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ERIK CHATHAM

Chatham_Erik3 Chatham_Erik1 Chatham_Erik2
 
Full Name: Erik Chatham
Nationality: American
Organization: CIA
Occupation Agent

Creator: Richard Neebel
Time Span: 1979 - 1982

ABOUT THE SERIES

Erik Chatham is an agent for the CIA.

To most people, though, Chatham is a mercenary, a highly-paid soldier of fortune who will go wherever to fight whomever for the right price. He is good enough to command a very good salary. Whether it is service in Northern Africa, Central Africa, or the jungles of the Far East, he is a trained killing machine.

He is also a deep-cover operative for the CIA, specifically assigned to their Special Executive section. Described as the point of the lance on any operation, these are the people who are sent in to the most dangerous of situations, usually acting on their own with no hope of rescue by the cavalry. Trained to the utmost for survival, their high attrition is due to great danger they are involved in, not a lack of skill.

Chatham, who stands 5'11" with brown hair and a rugged face, is a veteran of many combats before the start of the series. Born and raised in middle America, he was called to service during the Vietnam War where his superiors recognized in him an affinity for fighting. This ability did not extend to traditional warfare as would have been practiced by Caesar, Napoleon, or Patton, but guerilla fighting as used by native Americans, the Viet Cong, and rebels like Che. With that form of combat, Chatham proved to be a natural.

It was while in Vietnam that his talents were noticed by the Agency and they recruited him without hesitation. Considering his expertise, his best use was in war-torn regions where a mercenary could pass without particular notice and Chatham has been working in that role for several years.

Chatham has more than a few scars for the many years of fighting he has done. He smiles ryely, though, when he thinks that his most obvious scar, one that runs from the corner of his right eyebrow halfway down his cheek, came from a car accident in Illinois when he was 17. If others wanted to think it was a reminder of a harrowing knife fight, who was he to correct them. That is the type of sardonic humor that Chatham carries with him, also evidenced by an exchange in which he makes a comment to a senior officer, the officer tells him that some people would not be pleased to hear him say such words, to which he replies, "I don't say them around some people."

If military action, especially troop-level, crawl through the swamp style, is your interest, this series is definitely one for you. The assignments Chatham get are not of the secret document courier duty or defector protection. He gets the overthrow a dictatorship kind of assignments, and does so from the field, not the office.

BOOKS

Number of Books:3
First Appearance:1979
Last Appearance:1982

1 The Halo Solution The Halo Solution
Written by Richard Neebel
Copyright: 1979

To help bring down an African dictator, Erik Chatham's plan is to infiltrate their military, starting as a mercenary captain, until he can gain promotion and trust to work his way to the capital. If he lives that long.

2 The Yunnan Terminus The Yunnan Terminus
Written by Richard Neebel
Copyright: 1980

An old friend and fellow agent of Erik Chatham, undercover in a remote province of China, has exceeded instructions and is now leading a band of rebels against the communist government. Chatham's job is to get him out, dead or alive.

3 Immediate Action Immediate Action
Written by Richard Neebel
Copyright: 1982

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MY COMMENTS

Sometimes a good war in a fun thing. To read about, of course. Not to actually try to live through. Mr. Neebel is good enough at his job to make you believe you are there, and glad you are not. The action is almost non-stop and seeing this side of the CIA action is interesting. Sometimes it seems that Chatham has difficulty separating his ersatz mercenary life with his clandestine career but then, when the bullets are flying next to you, maybe that isn't so important. Ducking is.

I would not like a steady diet of CIA paramilitary action but the two books in this series are a good meal. Take a break between the two, though. You can use the rest.

GRADE

My Grade: B-

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