Welcome to the second in my series of favourite books which I’ll be reviewing over the summer. Lionel Davidson’s Kolymsky Heightsis one those books which I, although I hestitate to say it, would put in the ‘best you’ve never heard of’ category. I know that’s a cliché but it’s how it was described to me when I was first given it to read in 2008, the person who gave it me probably had the same conversation with the person who gave it to them and so forth. After reading Kolymsky Heights the first time I didn’t disagree 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.

Kolymsky Heights, Lionel Davidson | AustCrimeFiction Kolymsky Heights, Lionel Davidson | AustCrimeFiction

Lionel Davidson died on 21 October 2009 in north London after a long illness. Davidson's first wife, the former Fay Jacobs, died in 1988. Finally at long last a thriller which reflects the presumably rather mundane life of secret agents as they travel to all manner of far away locations with a meticulous logging of all the steps this takes. This does make the book rather plodding in parts but it's a mesmerizing plod, a plod which one rather enjoys and it unfolds with stately grace seldom encountered in a thriller. Davidson wrote a number of children's novels under the pseudonym David Line. Run For Your Life is an example. 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. 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.In his piece, Pullman likens Kolymsky Heights to the classic quest novel, in that it follows the three basic ingredients found in such stories as Treasure Island, Jason and the Argonauts, King Solomon’s Mines, and Lord of the Rings. A hero travels to a far-off place in difficult circumstances; he must retrieve something valuable and there will be serious consequences if he doesn’t; finally, he must return even though he may be a poorer but a wiser man after the trials of his journey. Pullman also declares it the bet thriller he’s ever read, so we set out to see if he’s right. Hugely thrilling, brilliantly written, perfect … I didn’t want this book to end.’ (Anthony Horowitz) The synopsis itself is fairly simple, a single man must enter a heavily restricted part Russia, then enter an even more heavily restricted research facility, extract the required information and return safely to the west. It’s a classic quest story and Kolymsky Heights has been compared to John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps, I personally think it’s closer to Greenmantle, the second of Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels than it is to The Thirty-Nine Steps. Instead of Richard Hannay as the civilian thrown into the deep end, in Kolymsky Heights we have Johnny Porter, a native Canadian Indian who has a gift for learning indigenous languages. He’s also not unexpectedly very resourceful and in a step too far he’s a bit like James Bond when it comes to seducing women.

Kolymsky Heights - Waterstones Exclusive Edition by Lionel

The characterisation is also generally good within the conventions of the thriller with the exception of the hero who seems to be a sort of cut-out sentimental sociopath of enormous animal cunning but without much of an interior life as far as we are concerned. There is also a quasi-science fantasy element that won't fool anyone with any understanding of modern science, even those inclined to think that the Russians always have something up their sleeves.But the essence of the book is its relentless energy, finally tuned so that it all hangs together as a set of necessary perilous quest journeys (much as Pullman notes). Excellent ... Kolymsky Heights is up there with The Silence of the Lambs, Casino Royale and Smiley's People. (Toby Young Spectator) But that is the point - these heroes are not written by Jane Austen. They appeal to the latent sociopath in every male wolf turned into corporate dog. The sentimentality keeps the reader from forgetting that actually he prefers life as a dog, all things considered. The other important character of the story is not a human, it’s the deep frozen lightless Siberian winter. Kolymsky Heights is one of the best novels I’ve ever read in terms of capturing and using the sense of place to the advantage of the story. Finally, I should also mention the pacing of Kolymsky Heights. It is almost a master class in building and releasing tension, each time building the tension slightly higher until the last part of the novel when all that built up tension unleashes itself in a frenetic chase across Siberia. Philip Pullman has said of the novel: "The best thriller I've ever read, and I've read plenty. A solidly researched and bone-chilling adventure in a savage setting, with a superb hero." [4]