The Loo Sanction (Jonathan Hemlock, #2) by Trevanian

The Loo Sanction (Jonathan Hemlock, #2) Reviews

• 
  Mark

  This book has a brilliant title which gave me interesting visions of what Jonathan Hemlock would be up to. The title and the previous novel The Eiger sanction were enticing enough to pick up a copy and read it.
  
  This is a novel about the dark side of spy craft, it leaves nothing intact of the romanticized idea of spies in the UK, it is more than shady it is kind of awefull. The retired assassin Hemlock is doing a series of lectures in the UK and he gets caught in a situation where a dying man is found on his toilet, also known as loo in the UK. Instead of paying him to do a service a spy agency by the name of "the Loo" blackmails Hemlock into doing a job for them. Everything that happens in this book has something less than tastefulness about it, none of the characters are sympathetic, including the leading character. the story takes a time to get started and when it does nobody ends up looking good.
  
  It is a spy story that is aimed at showing how bad that world can be compared to the flashy 007 stories and their ilk.
  
  The book is well written but the story is kind of a downer, and is perhaps meant like that but it is also a step down from the previous novel which might have been a parody but did offer a far better story.
  
  Not really recommended for reading, unless you feel like a bit of soft SM.
• 
  S.P. Aruna

  4.5 stars
  
  I did enjoy this book, even though it lacked the originality of the
  The Eiger Sanction. According to Trevanian, it was a spoof of The Eiger Sanction … a spoof of a spoof! Of course the title itself should give the reader a clue, "loo" being the British word for toilet! And of course we have the usual play on names, such as Vanessa Dyke, who, lo and behold, is a lesbian. Her nickname is Van Dyke, LOL!
  
  Trevanian's word mastery is also present in this one, starting from the first paragraph:
  

  His pain was vast. But at least it was finite. Sharp-edged waves of agony climaxed in intensity until his body convulsed and his mind was awash. Then, just before madness, the crests broke and swirled over his limen of consciousness, and he escaped into oblivion

  
  So that's how it feels to be impaled through your anus!
  
  The reason I only gave this book 4.5 stars comes down to this: As I mentioned at the start regarding originality, if you had a mutually exclusive choice to read either this book or the Eiger Sanction (not both), I'd go with the latter.
• 
  Jim

  More of a 3.5 rounded up. Hemlock is back, in England, so the title pretty much screams Trevanian's intention to sneer at all things English, artsy, & everything else, while wrapping it in an international thriller peopled with memorable characters. Hemlock isn't James Bond, though. He's smarter & every bit as ruthless, if not as prone to as much action. There's plenty of murder & mayhem taking place around him as the twisted motivations slowly emerge.
  
  I didn't like this as much as
  The Eiger Sanction, but almost. There were several important caricatures, not true characters, & while they served the purpose, they were also a bit too obvious. Call it a lack of subtlety. While Trevanian's sneering take on the world is rather fun & funny, I can't endure it for too long. I probably should have let more time slip by after the first.
  
  I didn't care much for the end, but I think that was on me. I didn't really get it. A group I belong to will be reading it soon & I'll be curious to see what others say. I might update this review after that.
• 
  Chris

  Trevanian's sequel to his classic
  The Eiger Sanction is awful. Absent are the humor, adventure, and all-out fun of that previous work. The plot is obvious with physically disgusting characters that nauseate the reader. Of course, there's Jonathan Hemlock's characteristically macho sexuality, along with out-of-this-world sexy fully naked women, but they're not even slightly erotic this time.
  
  I have no problem with an author quickly capitalizing on momentary success to make a lot of money in a sequel: go for it! But...please...it is clear that this novel was written is about one week and it shows, painfully. Will readers—including myself—ever stop expecting sequels to be any good? Of course not!
• 
  Eric_W

  Everyone is no doubt familiar with the movie "Eiger Sanction" based on a book of the same name by Trevanian, pseudonym for a university professor who wrote a series of very popular genre novels. Miffed that critics and many readers did not get the spoof intended in the Eiger Sanction, he wrote the Loo Sanction which is not only a very successful spy thriller but a broad lampoon of British (and American) academia and the espionage community. The puns surrounding the word "loo," the name of the British section that evolved into MI-6-like sanction operation are ubiquitous and the scene in which Hemlock is giving a lecture on film criticism to a packed house of grad students while being approached by a evil set of agents is both hysterical, parodic and masterfully written. I was listening to this book while mowing and must have been a sight chuckling out loud and I tried to mow a straight line around trees.
  
  Jonathan has been blackmailed (by killing a man in his apartment and leaving evidence of Jonathan's culpability) into helping the "Loo" bring down Maxwell Strange (I can't believe the names assigned to characters are coincidental) who runs a sexual debauchery house called "The Cloisters.) (Given the current scandals in the Catholic Church, perhaps Trevanian was prescient.) The Cloisters has been making films of the peccadilloes and sexual perversions of men high up in the government - not threatening overt blackmail, but the threat they might is omnipresent. Jonathan is charged with recovering the films and bringing down Strange - not shutting down the Cloisters, since it will then become a Loo operation and used to make the Loo self-sufficient budgetarily and of course will be used judiciously to keep the country on the proper path and finally settle that pesky "Irish problem."
  
  There is a delightful scene as the Vicar and Jonathan walk through the countryside in the rain to discuss his proposed task. "Oh dear, you really should be more careful where you tread in a cow pasture, much like Paris streets," said the Vicar as they discuss Jonathan's task. "It does seem odd that a man who was so expert at mountain climibing should find a walk in the country so fraught with difficulty. . . . Permit me to hold this barbed wire up for you, oh well, you said you were not particularly fond of this jacket." "
  
  He is quoted in his Wikipeadia entry as saying the following of his fans: "The Trevanian​ Buff is a strange and wonderful creature: an outsider, a natural elitist, not so much a cynic as an idealist mugged by reality, not just one of those who march to a different drummer, but the solo drummer in a parade of one."
  
  Masterfully read by Joe Barrett. He does the Vicar with exactly the right amount of pretentoiusness and smug arrogance. The book is a nice mix of intelligent lampoonery with traditional thriller/hero/action.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
• 
  Terry Cornell

  A really fast read. I was expecting a classic thriller, but was surprised that it was such a campy book with such comical characters. Really a two and half star rating. Some humor caught me off guard, and some really clever lines here and there. I thought I had read 'The Eiger Sanction', the first book in the series--but I'm probably remembering the Clint Eastwood movie. Same basic plot, but definitely without the campy spy-fiction satire. I really liked 'Shibumi' another of the author's books, but it incorporated history, and not any humor that I can remember.
• 
  Başak Ebru Tarım

  Trevanian'dan 3. kitabım Hesaplaşma da az önce bitti. İnfazcının kahramanı Prof. Jonathan Hamlock bu kitapta da karşıma çıkınca şaşırdım biraz. Nedense ben kahramanımız Prof. Hamlock'la İnfazcıda vedalaşdığımızı düşünmüştüm. Bu kitap İnfazcıyı bıraktığımız tarihten 4 yıl sonra başlıyor. Adamımız CII'dan ayrılmış, adam öldürme, suikastçilik işlerinden kendini emekli etmiştir. Artık tek geçim kaynağı akademisyenliktir. Kendisine yapılan bir iş teklifini kabul ederek bir yıllığına Londra'ya gelmiştir. Biz de tam o esnada yeniden karşılaşırız onunla.
  
  Ama Jonathan'ınki gibi bir geçmiş insanın peşini kolay kolay bırakmaz. Çünkü sahip olduğu yetenekler öyle bir kalmede vaz geçilecek türden değildir. Bir çeşit kaynak israfı da diyebiliriz. Netekim o geçmiş peşine takılır ve Jonathan kendini birden bire Ingiliz hükümetinin âli menfaatlerini kurtaracak bir işin içinde bulur. Üstelik İngiliz vatandaşı dahi değildir. Görevi kendisine verenler onun hayır deme ihtimalini ortadan kaldıracak tüm önlemleri almışlardır. Görevin zorluk derecesi on üzerinden ondur ve mücadele edeceği adamlar en az işi verenler kadar korkutucudur. Şimdi tek amacı bu aşağı tükürsen sakal, yukarı tükürsen bıyık diye tabir edebileceğimiz durumdan kendini kurtaracak bir yol bulup, günün sonunda canlı kalabilmektir. Tabi aşk hep vardır.
  
  Hesaplaşmayı da büyük bir keyifle okudum. Özellikle türün meraklılarına tavsiye ederim. Şimdi sırada 20. Mil var.
• 
  Bob Mayer

  I went back in time to reread these favorite thrillers. They're a reminder that spies and odd political things have always been fodder for great thrillers. And you can depend on his research.
  
  I always enjoy reading thrillers that have the tradecraft down. I enjoy that more than the CGI battles we see so often in films.
• 
  Canavan

  ✭✭
• 
  Hüseyin Çötel

  Ilk Jonathan Hemlock kitabindaki dag tirmanisindaki yogun his zorluk bu kitapta bulunmuyor. Ama bu kitapta da Villain karakter cok guzel gelistirilmis yine harika bir cerezlik okuma.
• 
  Hali Sowle

  A reread of this book and I have to say it didn't quite live up to my memories and it definitely doesn't live up to the billing of it's more well known prequel - The Eiger Sanction.
  
  Jonathan Hemlock is in London doing a series of lectures, he has cut ties with CII, the spy organization that had supported his art habit by hiring him out to do "sanctions". But as most of us know we can never fully leave our past behind. Hemlock is drawn into the spy and killing game again but this time by a British spy agency called "the Loo" and of course no one and nothing is what it seems. Who is genuine and who is playing whom is only part of the question and we have some of the familiar twists and turns of plot that made the Eiger Sanction such a seat of the pants read. We know who the bad guy is and what he is trying to do, or at least we think we know. And we know who the good guys are, or we think we do. But we do know that there is going to be a lot of hurt going around and we are hoping that Dr. Hemlock will be dishing it out and not receiving too much of it. There are many inconsistencies with Hemlocks personality between this book and the Eiger Sanction - In the Eiger Sanction it was repeated many times that Hemlock only had 3 friends, and by the end of the book only 1 was still alive, yet he introduces Vanessa Van Dyke as one of Hemlocks "old art friends". And then there is the continued relationship with Mollie and his reactions at the end of the book. Unfortunately this book had a big yardstick to live up to and although being a good read it just didn't quite make it to the same level that the previous book was at.
• 
  Joe Noir

  The parody is broader here than in The Eiger Sanction and that may be why it's less "edge of the seat". It's still a good, fun, read. There is an art theft in this novel, and according to Trevanian.com, after the Italian version of this novel was published there was an art theft in Milan using the method described in this book.
• 
  Chuck

  My experience with Trevanian has been a mixed bag; big winners and equally big losers. In my opinion, this one falls into the losers category. It is a dull, dark, sordid tale of assorted criminals and their activities. A total waste of time.
  
• 
  Bahadır

  İlk kitabın etkisini veremese de güzel bir Trevanian kitabı. Çevirisinden kaynaklı anlam güçlükleri vardı kitapta. Yeniden elden geçirilirse hoş olur.
• 
  Florence Renouard

  Jonathan Hemlock, critique d’art renommé, a cessé de travailler pour la mystérieuse organisation au service de laquelle il accomplissait des « sanctions » mortelles.
  Mais les services secrets britanniques viennent le tirer de sa retraite, le forçant à remplacer un agent retrouvé empalé dans un clocher Londonien ; la mission de Jonathan est d’anéantir un horrible maître-chanteur, et de récupérer des films compromettant des dignitaires du Royaume, amateurs de parties fines et de chair fraiche…
  Tiens donc, un roman écrit dans les années 70 mais qui résonne avec l’affaire Epstein !
  
  Dans un rythme trépidant, Trevanian emmène le le lecteur dans une enquête riche en rebondissements, où le très élégant Jonathan Hemlock devra utiliser toute son intelligence et sa clairvoyance pour espérer survivre.
  
  Un roman d’espionnage brillant et drôle, diablement caustique envers l’Angleterre et les Anglais !
• 
  Caroline

  Des personnages éclectiques, des dialogues finement ciselés, un humour subtilement satirique. Quel plaisir de vivre les années 70 sous la plume de Trevanian. Forcément très politiquement incorrect et absolument délectable.
  
  Blurb :
  Jonathan Hemlock, génial alpiniste et collectionneur d'art, trouve les moyens d'assouvir ses passions en exécutant des assassinats pour le compte d'une mystérieuse organisation secrète. De passage en Angleterre, Hemlock se voit assigner une mission qui vient de coûter la vie à un agent des services secrets britanniques assassiné de manière atroce. Lancé sur la piste de films compromettant de hauts dignitaires du Royaume, il devra exécuter une nouvelle et ultime "sanction". Sa cible : l'élite des criminels londoniens pervertie par la débauche.
• 
  Bob Ryan

  Looking back (2 days) it was probably a mistake to listen to the second in the series so quickly after listening to the first. (Or maybe reverse the order) Oh well.
  There are good things about this book. The beginning is ok and the Hemlock character is solid. But, as opposed to the Eiger Sanction, the plot seems to be muddled and confused. The story bogs down in the middle and is retrieved only by an explosive ending.
  
  The humor is dialed back, the satire appears occasionally, but it's not as biting as Eiger. The ending is more explosive and more in the nature of a thriller, but not as clever as Eiger.
  Had I read this one first or more time had passed since I read Eiger I might have a different rating. It's good enough, just not another Eiger.
• 
  Bhakta Jim

  I had really enjoyed The Eiger Sanction when it came out and had meant to read this sequel but somehow only got around to it this year. I bought a used copy from our local library. I'd have to say it is not nearly as entertaining as The Eiger Sanction was and I'm not surprised it was never filmed. The first book was great escapism and the hero was in the mold of James Bond, even though the organization he worked for was very different. In the second book everything that made Jonathan Hemlock likeable was gone. It felt like the whole thing was written by someone in a bad mood. I can't recommend it at all.
  
• 
  Tamara

  I read The Eiger Sanction many, many years ago. Over the years I've read one or two other books by Trevanian but missed this one. Glad I finally read The Loo Sanction. Very much a piece of its time - early 1970s - and I enjoyed the use of language, the accurate depiction of society (one brief section on which workers were striking and which were coming off a strike rang so true to me....)
  
  Borrowed this from the library and one or more patrons had underlined words that I assume they didn't know.
• 
  Brenda Leavy

  Make that 2 1/2 stars. Somewhere between like and dislike.
  
  Shibumi is one of my all-time favorite books, so I understand the satirical nature of Trevanian's spy novels. And I also understand that he wrote this one in response to the Eiger Sanction reception. But still...this just didn't do it for me. Maybe the satire/content was too dated. Maybe it just wasn't funny enough. I don't know, but I wouldn't read it again.
• 
  Marvin Wolf

  Masterful suspense
  
  If you enjoy vicarious violence, truly magnificent scene-setting and memorable dialog, this one is
  for you. Easy to see why the author's work so often wind up on the silver screen.
• 
  Tasha Diamant

  In many ways a terrible book. The writing about women is such a caricature of 70s male authors writing and what they do with women characters. But still I love spy novels and finished it. I rarely finish a book lower than 4/5.
• 
  Sam

  Loo Sanction was a disappointment, but Trevanian sets a high bar with Shibumi and Eiger. There are many memorable lines that help make up for an otherwise underwhelming and somewhat complicated plot. Trevanian's attempts at spy spoofing overall come across as 'trying too hard'. Hemlock had the potential to be a great franchise so it's unfortunate his final appearance is so lackluster.
• 
  Paul Edlund

  A fun thriller. Slightly dated just because of the technology, but it still reads really well.