The Affair of the Gentle Saboteur

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Juvenile Novels

by Brandon Keith, Tom Gill (Illustrator)

Vintage book from the television show starring Robert Vahn.

Genres: Childrens, Mystery

210 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Ronald]

possibly read in winter 1967

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wouldn't have been a bad adult U.N.C.L.E. novel, had it been published as such and edited properly. The weird thing is, this was a rather adult novel for the market of these Whitman books, which were basically written for about a 6th grade audience. The story included fairly casual references to fairly casual murders, and the idea of briefcase nukes being planted at famous places. In addition, as some other reviewers have mentioned, the dialogue for Illya Kuryakin [and Mr. Waverly, too] were oddly out of character, and the book felt like no one who had watched the show had edited it. For instance, U.N.C.L.E. is spelled UNCLE in the book, for no apparent reason other than the minute ink expenditure. In addition, a lot of exposition is handled by having both good guys and bad guys blab random bits of important information.
I do give the author bonus points for actually using the seemingly random sunglasses, and the scene in which Solo is wearing just swim trunk and those struck me as one of those things I would like to have seen Robert Vaughn pull off. Given the danger and the urgency of the circumstances, it really was a pretty cool sequence.

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The affair of the gentle saboteur" is one of a series of Whitman books based on current TV shows from the late 1960's. It is geared for teenage readers, including some illustrations making them a little like classic illustrated comics. I have a number of them, and enjoy going back to my childhood every few years by reading them again. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. story is a little different than most TV episodes, as Agents Solo and Kuryakin do not dominate the story but more attention is paid to the THRUSH agents and Mr. Waverly. To me, that is a good thing. Also the story takes place in the New York City area, not overseas. It is basically a kidnapping and ransom story, and well told with some humorous moments (when the police stop Solo because of a traffic accident and when the escaped hostages try to borrow a dime for a phone call) in an overall very serious story. The ending seems a little quick, but is satisfactory. I highly recommend it for light reading and a chance to revisit 1960's TV without a TV.

[A.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad as some of the reviews led me to expect, but this is a typical poorly written pro-novel. A lot of Illya's dialogue feels quite out of character. It was a moderately entertaining half hour or so of reading.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright book but the ending was epic!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty lame even for a Whitman book. For two secret agencies THRUSH and UNCLE were very loose lipped.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story wasn't bad, but the writing needs work. It may be a children's book, but writing the same sentence 3 times in a row with little variation is unnecessary and lazy. 

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this copy at an old antique shop at a decent price and found it to be a fun read. Based on the classic TV series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". A great read for the YA fan.

[Karen]

I couldn’t finish this, I have to wonder if the author ever watched an episode of the tv show especially given the way he wrote Illya.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected after the beginning; built the suspense to the ending nicely.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a bad book. The author completely misses the characterization of Illya Kuryakin, which in a novelization of a popular TV series is a sin. There is barely a plot: UNCLE arrests a saboteur, two people are kidnapped and offered in exchange for the saboteur, and then comes the expected resolution. That's it. To fill out the 210 page story, the author fills with useless ruminations. I finished the book, which is something, and it has some small interest from an adaptations studies perspective, but there is little to recommend it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really fun one for me. I read my mom's copy from when it was originally published and loved it just as much as she did. A lot of books made off tv series are fairly lame and fanserving, but this one was just pure fun and really well done. I enjoyed it immensely. If you enjoyed the movie or the original show, you would enjoy.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and quick read.

[Jacc Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can honestly read this series over and over forever.