'The Prisoner' by Thomas M. Disch

"I am not a number! I am a man! A FREE MAN!"

When THE PRISONER premiered on U.S. television, it brought forth from viewers more debate and enthusiasm than any other TV show within memory. Not exactly a spy series … not precisely science fiction … still it was acclaimed as the most exciting and imaginative series in television history.

Who is the prisoner known as "Number 6"? Why has he been kidnapped and subtly held captive in the sinister fairy-tale town known only as The Village? What nation, or what secret agency, is behind his abduction? And is he truly a prisoner … or can he be, as he claims, a free man?

Once again these questions become crucial - for, having escaped from The Village for the final time, Number 6 has once more been captured... for the final time?


(Inner cover blurb)

You are a highly trained, top-level secret agent … one of the best your country has. But there comes a time when you want out, when your nature rebels against the entire world of spying.

But they won't let you quit. You know too much, they say.

You quit anyway. They can't force you to work for them, after all. You plan a leisurely retirement in the country.

And one day you awake to discover that you've been captured. You're in a village whose architecture is pleasantly old-fashioned, yet there are ultra-sophisticated eyes and ears monitoring your every move. You've become The Prisoner.

Yet you are still yourself; you still have the skills and determination that made you a successful agent. So you WILL find a way to escape. But...to where?


Released in U.S.A. by:
Ace Books

Release Date:
1969

Notes:
*Featuring 'Number Six' (aluded to as John Drake from the 'Danger Man' series)

*Released in Japan in 1969 by Hayakawa, translated by Jun Nagai

*Released in France in 1977 by Presses de la Renaissance as 'Le Prisonnier', translated by Jacqueline Huet (in hardback only)

*Re-released in Japan in 1977 by Hayakawa Bunko, translated by Jun Nagai

*Re-released in France in 1979 by Presses de la Renaissance as 'Le Prisonnier', translated by Jacqueline Huet:




*Released in U.K. in 1979 by Dobson Books:




*Re-released in U.K. in 1980 by New English Library:



He's a top level agent. Highly skilled and ultra-secret. But he wants out.

They won't let him quit. He quits anyway.

Then suddenly there comes the dawn when he wakes up in captivity. A pleasant old-style village that's packed solid with electronic surveillance hardware.

He is the Prisoner.

If he was good enough, sharp enough to be a top flight cloak-and-dagger man, is he good enough to escape the men who've chained his life to the wall?


*Re-released in France in 1992 by Presses de la Renaissance as 'Le Prisonnier', translated by Jacqueline Huet:




*Re-released in U.K. in 1992 by Boxtree Limited Ltd.:



I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!

He's a top level agent. Highly trained and ultra-secret. But he wants out.

They won't let him quit. He quits anyway.

Then suddenly there comes the day when he wakes up in captivity. A pleasant old-fashioned Village that's packed with electronic surveillance equipment.

He is the Prisoner.

He was the best in his field, but is he good enough to escape the men who've chained his life to the wall.


*Re-released in U.S.A. in 2002 by iBooks: