Mason's characters always sparkle with diversity. Sung Wing-kei is a native of Hong Kong who is an offspring of a concubine belonging to a favorite general of Sun Yat-sen. He got his start in business by collaborating with the Japanese. Nina Tizzard is an exotic oriental ballet dancer whose career has been spent mostly in Europe. Add to this a generous sprinkling of smugglers, socialites, soldiers of fortune, ex-patriots and the usual line-up of military types, both foreign and domestic, and you have the ingredients of a typical Hugh North adventure.

Hugh North solves his twntieth case in the GRACIOUS LILY AFFAIR. The story bears the usual Mason trademarks of thorough research, exotic locales, a smorgasbord of intriguing characters and a plot that includes a series of murders and a puzzle to solve within the larger riddle. Bermuda is where it all begins when a Portuguese plane carrying a courier crashes offshore. What stands out most in a Colonel North story is the attention to detail.In this instance we are introduced to more than sixty sites between Bermuda and the Far East. There are also some interesting tidbits on local ethnic customs.

F. Van Wyck Mason's book, "The Young Titan", ranks right up there with Edison Marshall, Kenneth Roberts, John Jennings, and Dale Van Every's historical fiction for his skill in portraying early New England life prior to and during the American Revolution. I actually learned more about the history of that period from their books than I ever did in high school, or from the text books. These books are especially interesting for those of us who live where so much of the history behind these stories actually took place.

As I searched through the books of historical fiction, I came across this old favorite. Set during the French & Indian War, or the War of the Austrian Succession as it was known in Europe, this book vivdly illustrates the differences between the Old and the New World. The seeds of rebellion are firmly planted among the colonials on both sides of the conflict. Great characters, royal spies and savage Indians led by Europeans gone native, drive the story as the English drive the French from North America. There are no lame skirmishes led by incompetent American Colonels ... just lots of intrigue and adventure culminating in the Battle of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, the French stronghold guarding the St. Lawrence river, the gateway to Quebec. This book is part Last of the Mohicans, part Northwest Passage, but with a contemporary pace. Anyone who loves American History and adventure stories will love this. Its really unfortunate that it's out-of-print. Hopefully, some publisher will rediscover this so a whole new generation can enjoy it.

Captain Hugh North arrives in Honolulu. His mission is primarily to prevent a war from breaking out between Japan and the United States. A Japanese naval squadron is headed towards Honolulu with unknown intent. North attends a party at the home of Abner Polk, owner of a big American steel company. The other guests at the party include intelligence operatives from Russia, France, England and Japan as well as steel barons from France and Germany. All have an interest in either starting or preventing the war. Before the evening is over a dead female is found floating near Polk's dock. She has a strange design on her shoulder. Perhaps it is a tattoo that has been erased. Who is the dead girl and how does her death fit into a plot to start a war? The toughest obstacle North faces in this adventure is his attraction to Nadia Stefan, a beguiling Russian agent. Considering the fact that the story was written in 1932, the near attack by Japanese naval ships on Honolulu shows the author to be gifted with uncanny foresight.

This book is great. I read it and it made me feel as if Mr. Mason was a genius. Absolutely brillant! I recommend this to anyone who thinks they have problems in thier lives. This book will help.

Colonel Hugh North of G-2 is briefed in Florida by Dr. Maury Plack about a new weapon under development in Russia. The new military hardware uses a lightning ball as an innovative way to harness hydrogen energy. The weapon is far from being perfected but the Russians do plan to use it soon to destroy oil derricks and refineries in the vicinity of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. The Russians also hope to topple that country's shaky democratic regime in favor of a communist dictatorship.

North is given a mission by General R.D. Armiston, Chief of G-2, General Staff Corps, to locate the weapon and destroy it within ten days. He begins his work at the Hotel Fountainbleu in Miami Beach where he picks up the trail of two Russian agents on the way to Lake Maracaibo. North's contact person in Venezuela will be an Irish-Venezuelan named McJuan Kelley.

In this novel the author produces a fast-paced spy story reminiscent of the James Bond books of the same era. North is equipped with the latest gadgets and as usual is distracted by more than one beautiful woman.

this is a good book you should take a look at it

This is the first Hugh North mystery story written after World War II. North returns to Asia where he was last seen in the SINGAPORE EXILE MURDERS. Now Major North goes to Saigon to track down a tangled web of traitors, blackmailers and smugglers who include a Swiss banker, a beautiful singer and at least one imposter. The author shows he hasn't lost his touch after returning himself from military service in Europe. Besides a good mystery story, Mason gives us a look at a slice of Saigon life before Indochina's post-war troubles begin in earnest.

Colonel Hugh North is travelling from Honolulu to Bangkok under the assumed name of Charles Boyden. North's mission is to protect Dr. Hans Bracht who is aboard the same airplane but unaware of the Colonel's identity.

Dr. Bracht had been one of Hitler's top rocket scientists during the early days of World War II. He somehow escaped from Germany during the war and ended up in Thailand where he acquired a Thai bride named Tao Muong. Later they were both admitted to the United States and given U.S. citizenship. Recently Bracht had been working in Cape Carnaveral as head of the top-secret Project Galaxy. Tao Muong disappeared suddenly and was believed to have gone to Thailand. When Dr. Bracht insisted on pursuing her alone, Colonel North was assigned to follow him and make sure he did not fall into Russian hands before returning to the United States.

After arriving in Bangkok, Bracht heads for the Imperial Hotel. North will try to stay in a nearby room. The hotel is the temporary headquarters for an American movie company which is shooting a film in Thailand. Even before North and Bracht reach the hotel, someone tries to kill them as they share a cab from the airport. North has to figure out fast who the Russian agents are among the hotel guests. There are several people with the movie company who may have Communist backgrounds. North is also interested in Chu Hoong who is a multi-millionaire manufacturer of a potent drink called Dragon's Tooth Elixir and also the owner of the Imperial Hotel.

North as usual is pursued by beautiful women and is invariably interrupted during any promising romantic interludes by circumstances beyond his control. Often the interruption comes in the form of the delivery of an urgent message.

The story reflects the growing ties between North Vietnam and Russia and the tensions existing in the region after France's defeat in Indochina in 1954 and before the resumption of hostilities in Vietnam in the early 1960's.

Colonel Hugh North is sent to Tangier. His mission is to locate a German scientist named Franz Vogel who has been working in Russia since the end of World War II.

Vogel has invented a deadly new gas called "thulium - X.' He has carried the formula for the gas only in his head. Since escaping from Russia, Vogel has been hiding in Tangier. Marya Bessemer, a German lady whose main occupation has been dealing in forged passports, has been acting as a broker for Vogel.

Marya is now interested primarily in making as much money as possible for herself on any transaction involving the formula.

North is delayed enroute from London to Tangier because of a plane crash at sea. He survives the crash and recuperates in Paris. Meanwhile an imposter arrives in Tangier and negotiates with Marya for the formula. The imposter is really Major Reginald Travis, formerly of Her Majesty's Grenadier Guards.

Since being dismissed from the service because of a scandal, Travis has been working as a spy for Moscow.

Major Travis meets with Vogel and manages to get the formula which Vogel puts into writing. He makes only one copy. Travis then kills Vogel and goes under cover in Tangier while he waits for a meeting with the notorious Russian agent Ilya Kyushev, the paymaster for this job.

North has a big challenge waiting for him in Tangier. First he has to convince the local authorities that he is the real Colonel North. Next he has to track down Travis before he hands over the formula to Kyushev. North gets a lot of help on this case from Lady Angela Forrester, a British intelligence operative.

THE DEADLY ORBIT MISSION describes Hugh North's twenty-sixth and last case in a career which goes back to World War I service in France. Some elements of suspense remind us of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The story is vintage North with lots of close combat featuring knives and blunt instruments. The cast of characters includes an ex-patriot night club operator and diamond smuggler, a local thief, a madame and an infamous masseuse. These are the supporting actors for the good guys. The other side is led by the cold war version of the yellow peril backed up by the depths of Tangier Society. Tangier itself is described in detail reflecting the benefits of Mason's earlier research for TWO TICKETS FOR TANGIER.

The author keeps Hugh North still current in this 1968 story about Chinese and Albanian agents trying to gain control of an erratic Soviet satellite containing an illegal hydrogen bomb warhead. The Soviets admit it is out of control by mistake and join forces with US intelligence to get the errant satellite back on course or destroy it. This effort pits North against Chinese and Albanian agents in exotic Tangier.

The DEADLY ORBIT MISSION is an account of Hugh North's last case and the book reflects Van Wyck Mason's usual high standards.