Other spy fiction
Golrush007
South AfricaPosts: 3,421Quartermasters
Having read all of Ian Fleming's Bond novels and quite a few of the continuation novels, I have been thinking about branching out from Bond into other spy fiction. I am currently reading some of the Len Deighton books which became the Harry Palmer film trilogy. I have just finished The Ipcress File, and although it was different from the film version in many areas I found it a gripping read, and was very impressed. I am now just starting on Funeral in Berlin.
I'm interested in some opinions of other members about where to look for some alternative spy thrills.
I'm interested in some opinions of other members about where to look for some alternative spy thrills.
Comments
Peter O'Donnell's long series of Modesty Blaise novels are absolutely superb--easily(in my opinion) the equals of Ian Fleming's very best books.These are all elegant,inventive and suspenseful--not a dull one in the lot.The first book is called Modesty Blaise.Some of the others are titled Dead Man's Handle, Sabre Tooth, and Last Day in Limbo .If you decide to read these, save Cobra Trap for last-it's the final book in the series.O'Donnell ties everything up in this one---he didn't want his creations to ever be touched by continuation authors.
And by all means check out the TPB reprints of the classic Modesty Blaise comic strip--this is remarkable stuff.MB is one of the greatest adventure/espionage strips of all time.
He recommended the Flashman series of novels to me a while ago (also to Hardyboy ) and my life has been blighted ever since as I try and track down these great novels - you have been warned
I think it's extremely unfortunate Ian Fleming Publications didn't sign G.M.Fraser to write a James Bond continuation novel,because based solely upon the quality of his Flashman stories, it probably would've been one of the best post Fleming Bond adventures ever published.
A few other suggestions:Frederic Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal is very suspenseful and definitely worth a glance, as is Leon Uris's Topaz.And Thomas Harris's Black Sunday is another thriller you might like.Adam Diment's "Philip McAlpine" series was written in the swinging '60s,and McAlpine is a longhaired spy whose clothes come from Carnaby Street(he predates Austin Powers by decades).The first book is The Dolly Dolly Spy,followed by The Bang Bang Birds.
James Leasor's "Jason Love" series is certainly worth a peek.Love's an English doctor brought into British Intelligence against his will.Most of the Jason Love adventures are set in the Middle East in the late 1960s.The first book is Passport to Oblivion.
Eddie Chapman's remarkable adventures behind Nazi lines during WWII practically read like fiction, and his biography-- Agent Zig Zag--(by Ben MacIntyre)is fascinating.
John Buchan's "Richard Hannay" stories helped set the style for Ian Fleming's stuff.Buchan's books were written prior to and during World War I and remain classics of their kind.The first two novels are The Thirty-Nine Steps and Greenmantle.
Hopefully some of this is helpful.:)
The first ten or fifteen books are a blast---good, old school espionage escapism -{
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I went to a charity shop to see what I could find, and I got O'Donnel's Sabre Tooth, and Day of The Jackal. I will also definitely check out the Flashman books at some point - they sound rather good!
I also managed to pick up a 1st edition of John Gardner's For Special Services really cheaply, so it was a successful trip.
There are plenty others in that vein, only not as good - consider Edward S. Aarons's Sam Durrell who was going about almost as early as Fleming's Casino Royale. If you are an adrenalin junkie, however, you might like Adam Hall's Quiller. Now, this is about as far from Fleming as one can get, but you will be on the edge of your seat while reading the Quiller novels! The writing is sparse yet very on the ball; written in the first person in a particular way you get right into the head of the character (which, in some situations, is not a good thing). The way Hall handles his character is brilliant - Quiller is not a reliable narrator at all, I recall one scene from The Tango Briefing in which Quiller walks up to a car and asks why the woman has been following him. The thing is, Quiller hasn't told us he is being followed. There are lots of things like that - Quiller almost dying and so on, only to reappear in the next chapter with an explanation a couple of pages on. He's paranoid and neurotic and obsessive, sort of like Dalton's Bond multiplied by ten. At least. I can't really think of anything else to compare it to, although the chap who introduced me to the novels suggested the Bourne films, which I can understand. But Quiller is his own thing, and the novels you will probably either love or hate (luckily, I love!). I have not read them all, but have read most of the earlier ones and am currently reading Adam Hall's non-Quiller The Volcanoes of San Domingo. I really couldn't recommend Quiller more highly - this is what I said about The 9th Directive in another thread a couple of years back:
To be fair, Hall's style took a little getting used to at first�I had just finished reading Hone's The Private Sector and the two are more than a little divergent. Moreover, as a Bond fan I was introduced to the spy novel genre through the Fleming novels and here again a pretty distinct divergence exists�where Fleming is wonderfully extravagant in his prose and in the details (clothes, drinks and so on) Hall is incredibly sparse, often unbearably so. This is not a criticism as Hall is not sparse in the John le Carr� sense, rather Hall uses his style to create real excitement and passages of electrifying activity.
Thinking about Fleming and Hall another difference emerges: there are passages of Fleming's prose that stick in my mind whereas this is not the case with Hall. It is the novel as a whole, the energy and the speed and the suspense, that lingers. The brevity obviously contributes to this, but it is the general atmosphere Hall seemingly effortlessly creates that remains in my imagination.
If Quiller is constantly teetering on the edge of his nerves, so is the reader. Hall is very good in detailing the human element of man up against it, relying only on his wits to survive. There is real danger here. The kinetic nature of the action is exquisitely captured and effectively conveyed. The twists and turns at the end of each chapter compel the reader to read on, as any thriller worth its salt will do. However the very immediacy of the situation ensures that Hall is especially gripping, a good example being the end of chapter twenty (`The Shroud') where we are left with Quiller being held at gunpoint: "Because of the silencer the report of the gun was not very loud, though the fragile paper kites shivered to the vibration." The next chapter opens with Quiller chatting to Loman and we have to wait a couple of pages for Quiller to explain what actually happened. I have read a critical review of another Quiller novel which argued that this happens too often and becomes irritating�personally I loved it. Perhaps after a few it might become wearing, however for now I think it is a very effective device Hall executes with panache and ups the tension even more.
Indeed, never have I read a novel in which tension is so brutally created. There are tense scenes in an Ambler or a (Hammond) Innes or a Maclean, however the white-knuckle nature of Hall's incredible tension ensures that the reader is almost sweating in anticipation. The pages are imbued with a constant sense of paranoia and fear; paranoia in not knowing who to trust and fear for what might come next. Hall accentuates said fear with Quiller's unreliable narration: I love that Quiller does not reveal everything that he knows and this makes the twists more surprising, such as the bit (I forget where) when he gets in the car and asks Vinia why she has been following him. This is the first time she is introduced; Quiller knows she has been following him but neglects to tell us so. I like this. *A lot*.
It was Jeremy who recommended the Quiller series to me and described it as sort of like the Bourne films in a book, and having seen both the Bournes (great spy thrillers, incidentally) it seems as if they took some influence from Hall. Even if they didn't, The 9th Directive reads a bit like Bourne (not, thankfully, like those awful Ludlum things) in a more exotic setting. I am aware that Hall didn't like to visit his locations, but for me this doesn't matter. Bangkok *feels* real, and that is what is important.
I had, in fact, only two minor issues with the novel. The first is that Hall kept referring to the 'Republic of China' when he meant the government in Beijing, however that term refers to the Nationalist government in Taipei. I'm assuming he meant the 'People's Republic', but I found it a little confusing that he didn't use the correct term. (Perhaps this is just an issue for me�I've spent quite a lot of time studying Taiwan so this probably rankles only me). The other was one stray bit of stereotyping: "He was a Chinese and vulnerable�like all his race�to superstition, and when he had spoken to me in his own tongue he believed that he had cursed the dead." We are hardly talking about John Buchan-style sideswipes against whole peoples, however there is nothing of this sort of stuff in the rest of the novel and it struck a slightly jarring note.
Apart from those two little details that, frankly, did not interrupt my enjoyment of The 9th Directive, I loved the book. Dark and gritty and neurotic, it was some ride. Excuse my inarticulacy however I am rather excited as I have just discovered a whole new series of books to devour. Although I do not want to burn out, I will be starting The Tango Briefing tonight. I can't wait.
Some, though by no means all, Bond fans would love the Quiller series, especially (I feel) if they enjoy the Dalton pictures. He would have made a good Quiller, incidentally (far better than Segal in that woeful adaptation of The Quiller Memorandum). Hall is not like Fleming at all, there is a greater sense of realism and Hall's writing is snappier and dirtier. Do give him a try, it might just be worth it.
The one I read immediately after this was The Tango Briefing which is not quite as good with a couple of flaws which pull it down for me. However, do try Northlight, Scorpion Signal and Pekin Target.
Other than that I must put a shout out for my favourite author of all time - Eric Ambler. I've written lots of gushing praise for this writer on AJB, such as on this thread and this one, the latter with some other spy novels you might be interested in.