THE TALBOT ODYSSEY

by Nelson De Mille ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 25, 1984

The Russians, supported by a plethora of American moles and traitors, plan to decimate the USA with ""The Stroke"" (nuclear space-bombs, electromagnetic pulses)--in this cartoonish, haphazardly plotted thriller from the author of By the Rivers of Babylon and (more impressively) Cathedral. Things start out sturdily enough--as N.Y. lawyer Katherine Kimberly, daughter of a long-missing (presumed dead) OSS hero, is drawn into an old OSS mystery: who was the OSS traitor code-named ""Talbot,"" and is he now a mole somewhere high-up in Washington? Furthermore, Katherine's boss (an OSS veteran) and her CIA lover Peter Thorpe suspect that ""Talbot"" (whoever he is) may be slated to play a key role in an upcoming USSR attack on America! And bodies soon start falling, in traditional fashion, with the clues to Talbot's identity (a diary, OSS archives) disappearing. But then the narrative begins to self-destruct. Thorpe himself is revealed to be a mole, a sadistic psycho who (for his own reasons) is determined to unmask Talbot: he kills Katherine's boss, subjects a CIA historian to hideous electro-torture, and tries to kidnap Katherine--who has meanwhile enlisted the help of suave British agent Marc Pembroke and tough, Brooklyn-Jewish legal aide Tony Abrams (her new lover). Eventually the ragged plot zeroes in on the USSR Mission/mansion on Long Island, next door to the home of yet another OSS vet: the good guys realize that all the bad guys have gathered at the Mission for the ""Stroke"" countdown; Abrams sneaks around the Mission, uncovering the identity of now-aged traitor Talbot; it then appears that there are three ""Talbot"" moles, one of them actually in the White House. So finally, with the US government helpless against the imminent WW III threat, the good guys (Katherine, Abrams, Pembroke, a few others) stage a room-by-room assault on the Soviet Mission, using a giddy assortment of weapons and showdowns to vanquish the Reds. . . and save America. Solid opening chapters, some lively (often ugly) violence, a few nice character-touches--but only the most undemanding suspense-fans will want to stick with this overlong amalgam of contrived tangles, repetitious talk, and silly throwbacks (villainous countesses, whips, sudden resurrections) to the E. Phillips Oppenheim era.

Pub Date: May 25, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION