Reviews

Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler

nigellicus's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense

5.0

There's a sort of thriller, and I don't know if they do this any more or if things have changed so radically since their heyday they're simply unrecognisable, that takes the research-driven mechanics of its plot profoundly seriously, such that much of it is the meticulous working out of practical solutions to obstacles that are either physical, financial or even philosophical. Hence, we have an Indian clerk in Malaysia who finds a cache of arms and has to work out how best to turn them into capital for his endearingly modest dream of owning and running a bus service. It's the financial side of things that draws in an American tourist to act as a broker in name only, and it's tricky dealings over getting a cheque signed that sends him and his wife into danger, because, of course, practical solutions are all very well until they meet various unavoidable imponderables to do with human nature, politics and prejudice. Intelligent, sly, and rich in setting, milieu and assorted colourful characters. 

julylo7's review

5.0

best ambler yet.

vvolof's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

glowe2's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Quirky, almost tongue in cheek, story of a man with a dream of owning a transportation company who see an opportunity to raise capital by selling an illegal arms shipment he stumbled across.  Set in Malaya, the plot includes Chinese brothers who act as middle men for the transaction and an American business on vacation with his wife who is conned into being the front man in transporting the arms shipment.  A well written and entertaining story which won the 1959 british gold dagger award.

paul_cornelius's review

5.0

Quite a stylish spy novel. A unique thriller located in Southeast Asia, from Malaya (events take place just as the Malayan Emergency has played out) to Singapore, from Manila to Sumatra. And what makes it all so interesting is the quite large cast of characters. At the center is a naive American couple, Greg and Dorothy Nilsen, who find themselves caught up in an arms smuggling operation. There is plenty to explore in the motivations of these two innocents abroad. But there is also quite a bit of time given to various figures that surround them. This includes the typically British prig, Colonel Soames of the police in Singapore, on one hand, and the raffish British rogue, Captain Lukey and his Eurasian wife, on the other. The entire scheme starts because of the entrepreneurial dreams of an Indian plantation foreman, Girija Krishnan, and his willingness to take a forgotten cache of Communist weapons and deal them through the three unscrupulous Tan brothers, who have built out their would-be empire in Manila, Malaya, and Singapore. All is enhanced with Communist Malays, Major Gani, Indonesian government loyalists, Gen. Iskaq, Muslim Malay rebels, Col. Oda and Maj. Sutan, and for the first half of the book, a particularly ugly American, in the pushy and obnoxious form of Arlene Drecker.

Passage of Arms makes for a trilogy of sorts that concerns Southeast Asian politics and spies from three British authors. The first was Norman Lewis' A Single Pilgrim, with much of the atmosphere coming from his earlier travel book, A Dragon Apparent; and the second had been Graham Greene's The Quiet American. There is an evolution from the early 1950s to Ambler's view of things in Southeast Asia at the end of the decade. Truth be said, it appears that Greene was "inspired" by much of the plot and ideas contained in Lewis' A Single Pilgrim. Both are serious works, with moral overtones. The issue of moral corruption is here in Ambler's novel, too, but it is treated in a much more breezy fashion than with the other two.

Also apparent is the influence of Alfred Hitchcock on Ambler. He was married to Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison. And there is a common thread running through Ambler and Hitchcock's works of sidetracked naifs drawn into a subterranean world of intrigue and murder/killing, from which they only escape through the courage to dare to survive--and a little luck.

matosapa's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

glenmowrer's review

3.0

3.5* Interesting account of an incredibly silly arms deal in SE Asia pre the US Viet Nam misadventure which somewhat naively seems to assume that US intentions in that arena were better motivated than those of other actors. Ambler is excellent at dialogue and narrative and respects the multi-faceted cultures he encounters, especially considering what other stuff was being produced in the '50s. The plot relies on a rather unconvincing decision by an American business man. But the actual eye witness account is compelling. Still it is a slice of a world that, rough as it is in the novel, seems sort of a Mad Man vibe.

taylorelm's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

neiljung78's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Yes, I liked this. I liked that the way the story is told introduced us to more characters as we went along, all of whom seemed real and vivid. It seemed clear eyed but not cynical about people and the world 

ditarlatoni's review

5.0

Another excellent thriller from Mr Ambler. Fascinating and authentic background of Malay gunrunning and Indonesian political turmoil. And, considering it was published in 1959, reassuringly free of racist stereotypes. A genuine page-turner and highly recommended.