The Skull Mountain Affair
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Skull Mountain Affair |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Jill Thomasson |
| Cover Artist(s): | |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | 2009 |
| Medium: | print zine, fanfic |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Man from UNCLE |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Skull Mountain Affair is a 45-page gen hurt/comfort Man from UNCLE novel by Jill Thomasson.
It has a sequel: The Sao Paulo Affair.
Summary from the author: "Rather than join the Mardi Gras carnival crowd in Rio, Napoleon and Illya head toward the Amazon basin on vacation. But their fishing trip soon turns into a nightmare when Illya suffers a tortuous vendetta."
Excerpt: "Excerpt: The call of a howler monkey echoed in the forest as an exhausted Illya was allowed to drop to his knees. His neck rubbed against the rough hemp rope. Wrists throbbing, he flexed numbing fingers. Was Napoleon nearby following?"
Reactions and Reviews
Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are vacationing in South America when a local man is murdered by THRUSH agents looking for a map to the fabled lost city of “Z”, reputed to be a city of gold. When they show up at the scene a young girl asks for their help in protecting her father who is camped in the jungle. She had been forced to tell the killers where he was. After splitting up at the campsite, Illya is captured and taken to a THRUSH prison camp at Skull Mountain where he is tortured, but Solo arrives in time to save him, of course.This is a well-written, entertaining and exciting story that reads as well as any of the paperbacks and magazine stories in the series. I was very impressed with the author’s writing ability, and story telling, as well as the professionally edited manuscript.
My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is the price and publishing format. With today’s technology of POD, and the availability of professional printers, a perfect binding is possible that would make a collection of these stories available in a perfect bound paperback edition for just a few dollars more. The Skull Mountain Affair is probably 20,000 words, printed on single-sided 8.5 x 11 pages, and inserted in a three-punch folder. A 70,000 word perfect bound paperback can be printed for $12.00 (cheaper if printed in large runs). I understand the method used here is to print out each copy as it is ordered, which does not involve a lot of upfront money and I can certainly understand that, but I think readers – and purchasers – would appreciate a better looking product that will fit on their shelf, along with more bang for their buck. Just saying. Still, without a doubt The Skull Mountain Affair by Jill Thomasson is well worth the price. Rating 5 stars. [1]