''The Eiger Sanction'' is a 1972 thriller novel by

Trevanian Rodney William Whitaker (June 12, 1931 – December 14, 2005) was an American film scholar and writer who wrote several novels under the pen name Trevanian. Whitaker wrote in a wide variety of genres, achieved bestseller status, and publishe ...

, the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker. The story is about a classical art professor and collector who doubles as a professional assassin, and who is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend. The novel was made into a film of the same name in 1975, directed by and starring

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

. Whitaker wrote a sequel entitled ''

The Loo Sanction ''The Loo Sanction'' is a 1973 sequel novel to '' The Eiger Sanction'' written by Trevanian. Plot In London, England, Jonathan Hemlock is blackmailed into performing another "sanction", a top-secret political assassination. Critical reception S ...

''.

Plot

Dr. Jonathan Hemlock is an art professor and

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

. He is also a collector of paintings, most of them obtained from the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

. To finance his collection, Hemlock, who served in a Special Forces team of the Army Intelligence Branch and fought in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, works as a so-called "counter-assassin" for a secret US government agency, the CII. In order to acquire a

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...

, Hemlock agrees to carry out a couple of "sanctions" (contract assassinations targeted specifically against killers of American agents). The first one is easily dealt with in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. For the second, he will need to join a group of climbers who are about to attempt the north face of the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exten ...

, a particularly difficult challenge. Hemlock goes back into training and eventually climbs the mountain with the team that he believes includes his would-be victim — whose identity he will have to deduce on the mountain itself. Poor climbing conditions disrupt the climb and lead Hemlock to the discovery that his target is someone other than he had expected.

References

External links

''The Eiger Sanction''
at Trevanian.com
''The Eiger Sanction''
at Google Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Eiger Sanction, The 1972 American novels English-language novels American thriller novels Albinism in popular culture Works published under a pseudonym American novels adapted into films Novels set in Switzerland Eiger 1972 debut novels ja:アイガー・サンクション

Plot

See also

References

External links