Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,757Chief of Staff
I think I’ve only ever read one Saint book 😳 I must remedy that…
YNWA 97
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
That top Saint book (Alias the Saint) was the very first edition I found back in 1996 I think. I always thought that the depiction of Simon Templar on that one looked a lot like Roger Moore and that was before he was cast in The Saint.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Donald E Westlake was one of the great pulp authors. Under his own name he published novels such as TheMercenaries and TheHotRock. Using the pseudonym Richard Stark he published the Parker series including PointBlank and Slayground (many of which have been filmed with actors such as Lee Marvin and Jason Statham). He also wrote screenplays for movies such as TheStepfather and TheGrifters. In the early days he used the name Alan Marshall to write soft-porn novels such as…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Westlake was a good writer, and could be very funny or cruel and vicious in turn. I never knew he could be sexy too!
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,757Chief of Staff
edited August 25
I’m sure we all know that he also wrote ForeverAndADeath which was based on a treatment he was hired to write for a Bond film…that obviously didn’t get made…
YNWA 97
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
There's not a hair's breadth between Forever and a Day and Forever and a Death as titles. I suppose there are only so many titles you can come up with for thrillers in such a packed field.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
No, it wasn't one of mine, @Barbel. I had a search and that thread was created by the member @Le Samourai. I see that I did comment on it at the time though:
I read it when it came out…I’m not sure if I still have it…lots of stuff is currently being packed up…it was definitely ‘of its time’, but easy to see how it was adapted from his unused Bond script…
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Yes, it’s very easy to see why ☺️🤣
To save on costs some artwork was reused on other covers, usually with some slight differences…
I like the Pan covers of The Saint books best but these from Hodder and Stoughton are pretty good, too.
Yes, they are- very atmospheric.
I think I’ve only ever read one Saint book 😳 I must remedy that…
That top Saint book (Alias the Saint) was the very first edition I found back in 1996 I think. I always thought that the depiction of Simon Templar on that one looked a lot like Roger Moore and that was before he was cast in The Saint.
I’ve read a handful of them, but like you @Sir Miles I need to read some more.
A nice selection here…
The first one looks like the only one I'd read, but those are fascinating covers all right.
In the last one, the girl looks like a young Elizabeth Taylor…
Did you read many of the Peter Chambers books? They used to sell quite well.but I don’t recall reading any myself.
No, not at all, but it looks like the kind of book I'd read (dated, private eye, shades of noir).
I misread your original line - I thought you said that you had read it 😁
Some more Hank Janson covers…
I’m going to have to hunt a couple of these books down ☺️
The Slaves of the Empire series ran to 5 books before cancellation. Set in Roman times the covers promised a lot more than the content within.
What appalling titles. Those look both terrible and brilliant at the same time.
Donald E Westlake was one of the great pulp authors. Under his own name he published novels such as The Mercenaries and The Hot Rock. Using the pseudonym Richard Stark he published the Parker series including Point Blank and Slayground (many of which have been filmed with actors such as Lee Marvin and Jason Statham). He also wrote screenplays for movies such as The Stepfather and The Grifters. In the early days he used the name Alan Marshall to write soft-porn novels such as…
Westlake was a good writer, and could be very funny or cruel and vicious in turn. I never knew he could be sexy too!
I’m sure we all know that he also wrote Forever And A Death which was based on a treatment he was hired to write for a Bond film…that obviously didn’t get made…
There's not a hair's breadth between Forever and a Day and Forever and a Death as titles. I suppose there are only so many titles you can come up with for thrillers in such a packed field.
Did we all know that?
It was discussed a while ago in the Lit forum- @Silhouette Man was it you who brought it up?
No, it wasn't one of mine, @Barbel. I had a search and that thread was created by the member @Le Samourai. I see that I did comment on it at the time though:
Ah, thanks.
It had been so long I could barely remember but I didn't think I'd started a thread on it. 🙂
Did you eventually read the book though @Silhouette Man ?
No, sadly not. I think I bought a copy at the time but I never got around to it.
I read it when it came out…I’m not sure if I still have it…lots of stuff is currently being packed up…it was definitely ‘of its time’, but easy to see how it was adapted from his unused Bond script…
Hmm. May be worth a look then.