1976 was the year of the long, long, long hot summer. For months temperatures were high into 80's and forest fires raged through the south of England. There was little rain and several streets had standpipes where the public filled buckets with water. Apple Computers were formed and in the cinema Rocky raised his fists for the first time and Devilish Damien scared everyone to death in The Omen.
It was also the year that one of the true undervalued spies had his first adventure in the novel SAVING THE QUEEN. Blackford Oakes is an agent with the CIA. With similarities to James Bond, Blackford Oakes' parents were very successful but they divorced in his teens and his high society mother remarried a knighted member of British aristocracy. Blackford was forced to move to England with her and to attend a prominent prep school called Greyburn. An incident at school resulted in a horrific thrashing by the headmaster and Oakes left the school leaving him with an attitude towards the British aristocracy that would have major consequences in his early missions. Blackford Oakes is a handsome, virile man who is adept at mixing in all types of situations. 11 books were written by William F Buckley Jr. between 1976 and 2005 and what makes them stand out is that apart from the final two novels they are set in the 1950's and 1960's. Some of the titles are: STAINED GLASS, HIGH JINX and the final one is LAST CALL FOR BLACKFORD OAKES.
The descriptions of the art of spycraft are remarkably intelligent and the writing is on a par with Le Carre and Deighton. Most of the plots revolve around real life situations and real people such as Kim Philby make appearances. The books had many publishers and can be found at reasonable prices - this series is highly recommended for all fans of realistic spy fiction.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
1977 saw Elvis Presley depart this mortal coil in his blue suede shoes, Concorde started flying commercially and Star Wars battled it out with Close Encounters Of The Third Kind at the box office.
It was also the year of the first Charlie Muffin book. Charlie is a British Secret Service agent but looks more like Columbo than Bond with his crinkled suits and hush puppy shoes. There are 16 books in the series so far with the latest one being published in 2013. Written by prolific author Brian Freemantle (who also writes under at least 4 other names) the writing is quality and the adventures are interesting and the way that Charlie solves everything is very enjoyable. Charlie also ages in time with the books which makes it even more of interest. Some titles are Charlie M, Here Comes Charlie M, The Inscrutable Charlie Muffin and Charlie Muffin U.S.A. The books are readily available and highly recommended.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
1978 saw the video game go mega with the launch of Space Invaders. John Travolta popularised white suits in Grease and we all believed that a man could fly as Christopher Reeve donned the cape as Superman.
In the publishing world the spy genre was at an all time low with hardly anything new appearing but there was a popular British TV series called The Sandbaggers starring Roy Marsden at that time and the first of 2 TV-tie-ins was published. I didn't read these or see the TV series so cannot really give much information except that even though I did have both books they didn't sell well.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
1979 saw Roger Moore don a spacesuit in Moonraker and Alien made audiences scream in the cinema's but couldn't be heard in space. Trivial Pursuit made board games popular again and Maggie Thatcher became the first woman British PM.
Meanwhile in the world of spy fiction, Butler (not the bus driver from On The Buses) but a CIA agent, made the first of 12 rather banal appearances in a badly written series with mainly uninspiring photo covers. Published by Leisure Books and written by several authors under the name of Philip Kirk the adventures are the usual fare of infiltrating enemy bases with plots stolen from several sources such as The Man From UNCLE but without any of the style. Some of the titles are KILLER SATELLITES, SMART BOMBS and THE Q FACTOR. They must have been popular to last 12 books but it's hard to fathom why and some of them are getting some really high prices on the second hand market.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
A new decade began with The Empire Strikes Back cleaning up at the box office, PacMan was the latest video game craze and 70 people were killed by terrorists in a bomb attack in Italy (some things never change ). I had moved from the market into a shop a couple of years earlier and things were going so well that when the shop next door became empty I took that on as well and hired my second employee, a school leaver, who like my other helper stayed with me until I retired.
1980 also saw the launch of Jason Bourne who really wouldn't hit stardom until the 2002 movie starring Matt Damon. Robert Ludlum wrote the first 3 called (Bourne) Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum in 1980, 1986 and 1990 respectively. By the time the movie came out in 2002 Ludlum had passed away and the series was taken on by Eric Van Lustbader who to date has written another 10 books on an almost annual basis. The books are well written and exciting and readily available at modest prices.
Some may not know that a 1988 TV movie was released of The Bourne Identity starring Richard Chamberlain and Charlie's Angel, Jaclyn Smith. It is a good film albeit in different style to the movies but certainly worth a look.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
In the 80s I read a few Ludlum novels (only the first of the Bournes, but perhaps five of his other books) and enjoyed them at first before starting to find them a bit samey.
I remember seeing the first Bourne film on video at university in the mid-80s, it was nothing like the Matt Damon films, more like a made-for-tv movie.
1981 saw Roger Moore in his best Bond film FYEO and Indiana Jones began his adventures in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The Titanic was discovered in it's ocean floor resting place, the "Internet" was first mentioned and the average price of a house in the UK was approaching 25k.
Michael McVeigh an CIA assassin began a short 5 book series under the name of American Avenger. As an US Air Force pilot he was drafted into the CIA and in 5 adventures he faces several Bond style missions. Published by Signet and written by Robert Emmett some of the titles are Ride The Tiger, King Bishop Knight and Trojan Horses. Though nothing special they are fun reads with plenty of action and pretty girls. They can be purchased for less than 5 GBP each.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The UK went to war with Argentina in 1982 and Carlos The Jackal began his terrorist campaign. CD players first went on sale in Japan and in the cinema E.T. was trying to get home whilst cleaning up at the box office. It also saw the first appearance of ABLE TEAM which was a spinoff from the popular EXECUTIONER series with the avenging Mack Bolan.
A kind of male version of Charlie's Angels as two private detectives and a former policeman join forces as a trio of agents under the name of Able Team. They are sent on a series of 51 adventures spanning 10 years of publishing. Published by Gold Eagle and written by at least 15 different authors under the house name of Dick Stivers the series is standard fare with titles such as Tower Of Terror, Amazon Slaughter, Royal Flush, Fall Back and Kill, Ghost Train and Skinwalker. They can be found at reasonable prices but a few numbers seem to be fetching higher prices.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger will both be covered at some point, SM, thanks for the suggestions {[]
I'm re-reading from the collection of 19 spy novels- the Quiller books by Adam Hall (aka Elleston Trevor).
These are superb first person descriptions of the lone wolf spy's actions.
I'm reading "The Sinkiang Executive" where Quiller has to pilot a stolen Russian MIG fighter jet to go back into Russia
evading their air defences and ditching the plane.
He is a lone-wolf character who uses Shotokan Karate to defend himself, and doesn't like his bosses.
Often on a mission in China, Russia, and Cambodia. (written in 1960s to about 1995.)
The narrative keeps the tension going as he dodges guards or secret police.
Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger will both be covered at some point, SM, thanks for the suggestions {[]
I'm re-reading from the collection of 19 spy novels- the Quiller books by Adam Hall (aka Elleston Trevor).
These are superb first person descriptions of the lone wolf spy's actions.
I'm reading "The Sinkiang Executive" where Quiller has to pilot a stolen Russian MIG fighter jet to go back into Russia
evading their air defences and ditching the plane.
He is a lone-wolf character who uses Shotokan Karate to defend himself, and doesn't like his bosses.
Often on a mission in China, Russia, and Cambodia. (written in 1960s to about 1995.)
The narrative keeps the tension going as he dodges guards or secret police.
Highly recommended. Bleuville.
Thanks, Bleuville, I will cover Quiller once I have finished my trawl through the years 1973 - 2013. Hopefully I will be able to post a bit more often in a few days but I am currently very busy doing volunteer work at the Help Centre (some of you may have seen the news reports of the drug situation here and we are dealing with lots of fractious family problems that have arisen).
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir Rog starred in his penultimate Bond movie OP in 1983 and it was also the year in that the TV series MASH ended, Cabbage Patch dolls were on sale, the concept of the USA's defence system known as Star Wars was made known and the IRA exploded a bomb outside of Harrod's.
1983 also saw the first of 4 spy books released under the series name of The Magic Man. Briggs O'Meara is an agent with the British Secret Service and the four books are called Magic Man, The Gamov Factor, Pipeline from Hell and Call Of Honour. The series is well written by David Bannerman which is a pen name for David Hagberg who cut his teeth writing twenty-odd books for the Nick Carter series. The Russians are the main protagonist's in the series.
Prices are reasonable to pick up copies and well worth it in my opinion. Published by General in the USA.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
This may sound terrible to a bibliophile but How do you feel about the "Kindle"
revolution ? as it may be easier for out of print books, to be electronically
"Re-Issued" making hard to find books, easy to find ?
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I read all my books on Google Play Books now ) and purchase all my movies on Google Play Movies.
Nothing will ever replace the thrill of going into a book shop and finding something elusive or something that you had never heard of before. But technology is the future and anything that gets people to read gets my vote. Publishers hated second hand dealers like myself as they only got paid once when they sold the book new. Now they love the new technology and the fact that rent and overheads and other media have virtually made second hand bookshops obsolete.
I will write a piece when I have time about the rise and fall of the second hand bookshop from a personal viewpoint.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Looking forward to reading that, CHB. It's always a pleasure to find a secondhand bookshop as you say, and to prowl the shelves in search of some unusual or long-sought title.
Technology has changed many techniques of working. I too remember the thrill of ordering
The latest J Gardner Bond Novel from my local book shop, or on hearing a piece of music or
Song on the radio. Making the trip to the local record shop, to hunt through all the LPs to find
The artist, them having to buy the entire album to get one song
Now I hear a song and simp!y download it in minutes, same with many movies and Books.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
1984 was not as bleak as George Orwell's visionary novel but it was the year that saw Indira Ghandi assassinated and the IRA blew up The Grand Hotel in Brighton where the Conservative party were staying during their annual conference. DNA was first used by forensics scientists and Ghostbusters was a box office hit (though I could never fathom why I thought it was terrible).
It was also when Jack Ryan entered into the realms of spy fiction in a series of 13 books. Written by Tom Clancy the series follows Jack Ryan an analyst at the CIA who throughout the series rises in the ranks finally becoming President of the USA. Many AJBers will know of Ryan through the 5 movies made about the character, Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Sum Of All Fears and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The books are worth reading, well written and exciting. They are readily obtainable at cheap prices. Mark Greaney takes over the mantle of the last two books (and possibly a couple before that) and the writing is not as good but Clancy's name remains prominent on the covers.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I've always enjoyed the Ryan series (see http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/46167/the-80s-and-beyond-bond-rival-jack-ryan/ for my thoughts on it), and think Greaney is doing a good job these days. The last book or two that Clancy actually wrote (opinions differ as to the point he stopped) had a tiredness about them that seems to have gone now.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,762Chief of Staff
I've read all the Clancy Jack Ryan novels, loved them...really well researched and plotted...I've only read a couple of the Greaney books - I enjoyed them but just felt the lacked the 'depth' that I got from Clancy...
The Clancy novels I highly recommend -{
1985 saw Sir Rog's swansong as Bond in AVTAK and the simply brilliant Back To The Future made time travelling in a DeLorean super cool. Elsewhere, terrorists hijacked a cruise liner and attacked airports in Vienna and Rome. The average price of a house in the UK rose to over 40k for the first time.
John Gardner (no stranger to AJBer's) began a three book series known as The Secret Trilogy. Lesser known than his stints on JB, Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger, this however in my opinion is his greatest work. It follows the fortunes of the Railton family and their lives in espionage from before WW1 through to the 1970's. Highly detailed in it's depiction of the history of British Intelligence it begins with the head of the Railton family, Giles, who dedicates his life to build an international network of spies. The books are all titled The Secret....followed by... Generations, Houses and finally Families. This trilogy is an outstanding entry into all things espionage and highly recommended. Published by Corgi in the UK they are readily available for 2-3 GBP each.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,762Chief of Staff
I agree with you, CHB...The Secret... trilogy is Gardner's best work...I loved reading those -{
1986 saw the US bomb Libya, space shuttle Challenger exploded during lift-off, there was mad cow disease in the UK and the Chernobyl nuclear reactor leaked.
Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger also began a short but brilliant 3 book run. Agent 13 was kidnapped as a boy and raised by The Brotherhood, a centuries old clan who manipulated the course of history of the outside world from a secret base. As an adult he rebels against The Brotherhood and forms a team to fight his former tutors. These pulp style books were a joy to read, well written and exciting. The titles are The Invisible Empire, The Serpentine Assassins and Acolytes Of Darkness. Two graphic novels were also published. Presumably low sales ensured the demise of this series but anyone who enjoys adventure actioners will be pleasantly surprised by this pretty obscure series. Published by TSR in the US they can be picked up for 5-10 GBP each.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
As a bit of a side thread to CHB's brilliant thread, mentioning these amazing books. I was wondering if there
Might be any Interest from members is starting either a partner thread or posting here ( with CHB's permission
Obviously ) as I neither want to hijack or clutter it up, still very much an idea in the early stages.
I have been in contact with CoolHandBond, mainly clandestine meetings in dimly lit car parks. Involving a lot of
Flashing .......................... Of head lights.
So it's just an idea, I'm putting out, to see if there's much interest ? As many of these books sound right up my
Street. I'm certain it would be fun and maybe the kick in the backside, some of us need ( me included) to get
Back into reading more regularly.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
1987 and TD starred in his first of two outings as the world's greatest secret agent in TLD. It was also the year that the Lethal Weapon series began and Terry Waite was taken hostage.
The Sensitives started a short three book run written by Herbert Burkholz and published by Berkley. Ben Slade is a CIA agent working within the agency as part of The Sensitives programme. He is a mind-reading psychic but they suffer from burnout and the average lifespan is just over 31 years. As we join the series Slade is 30 and we have three very enjoyable thrillers with the titles of The Sensitives, Strange Bedfellows and Brain Damage. When not on assignment Slade plays top level poker to supplement his earnings. The plotting is of a decent level and the premise is interesting. The author was also a speechwriter for the US Food and Drug Administration for a while.
The books can be picked up cheaply at usual sources.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
1988 saw the Lockerbie Pan Am plane crash and a barefoot, vest wearing Bruce Willis became a star taking down the terrorists in Die Hard.
Matt Terry is a tour guide adventurer, often mistaken for a spy. In 3 books by James Luceno (who has written many Star Wars novels) Matt travels to Guatemala, Indonesia and Nepal in well written yarns full of action and geographical atmosphere. Published by Ivy Books with nice covers they are well worth reading. The titles are Rio Passion, Rainchaser and Rock Bottom. It's a shame that the series was so short lived.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The end of the decade saw average UK house prices rise to over 70k and 1989 also saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the protests in Tiananmen Square. Jack Nicholson was The Joker in Batman and Ghost proved that no one cries like Demi Moore.
It also saw the first Frank Pagan book of five published. Written by Campbell Armstrong it relates the story of a Special Branch agent who goes up against the world's terrorists. These are well written suspenseful books with one word titles: JIG, MAZURKA, MAMBO, JIGSAW and HEAT. Armstrong writes under several pen names and has written many movie tie-in books like Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
It was also the year that one of the true undervalued spies had his first adventure in the novel SAVING THE QUEEN. Blackford Oakes is an agent with the CIA. With similarities to James Bond, Blackford Oakes' parents were very successful but they divorced in his teens and his high society mother remarried a knighted member of British aristocracy. Blackford was forced to move to England with her and to attend a prominent prep school called Greyburn. An incident at school resulted in a horrific thrashing by the headmaster and Oakes left the school leaving him with an attitude towards the British aristocracy that would have major consequences in his early missions. Blackford Oakes is a handsome, virile man who is adept at mixing in all types of situations. 11 books were written by William F Buckley Jr. between 1976 and 2005 and what makes them stand out is that apart from the final two novels they are set in the 1950's and 1960's. Some of the titles are: STAINED GLASS, HIGH JINX and the final one is LAST CALL FOR BLACKFORD OAKES.
The descriptions of the art of spycraft are remarkably intelligent and the writing is on a par with Le Carre and Deighton. Most of the plots revolve around real life situations and real people such as Kim Philby make appearances. The books had many publishers and can be found at reasonable prices - this series is highly recommended for all fans of realistic spy fiction.
It was also the year of the first Charlie Muffin book. Charlie is a British Secret Service agent but looks more like Columbo than Bond with his crinkled suits and hush puppy shoes. There are 16 books in the series so far with the latest one being published in 2013. Written by prolific author Brian Freemantle (who also writes under at least 4 other names) the writing is quality and the adventures are interesting and the way that Charlie solves everything is very enjoyable. Charlie also ages in time with the books which makes it even more of interest. Some titles are Charlie M, Here Comes Charlie M, The Inscrutable Charlie Muffin and Charlie Muffin U.S.A. The books are readily available and highly recommended.
In the publishing world the spy genre was at an all time low with hardly anything new appearing but there was a popular British TV series called The Sandbaggers starring Roy Marsden at that time and the first of 2 TV-tie-ins was published. I didn't read these or see the TV series so cannot really give much information except that even though I did have both books they didn't sell well.
Meanwhile in the world of spy fiction, Butler (not the bus driver from On The Buses) but a CIA agent, made the first of 12 rather banal appearances in a badly written series with mainly uninspiring photo covers. Published by Leisure Books and written by several authors under the name of Philip Kirk the adventures are the usual fare of infiltrating enemy bases with plots stolen from several sources such as The Man From UNCLE but without any of the style. Some of the titles are KILLER SATELLITES, SMART BOMBS and THE Q FACTOR. They must have been popular to last 12 books but it's hard to fathom why and some of them are getting some really high prices on the second hand market.
1980 also saw the launch of Jason Bourne who really wouldn't hit stardom until the 2002 movie starring Matt Damon. Robert Ludlum wrote the first 3 called (Bourne) Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum in 1980, 1986 and 1990 respectively. By the time the movie came out in 2002 Ludlum had passed away and the series was taken on by Eric Van Lustbader who to date has written another 10 books on an almost annual basis. The books are well written and exciting and readily available at modest prices.
Some may not know that a 1988 TV movie was released of The Bourne Identity starring Richard Chamberlain and Charlie's Angel, Jaclyn Smith. It is a good film albeit in different style to the movies but certainly worth a look.
Really enjoying your posts, CHB -{
Michael McVeigh an CIA assassin began a short 5 book series under the name of American Avenger. As an US Air Force pilot he was drafted into the CIA and in 5 adventures he faces several Bond style missions. Published by Signet and written by Robert Emmett some of the titles are Ride The Tiger, King Bishop Knight and Trojan Horses. Though nothing special they are fun reads with plenty of action and pretty girls. They can be purchased for less than 5 GBP each.
A kind of male version of Charlie's Angels as two private detectives and a former policeman join forces as a trio of agents under the name of Able Team. They are sent on a series of 51 adventures spanning 10 years of publishing. Published by Gold Eagle and written by at least 15 different authors under the house name of Dick Stivers the series is standard fare with titles such as Tower Of Terror, Amazon Slaughter, Royal Flush, Fall Back and Kill, Ghost Train and Skinwalker. They can be found at reasonable prices but a few numbers seem to be fetching higher prices.
I'm re-reading from the collection of 19 spy novels- the Quiller books by Adam Hall (aka Elleston Trevor).
These are superb first person descriptions of the lone wolf spy's actions.
I'm reading "The Sinkiang Executive" where Quiller has to pilot a stolen Russian MIG fighter jet to go back into Russia
evading their air defences and ditching the plane.
He is a lone-wolf character who uses Shotokan Karate to defend himself, and doesn't like his bosses.
Often on a mission in China, Russia, and Cambodia. (written in 1960s to about 1995.)
The narrative keeps the tension going as he dodges guards or secret police.
Highly recommended. Bleuville.
Thanks, Bleuville, I will cover Quiller once I have finished my trawl through the years 1973 - 2013. Hopefully I will be able to post a bit more often in a few days but I am currently very busy doing volunteer work at the Help Centre (some of you may have seen the news reports of the drug situation here and we are dealing with lots of fractious family problems that have arisen).
1983 also saw the first of 4 spy books released under the series name of The Magic Man. Briggs O'Meara is an agent with the British Secret Service and the four books are called Magic Man, The Gamov Factor, Pipeline from Hell and Call Of Honour. The series is well written by David Bannerman which is a pen name for David Hagberg who cut his teeth writing twenty-odd books for the Nick Carter series. The Russians are the main protagonist's in the series.
Prices are reasonable to pick up copies and well worth it in my opinion. Published by General in the USA.
revolution ? as it may be easier for out of print books, to be electronically
"Re-Issued" making hard to find books, easy to find ?
Nothing will ever replace the thrill of going into a book shop and finding something elusive or something that you had never heard of before. But technology is the future and anything that gets people to read gets my vote. Publishers hated second hand dealers like myself as they only got paid once when they sold the book new. Now they love the new technology and the fact that rent and overheads and other media have virtually made second hand bookshops obsolete.
I will write a piece when I have time about the rise and fall of the second hand bookshop from a personal viewpoint.
The latest J Gardner Bond Novel from my local book shop, or on hearing a piece of music or
Song on the radio. Making the trip to the local record shop, to hunt through all the LPs to find
The artist, them having to buy the entire album to get one song
Now I hear a song and simp!y download it in minutes, same with many movies and Books.
It was also when Jack Ryan entered into the realms of spy fiction in a series of 13 books. Written by Tom Clancy the series follows Jack Ryan an analyst at the CIA who throughout the series rises in the ranks finally becoming President of the USA. Many AJBers will know of Ryan through the 5 movies made about the character, Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Sum Of All Fears and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The books are worth reading, well written and exciting. They are readily obtainable at cheap prices. Mark Greaney takes over the mantle of the last two books (and possibly a couple before that) and the writing is not as good but Clancy's name remains prominent on the covers.
The Clancy novels I highly recommend -{
John Gardner (no stranger to AJBer's) began a three book series known as The Secret Trilogy. Lesser known than his stints on JB, Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger, this however in my opinion is his greatest work. It follows the fortunes of the Railton family and their lives in espionage from before WW1 through to the 1970's. Highly detailed in it's depiction of the history of British Intelligence it begins with the head of the Railton family, Giles, who dedicates his life to build an international network of spies. The books are all titled The Secret....followed by... Generations, Houses and finally Families. This trilogy is an outstanding entry into all things espionage and highly recommended. Published by Corgi in the UK they are readily available for 2-3 GBP each.
Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger also began a short but brilliant 3 book run. Agent 13 was kidnapped as a boy and raised by The Brotherhood, a centuries old clan who manipulated the course of history of the outside world from a secret base. As an adult he rebels against The Brotherhood and forms a team to fight his former tutors. These pulp style books were a joy to read, well written and exciting. The titles are The Invisible Empire, The Serpentine Assassins and Acolytes Of Darkness. Two graphic novels were also published. Presumably low sales ensured the demise of this series but anyone who enjoys adventure actioners will be pleasantly surprised by this pretty obscure series. Published by TSR in the US they can be picked up for 5-10 GBP each.
Might be any Interest from members is starting either a partner thread or posting here ( with CHB's permission
Obviously ) as I neither want to hijack or clutter it up, still very much an idea in the early stages.
I have been in contact with CoolHandBond, mainly clandestine meetings in dimly lit car parks. Involving a lot of
Flashing .......................... Of head lights.
So it's just an idea, I'm putting out, to see if there's much interest ? As many of these books sound right up my
Street. I'm certain it would be fun and maybe the kick in the backside, some of us need ( me included) to get
Back into reading more regularly.
Ah it was the headlights that made my eyes water then...
The Sensitives started a short three book run written by Herbert Burkholz and published by Berkley. Ben Slade is a CIA agent working within the agency as part of The Sensitives programme. He is a mind-reading psychic but they suffer from burnout and the average lifespan is just over 31 years. As we join the series Slade is 30 and we have three very enjoyable thrillers with the titles of The Sensitives, Strange Bedfellows and Brain Damage. When not on assignment Slade plays top level poker to supplement his earnings. The plotting is of a decent level and the premise is interesting. The author was also a speechwriter for the US Food and Drug Administration for a while.
The books can be picked up cheaply at usual sources.
Matt Terry is a tour guide adventurer, often mistaken for a spy. In 3 books by James Luceno (who has written many Star Wars novels) Matt travels to Guatemala, Indonesia and Nepal in well written yarns full of action and geographical atmosphere. Published by Ivy Books with nice covers they are well worth reading. The titles are Rio Passion, Rainchaser and Rock Bottom. It's a shame that the series was so short lived.
It also saw the first Frank Pagan book of five published. Written by Campbell Armstrong it relates the story of a Special Branch agent who goes up against the world's terrorists. These are well written suspenseful books with one word titles: JIG, MAZURKA, MAMBO, JIGSAW and HEAT. Armstrong writes under several pen names and has written many movie tie-in books like Raiders Of The Lost Ark.