Philip’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2015)

Philip’s comments from the Espionage Aficionados group.

Gentlemen - glad to see we're getting some fun conversations going here...I remember watching and loving WWW back in the day, but I was young and loved all such shows. Even bought (and recently reread) the sole contemporary WWW novel, The Wild Wild West, (apparently someone else wrote a three-book series in the late '90s, perhaps anticipating the Will Smith film). Anyway...have not rewatched since they were first broadcast, but remember when season two came out in color going to a friend's house to watch, since we were still years away from getting our own color TV.

Your reference to Alexander Munday brought back some other memories as well. Don't remember that show much, but recall the earlier "T.H.E. Cat," which was probably Robert Loggia's sole outing as a leading action character - had a cool car with cat's eye headlights (or at least so I remember). Also remember "Burke's Law," where Gene Barry was a milionaire cop for the first two seasons, but then became a millionaire spy for the final season (renamed "Amos Burke, Secret Agent") in an unsuccessful attempt to cash in on the growing spy craze. The show was generally terrible, but gave us the much better (at least as seen by a horny pre-teen boy) "Honey West" as a spinoff, so thanks for that at least.

And no, "The Lone Ranger" wasn't a spy, and I liked Armie Hammer better in the "Man from U.N.C.L.E." movie!

Feliks wrote: "Said another way: yes, you can always come out with some benefit by 'dipping in at random' --and it's fully okay --but we're cultivating connoisseurship here. In LeCarre and Deighton it matters mor..."

Agreed - with Smiley and Samson (and Jackson Lamb), there is no other way!

Feliks wrote: "Man From UNCLE was not a sham production. Lot of cleverness went into that series. No shame in UNCLE fanship.

Skimming over the responses above, I hope NO ONE ever read 'London Match' before consu..."

Hey Feliks - agree, no shame in U.N.C.L.E. the show, but the tie-in literature was generally pretty terrible, (same for I Spy, Mission Impossible, et al), as they were cranking that stuff out on a quarterly if not monthly basis. Also agree that in general, chronology matters, but depends on author/series. I've dipped in and out of Quiller at random, and other than the "Blofeld trilogy," my recollection is that the Bond books didn't necessarily have to read in order - but it's been a LONG time, so I may be wrong there.

Secret Agent Fan wrote: "Philip wrote: "Secret Agent Fan wrote: "I'd like to say that my first spy novel was by Fleming or LeCarre. But, to be honest, it was probably one of the "Man From U.N.C.L.E." paperbacks based on th..."

Not to belabor this subject, but yeah - I still have the U.N.CL.E. books 1-18; there were a few later published, but I didn't buy those at the time and they're stupid pricey now. I also subscribed to the "Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine," which came out monthly for a few years; just awful but as a pre-teen I ate them up. And that's not counting the Girl from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, Mission Impossible, Secret Agent, Mannix, Wild Wild West and The Avengers (Steed/Peel, not Thor/Ironman) pulp paperbacks as well.

Secret Agent Fan wrote: "I'd like to say that my first spy novel was by Fleming or LeCarre. But, to be honest, it was probably one of the "Man From U.N.C.L.E." paperbacks based on the TV-series.

I graduated to Fleming pre..."

Ha - not alone, my friend. Also started with UNCLE, and unbelievably still have them all, (although at some point my parents tossed all my old Gold Key comics, which are apparently worth a lot more these days). Read Fleming at some point, but it was Alistair Maclean who really roped me in.

Secret Agent Fan wrote: "Feliks wrote: "Secret Agent Fan wrote: "I'm planning on reading more Quiller..."

The first in the series is unlike the rest which follow. It's bogged down by atmosphere and 'literary' leanings. "

Yes, do just ignore the first book - makes no sense as part of the series. He talks about his service in WWII, so even if he was a young 18 in 1945, that would still put him in his mid- to late-60's in the later books. So better to consider this a one-off, and then read any others as being about a different character altogether :D

Secret Agent Fan wrote: "I joined Goodreads recently and have only posted a few reviews so far. My focus at the moment is spy fiction from the '60s and '70s. I love LeCarre and Fleming, but haven't posted about them becaus..."

Oh, another thought - if you can find it, an excellent overview of British spy fiction is Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: The Boom in British Thrillers from Casino Royale to The Eagle Has Landed, (our library had a copy, but also available on Amazon for about $8). Got me reading (or re-reading) folks like MacLean, Ambler, Deighton, etc. - really fun and informative.

Would be fascinating to find out just HOW many murders were committed on the Orient Express over the years :)