The Eiger Sanction

By: Trevanian

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

In a renovated Gothic church on Long Island lives Jonathan Hemlock, an art professor and a world-renowned mountain climber who finances his black-market art collection by working as a freelance assassin.

Now, Hemlock is being tricked into a hazardous assignment that involves an attempt to scale one of the most treacherous mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps: the Eiger. His target is one of his three fellow climbers. The problem is that the CII can't tell him which one.

This spine-tingling adventure, part thriller and part satire, introduces an intriguing cast of villains, traitors, and beautiful women into a highly charged atmosphere of danger and suspicion that builds to a death-defying climax.

©2000 Rod Whitaker (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Superior suspense on almost every page...the hero is a masterpiece of conflicting qualities - something for everyone." ( New York Times)
"Trevanian can write hoops around Ian Fleming." ( Boston Globe)

I know its a classic but…..

Once u you get beyond the silliness with names (Randi Knickers - really!?!), the climbing sections of novel are gripping and the suspense and twist are great.

Classic

The book is populated by a host of interesting characters and has a unique storyline.

top notch thriller

why can't any one quite like this anymore? well done. highly recommend. I also recommend shibumi, by the same author.

Tension all the way through

I really enjoyed the storyline.
College professor aka assassin on the side to support his art collection, I mean whats not to like?
Great build of characters and backstories, more about climbing than I ever thought to know.
Going on to book 2!

Wanted to read this all of my adult life …

I don’t know why this title has kept coming up all my life, but I guess it’s because it’s a good book, and people enjoy it. I was thrilled to find it in Audible. It’s brilliantly crafted, well written, and especially well read by Joe Barrett, who I would be happy to listen to all day long. He really made this story come to life in my head as I listened, even for the female characters!

I had always thought that this was a spy/espionage novel, and it is, in a way, but it has a different character all its own. I listened to the entire book in 24 hours, and I highly recommend it.

I’m looking forward to trying out my next Trevanian novel!

Read this book now!

Scandalously irreverent!
Absurdly chauvinistic.
Shockingly inappropriate.
Embarrassingly sexist.
Tremendously EXCITING.

A MUST READ! You likely won’t regret it.

better than the movie

I was surprised how close to the book the movie was. I think the ending in the book was better than the movie.

Well written. Narrator Top Tier!

Keeps you guessing….

Some of the preconceptions are dated but put into context of 1971, smoothed this over for me to really enjoy the well thought out arch and plot

And I Learned a Lot About Mountain Climbing, too.

At once deadly serious and slyly funny, Trevanian achieves the same level of visceral tension as Ian Fleming (and many, many more suggestively comic character names, too) while maintaining a John LeCarre-esque “curse-on-both-their-houses” attitude to the Cold War. James Bond has his doubts about what he does; Jonathan Hemlock has nothing but contempt for the job, only doing it to finance his lifestyle.

Even at 11-some hours—for me, a long-ish time to maintain the suspense of a thriller—his story doesn’t drag. With perfect pacing, characters develop naturally, and when we’re not encountering interesting people, we’re living through surprising plot turns. Of course, the brisk, witty, accurate writing helps, too. There’s always something here to keep you listening. And if you do, you’ll also learn a lot about the history, allure, challenges and techniques of mountain climbing.

Joe Barrett is just plain fun to listen to, always putting in a wry topspin or deadpan delivery precisely where it’s needed. This performance rivals his spectacular reading of Bonfire of the Vanities.

Classic Trevanian

Definitely worth the time to listen. Like one of his other books, Shibumi, Trevanian shows off his "worldly" knowledge of languages and stereotypes of various mostly European cultures. Despite his overtly chauvinistic style, the author still managed to weave a tale that is an entertaining one that doesn't disappoint.