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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #1
The man from U.N.C.L.E: [the thousand coffins affair]
No. G-553. First in the series. TV Tie-in. Both covers have photos of Robert Vaughn in character.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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336 people want to read
About the author
Michael Avallone
178Ìýbooks36ÌýfollowersAlso wrote under Nick Carter alias with others
Michael Angelo Avallone was a prolific American author of mystery and secret agent fiction, and novelizations based on TV and films. He claimed a lifetime output over 1,000 works, including novels, short stories, articles, published under his own name or 17+ pseudonyms.
His first novel, The Tall Dolores 1953 introduced Ed Noon PI. After three dozen more, the most recent was 1989. The final volume, "Since Noon Yesterday" is, as of 2005, unpublished.
Tie-ins included Man from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-0, Mannix, Friday the 13th Part III, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and even The Partridge Family. In late 1960s novellas featured U.N.C.L.E.-like INTREX. He is sometimes cited incorrectly as the creator of Man from U.N.C.L.E. (as in the January 1967 issue of The Saint Magazine), or having died March 1.
As Troy Conway, Rod Damon: The Coxeman novel series 1967-73, parodied Man from UNCLE. An unusual entry was the novelization of the 1982 TV mini-series, A Woman Called Golda, the life of Golda Meir.
Among the many pseudonyms that Michael Avallone used (male and female) were: Mile Avalione, Mike Avalone, Nick Carter, Troy Conway, Priscilla Dalton, Mark Dane, Jeanne-Anne dePre, Dora Highland, Stuart Jason, Steve Michaels, Dorothea Nile, Edwina Noone, John Patrick, Vance Stanton, Sidney Stuart, Max Walker, and Lee Davis Willoughby.
From 1962-5, Avallone edited the Mystery Writers of America newsletter. Personal Life:
He married 1949 Lucille Asero (one son; marriage dissolved), 1960 Fran Weinstein (one son, one daughter); died Los Angeles.
Michael Angelo Avallone was a prolific American author of mystery and secret agent fiction, and novelizations based on TV and films. He claimed a lifetime output over 1,000 works, including novels, short stories, articles, published under his own name or 17+ pseudonyms.
His first novel, The Tall Dolores 1953 introduced Ed Noon PI. After three dozen more, the most recent was 1989. The final volume, "Since Noon Yesterday" is, as of 2005, unpublished.
Tie-ins included Man from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-0, Mannix, Friday the 13th Part III, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and even The Partridge Family. In late 1960s novellas featured U.N.C.L.E.-like INTREX. He is sometimes cited incorrectly as the creator of Man from U.N.C.L.E. (as in the January 1967 issue of The Saint Magazine), or having died March 1.
As Troy Conway, Rod Damon: The Coxeman novel series 1967-73, parodied Man from UNCLE. An unusual entry was the novelization of the 1982 TV mini-series, A Woman Called Golda, the life of Golda Meir.
Among the many pseudonyms that Michael Avallone used (male and female) were: Mile Avalione, Mike Avalone, Nick Carter, Troy Conway, Priscilla Dalton, Mark Dane, Jeanne-Anne dePre, Dora Highland, Stuart Jason, Steve Michaels, Dorothea Nile, Edwina Noone, John Patrick, Vance Stanton, Sidney Stuart, Max Walker, and Lee Davis Willoughby.
From 1962-5, Avallone edited the Mystery Writers of America newsletter. Personal Life:
He married 1949 Lucille Asero (one son; marriage dissolved), 1960 Fran Weinstein (one son, one daughter); died Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
November 17, 2017
Mr. Avallone said that he'd gotten a rotten deal from the publisher on the project. "I did it for a flat fee of $1,000 with a handshake deal to do the rest of the series," said Avallone in a 1989 interview. "Then Ace double-crossed everybody and they got follow-up writers to do the others. They sold it to 60 foreign countries.
Avallone said he faced some minor editorial restrictions on the U.N.C.L.E. book, at the studio's insistence. The villainous organization of the book, Golgotha, was described by Avallone as being German. "MGM insisted on making them Russians -- and of course this was 1964, the height of the Cold War."
Avallone said he faced some minor editorial restrictions on the U.N.C.L.E. book, at the studio's insistence. The villainous organization of the book, Golgotha, was described by Avallone as being German. "MGM insisted on making them Russians -- and of course this was 1964, the height of the Cold War."
April 5, 2019
The inhabitants of a village in Europe go stark raving mad. Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin try to find out what is going on. Of course, it's THRUSH.
Pretty good example of the series during its heyday in prose.
Pretty good example of the series during its heyday in prose.
September 29, 2020
THRUSH is nearing completion of a new super weapon that is capable of killing off whole cities in savage fashion. It’s chemical warfare at its finest. Napoleon Solo, U.N.C.L.E.’s best agent is dispatched to deal with the crisis.
This is the very first book in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel series and I’ve been itching to get to it ever since I finished watching all four seasons of the TV show a couple of weeks ago. I was heartened to learn that these books are not just reincarnations of specific episodes but rather complete, stand-alone stories. I found it to be a fun read with a lot of good background presented on the main characters, especially Solo and Mr. Waverly that you really can’t do easily in a TV show. It also provided some good intel on the U.N.C.L.E. headquarters building that was only hinted at on TV. Illya Kuryakin, does have a small role here but is mostly confined to lab work. This tells me that the book was conceived and written based on the TV script outlines of the first couple of episodes before the popularity of David McCallum’s character elevated the role.
“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.� TV show first aired on September 22, 1964. It was a time of turbulence in American history, with news headlines including reports of a place called Vietnam where US Government forces had just inflicted “heavy casualties� on Communist forces invading South Vietnam. The Warren Commission was on the verge of announcing its verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone. In the South, the Heart of Atlanta Hotel was asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the 1965 Civil Rights Act. This was the backdrop from which this TV show sprang and a series of paperback novels were generated as part of an aggressive and ingenious marketing plan for its time. Cold War themes prevail throughout the novel.
Noted mystery writer, Michael Avallone was recruited to write the series but after great success with this first novel, (for which he was paid a measly $1000) his handshake deal to write the rest was undercut and other writers were signed to do the rest. However this novel’s healthy reception and success opened doors for him and he went on to write over 200 novels, many of them TV and movie tie-ins.
So, all in all, this was an excellent first start to the series. I think it stands well on its own even for readers who have never watched the TV show. With different authors writing the other books, I look forward to seeing how they compare.
This is the very first book in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel series and I’ve been itching to get to it ever since I finished watching all four seasons of the TV show a couple of weeks ago. I was heartened to learn that these books are not just reincarnations of specific episodes but rather complete, stand-alone stories. I found it to be a fun read with a lot of good background presented on the main characters, especially Solo and Mr. Waverly that you really can’t do easily in a TV show. It also provided some good intel on the U.N.C.L.E. headquarters building that was only hinted at on TV. Illya Kuryakin, does have a small role here but is mostly confined to lab work. This tells me that the book was conceived and written based on the TV script outlines of the first couple of episodes before the popularity of David McCallum’s character elevated the role.
“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.� TV show first aired on September 22, 1964. It was a time of turbulence in American history, with news headlines including reports of a place called Vietnam where US Government forces had just inflicted “heavy casualties� on Communist forces invading South Vietnam. The Warren Commission was on the verge of announcing its verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone. In the South, the Heart of Atlanta Hotel was asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the 1965 Civil Rights Act. This was the backdrop from which this TV show sprang and a series of paperback novels were generated as part of an aggressive and ingenious marketing plan for its time. Cold War themes prevail throughout the novel.
Noted mystery writer, Michael Avallone was recruited to write the series but after great success with this first novel, (for which he was paid a measly $1000) his handshake deal to write the rest was undercut and other writers were signed to do the rest. However this novel’s healthy reception and success opened doors for him and he went on to write over 200 novels, many of them TV and movie tie-ins.
So, all in all, this was an excellent first start to the series. I think it stands well on its own even for readers who have never watched the TV show. With different authors writing the other books, I look forward to seeing how they compare.
September 14, 2024
Oh, this is painful! Laughably painful, but painful nonetheless...I can't believe I read these books back in, what, junior high? All twenty of them -- plus the monthly magazine, each of which featured an even worse Man from U.N.C.L.E. "novella." Plotting is awful (which is to say, non-existent), writing is horrible and not only sexist but embarrassingly BAD sexist: "He was worn to the bone, and starved -- and Geraldine Terry had a splendid figure. She was nearly as tall as he but her chest measurements were far more satisfactory and in shaplier evidence. The leather flying jacket now could not conceal the surge of a ripe, womanly body." I can only hope they got better as the series progressed over the next four years, but I don't plan on finding out...
Okay, that's enough of this nonsense for a while. I'm going back to good books...
Okay, that's enough of this nonsense for a while. I'm going back to good books...
February 3, 2018
Ever since I've watch the movie, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I've wanted to read the books. FINALLY, I got to read book one out of this series.
Now I didn't love or hate this book - I liked it, it was okay, more like meh to me really. I never watched the show growing up because well.. I wasn't alive then. However, I have seen the movie countless times and my dad did mention to me that he liked the show when he was growing up. So, I was like.. okay I'll try out the first book.
The Thousand Coffins Affair was mostly boring to me. However, I did read it in one sitting. I didn't put the book down once. I liked getting to Napoleon and Illya again. Now when Napoleon was by himself in the beginning of the book - it was a straight up snooze fest. But when my man Illya popped in, boy did it get better (in my eyes).
Besides the lovable duo, the villain was beyond weird to me. I didn't really care about him being a villain at all. I just wanted him to go away or die pretty quickly on.
Overall, it was an okay book. Will I read the second book? Yeah, probably.. if my library has it.
Now I didn't love or hate this book - I liked it, it was okay, more like meh to me really. I never watched the show growing up because well.. I wasn't alive then. However, I have seen the movie countless times and my dad did mention to me that he liked the show when he was growing up. So, I was like.. okay I'll try out the first book.
The Thousand Coffins Affair was mostly boring to me. However, I did read it in one sitting. I didn't put the book down once. I liked getting to Napoleon and Illya again. Now when Napoleon was by himself in the beginning of the book - it was a straight up snooze fest. But when my man Illya popped in, boy did it get better (in my eyes).
Besides the lovable duo, the villain was beyond weird to me. I didn't really care about him being a villain at all. I just wanted him to go away or die pretty quickly on.
Overall, it was an okay book. Will I read the second book? Yeah, probably.. if my library has it.
September 25, 2016
A lean and propulsive thriller telling the tale of Napoleon Solo and companions getting out of continuous deadly fixes in a quest to defeat the monstrous villain Golgotha, who has devised a chemical weapon that threatens the world. A quick and entertaining read; and that covers two of my most important criteria for a good book. Four stars.
June 27, 2016
I hardly know where to start with this one. This is a book where the author has an immense attraction to the idea of American as a gung-ho nation of absolute brilliance (Uncle Sam, Solo. They all know we’re represented by the biggest country in the world and they’re impressed. Besides, the last bit of excitement around here must have been V-E Day). Meanwhile the Germans in the story are more often either snivelling peasants awed by the glory of their American conquerors or lingering Nazis (German hospitality still has a Nazi flavor in some areas, I suppose. You never know when you’re shaking hands with a man who stood by those gas ovens.)
This is a book of tortured metaphors, sexism, and casual xenophobia. We get lines like ‘Solo lit a cigarette and loosened his tie. The plain, simple furniture mocked him.� We’re introduced to Jerry Terry, girl spy (She wasn’t an Army Intelligence officer because she had nice coppery hair or good legs), whom Napoleon takes at face value as being from US Army Intelligence and doesn’t fail to objectify and underestimate through the whole story, except when she’s fainting and whimpering because she’s a girl.
Even Illya Kuryakin, the incredibly scruffy (who knew?) Russian agent, isn’t immune from the author’s xenophobia. ‘For all of his Russian origin, the man was an excellent U.N.C.L.E. agent.� Perhaps it’s good he’s not in the story much. Napoleon Solo is a womanising hero who regrets not killing a female enemy when he had the chance but fails to kill a horrifically scarred skull-faced Nazi chemist when he has the chance, leaving him as a threat for the rest of the book.
And lets talk about the plot holes. The enemy try to kill Napoleon with ultrasonics, which they then replace seamlessly with airtight metal panels over the windows and door so he will suffocate. That’s some planning in a public hotel. Luckily Napoleon (who didn’t electrocute himself by plunging his keys into a wall socket to kill the ultrasonics) manages to pull the ultrasonics back into service to blow the bloody doors off. What?
Later, Napoleon can’t put his friend’s coffin in a light aircraft because it might slide around (haven’t you heard of ropes, Napoleon?) but can send it out in an army helicopter commissioned by Alexander Waverly, because Alexander Waverly is pretty much the only awesome thing in this story. Later still, Napoleon and Illya parachute in to 1000 yards away from an incredibly important German cemetery and have thirty minutes � yes, thirty minutes � to walk to the cemetery in pitch darkness, identify a likely grave, dig up said grave, examine the contents, contact the US Air Force bomber above, and get out of the way. In the end they get to the grave, dig it up, have a lengthy conversation with the skull-faced man Napoleon neglected to kill earlier, fight it out with the bad guys, and contact the bombers to let them know they’ll blow it up themselves � because blowing up a cemetery riddled with pellets of nerve gas is a stonking idea. You just have to hope the wind’s blowing in the right direction.
Then, with Illya sporting a bullet wound to the shoulder, and in the dark, the pair manage to set charges at the corners of a cemetery previous described as ‘vast� as well as very important to the area and deliberately left alone during WWII because of that, and get away with a seven minute fuse. The Americans blow up an incredibly important German cemetery because some of the graves contain nerve gas. They were going to bomb it from the air, for god’s sake, thus prolonging the Cold War by about fifty years, but instead they cosily blow it up from the ground. I don’t know why they couldn’t just station guards around it and extract the nerve gas safely. I doubt the author knows either. Or maybe he does. Maybe it’s because bombing the crap out of places is just the American way.
Once all that is done we’re just left with Jerry Terry and her incredible breasts, because that’s the kind of guy Napoleon Solo is.
This is a book of tortured metaphors, sexism, and casual xenophobia. We get lines like ‘Solo lit a cigarette and loosened his tie. The plain, simple furniture mocked him.� We’re introduced to Jerry Terry, girl spy (She wasn’t an Army Intelligence officer because she had nice coppery hair or good legs), whom Napoleon takes at face value as being from US Army Intelligence and doesn’t fail to objectify and underestimate through the whole story, except when she’s fainting and whimpering because she’s a girl.
Even Illya Kuryakin, the incredibly scruffy (who knew?) Russian agent, isn’t immune from the author’s xenophobia. ‘For all of his Russian origin, the man was an excellent U.N.C.L.E. agent.� Perhaps it’s good he’s not in the story much. Napoleon Solo is a womanising hero who regrets not killing a female enemy when he had the chance but fails to kill a horrifically scarred skull-faced Nazi chemist when he has the chance, leaving him as a threat for the rest of the book.
And lets talk about the plot holes. The enemy try to kill Napoleon with ultrasonics, which they then replace seamlessly with airtight metal panels over the windows and door so he will suffocate. That’s some planning in a public hotel. Luckily Napoleon (who didn’t electrocute himself by plunging his keys into a wall socket to kill the ultrasonics) manages to pull the ultrasonics back into service to blow the bloody doors off. What?
Later, Napoleon can’t put his friend’s coffin in a light aircraft because it might slide around (haven’t you heard of ropes, Napoleon?) but can send it out in an army helicopter commissioned by Alexander Waverly, because Alexander Waverly is pretty much the only awesome thing in this story. Later still, Napoleon and Illya parachute in to 1000 yards away from an incredibly important German cemetery and have thirty minutes � yes, thirty minutes � to walk to the cemetery in pitch darkness, identify a likely grave, dig up said grave, examine the contents, contact the US Air Force bomber above, and get out of the way. In the end they get to the grave, dig it up, have a lengthy conversation with the skull-faced man Napoleon neglected to kill earlier, fight it out with the bad guys, and contact the bombers to let them know they’ll blow it up themselves � because blowing up a cemetery riddled with pellets of nerve gas is a stonking idea. You just have to hope the wind’s blowing in the right direction.
Then, with Illya sporting a bullet wound to the shoulder, and in the dark, the pair manage to set charges at the corners of a cemetery previous described as ‘vast� as well as very important to the area and deliberately left alone during WWII because of that, and get away with a seven minute fuse. The Americans blow up an incredibly important German cemetery because some of the graves contain nerve gas. They were going to bomb it from the air, for god’s sake, thus prolonging the Cold War by about fifty years, but instead they cosily blow it up from the ground. I don’t know why they couldn’t just station guards around it and extract the nerve gas safely. I doubt the author knows either. Or maybe he does. Maybe it’s because bombing the crap out of places is just the American way.
Once all that is done we’re just left with Jerry Terry and her incredible breasts, because that’s the kind of guy Napoleon Solo is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2019
This first tie-in novel is just one of many written by the author. He also did Mannix and just about every action series on TV in the 60s and early 70s.
The novel itself is pretty good, with all of the rush, fuss, gunplay, and explosions you'd expect from one of the TV episodes. Solo is at his debonair best, Waverly is unflappable, but Kuryakin is given only a little time. A fellow reader told me this improves with later books, so I guess that's fine here.
Thrush is the villain, of course, with chemical warfare being the method of chaos the organization is trying to use. The science is a little wonky, but the description of the victim's death will give you chills.
Well worth your time.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
The novel itself is pretty good, with all of the rush, fuss, gunplay, and explosions you'd expect from one of the TV episodes. Solo is at his debonair best, Waverly is unflappable, but Kuryakin is given only a little time. A fellow reader told me this improves with later books, so I guess that's fine here.
Thrush is the villain, of course, with chemical warfare being the method of chaos the organization is trying to use. The science is a little wonky, but the description of the victim's death will give you chills.
Well worth your time.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
May 1, 2023
Very difficult to put down!
January 16, 2025
I’ve also watched the movie
All for Henry Cavill
Worth it? Yes for my eyes, no for my time
All for Henry Cavill
Worth it? Yes for my eyes, no for my time
October 15, 2014
This was the first work by Avallone I ever read. Went on to pick up a lot of his works over the years. Still am.
Probably written before the series ever aired, and certainly before the Illya Kuryakin character rose in popularity, it concerns a germ warfare plot by Thrush. one thing in chapter one, a dying U.N.C.L.E. agent frantically leaves a clue for agents that would follow relating to one of the Ellery Queen novels.
Probably written before the series ever aired, and certainly before the Illya Kuryakin character rose in popularity, it concerns a germ warfare plot by Thrush. one thing in chapter one, a dying U.N.C.L.E. agent frantically leaves a clue for agents that would follow relating to one of the Ellery Queen novels.
October 8, 2018
I read this book and a few others in this series many years ago. I was fooling around on eBay found a complete set of the series and put in a low bid and got them so no I am going to reread the entire series in order just for nostalgia sake. The first one was fun and brought back some great memories. I will keep you posted as I progress with the series. May have to rewatch the TV series as well
March 16, 2015
Reconnected me with my past love of all things U.N.C.L.E.! Basic character development, but still enjoyed the reunion with Waverly, Solo and Kuryakin! Grabbing number 2! Also discovered that there will be a new U.N.C.L.E. feature film!
August 21, 2022
Misogyny is SO fun when it’s coming from a Henry Cavill character! There’s a woman named Jerry. Illya Kuryakin is in the story. A plethora of spies-in-a-hurry-on-the-tarmac scenes. Sweet
June 21, 2024
Also known as "The Thousand Coffins Affair," this debut U.N.C.L.E. novel is the only one in the series not to feature the name of the "Affair" on its front cover; only on the title page. In this one, a THRUSH chemist, the hideously burnt-faced Golgotha, has invented a blood catalyst that not only causes a person to lose mental and physical control of his or her body, leading to a rapid demise, but then to disintegrate shortly after death! After two entire villages--in Africa and Scotland--are wiped out, and an investigating U.N.C.L.E. chemist is himself killed, Solo goes to (the actual location of) Oberteisendorf in Germany to collect his body for autopsy. He is joined by a female operative named Geraldine "Jerry" Terry from U.S. Army Intelligence, and the two learn that Golgotha has not only perfected his lethal chemical, but has stockpiled an entire supply somewhere nearby. This first U.N.C.L.E. outing in printed form is fast moving, suspenseful and intelligent; a nice opener for the series, in all. Highlights include Solo being trapped in a sealed Parisian hotel room from which the air is slowly being vacated; the airplane battle between Solo and Jerry and a "THRUSHie" in a MIG fighter; "The Little Ease" torture that Golgotha forces Solo and Jerry to undergo (during which the two are mother-naked; pretty hot stuff for the baby-boomer boys back when!); the white-hot poker torture threatened by THRUSH colonel Denise Fairmount; and the book's finale in a German cemetery, during which Solo and Illya go up against Golgotha and his minions. Avallone proves himself to be a very decent writer here, peppering his book with literary allusions from Shakespeare to Ellery Queen, mentioning the famous painting "September Morn," and throwing in some fancy verbiage such as "escritoire" and "halation." (Still, he embarrassingly uses the word "satrap" instead of "satrapy" several times, as well as the word "skeletized" instead of "skeletonized.") The author, happily enough, though, does seem to have done his homework as regards weapons and tech matters; thus, the book's mention of M-1 walkie-talkies, the Beechcraft Debonair, trench knives, and the C-47 plane. Golgotha makes for a very good and grotesque villain, if a bit underused, and we also get to learn something about our two U.N.C.L.E. agents that we had not known before: Illya's middle name is Nickovetch, and Napoleon's stated credo is "I like life, cigarettes and coffee. And girls." A few missteps on the author's part do crop up, sadly enough, such as when he shows us Alexander Waverly, our heroes' boss, thinking of Solo as "the young idiot" (Leo G. Carroll's Waverly in the TV show was never hinted at having such a thought), and when Solo fails to kill the unconscious Golgotha when he has an opportunity to do so, despite having bemoaned the fact earlier that he had failed to slay Denise Fairmount. Still, despite everything, a very fine U.N.C.L.E. novel, haunting in parts, that kick-starts this series off in a rousing manner.
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at ....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at ....
January 14, 2024
This was going to be 3 stars, but it kept getting worse. It started out fairly well but by the end it was all quite confused and I couldn't follow who was where (how did the agents stand out against the sky when they were taking the lid off a coffin that was three feet underground?), and the timings were all skewiff. We have 30 minutes to reach the graveyard and dig up a grave, and for some reason have landed a looong walk from the graveyard - but not to worry, because digging up a years-old grave "should be only a matter of moments". Hmm.
I felt that the characterisation of Solo was shaky - sometimes on point, other times not very like him. Kuryakin was just a sidekick with messy hair, a rumpled suit and lots of Russianness, but to be fair, when this was written, the programme was all about Solo, the "man" from UNCLE, and David McCallum (Kuryakin) didn't have joint billing yet.
But Jerry Terry! I know it was the 60s, but seriously! A U.S. Army Intelligence officer who exists mainly to be the damsel in distress and to fall for Solo, although she does also fly the occasional plane. The author (writing from Solo's viewpoint) feels that it is important to remind us in every scene, whether she is running across a field or flying a plane or being tortured in a cage, that Jerry Terry is very attractive, with lovely coppery hair and firm, high breasts. Because it's of the highest priority to make sure the reader has not forgotten this essential information even for a moment. Jerry starts off annoying but OK, but by the end it's as if she's been using the brain-killing hair dye from Cabin in the Woods:
"Oh Napoleon! Why do you have to be so irresistible? I was doing fine until you showed up, you know that? Men don't mean that much to me."
That's not a parody, that's actual dialogue.
So, not a glorious start to the series, but I've read other MFU books, so I know some of them are much,much better than this.
I felt that the characterisation of Solo was shaky - sometimes on point, other times not very like him. Kuryakin was just a sidekick with messy hair, a rumpled suit and lots of Russianness, but to be fair, when this was written, the programme was all about Solo, the "man" from UNCLE, and David McCallum (Kuryakin) didn't have joint billing yet.
But Jerry Terry! I know it was the 60s, but seriously! A U.S. Army Intelligence officer who exists mainly to be the damsel in distress and to fall for Solo, although she does also fly the occasional plane. The author (writing from Solo's viewpoint) feels that it is important to remind us in every scene, whether she is running across a field or flying a plane or being tortured in a cage, that Jerry Terry is very attractive, with lovely coppery hair and firm, high breasts. Because it's of the highest priority to make sure the reader has not forgotten this essential information even for a moment. Jerry starts off annoying but OK, but by the end it's as if she's been using the brain-killing hair dye from Cabin in the Woods:
"Oh Napoleon! Why do you have to be so irresistible? I was doing fine until you showed up, you know that? Men don't mean that much to me."
That's not a parody, that's actual dialogue.
So, not a glorious start to the series, but I've read other MFU books, so I know some of them are much,much better than this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2024
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)
I'm finally going through my physical tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.
I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
I'm finally going through my physical tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.
I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Yes
Would you recommend?: Yes
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
May 7, 2020
Not to damn with faint praise, but the phrase "better than it had a right to be" keeps clanging in my head. Usually, series like this are adaptations of existing episodes of the television program. This plot was an original, and it captured the sound and flair of the first season of the series very well. (The program got a bit crazy, later on -- more camp than was entirely necessary, although it worked well as a guilty pleasure.)
The character of Napoleon Solo had a certain snarky appeal that Avallone not only captures marvelously but actually uses to great advantage. The style of this particular type of spy-thriller has certain things which, again, Avallone brought out with applom -- faintly outrageous tech (for the day), a tying-together of seemingly disparate elements that point to a particularly nefarious plot, a bad guy who is at least one level into the baroque panoply of eccentricities, and an outcome that will be world-threatening if not stopped by the lone (Solo) agent assigned.
Having grown up with this program (it was a family favorite during my single-digit years, and I only got the "adult" jokes after I grew up), this was a happy "read down memory lane." Published in 1965, this book captures the feel of the time and the series, and still manages to hold up as a good representative of both. An enjoyable romp with an "old-fashioned" spy.
The character of Napoleon Solo had a certain snarky appeal that Avallone not only captures marvelously but actually uses to great advantage. The style of this particular type of spy-thriller has certain things which, again, Avallone brought out with applom -- faintly outrageous tech (for the day), a tying-together of seemingly disparate elements that point to a particularly nefarious plot, a bad guy who is at least one level into the baroque panoply of eccentricities, and an outcome that will be world-threatening if not stopped by the lone (Solo) agent assigned.
Having grown up with this program (it was a family favorite during my single-digit years, and I only got the "adult" jokes after I grew up), this was a happy "read down memory lane." Published in 1965, this book captures the feel of the time and the series, and still manages to hold up as a good representative of both. An enjoyable romp with an "old-fashioned" spy.
April 10, 2021
Michael Avallone got around on his typewriter and wrote lots of books in the 1960s. The Thousand Coffin Affair was okay. Some of the science stuff was beyond me, especially in the first chapter when Napoleon Solo has to escape from a hotel room that Thrush and sabotaged. They deafen him with loud sounds and try to remove all the air from the room so he will die. The first chapter ends on a cliffhanger. If you are an Ellery Queen fan, you will savor the allusions that Avallone makes to The Chinese Orange Mystery" (1934) novel because it is an integral part of the plot. This isn't James Bond stuff. Indeed, Solo and his pal Illya Kuryakin have to return a chemist's body from Germany that somehow is reduced to skeleton status in record time. Solo and an Army Intelligence dame wind up tangling with a madman in a robe who is incredibly ugly. Thrush has come up with a drug that when released on the population will turn them into the equivalent of zombies. Not flesh-eating zombies, but mindless mutants. Avallone has a gift for this kind of nonsense. I've read several of his other TV tie-in books.
August 14, 2024
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. series of tie-in novels hit the crown running with this gem from tie-in master Michael Avallone. Napoleon Solo is sent to recover the body of an U.N.C.L.E. chemist in Germany, who for some reason put all his clothes on backwards before he died. Along the way, there are death traps and assassination attempts. Napoleon ends up teaming up with a beautiful Army Intelligence woman named Jerry Terry while several captures and narrow escapes ensue.
The finale involves Napoleon and Illya Kuryakin parachuting onto a cemetary at night to search for a THRUSH super-weapon and destroy it. More capture/escape/blowing stuff up follows.
It's all great fun--a fast-paced, entertaining spy adventure.
The finale involves Napoleon and Illya Kuryakin parachuting onto a cemetary at night to search for a THRUSH super-weapon and destroy it. More capture/escape/blowing stuff up follows.
It's all great fun--a fast-paced, entertaining spy adventure.
January 4, 2017
A good fun bit of pulp, nothing too substantial but a very enjoyable bit of spin-off media. A couple of lines made me cringe, but only because they were a little dated and very much of it's genre. Ilya Kuryakin has a real bromance with Napoleon Solo that doesn't feel as strongly reciprocated, much like the women Solo works his way through! Solo is a smooth operator.
I would have given it 4 stars, but while it was nice distraction I haven't been able to decide whether or not to continue reading the series.
I would have given it 4 stars, but while it was nice distraction I haven't been able to decide whether or not to continue reading the series.
August 7, 2023
I read some of the UNCLE books decades ago and quite liked them so when I saw them on internet archive, got all 24 of the paperbacks. I was not greatly impressed with #1 but as the others were written by other authors, better may come. The plot: Thrush has a new weapon to take over the world. Napoleon Solo finds himself in a death trap in Paris with a beautiful woman as he investigates, and escapes. Off to Germany and another trap and another escape, and so on. Finally the evil Golgotha is killed (?) and the good guys win.
May 17, 2025
I ran across the entire The Man from U.N.C.L.E. tie-in books to the '60's TV show at Internet Archive (available in .pdf which works well using the Kindle viewer). I saw that noted pulp authors Michael Avallone & Harry Whittington wrote the first two books so I downloaded both. I thought book #1 was was pretty good, better than expected. Napoleon Solo investigates the strange death of an U.N.C.L.E. chemist in Germany which leads to a rather macabre story. Thrush, sexy spy women, Mr. Waverley & Illya Kuryakin fill out the other characters and they all make-up for an enjoyable action-filled read. I'm looking forward to the Whittington penned book #2, The Doomsday Affair...4.0 outta 5.0...
June 23, 2024
Typical Thrush trying to take over the world and U.N.C.L.E. needs to stop them plot. It was a quick read, but it failed to stay true to the series. The 'villain' was pretty generic, Illya was only there as an afterthought, and the conversations between the characters were not authentic and missing the familiar banter.
August 25, 2020
Not much to say about these books. If you liked the TV show and can tolerate the mild sexism and racism, you'll enjoy these. I have another 7 to read and I think my review will be the same for them all.
January 23, 2020
Loved the show, and very much enjoyed this quick story from the Man from UNCLE universe. Can’t wait to start the next one!
September 13, 2020
It was exciting and easy to read. The adventure parts were rather unconnected from the actual plot but the plot was fairly simple.
July 17, 2023
brain candy, good usage of vocabulary. Not very filling in terms of content.
August 27, 2023
plenty of excitement. great book.
October 7, 2016
A fast, well-paced read. Interesting enough to keep my attention, but not truly gripping
I'm looking forward to reading more from the series, which I read some 20 years ago... I think they were closer to the series and better stories too.
I'm looking forward to reading more from the series, which I read some 20 years ago... I think they were closer to the series and better stories too.
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