• The Loo Sanction

  • By: Trevanian
  • Narrated by: Joe Barrett
  • Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (611 ratings)

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The Loo Sanction  By  cover art

The Loo Sanction

By: Trevanian
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Publisher's summary

Jonathan Hemlock, the art professor and mercenary who first excited readers with his daring exploits in The Eiger Sanction, returns for another masterful adventure.

Jonathan has gone to England for a vacation, but it is interrupted when British Intelligence needs him for his highly skilled services. Jonathan must take over the mission of an agent whose murder was so bizarre and terrifying that no other agent was willing to replace him.

His task is to locate a set of secretly made films that incriminate a number of high-ranking British officials. His target is a top underworld figure who delights in debauchery and torture.

Facing this threat, Jonathan is drawn into a labyrinthine network of intrigue and depravity. When the pieces of the dangerous puzzle fall together, he will be forced to attempt one of the most daring escapes ever conceived.

©1973 Trevanian (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterpiece...." ( The New York Times)

What listeners say about The Loo Sanction

Average customer ratings
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Read All of Trevanian!

In general, the novels of Trevanian blow away our current best selling authors who deal in similar genres. Artfully rendered in plot and character complexity, as well as sense of humor, humanity, and language of superb story telling, these are riveting stories that should endure. Though set in his contemporary era of the early 1970's, I think Trevanian is timeless. The narration performance of Joe Barrett is the best that I have ever experienced on Audible (and I have been through many good ones)! He depicts different male & female characters so seamlessly that the listener needs to make no conscious effort to know which character is speaking. A fabulous performance by the narrator, Joe Barrett! I only wish there was more from Trevanian. I recommend reading the earliest to the last.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Loo Sanction

Good story and exciting. However, this book was published several years ago and the info that touted the book did not mention this. I purchased this book having forgotten that I had read it when it first came out. If I had been made aware of this fact I would have purchased sonething else.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Is it really satire

Is it really satire if it's indistinguishable from the obtuse observations of self-indulgent hacks? It's not as puerile as The Eiger Sanction, but the author desperately tries to establish the main character Jonathan Hemlock's post-racial, post-sexist bona fides, and being above it all when it comes to social convention. It's clear the intention is to create a kind of subversive irony, but it falls flat into corny tropes, particularly when it comes to females, homosexuality, art deco, martial arts and any kind of modernism. In fact, Hemlock dismisses anything outside of his sphere of understanding, which by his own account is immense, at one point mocking the attention paid to the insignificant matter of the Watergate break-in (the book was published in 1973). Perhaps the author is playing an enormous joke wrapping this odious character in the cloaks of both toxic masculinity and white privilege, decades before those terms gained currency. But I doubt it, the writing just isn't clever enough for that.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Still not quite sure

I've always absolutely loved Trevanian, although I've only read Shibumi and The Eiger Sanction. I bought this book with great anticipation, hoping for another masterpiece, yet when I was finished listening I could only think, "Gee. Is that it?"

The book is well-read by the narrator, however it's difficult to keep the rather vague story line straight. Things happen and you think, "Wait a minute - when did that occur?" I'm actually listening to it again, because I thought I might have missed a few things the first time (sometimes I'm not awake while listening on the way to work in the morning).

I just learned something by going back onto the book's summary page on this site - it isn't really explained in the book why Jonathan is in the UK (a vacation? and where did it say that no other agent would accept the job?)

This is all disappointing because Shibumi was such a fantastic read, that I've always wondered why no one has made a movie out of it.

I'm still wondering how Maggie came into the story - perhaps listening to it a second time will explain it.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic. I think I'm going to download Shibumi, just so I can listen to it again. It's been at least 7 years since I last read it, and I'd love to experience it again. Clearly Trevanian was at a creative high when he wrote that and The Eiger Sanction.

By the way, I TOTALLY picture Clint Eastwood as Jonathan Hemlock - they certainly cast it right when they did Eiger.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite

After reading Shibumi and the Eiger Sanction, I expected much more than this book delivered. Would not recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

not up to tavanian's standard

I loved Shibumi and the Eiger Sanction, but this one was so sloppy and cheap in comparison with a poor finish. The antics and the writing are still a fun, clever, but nothing clever or even finished in story and plot.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Action-y thriller

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Joe Barrett is a great reader, and this is a fun, slightly racy spy thriller. The violence is pretty brutal.

What other book might you compare The Loo Sanction to and why?

The Eiger Sanction, also good.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but it would be a spoiler to say what.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not great

Not as fun a listen as the Eiger Sanction. Kind of just meanders for a long time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ok But Not up to The Eiger Sanction

The story was out of character of our hero of the first installment. It did not work well. It was ok and entertaining but if you are expecting something like the Eiger Sanction...it will fall a little short.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent ambiance and attention to detail in the voices used by the narrator.

I enjoyed this book completely. Just A thought, have a thesaurus ready. Obscure verbiage and obtuse usage. I loved it!

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