paul_cornelius's review
3.0
I picked up Assignment Bangkok merely because of the title. I knew nothing of Edward S. Aarons before reading this short spy novel. The characters are not completely made out of cardboard, but they're pretty close. Nonetheless, the story is crisp and fast paced. And as this is number 33 in Aarons's series about CIA agent Sam Durell, I suppose it means he had managed to maintain an edge with his writing about the same character over and over and over.
As I wrote, it's the title that grabbed my interest. It's a story about Bangkok and Thailand, written during the last stage of the Vietnam War, when Thailand was still a major staging point for American spies and the military. Aarons floods his passages with Thai terms and descriptions that don't seem all that far from actuality. The ever present smell of jasmine bushes, for example, is one such accurate bit of atmosphere he imparts. But at other times, things seem off. Yes, he's describing Bangkok and northern Thailand from the perspective of 1972. But why do all his names for Thai characters sound Chinese, Vietnamese, or even Burmese? And why does it start out, of all places, in a house owned by a Thai named Uncle Hu? I couldn't get Uncle Ho out of my mind every time Hu was mentioned.
Did Aarons ever actually visit Bangkok and Thailand? I'm not so sure. There are some strange gaps, here. I do see that the author used his interest and background in history to research his books very, very thoroughly. So maybe that is what he did, here.
Are Aarons's Sam Durell novels worth reading? The series begins with Assignment to Disaster, written in 1955. So, yes, there is enough in his style and content to keep me engaged. If just for a little while. Maybe longer.
As I wrote, it's the title that grabbed my interest. It's a story about Bangkok and Thailand, written during the last stage of the Vietnam War, when Thailand was still a major staging point for American spies and the military. Aarons floods his passages with Thai terms and descriptions that don't seem all that far from actuality. The ever present smell of jasmine bushes, for example, is one such accurate bit of atmosphere he imparts. But at other times, things seem off. Yes, he's describing Bangkok and northern Thailand from the perspective of 1972. But why do all his names for Thai characters sound Chinese, Vietnamese, or even Burmese? And why does it start out, of all places, in a house owned by a Thai named Uncle Hu? I couldn't get Uncle Ho out of my mind every time Hu was mentioned.
Did Aarons ever actually visit Bangkok and Thailand? I'm not so sure. There are some strange gaps, here. I do see that the author used his interest and background in history to research his books very, very thoroughly. So maybe that is what he did, here.
Are Aarons's Sam Durell novels worth reading? The series begins with Assignment to Disaster, written in 1955. So, yes, there is enough in his style and content to keep me engaged. If just for a little while. Maybe longer.
More...