M.G. Braun's Operation Atlantis

M.G. Braun (1912-1984) was a Frenchman who wrote the very prolific Al Glenne spy novel series. Operation Atlantis is one of the handful of the Al Glenne books that has been translated into English. It was originally published in French as Action de Force in 1964.

The Al Glenne spy novels were among the 171 novels written by Braun.

Al Glenne is a French spy. At the moment he’s in Berlin. An elderly German archaeologist named Uhrich has been murdered. An archaeologist with a special interest in the lost city of Atlantis.

The man who killed him has met an unfortunate fate as well. Uhrich’s killer was Heinrich but Heinrich was working for a man named Müller.

The Soviets may be mixed up in this. Other Russians may also be involved - the N.T.S., a shadowy anti-Soviet movement. The French are involved - one of their agents had been shadowing Müller. That French agent has been blown to bits by a car bomb. The Americans are involved - by rather nefarious means they have obtained a taped telephone conversation. Al Glenne will once again be working with his old C.I.A., pal Jeff Cavassa.

It all concerns Atlantis. Maybe not the lost city itself. Maybe it’s a code name for something. Maybe it has some connection to Atlantis. Whatever it is the Soviets, the N.T.S., the French and the Americans are all extremely interested in it.

This does not mean that the French and the Americans are actually working together. They have their own agendas. The N.T.S. have their own agenda. Al Glenne likes Jeff Cavassa a lot but he doesn’t trust him. Cavassa is C.I.A. and the French and the Americans are as much rivals as allies. That’s what makes 1960s French spy fiction such as M.G. Braun’s books and also Gerard de Villiers’ Malko spy thrillers so interesting. The Americans are not necessarily the good guys.

In fact there aren’t any good guys in the world of espionage. Every major power has its own objectives which may be in conflict with the objectives of supposed allies. Al Glenne certainly regards the C.I.A. as rivals. Every major power and every intelligence agency pursues its objectives with no regard for morality. It’s all about power and influence.

Al has obtained some interesting information from Olga, an N.T.S. operative who was ordered to seduce him. Her brother Nicholas is a big wheel in the N.T.S. but there’s plenty of tension between Olga, her brother and her lover Gregor. There’s plenty of potential for betrayal here. There will be lots of betrayals in this story.

Al gets some more information from another potentially dangerous female, the Baroness Schuetter. Al gets a lot of his information in the bedroom. That’s a method favoured by Jeff Cavassa as well. Sex is a useful weapon in the world of spies.

The problem is that nobody knows what Atlantis is, they just know it’s a code name for something big. Al and Jeff could be wastig time chasing up fanciful leads.

There’s a solid spy thriller plot with a lot of action along the way and the action scenes are good.

The ambiguity and complexity of the characters lifts this book above the pack. Al is a pretty good guy but he’s an intelligence agent so his ethical standards are flexible. He’s quite happy to mislead Jeff, and Jeff is quite happy to mislead him. The other characters are often a mix of strength and weakness. For that reason their actions cannot be predicted.

Most of the characters have personal motivations which may be in conflict with the missions they’re supposed to be carrying out. The two women are more than just dolly birds. They’re complicated women trying to reconcile their emotions with their duty.

This is an above-average thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller. Highly recommended.

I’ve reviewed another of Braun’s Al Glenne spy novels, Apostles of Violence (which is also very good).