Book: 'The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.' by Jack London (completed by Robert L Fish) (1963)

It's a fascinating novel, and one that reshapes my idea of Jack London, of whom I have had very little experience. The name 'Jack London' is synonymous with 'White Fang' and 'Call Of The Wild', neither of which I have read, but maybe he had a lot more strings to his metaphorical bow? 'The Assassination Bureau' (TAB) suggests that could be true. Oh, enough with this meta-commentary. What about the book itself?

It's a wonderful novel, with tinges of the great GK Chesterton woven through it, or perhaps Chesterton's works had tinges of London. The transition from London's prose to that of Fish is seamless, and is only detectable due to a slight change in the energy of the last sections. TAB is a novel that runs on parallel tracks as a book of ideas and a thriller/adventure. It's also spell-bindingly good.

What if there were a bureau of executioners who only accepted contracts if they believed the victim deserved killing, and who were founded on a strictly ethical basis? What if you discovered their existence and lured them into contacting you as a possible client, before selecting their chief as your candidate for assassination? Then, what if their chief turned out to be the uncle of your betrothed? The story is told mostly from the point of view of Winter Hall, and that is the situation in which he finds himself.

It's a witty and philosophical story, which would fall under a misnomer if we called it a comedy. Unsurprisingly, the movie version was a farce, but the book is a bit more complex. Sometimes you might be tempted to use the much abused term 'boys' adventure', while adventure and thriller could be applied at others. At its core, it's a thriller through which its characters are bound by their own codes of conduct, and as such it's also a mild exploration of ethics, morality, and questions of humanity.

Overall, 'The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.' was a great read. Apparently, London never finished the story because he couldn't quite come up with an ending, and bought the original idea from writer Sinclair Lewis. It was eventually completed from notes made by London by Robert L Fish, to some success. It's a fascinating read, and one to be recommended. Also, more novels should visit Hawaii and feature ethical discussions by lunatics!

O.