Secret Mission Istanbul looks both intriguing and tacky, but that's a great 70s photo cover. So too It Can't Always Be Caviar. What a messy title...
Years ago I had The Birds of a Feather Affair. I didn't like it and got rid of it. The Girl from Uncle lacked a little something. [ Napoleon Solo perhaps? ]
I have all three Hugo Baron novels. A Cargo of Spent Evil was the most easily accessible, but all the titles are great, A Plague of Dragons has a super movie poster style cover.
Like @chrisno1 I had that Girl from UNCLE book, plus most of the Man titles. I think Michael Avallone wrote most of them. Lost in a house clear out any years ago.
The Hugo Baron cover is terrific, but I don’t care for the photo covers - give me a painting (or what looks like one, I'm no expert) any day!
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,072Chief of Staff
Anyone else think this guy had the best day of his professional life that day? 🤣
Michael Avallone wrote the first MFU book and two GFU books. He had a handshake deal to write the entire series but the publishers reneged on that and farmed them out to other writers. The GFU was much more popular in the UK than the US, five books were published and strangely enough only the first two were released in the US thus making #3-5 very collectable there.
I agree that the photo covers are nowhere as effective as painted covers.
And yes, that guy got paid for doing that, Sir Miles 🤣
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
A strong emphasis on Germany there, where I'll be heading soon. Have read the first two (no kidding), wouldn't mind maybe reading "Our Girl From Mephisto".
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,072Chief of Staff
Unsurprisingly there’s only one I’ve read from that lot…🤣
Not hijacking this excellent thread by @CoolHandBond but I dug out this compilation pic of the three Hugo Baron novels [one of them appeared earlier in the thread]. Quite why Pan switched from the lovely painted covers to the photographic one for the last, I can't tell, but I like them all. They also do away with the 'dice' logo. The novel's are fairly decent in a bonkers kind of fashion. Of their time, definitely. If I recall correctly, the last one has Baron wearing a wrist device that will explode should he venture more than a few miles from a suitcase he's been assigned to deliver; it also has a nasty Nazi villain who keeps the tattooed dermis of concentration camp victims. Now that is sickening, and rather tantalising too. Anyway, covers...
Comments
Those spies keep on coming!
Secret Mission Istanbul looks both intriguing and tacky, but that's a great 70s photo cover. So too It Can't Always Be Caviar. What a messy title...
Years ago I had The Birds of a Feather Affair. I didn't like it and got rid of it. The Girl from Uncle lacked a little something. [ Napoleon Solo perhaps? ]
I have all three Hugo Baron novels. A Cargo of Spent Evil was the most easily accessible, but all the titles are great, A Plague of Dragons has a super movie poster style cover.
Like @chrisno1 I had that Girl from UNCLE book, plus most of the Man titles. I think Michael Avallone wrote most of them. Lost in a house clear out any years ago.
The Hugo Baron cover is terrific, but I don’t care for the photo covers - give me a painting (or what looks like one, I'm no expert) any day!
Anyone else think this guy had the best day of his professional life that day? 🤣
Michael Avallone wrote the first MFU book and two GFU books. He had a handshake deal to write the entire series but the publishers reneged on that and farmed them out to other writers. The GFU was much more popular in the UK than the US, five books were published and strangely enough only the first two were released in the US thus making #3-5 very collectable there.
I agree that the photo covers are nowhere as effective as painted covers.
And yes, that guy got paid for doing that, Sir Miles 🤣
More spy stuff…
I vaguely remember that SEARCH television series and the episode featured in the book shown (Moonrock) was very much like the DAF movie.
I remember it too, it was an interesting one.
A strong emphasis on Germany there, where I'll be heading soon. Have read the first two (no kidding), wouldn't mind maybe reading "Our Girl From Mephisto".
Unsurprisingly there’s only one I’ve read from that lot…🤣
@Sir Miles Red-Hot Berlin Blonde obviously! I can recommend Goldfinger 🤣
Do you expect me to read?
Spot on 😁🤣
No Mr Barbel, I expect you to look at the pictures 😁
Do these books come with crayons?
Only if you can stay inside the lines 🤭
They come with oils, they’re far classier than that 😁
That's what I like to hear. 😀
I think you might be asking too much of me there! 😀
Not hijacking this excellent thread by @CoolHandBond but I dug out this compilation pic of the three Hugo Baron novels [one of them appeared earlier in the thread]. Quite why Pan switched from the lovely painted covers to the photographic one for the last, I can't tell, but I like them all. They also do away with the 'dice' logo. The novel's are fairly decent in a bonkers kind of fashion. Of their time, definitely. If I recall correctly, the last one has Baron wearing a wrist device that will explode should he venture more than a few miles from a suitcase he's been assigned to deliver; it also has a nasty Nazi villain who keeps the tattooed dermis of concentration camp victims. Now that is sickening, and rather tantalising too. Anyway, covers...