. Sam himself expresses a reluctant skepticism towards his employer and his nation. And he seems drained of energy. It's been twenty years, after all, since Sam started his career. The Durell of the first Assignment novel, in 1955, was still a young man, a veteran of the OSS in World War II. The Durell of Dragon must be on the bad side of 50 by now. Emotionally, he is so, although Aarons is not quite ready to let a more verile Sam disappear into old age. Thus Dragon, as with the Assignment novels beginning somewhere in the mid to late 1960s, omits Durell's background in the OSS. Dragon even alludes to one side character being in the organization, while remaining silent about Durell--Aarons' subtly trying to provide Sam with the elixir of youth???
All well and good. This makes for a satisfying conclusion to the saga of Durell and the Cold War he fought for two decades. Edward S. Aarons, you did superbly to bring it off as you did.
And what of our glimpse of Sam Durell in this last true Assignment novel? As has been the tendency in the two previous stories in the series, Sam is more isolated than at any other time in his life. Longtime girlfriend Deirdre Padgett has disappeared from the plots. The fatherly figure of Section K director Dickinson McFee makes only a token appearance. Sam's friends are gone. Many dead, others turned traitor. Sam himself expresses a reluctant skepticism towards his employer and his nation. And he seems drained of energy. It's been twenty years, after all, since Sam started his career. The Durell of the first Assignment novel, in 1955, was still a young man, a veteran of the OSS in World War II. The Durell of Dragon must be on the bad side of 50 by now. Emotionally, he is so, although Aarons is not quite ready to let a more verile Sam disappear into old age. Thus Dragon, as with the Assignment novels beginning somewhere in the mid to late 1960s, omits Durell's background in the OSS. Dragon even alludes to one side character being in the organization, while remaining silent about Durell--Aarons' subtly trying to provide Sam with the elixir of youth???
All well and good. This makes for a satisfying conclusion to the saga of Durell and the Cold War he fought for two decades. Edward S. Aarons, you did superbly to bring it off as you did.
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