The CHB Spy Novel Series Guide

CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
Over the years there have been many series of spy books devoted to a character or team of characters with James Bond being the most famous one of all of course. I thought it may be interesting to list some of these so that if any AJBers like the sound of them they could try to obtain copies to try them out. Many of these series were never published in the UK but when I was a bookseller I used to import hundreds of books a month from the USA to sell - this was before the days of the internet so these were very rare for the UK. Nowadays in the age of the internet it is very easy to purchase almost anything so if any AJBers want any of the books that I list I suggest using abebooks.co.uk where most of them will be available at a reasonable price. I will try to list a different series every day with the main brief that the character will be a spy or an agent of some government organisation although I may stray outside of this from time to time.

So for the first one I have chosen a parody series of 007 himself about a man called Israel Bond or Oy-Oy-7. These were published in the mid-sixties and there were 4 titles: LOXFINGER, MATZOHBALL, ON THE SECRET SERVICE OF HIS MAJESTY THE QUEEN and finally YOU ONLY LIVE UNTIL YOU DIE. They were written by Sol Weinstein and are liberally laced with Jewish humour. Israel Bond or Oy-Oy-7 works for the Israeli Secret Service and there are may Bondian moments - one of the organisations he comes up against is called S.C.H.M.U.K.K. :))

I could literally not have enough of this series in stock when I first bought them over in the early 80's and whatever price I put on them they flew off the shelves. Nowadays they can be purchased quite cheaply. I thoroughly recommend them to all Bond fans.

There will be another series listed tomorrow.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
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Comments

  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Another short series this time called B.L.I.S.S.

    We never get to know what the acronym stands for but it is a crime fighting organisation. There were only 3 books in the series and the titles are very Bondian - FROM BOARDWALK WITH LOVE, DR. YES and finally THE LOVING DAYLIGHTS. What makes it a bit different is that each book has a different female agent on the mission but the head of B.L.I.S.S. is a woman known as Y and is in all 3 books. The first book involves an agent with the number 36DD (yes it's that sort of humour in these books :) ). She is up against a criminal organisation named L.O.V.E.R. which stands for League Of Violent Economic Revolutionaries! They are quite light hearted fun published in 2003 and it seems that the rule of diminishing sales resulted in the cancellation of the series pretty quickly. The covers are particularly good.

    Certainly worth a look especially as certain Bond themes run throughout each book.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    CHARLES HOOD - A series of 6 books by James Mayo 1964-1971. Mayo's real name was Stephen Coulter and he was friends with Ian Fleming and also served in the Royal Navy and worked at Reuters.

    Charles Hood was an agent for British Intelligence and was clearly modelled on Bond with expensive tastes in food and drink, clothing and very attractive to women. Some of the better titles were HAMMERHEAD, LET SLEEPING GIRLS LIE and SHAMELADY. They are quite good fun and the character was obviously created to cash in on the Bond film craze.

    A 1968 movie of Hammerhead was released to little acclaim starring Vince Edwards as Hood. It is rarely seen nowadays and it's failure was probably due to the fact that apart from Bond the spy craze had pretty much played out by 1968.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    A 1968 movie of Hammerhead was released to little acclaim starring Vince Edwards as Hood. It is rarely seen nowadays and it's failure was probably due to the fact that apart from Bond the spy craze had pretty much played out by 1968.
    Wow, the stunt choreography was by a fellow who worked on Raiders! I may have to see this!
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    I remember seeing it upon release and memories of it have pretty much faded but certainly worth a look - I didn't know about the Raiders connection so that is interesting and will try and see again myself now -{
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,646MI6 Agent
    I'd highly recommend your reading the Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger series of spy novels by our own John Gardner. :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Boysie Oakes and Herbie Kruger will both be covered at some point, SM, thanks for the suggestions {[]
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    https://youtu.be/RRMFvLGi2HY
    The Hammerhead film is on YouTube.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,057Chief of Staff
    This similar topic may be of interest: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/30977/other-spy-fiction/
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    JASON LOVE is a series of 10 books starting in 1964 and ending in 1992 and written by James Leasor. Love is actually a country doctor who works part time for MI6 but also has adventures which he just falls into whilst on holiday. Created to cash in on the Bond success the books have gadgets and girls and are pretty good entertainment. Some of the better titles are PASSPORT TO OBLIVION, A WEEK OF LOVE (7 short stories) and LOVE DOWN UNDER.

    The first book, Passport to Oblivion was made into the film Where the Spies Are starring David Niven. Unfortunately, Niven was too old for the role and justice wasn't done to the novels and the proposed series of movies ended with the first one though it's well worth a view.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I used to enjoy the Nick Carter Books.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
    I used to enjoy the Nick Carter Books.

    As did I! {[]
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    https://youtu.be/RRMFvLGi2HY
    The Hammerhead film is on YouTube.
    Gracias, mi amigo.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    NICK CARTER - KILLMASTER is a series of 261 books running from 1964 - 1990.

    I was going to leave this series to later as it is very well known but as TP and Loeffs have recorded their praise for this series I have bought it forward. This series is a re-invention of the original Nick Carter series which ran in various formats including a radio show from 1886 to the 1950's when he was a private detective. To cash in on the spy craze he was reinvented as a secret agent for AXE an American agency headed by David Hawk (M) with his secretary Della Stokes (Moneypenny) and weaponmaster Geoffrey Poindexter (Q). Carter (codename N-3) was sent all over the globe to save the world coming up against various megalomaniacs and organisations such as CLAW and NOTCH.

    The series had many different authors including Michael Avallone and Martin Cruz Smith. They deviated between 1st and 3rd person perspective. Obviously such a long series would have highs and lows but in general most of them are highly entertaining.

    Some of the more interesting titles are the first book RUN SPY RUN and DRAGON FLAME, DANGER KEY, OPERATION MOON ROCKET, THE SEA TRAP, OPERATION SNAKE, ICE BOMB ZERO, DR DEATH and THE Q-MAN.

    THE SIGN OF THE PRAYER SHAWL from 1976 has a cover very reminiscent to the 9/11 event. The final book titled DRAGON SLAY had the following on the cover: Collector's Edition: Last Of The Electrifying Series. After more than 30 million copies sold the law of diminishing returns marked the end of a fabulous series.

    Many of the earlier books were published in the UK and memory fails me to how many but I imported them all from the USA and they were a major seller for me. Long live Nick Carter if anyone has not tried them I thoroughly recommend getting a few and they are widely available very cheaply now.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Great info CoolHandBond -{
    I knew very little about the Nick Carter novels. In my days of hunting through markets
    and old book shops for the Bonds, I'd keep seeing them, so began buying a few.
    I really enjoyed them. Must dig what books I have out of the garage for another read. :)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is a series of 23 books published from 1965-1968 during the 4-season TV series.

    This series is so well known that I don't need to give any background and the books were well received and very popular, so I will concentrate more on the publishing side. The UK published books used different numbers from the US versions because 7 of the books were not published for some reason half way through the run. They were written by several different authors and are fun to read. The US publishers were ACE and the UK publishers were FOUR SQUARE. An un-numbered book THE ABC OF ESPIONAGE was published in both countries.

    World Adventure Library published 14 comic strip paperbacks at the same time with excellent covers in the US only and the ones I managed to get from US in the late 1970's sold very quickly at premium prices.

    Whitman published 4 hardcover books during this period at the same time mainly aimed at younger readers and these were highly collectable.

    4 annuals were published in the UK from 1967-1970 all highly collectable. 3 further "annual style" books were also published: Comic Album No 1 1966 and TV Picture Story 1967 and 1968.

    Gold Key published 22 issues of a comic book with issues 21 and 22 strangely re-issued from the earlier numbers 7 and 10.

    There was also a monthly magazine that ran for 24 issues with interviews and stories about the show.

    A series of bubblegum cards were issued in both countries.

    The TV series and spin-off movies need no further detail.

    I think it can be said that TMFU was a huge success and influence in the 60's and I have purchase the TV boxset and am enjoying Season 1 at the moment.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Yes, I used to have a few of the UNCLE books too ( and an annual ) all picked up
    from markets or used book shops. ( they might still be boxed up in the garage)
    The place were all married men's stuff ends up.

    I have a question about TMFU, or rather the 60s in general. In many episodes of the show
    when on a plane, they'd get up and go to a reception type area in the rear of the aircraft . Sitting
    round a coffee table, reading a magazine etc.
    Did this design exist, or was it dreamt up by the show ?
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    I have noticed this myself and always presumed it was some sort of first class section but maybe you are right and it was just a set design to make filming easier.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. a series of 5 books published in 1966 and 1967.

    After TMFU came TGFU which follows the adventures of April Dancer a female U.N.C.L.E. agent with Alexander Waverley still as the boss. She is multi-lingual and an expert in judo and karate. She is sent on various missions armed with gadgets including a bra which turns into a climbing device. Like her male counterparts Solo and Kuryakin she is paired with a partner a British man called Mark Slate. Apart from an adventure with THRUSH she also comes up against an organisation called TORCH. The 5 books are titled with "Affair" like the TMFU series, THE BLAZING AFFAIR and THE CORNISH PIXIE AFFAIR being 2 of them. Interestingly only 2 were ever published in the US with the last 3 only being published in the UK. They were published by SIGNET in the US and FOUR SQUARE in the UK.

    This series was of course was based on the one season, 29 episode TV spin-off series TGFU which starred Stephanie Powers and Noel Harrison and Leo G Carroll. The series was high camp and not so popular in the US but was hugely popular in the UK and 3 annuals from 1968-1970 prove this.
    It was also the reason why 3 further books appeared in the UK and not in the US with the final 2 being set in England.

    Gold Key published 5 comic books and there was also a monthly magazine which lasted for 7 issues with interviews and short stories.

    They are well worth a look for U.N.C.L.E.completists.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • stagstag Posts: 2,083MI6 Agent
    Great thread! Thanks for sharing. I now have some extra titles to look for during my regular trawl of second hand books.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    JOAQUIN HAWKS is a 5 book series from the mid 1960's.

    Written by Bill S. Ballinger (who wrote several books and scripts for TV shows such as I-Spy and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) this is a little known series about an agent for the CIA and he is a master of disguise. Published in the US by Signet it is an excellent series which unfortunately seemed to get lost amongst the explosion of spy series from this period. The first in the series, THE SPY IN THE JUNGLE, is reminiscent of Dr. No as someone or something is downing American test missiles in the South Pacific. The other titles are: THE CHINESE MASK, THE SPY IN BANGKOK, THE SPY AT ANGKOR WAT and THE SPY IN THE JAVA SEA. The standard of writing is excellent and I highly recommend this series, it was never published in the UK although I did import them all and I could have sold a lot more if I could have got my hands on them.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    I am going to include this series even though it is a bit tenuous to fit into the spy bracket but there are a few reasons to do so.

    ED NOON: a 33 book series.
    Firstly the series is written by prolific author Michael Avallone who has also contributed to several series such as The Man From UNCLE, The Girl From UNCLE and Nick Carter. Secondly the series began in 1953 the same year as Fleming's CR. Thirdly even though he is a private detective he does undertake missions for The President in some of the books so I think it deserves a mention.
    Some of the spy books are: THE ALARMING CLOCK, THE LIVING BOMB, ASSASSINS DON'T DIE IN BED, THE DOOMSDAY BAG and DEATH DIVES DEEP. Most were published by Signet with nice covers depicting sexy women. Avallone was always a decent writer and though they are a bit lightweight they are an enjoyable read.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Silhouette Man suggested the Boysie Oakes series so here it is :)

    Written by John Gardner, who later went on to write several Bond books, Boysie Oakes, known as The Liquidator, is an agent in the employ of the Department of Special Security. The twist is that Boysie Oakes is a coward who is pretty clueless in the ways of espionage, even hiring gunmen to do the dirty work. There were 8 books written from the mid 60's to mid 70's. The first was called THE LIQUIDATOR and some of the others were UNDERSTRIKE, TRAITOR'S EXIT and KILLER FOR A SONG. The books are very good and witty and dare I say a lot better than his efforts on Bond which left me rather cold sorry to say :#

    Incidentally I have read that Gardner wrote the series because he hated James Bond which seems strange as he ended up writing about him! Does anyone know anything about this?

    A 1965 film of the first novel THE LIQUIDATOR was released starring Rod Taylor as Boysie and Jill St. John as the love interest. This is well worth a look and sticks closely to the book. Presumably it didn't make much money as no further books were filmed.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    In the year that Dr No was released a 4 book series began about an agent who is never named but is now universally known as HARRY PALMER.

    "Palmer" works for British Intelligence in a section called W.O.O.C. (P). Dalby is his boss in the first book followed by Dawlish in the sequels. "Palmer" wears spectacles and lives in a London flat and seems to struggle with paying bills. The books are titled: THE IPCRESS FILE, HORSE UNDER WATER, FUNERAL IN BERLIN and THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN. Written by the masterful Len Deighton they are magnificent entertainment and should be on everyone's list of "must read" spy books.

    In the books the agent is never named although he does go under some aliases but when they were filmed in the 1960's he was given the name Harry Palmer and was played superbly by rising star Michael Caine. 2 made for TV films were made in the mid 1990's but are very forgettable.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • stagstag Posts: 2,083MI6 Agent
    I'm really enjoying this thread. Much great info. You know what I've never read a Harry Palmer novel! They - along with others mentioned here - are now added to my 'to buy' list.

    BTW 'Bullet To Beijing' is shown fairly frequently on TV though I have yet to watch it.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Thank you for the kind words, Stag, I hope you enjoy some of the books -{
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,057Chief of Staff
    In the year that Dr No was released a 4 book series began about an agent who is never named but is now universally known as HARRY PALMER.

    "Palmer" works for British Intelligence in a section called W.O.O.C. (P). Dalby is his boss in the first book followed by Dawlish in the sequels. "Palmer" wears spectacles and lives in a London flat and seems to struggle with paying bills. The books are titled: THE IPCRESS FILE, HORSE UNDER WATER, FUNERAL IN BERLIN and THE BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN. Written by the masterful Len Deighton they are magnificent entertainment and should be on everyone's list of "must read" spy books.

    In the books the agent is never named although he does go under some aliases but when they were filmed in the 1960's he was given the name Harry Palmer and was played superbly by rising star Michael Caine. 2 made for TV films were made in the mid 1990's but are very forgettable.

    This thread may be of interest re Harry Palmer: http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/46150/the-60s-bond-rivals-2-harry-palmer/
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Much better than my analysis, Barbel :) {[]
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,057Chief of Staff
    Thanks, CHB! {[] There's a couple of others, too (Matt Helm, Jack Ryan).
  • stagstag Posts: 2,083MI6 Agent
    These discussions have helped me remember just how wide the who spy genre was/is.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,033MI6 Agent
    Today's offering will suit TP :)) it is THE MAN FROM O.R.G.Y. a series of 15 books.

    Steve Victor is The Man From O.R.G.Y. (Organisation for the Rational Guidance of Youth) !! Victor is a researcher in sex and a agent for a top secret organisation. The books were written by Ted Mark and the first was published by Lancer in 1965 with the final one in 1981. The emphasis is on sex and it actually detracts from his missions sometimes against an organisation called S.M.U.T. Some of the titles are DR NYET, A HARD DAYS KNIGHT, ROOM AT THE TOPLESS and DIAL O FOR ORGY. The covers are better than the books to be honest but it is interesting to see how the relaxed attitudes towards sex are compared to today's PC climate.

    A movie called The Man from O.R.G.Y. based on the third book The Real Gone Girls was released in 1970 starring Robert Walker Jr. as Victor but I have never seen it.

    Interestingly they were quite a good seller for me but that is more to the fact that collector's like to have complete sets of books rather than the quality of the books.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
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