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''The Dark Frontier'' (1936) is
Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 23 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...
's first novel. Based on the development of
weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...
ry in the year 1936, ''The Dark Frontier'' anticipates the invention of a
nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
and its consequences.


Background

Ambler wrote about the novel's genesis thus:


Plot

The novel is set in 1934 or 1935 in Ixania, a small
fictional country A fictional country is a country that is made up for Fiction, fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Fictional lands appear most commonly as settings or subjects of myth, myths, literature, ...
somewhere in a mountainous region of the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
bordering
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Throughout modern history Ixania, a "God-forsaken country", has preserved its political independence because of its lack of natural resources and its comparative irrelevance in economic matters. The country is a dictatorship controlled by
Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Schverzinski. Jacob Kassen, a nuclear scientist, has invented a formula to build an
tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territ ...
(the "Kassen secret"), with which the Countess intends to conquer Ixania's neighbours and threaten Europe. Simon Groom, an unscrupulous British armaments manufacturer, is sent to Ixania to get hold of the Kassen secret by hook or by crook. He attempts to enlist the services of Professor Henry Barstow, an English physicist, to travel with him to determine whether the secret papers, whose theft he plans to commission, are authentic and worth the money. The idealistic Barstow refuses. Barstow reads a few pages of a "Conway Carruthers" novel, about a
Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...
-style
adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
. He then has a car accident and suffers
concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
. The previously timid Barstow begins to believe he is Carruthers, and miraculously gains Carruthers'
superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. ...
skills of decisiveness, strategy and fighting ability. He realises the Kassen secret poses "a serious menace to
world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...
", and makes it his mission to rid the world of the danger by destroying all copies of Kassen's papers. As "Carruthers", Barstow travels to Ixania. He pretends to accept Groom's job offer, and encounters the
femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
Countess on the train. Carruthers'
charismatic authority In the field of sociology, charismatic authority is a concept of organizational leadership wherein the authority of the leader derives from the personal charisma of the leader. In the tripartite classification of authority, the sociologist Max We ...
attracts the attention of William L. Casey, an American journalist stationed in Zovgorod, the capital of Ixania. Originally only interested in a good story, Casey becomes Carruthers's quasi-assistant, a change Casey himself describes as his "transition from newspaper man to desperado". They reconnoitre Kassen's laboratory and the Countess's mansion, where the only two copies of the papers are stored. They are captured by the Countess, and Carruthers is ordered to leave the country. Instead, Carruthers goes into hiding with a party of peasant revolutionaries, and revises their plans for a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. With the revolutionaries, Carruthers and Casey destroy Kassen's laboratory while the revolution takes place back in the capital. Kassen is killed. The revolution is successful and unbloody, however the Countess escapes with her copy of the secret. Carruthers and Casey persue her Mercedes at breakneck speed along a dark and narrow mountain road, with Carruthers showing brilliant driving ability. As they catch up with her vehicle, she has an accident, is catapulted out of her car, and dies. The wreck of her Mercedes catches fire, and Carruthers casts the last copy of the Kassen secret into the flames. Casey takes a sabbatical from his newspaper to act as press officer for the new government, to help it gain recognition and financing from other states. Ixania disbands its army, to the dismay of international arms companies and the newspapers they control. Carruthers returns to England, but is attacked on the train by Groom, who believes he has a copy of the Kassen secret. He is hit on the head again, and transforms back into Professor Barstow.


Reception

The novel was one of the first six of Ambler's books which made his name. Ambler wrote in his autobiography, "As I saw it, the thriller had nowhere to go but up". ''The Dark Frontier'' parodies the conventions of the contemporary British thriller, particularly E. Phillips Oppenheim and
John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...
, but improves upon them.


See also

*
History of nuclear weapons Building on major scientific breakthroughs made during the 1930s, the United Kingdom began the world's first nuclear weapons research project, codenamed Tube Alloys, in 1941, during World War II. The United States, in collaboration with the Uni ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark Frontier, The 1936 British novels Dystopian novels Fictional European countries Novels by Eric Ambler Novels set in fictional countries British thriller novels 1936 debut novels Hodder & Stoughton books Balkans in fiction