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Matt Helm #11
The Menacers
Matt Helm is puzzled. He's been sent to Mexico to investigate the sighting of a flying saucer, but Helm doesn't believe in little green men. Then his Russian opposite number is shot in her hotel, but who did it? And why are the Mexican cops acting so tough? Time to track down the redhead who called in the sighting and get to the bottom of the case.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
25 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Donald Hamilton
102 books108 followersDonald Hamilton was a U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Westerns such as The Big Country. He is best known for his long-running Matt Helm series (1960-1993), which chronicles the adventures of an undercover counter-agent/assassin working for a secret American government agency.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.
The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.
Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.
Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 2, 2018
This is not my first or even fifth time reading this book, although it is the first as an audio book. It's very well narrated by Stefan Rudnicki. No surprise there, he always does a great job. It's Matt Helm, perhaps my favorite action hero since he's so believable & Hamilton does his research well.
This book was first published in 1968, so that's not too surprising that several things date it. Cars, border crossing, & some other items can't be helped. Helm's use of 'doll' & 'sweetheart' aren't as bad in print as they are in audio. I don't recall hearing 'doll' used by actual people, only TV tough guys. 'Sweetheart' was fairly common, although now I mostly hear & use 'sweetie'. (No, it's not sexist. I hear more women using it then men.)
Helm is a bit of a sexist, though. He likes women in skirts, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think that some aren't every bit as deadly as the men he faces. The bits on homosexuality might make people cringe today (He refers to a gay guy as a fairy once.) but Helm doesn't really care. As he points out, he's not sleeping with him, but it is one more piece of data that doesn't fit given the mores of the day.
The basic plot really dates this & might seem unbelievable to anyone who doesn't remember those days. This was during the Cold War & we were in a race for space plus nasty maneuvering (both sides & all over) against the Communist menace. There were more than a few traces of McCarthyism around, but I think we'd quit having bomb alert practices where we had to hide under our desks. We hadn't yet reached the moon & the outer space craze was strong. So were UFO sightings, although they were winding down.
A study found that UFOs were a Cold War craze & while that might sound silly, take a look at some of the crazy things governments were doing then. It's no wonder UFOs were a very popular topic & so easily fueled by conspiracy theorists. They had a lot of help from blundering government coverups & laughable explanations. Sightings were often front page news & not just in the tabloids & small town papers, but more in the 50s than the 60s, IIRC. Still, the point here is that the plot of this novel was believable for the time. If nothing else, this should give the reader some hope that we'll survive the current crisis.
Hamilton handled it well & wrapped everything up in a fantastic way.
This book was first published in 1968, so that's not too surprising that several things date it. Cars, border crossing, & some other items can't be helped. Helm's use of 'doll' & 'sweetheart' aren't as bad in print as they are in audio. I don't recall hearing 'doll' used by actual people, only TV tough guys. 'Sweetheart' was fairly common, although now I mostly hear & use 'sweetie'. (No, it's not sexist. I hear more women using it then men.)
Helm is a bit of a sexist, though. He likes women in skirts, but that doesn't mean he doesn't think that some aren't every bit as deadly as the men he faces. The bits on homosexuality might make people cringe today (He refers to a gay guy as a fairy once.) but Helm doesn't really care. As he points out, he's not sleeping with him, but it is one more piece of data that doesn't fit given the mores of the day.
The basic plot really dates this & might seem unbelievable to anyone who doesn't remember those days. This was during the Cold War & we were in a race for space plus nasty maneuvering (both sides & all over) against the Communist menace. There were more than a few traces of McCarthyism around, but I think we'd quit having bomb alert practices where we had to hide under our desks. We hadn't yet reached the moon & the outer space craze was strong. So were UFO sightings, although they were winding down.
A study found that UFOs were a Cold War craze & while that might sound silly, take a look at some of the crazy things governments were doing then. It's no wonder UFOs were a very popular topic & so easily fueled by conspiracy theorists. They had a lot of help from blundering government coverups & laughable explanations. Sightings were often front page news & not just in the tabloids & small town papers, but more in the 50s than the 60s, IIRC. Still, the point here is that the plot of this novel was believable for the time. If nothing else, this should give the reader some hope that we'll survive the current crisis.
Hamilton handled it well & wrapped everything up in a fantastic way.
November 18, 2017
I've read these up to #11 now...and I've ordered the next 5 from ABE Books.
So, what's this one like?
First have you read them in order and are you up on "who Matt Helm is"? The books probably don't demand to be read in order but I'd suggest you do. Helm was in the OSS and then thought he had retired. But he gets called back (I mean we wouldn't have a series of novels if he hadn't been). Most people when they hear of Matt Helm "now-a-days" think of the ridiculous movies of the 1960s staring Dean Maritain. Thankfully most have forgotten the short lived TV series. If either of these is your take or picture of Matt Helm...you simply don't know who or what he is.
Helm was not some urbane nattily dressed 007 knock-off. Helm was an original, a gritty no nonsense agent who was generally called out when one thing was needed.
Helm was an assassin. It wasn't all he did but that's his specialty. The books have some dark humor but they are not played for laughs.
Here Helm is sent into a situation that makes little sense to him...but he does his job.
Now let me give a warning. This book was written in 1968. Some of the characters are what/who would be called LGBT. Now while Helm says their life style choices are none of his business there are/is some very non-PC language used here. Some hard line feminists will also resent some of Helm's attitudes (though he gives female agents their due he's still a man of the time so to speak).
So good actin, good story and so on, if the dated part of the story doesn't get to you.
So, what's this one like?
First have you read them in order and are you up on "who Matt Helm is"? The books probably don't demand to be read in order but I'd suggest you do. Helm was in the OSS and then thought he had retired. But he gets called back (I mean we wouldn't have a series of novels if he hadn't been). Most people when they hear of Matt Helm "now-a-days" think of the ridiculous movies of the 1960s staring Dean Maritain. Thankfully most have forgotten the short lived TV series. If either of these is your take or picture of Matt Helm...you simply don't know who or what he is.
Helm was not some urbane nattily dressed 007 knock-off. Helm was an original, a gritty no nonsense agent who was generally called out when one thing was needed.
Helm was an assassin. It wasn't all he did but that's his specialty. The books have some dark humor but they are not played for laughs.
Here Helm is sent into a situation that makes little sense to him...but he does his job.
Now let me give a warning. This book was written in 1968. Some of the characters are what/who would be called LGBT. Now while Helm says their life style choices are none of his business there are/is some very non-PC language used here. Some hard line feminists will also resent some of Helm's attitudes (though he gives female agents their due he's still a man of the time so to speak).
So good actin, good story and so on, if the dated part of the story doesn't get to you.
May 27, 2015
"Επιχείρηση UFO", εκδόσεις ΒΙΠΕΡ.
Πέντε και βάλε μήνες πέρασαν από την τελευταία φορά που διάβασα ιστορία με ήρωα τον Ματ Χελμ και ο μπαγάσας μου έλειψε. Αλλά καλύτερα έτσι, γιατί αν τα διάβαζα όλα μαζεμένα, θα μου τελείωναν γρήγορα. Και τι θα έκανα μετά;
Μια κοπέλα έγινε μάρτυρας φονικής επίθεσης ενός αγνώστου ταυτότητας ιπτάμενου αντικειμένου, σε μια μικρή πόλη του Μεξικού. Δυο χαμηλόβαθμοι Αμερικανοί πράκτορες βρέθηκαν εκεί για να φυλάξουν την κοπέλα, μέχρι να έρθει ο Χελμ για να την παραλάβει. Αποστολή του Χελμ είναι να φέρει ζωντανή την κοπέλα στο Λος Άλαμος ή να την σκοτώσει, σε περίπτωση που Σοβιετικοί πράκτορες, οι οποίοι καραδοκούν τριγύρω, την πλησιάσουν επικίνδυνα. Το θέμα είναι ότι μόνο με διαστημόπλοια και εξωγήινους δεν έχει να κάνει ο Χελμ, μιας και από πίσω κρύβεται κάτι πιο γήινο και εξίσου επικίνδυνο. Μέχρι το τέλος της ιστορίας θα γίνουν ένα κάρο φόνοι και δεν θα ξέρει ποιον να εμπιστευτεί...
Κλασικά ωραία κατασκοπευτική περιπέτεια, με ενδιαφέρουσα πλοκή γεμάτη μυστήριο, ανατροπές και δράση. Η γραφή στο ίδιο επίπεδο ποιότητας με τα προηγούμενα βιβλία, στρωτή, χωρίς εξάρσεις και φιοριτούρες, με ακριβείς περιγραφές τοπίων και καταστάσεων. Φυσικά το σαρκαστικό χιούμορ του Χελμ κάνει αισθητή την παρουσία του και σ'αυτή την ιστορία.
Πέντε και βάλε μήνες πέρασαν από την τελευταία φορά που διάβασα ιστορία με ήρωα τον Ματ Χελμ και ο μπαγάσας μου έλειψε. Αλλά καλύτερα έτσι, γιατί αν τα διάβαζα όλα μαζεμένα, θα μου τελείωναν γρήγορα. Και τι θα έκανα μετά;
Μια κοπέλα έγινε μάρτυρας φονικής επίθεσης ενός αγνώστου ταυτότητας ιπτάμενου αντικειμένου, σε μια μικρή πόλη του Μεξικού. Δυο χαμηλόβαθμοι Αμερικανοί πράκτορες βρέθηκαν εκεί για να φυλάξουν την κοπέλα, μέχρι να έρθει ο Χελμ για να την παραλάβει. Αποστολή του Χελμ είναι να φέρει ζωντανή την κοπέλα στο Λος Άλαμος ή να την σκοτώσει, σε περίπτωση που Σοβιετικοί πράκτορες, οι οποίοι καραδοκούν τριγύρω, την πλησιάσουν επικίνδυνα. Το θέμα είναι ότι μόνο με διαστημόπλοια και εξωγήινους δεν έχει να κάνει ο Χελμ, μιας και από πίσω κρύβεται κάτι πιο γήινο και εξίσου επικίνδυνο. Μέχρι το τέλος της ιστορίας θα γίνουν ένα κάρο φόνοι και δεν θα ξέρει ποιον να εμπιστευτεί...
Κλασικά ωραία κατασκοπευτική περιπέτεια, με ενδιαφέρουσα πλοκή γεμάτη μυστήριο, ανατροπές και δράση. Η γραφή στο ίδιο επίπεδο ποιότητας με τα προηγούμενα βιβλία, στρωτή, χωρίς εξάρσεις και φιοριτούρες, με ακριβείς περιγραφές τοπίων και καταστάσεων. Φυσικά το σαρκαστικό χιούμορ του Χελμ κάνει αισθητή την παρουσία του και σ'αυτή την ιστορία.
October 23, 2014
Helm is given the job of escorting a US citizen, a witness, from a small Mexican town back to the US. The witness seems to be wanted by the Russians who have brought out one of their big guns, Vadya, a player in a couple of other books. Helm is not a bodyguard. The witness will either make it back to the proper authorities in the US or be killed by Helm.
It was a fine book in so many ways. UFO's are the major theme & so well done, that it is fantastic. It's not SF, just pure trickery, murder & mayhem. Helm at his best. There are several scenes, especially one in a plane, that epitomize the hero. Several other things happen & a couple of new characters are introduced that are used later on in the series, so this is a must read.
It was a fine book in so many ways. UFO's are the major theme & so well done, that it is fantastic. It's not SF, just pure trickery, murder & mayhem. Helm at his best. There are several scenes, especially one in a plane, that epitomize the hero. Several other things happen & a couple of new characters are introduced that are used later on in the series, so this is a must read.
February 11, 2014
Those who know super spy Matt Helm only through the cinematic buffoonery of Dean Martin really do not know Matt Helm at all. As written by Donald Hamilton, Matt Helm is a nice guy who kills people for a living, not maliciously or through any hatred, but coolly, efficiently and without hesitation, except when he doesn't kill at all, but even that choice is made because it furthers his purpose or helps him to complete his assigned task, not because of any weakness or sentimentality.
In "The Menacers," 11th book in the series, Matt is sent to investigate a flying saucer attack which resulted in a burning boat, five dead people and a lone survivor with a fantastic story to tell that could embarrass the United States. The assignment may involve the fantastic and unbelievable, but not of that is of any interest to Helm. His only concern is to escort the witness to Los Alamos...or to kill her if he cannot. Along with flying saucers on the attack, we have also communist agents, turncoats, bureaucratic knuckleheads, inept American spies and the Mexican Secret Service.
Nowadays, communist agents are the baddies of another age and flying saucers have morphed into slick documentaries on the History Channel (which never uses the term "flying saucers"), but back when this novel was published (1968), but were front and center in the news and were the focus of intense cultural paranoia. The country was then experiencing violent riots often coordinated by Soviet agents as well as a UFO "flap," when flying saucer sightings were reported on the nightly news and scattered across the pages of "Life" magazine. While the villains of the book have gone the way of the dodo and the plot device has lost much of its lurid nature, the power of Hamilton's storytelling has lost none of its power or immediacy. Matt Helm remains a believable action figure, alternately hard-bitten and introspective, and well worth following from start to finish.
In "The Menacers," 11th book in the series, Matt is sent to investigate a flying saucer attack which resulted in a burning boat, five dead people and a lone survivor with a fantastic story to tell that could embarrass the United States. The assignment may involve the fantastic and unbelievable, but not of that is of any interest to Helm. His only concern is to escort the witness to Los Alamos...or to kill her if he cannot. Along with flying saucers on the attack, we have also communist agents, turncoats, bureaucratic knuckleheads, inept American spies and the Mexican Secret Service.
Nowadays, communist agents are the baddies of another age and flying saucers have morphed into slick documentaries on the History Channel (which never uses the term "flying saucers"), but back when this novel was published (1968), but were front and center in the news and were the focus of intense cultural paranoia. The country was then experiencing violent riots often coordinated by Soviet agents as well as a UFO "flap," when flying saucer sightings were reported on the nightly news and scattered across the pages of "Life" magazine. While the villains of the book have gone the way of the dodo and the plot device has lost much of its lurid nature, the power of Hamilton's storytelling has lost none of its power or immediacy. Matt Helm remains a believable action figure, alternately hard-bitten and introspective, and well worth following from start to finish.
March 5, 2014
This is the first Matt helm book I've ever read. It was enjoyably hard-headed and unsentimental, much more realistic than Nick Carter or James Bond.
April 6, 2016
Spell-binding as usual... and some great scenes to boot
January 21, 2021
Mac paid no attention to my sarcasm. “Nothing else, Eric,” he said. “Well, just one more thing…” “Yes, sir,” I said, when he hesitated uncharacteristically. He was silent a moment longer, then he asked abruptly: “Eric, do you believe in flying saucers?”
I was proud of my presence of mind. I didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir,” I said. “What?”
“I said ‘Yes, sir.’ Sir.” It isn’t often one has an advantage over him, and I rode it for what it was worth. “I saw one once, sir.”
Indeed? Where?”
“In Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I was living as a solid citizen in that happy period when I was out of your clutches for several years, sir, before you caught up with me again and shanghaied me back into service.”
“As I recall, a great deal of duress was not required. What did you see?”
“A luminous, pulsating, greenish object moving steadily over town in a southeasterly direction, just about dusk. I saw it, and so did my former wife—she was still Mrs. Helm at the time—and so did another couple that was in the car with us. We all got out to make sure we weren’t just getting reflections off the glass. We watched it until it kind of switched itself off and vanished, up near the mountains. When we got home, a few minutes later, I called the police. The officer who answered asked me politely to wait a moment as he was just taking down another report of the same nature.”
“Other people confirmed the sighting?”
“All the way across town. It was in the newspaper the next day. You can check the files if you wish. I think it was some time in fifty-eight or fifty-nine.” I stopped, but he did not speak. I said, “I don’t claim to have seen an extra-terrestrial space ship crewed by little men with pointed heads, but something flew over the city, and it wasn’t any type of aircraft with which I’m familiar.” “Indeed?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“That’s very interesting, Eric.”
“Yes, sir. Of course the Air Force continues to insist there’s nothing up there. Well, it was a hell of a lifelike hallucination, shared by a hell of a lot of people. It makes one kind of wonder just what the fly-boys are trying to cover up.”
I was proud of my presence of mind. I didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir,” I said. “What?”
“I said ‘Yes, sir.’ Sir.” It isn’t often one has an advantage over him, and I rode it for what it was worth. “I saw one once, sir.”
Indeed? Where?”
“In Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I was living as a solid citizen in that happy period when I was out of your clutches for several years, sir, before you caught up with me again and shanghaied me back into service.”
“As I recall, a great deal of duress was not required. What did you see?”
“A luminous, pulsating, greenish object moving steadily over town in a southeasterly direction, just about dusk. I saw it, and so did my former wife—she was still Mrs. Helm at the time—and so did another couple that was in the car with us. We all got out to make sure we weren’t just getting reflections off the glass. We watched it until it kind of switched itself off and vanished, up near the mountains. When we got home, a few minutes later, I called the police. The officer who answered asked me politely to wait a moment as he was just taking down another report of the same nature.”
“Other people confirmed the sighting?”
“All the way across town. It was in the newspaper the next day. You can check the files if you wish. I think it was some time in fifty-eight or fifty-nine.” I stopped, but he did not speak. I said, “I don’t claim to have seen an extra-terrestrial space ship crewed by little men with pointed heads, but something flew over the city, and it wasn’t any type of aircraft with which I’m familiar.” “Indeed?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“That’s very interesting, Eric.”
“Yes, sir. Of course the Air Force continues to insist there’s nothing up there. Well, it was a hell of a lifelike hallucination, shared by a hell of a lot of people. It makes one kind of wonder just what the fly-boys are trying to cover up.”
July 29, 2021
Helm is sent to The Ranch in Arizona for a mental and physical checkup. After passing with flying colors, Mexico is his next stop. A telephone call from Mac outlined his next mission. Pricilla Decker will be his contact in Guadalajara. Helm is to bring a woman named O’Leary out of Mexico. This woman has observed something quite important to those in Los Alamos. Other nations are also interested in what she observed, and there may be “hindrances” in bringing her out. No matter what, O’Leary must not fall into enemy hands. Do you understand, Eric? So much for the setup of the story. Once in his hotel, Helm changed into trunks and went out to the beach. Of all people, Vadia appeared on the beach with Helm. Vadia is always an intriguing mixture of sex and danger. Helm has suspicions of the O’Leary briefing and in particular, his orders to kill her if necessary. With circumstances in that quarter going awry, Helm is switched to another similar mission escorting a female photojournalist doing a story on UFO sightings in Mexico. The Top Secret story revolves around UFO sightings and whether the U.S. Air Forces is hiding experimental aircraft. Helm winds up in the middle between orders, conscience, and the people he’s watching/escorting. Compared to the previous volumes, this wasn’t a very exciting story. Definitely not one of my favorite Matt Helm novels.
April 19, 2024
Matt is sent to Mexico to take a woman into custody who claims to have seen a UFO.
Very early on, he sees Vadya, whom he shot in the previous book. Their reunion is short-lived when she is shot by a US agent, who then is killed by Helm. The room was dark. He picks up the witness but is then waylaid and loses the girl to a Czech thug named Harsek.
He is called back to the States for a meeting. He then meets a man starting a new agency who sees Helm as a relic. He also meets with a Mexican official, Ramon Solana. He returns to Mexico with his current girlfriend, Carol, who is on assignment to get a picture of a UFO.
There is another sighting. He is ordered to work with Priscilla Decker who works for the new agency.
The action and betrayal picks up at this point. There is another claimed UFO sighting. It becomes clear that these sightings are more than they seem.
Helm and Carol are captured and face death several times. At the end, Helm recruits a new agent.
Women have it rough around Helm. The death count is three in this outing. Sadly, that includes Vadya, whom Helm liked though she was on the opposite side.
Very early on, he sees Vadya, whom he shot in the previous book. Their reunion is short-lived when she is shot by a US agent, who then is killed by Helm. The room was dark. He picks up the witness but is then waylaid and loses the girl to a Czech thug named Harsek.
He is called back to the States for a meeting. He then meets a man starting a new agency who sees Helm as a relic. He also meets with a Mexican official, Ramon Solana. He returns to Mexico with his current girlfriend, Carol, who is on assignment to get a picture of a UFO.
There is another sighting. He is ordered to work with Priscilla Decker who works for the new agency.
The action and betrayal picks up at this point. There is another claimed UFO sighting. It becomes clear that these sightings are more than they seem.
Helm and Carol are captured and face death several times. At the end, Helm recruits a new agent.
Women have it rough around Helm. The death count is three in this outing. Sadly, that includes Vadya, whom Helm liked though she was on the opposite side.
February 14, 2024
This was a really interesting book. I am not sure if I had not noticed before but Matt Helm at times reads like a combination of Ian Fleming and Mickey Spillane. The dialogue at times is vintage Spillane. The way women are portrayed is also fascinating because Hamilton vacillates between passive women and women of strength. It mostly fits the era in which they are written. I almost wish that they placed a warning at the beginning of the book stating that the material is unaltered and contains material as it was written at the time. Many books published by Brass Books do this. I enjoyed the characters. I liked the issue at hand. I liked how Helm addressed the problem. I think that the character actually grows a bit from a personality perspective. In this book Helm looks at himself several times and addresses the state of Matt Helm. I like this. Helm's self introspection explains a lot of his choices. This is a really solid Matt Helm book.
May 15, 2017
Helm is an agent for a super-secret agency that operates in the shadows and does the tough work no one wants to admit needs doing. Not only does he have a license to kill, but he knows intimately that feelings and emotions have no place in this business and if you are too cautious and too moralistic that agent you only wounded might come back up firing at you. This one involves UFOs and strange ray guns and other mysterious sightings. It involves another espionage agency out to do Helm wrong. It involves his early nemesis the gorgeous Nayda. It takes the reader deep into Mexico and into the Sea of Cortez. Gritty, fast paced, unsentimental, and simply a damn good read.
October 18, 2020
It was the sort of assignment that could only be given to Matt Helm: A flying saucer had apparently just blown up a boat off the coast of Mexico. He had to get the only surviving witness and bring her back to the US. The Russians, of course, had other ideas, so Helm had an option - if he couldn't save the girl, he was to kill her. As always a great action romp with lots of twists and turns and betrayals. Huge fun, as ever.
October 8, 2022
All of the Helms so far are fun reads and this is no different. This time Helm is sent to Mexico to bring back a girl alive to the US or if that is not possible, kill her. Seems she seen an UFO and everyone is interested in her but that's just the beginning of what is actually a well orchestrated plot to pit Mexico and the US against each other. Helms is his normal hard nosed self and the story moves at a nice pace.
Highly recommended, again all the Helms to this point are great.
Highly recommended, again all the Helms to this point are great.
June 1, 2021
This one starts with an unlikely premise (involving a flying saucer sighting) and there are a few slow chapters at the beginning. But once it get started, the story moves at a lightning pace involving several wonderful plot twists. Hamilton has a habit of killing off characters is abrupt and unexpected ways and he does this several times during this particular novel to stunning effect.
January 28, 2019
ET don't phone home
Ahh, the wonders of a good UFO story. Of course, since this is a Matt Helm story too, you know those crafty commies have to be involved. So sun, fun, and tall tales for all on the western Mexico seaboard.
Ahh, the wonders of a good UFO story. Of course, since this is a Matt Helm story too, you know those crafty commies have to be involved. So sun, fun, and tall tales for all on the western Mexico seaboard.
March 1, 2022
#11 in the Matt Helm series. This 1968 series entry by author Donald Hamilton provides an interesting take on the UFO menace as Helm looks into what Russiam agents have to do with flying saucers in Mexico. Enjoyable.
May 22, 2018
As usual. A really fun read.
December 10, 2019
Another highly entertaining Matt Helm novel.
May 2, 2020
Matt Helm along with beautiful women, suave foreign nationals, enemy agents and flying saucers! What more could you ask for except the next instalment!
June 14, 2021
A good one, moved along well. Somewhat anticlimactic ending. Really a 3.5
December 9, 2022
4 1/2 stars. Quickly becoming my favorite spy. Well written and lots of action. Within the first 22 pages are subtle jabs at contemporaries James Bond and Nick Carter which made me laugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2016
1968 was an interesting time for Donald Hamilton to be writing this . . . three of the four Matt Helm films had come out, turning his lethal assassin into a boozing playboy, and it__s just beyond the apex of the 60s spy craze (which I would say was punctured by the Batman television series, when non-Get Smart espionage shows started spoofing themselves__always an incipient sign of early demise).
(Sidenote: This is the first__and as far as I know, the only one of the Matt Helm titles to see print in hardcover. Undoubtedly to take advantage of the increased high profile caused by the then-current films.)
It__s not surprising, then, that Helm comments on how movies and television always get silencers wrong (they__re ineffective on revolvers) and how locking people in the back of cars and gassing them still gives them time for mischief (like shooting the driver in the back of the head). In other words, Helm is aware of the spy craze and how they get things wrong. It adds to the fun. (All the while still using the clich_ of getting caught by the baddies to find out their plans or infiltrate their organization!)
The immediately prior Helm film was their adaptation of The Ambushers which had Helm__instead of pursing an ex-Nazi in Central America who__s gotten his hands on a nuclear missile left over from the Cuban Missile Crisis as he does in the book__pursuing the exiled leader from an outlaw nation in Mexico who__s gotten his hands on a U.S.-made flying saucer whose motive power somehow has some connection to the Y chromosome (it kills only male pilots). I can only imagine Donald Hamilton laughing__or fuming__at this and saying to himself, __Okay, you want a Matt Helm adventure set in Mexico with U.F.O.s, I__ll give you one.__ And so he does.
I__ve come to the conclusion that women are the movers and shakers in the Helm novels. Oh sure, they die__anyone except for Helm and his boss, Mac, are sure to survive to the last page__but they__re the ones who really matter. The men are window dressing__targets or assassins or both__but it__s the women who are fleshed out, who change sides as often as they change their clothes, who Helm spends his time trying to second-guess, protect, kill or coddle.
(Additional sidenote: I can__t take credit for this observation__I actually stumbled across it on a board discussing the book, but I can__t resist mentioning it here__but over the course of these novels Helm continually complains about how terrible women look in pants. In this book, one may argue that Helm actually kills a woman for wearing pants. Yes, it helps explains how he could mistake her for a man, and she is there to kill him, but I find this an ironic way of looking at it.)
My only real complaint about the Helm series is that they__re such fun reads__even with my occasional carping__that they don__t last long.
(Sidenote: This is the first__and as far as I know, the only one of the Matt Helm titles to see print in hardcover. Undoubtedly to take advantage of the increased high profile caused by the then-current films.)
It__s not surprising, then, that Helm comments on how movies and television always get silencers wrong (they__re ineffective on revolvers) and how locking people in the back of cars and gassing them still gives them time for mischief (like shooting the driver in the back of the head). In other words, Helm is aware of the spy craze and how they get things wrong. It adds to the fun. (All the while still using the clich_ of getting caught by the baddies to find out their plans or infiltrate their organization!)
The immediately prior Helm film was their adaptation of The Ambushers which had Helm__instead of pursing an ex-Nazi in Central America who__s gotten his hands on a nuclear missile left over from the Cuban Missile Crisis as he does in the book__pursuing the exiled leader from an outlaw nation in Mexico who__s gotten his hands on a U.S.-made flying saucer whose motive power somehow has some connection to the Y chromosome (it kills only male pilots). I can only imagine Donald Hamilton laughing__or fuming__at this and saying to himself, __Okay, you want a Matt Helm adventure set in Mexico with U.F.O.s, I__ll give you one.__ And so he does.
I__ve come to the conclusion that women are the movers and shakers in the Helm novels. Oh sure, they die__anyone except for Helm and his boss, Mac, are sure to survive to the last page__but they__re the ones who really matter. The men are window dressing__targets or assassins or both__but it__s the women who are fleshed out, who change sides as often as they change their clothes, who Helm spends his time trying to second-guess, protect, kill or coddle.
(Additional sidenote: I can__t take credit for this observation__I actually stumbled across it on a board discussing the book, but I can__t resist mentioning it here__but over the course of these novels Helm continually complains about how terrible women look in pants. In this book, one may argue that Helm actually kills a woman for wearing pants. Yes, it helps explains how he could mistake her for a man, and she is there to kill him, but I find this an ironic way of looking at it.)
My only real complaint about the Helm series is that they__re such fun reads__even with my occasional carping__that they don__t last long.
June 19, 2014
When I was a kid I thought the Matt Helm series peaked with this book, and went slowly downhill from here. Copyright 1968, THE MENACERS is at least one of the better Matt Helm novels, if not the best. It has sex, gun-play, good foreign agents, bad foreign agents, double-crossing American agents. Did I mention UFOs? Matt Helm has to handle himself, using words as his weapons, using his wits as his weapons, using his hands as his weapons, using guns as his weapons.
An argument can be made that Matt sets himself up to be captured twice in this novel, but I'm going to count it as once; the second event is more an extension of allowing himself to be captured than a separate episode, in my opinion. I would rather Under-Report instances of the Matt Helm Smooth Move, than Over-Report them.
Number of times Matt Helm uses himself as bait, and allows himself to be captured by the opposition (or presents himself directly to the opposition allowing the opposition to do whatever they please with him):
0 = DEATH OF A CITIZEN
1 = THE WRECKING CREW
2 = THE REMOVERS
1 = THE SILENCERS
1 = MURDERERS' ROW
3 = THE AMBUSHERS
2 = THE SHADOWERS
2 = THE RAVAGERS
1 = THE DEVASTATORS
1 = THE BETRAYERS
1 = THE MENACERS
Total for the series, so far = 15
Total novels in the series so far = 11
@hg47
November 27, 2016
American agent Matt Helm is sent to Mexico to escort back a surviving witness to a supposed sighting of a UFO that 'seemingly' destroyed and crashed into a fishing vessel she was aboard. A very strange case for Helm and one in which he is dubious of his American associates he is to contact, his old enemy agent love/hate acquaintance, the Mexican authorities and a shooting at a hotel that he appears to be 'set-up' as a patsy. This time Washington DC's other secret agencies are the thorn in his side, as well as foreign government hijinks involving a scheme to cause some nastiness between the United States and Mexico. AS usual, these short, leanly written Helm adventures build up to a lot of killing, sex, 60s political incorrectness and tricky situations for the hero to escape from. Great sequence near conclusion involving Helm and three others in a small plane when grappling leads to gunfire and lots of dead bodies in a tight space in a mode of transportation that starts to plummet.
June 13, 2023
With this 1968 Helm novel the series dips, in my opinion. For a start it's hard to tell that it was published in one of the most consequential years of modern history, though an author of genre quickies can be forgiven for that.
But it is complex to the point of being overplotted, and the characters are thin. The whole UFO angle is unpersuasive, there's some unnecesarily heavy cynicism, and worst of all, a recurring character of the series is despatched in a very unsatisfactory fashion (no spoilers). Sexuality is unreconstructed, with gay characters sneered at. Against all that, there are some amusing scenes where Helm is grilled by a government committee, and a few flashes of Hamilton at his best. But overall this feels written-to-order.
But it is complex to the point of being overplotted, and the characters are thin. The whole UFO angle is unpersuasive, there's some unnecesarily heavy cynicism, and worst of all, a recurring character of the series is despatched in a very unsatisfactory fashion (no spoilers). Sexuality is unreconstructed, with gay characters sneered at. Against all that, there are some amusing scenes where Helm is grilled by a government committee, and a few flashes of Hamilton at his best. But overall this feels written-to-order.
January 14, 2015
One of the best Matt Helm stories yet. I know I have said it before and I know Sony is supposed to own the rights, but this series would make such great movies if done right. I will be reading more of the series soon.
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