They Used Dark Forces

They Used Dark Forces by D Wheatley

It is 1943, World War I, and secret agent Gregory Sallust is parachuted into Nazi Germany. In the company of an ex-Bolshevik General named Stefan Kuporovitch, the two of them join forces with the widow of a German diplomat who is in contact with Allied Intelligence. It is through her that Gregory becomes unwillingly involved with a Black Magician and when, 16 months later, they meet again, each decides to use occult forces in an attempt to destroy Hitler once and for all.

Dennis Yates Wheatley (1897--1977) was an English author whose prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's bestselling writers from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series was one of the main inspirations for Ian Fleming's James Bond stories.

Born in South London, he was the eldest of three children of an upper-middle-class family, the owners of Wheatley & Son of Mayfair, a wine business. He admitted to little aptitude for schooling, and was expelled from Dulwich College. Soon after his expulsion Wheatley became a British Merchant Navy officer cadet on the training ship HMS Worcester. During the Second World War, Wheatley was a member of the London Controlling Section, which secretly coordinated strategic military deception and cover plans. His literary talents gained him employment with planning staffs for the War Office. He wrote numerous papers for the War Office, including suggestions for dealing with a German invasion of Britain. Dennis Wheatley died on 11th November 1977. During his life he wrote over 70 books and sold over 50 million copies.