It’s been a while since we covered nothing but good ol’ spies. And this time, all the titles sound like children’s games. We start off with a character that has been missed in this column for a while, and finish it all off with a book I’ve been dying to read, since I’m a huge fan of the movie. Rogue agents is the common theme among all three.
HIDE AND GO DIE by Nick Carter – The cover screams ’80s, or maybe it’s just the girl in the tube top. Either way, Nick Carter is like an old blanket: comforting and familiar. This 1983 novel also has a plot that has been rehashed in probably every spy series: the agent who goes to the other side.
This time out, it’s Nick’s mentor, Theo, a man who was with AXE from the beginning. The plot is pretty much Nick trying to find Theo and stop him from selling classified information. There are some great action sequences – mainly the bombing of Carter’s apartment and the destruction of AXE headquarters – but most of it is very by-the-numbers, with Nick’s cover being blown right away and coming across people Nick has dealt with before.
No real big surprises here – just the typical Nick Carter, Killmaster: the violence, the obligatory sex scene, then the showdown to end it all. Will Nick win out in the end? Gee, I don’t want to ruin it for you.
RUNNING BLIND by Desmond Bagley – After reading FREEDOM TRAP, I was on the search for more Bagley books. I’m glad I picked this one up since it’s a top-notch cat-and-mouse spy thriller from 1970, with a great MacGuffin that would make Hitchcock proud.
The plot deals with former agent Allan Stewart, called back into service while he vacations in Iceland – the locale for the whole book. mind you. The job is supposed to be simple: Handle a package and deliver it to the right people. But right from the start, this easy operation turns to a world of shit, with one contact trying to kill him, then the suspicion of Stewart’s that his boss might be playing for both teams. Stewart is chased all around Iceland with his girlfriend in two, all the time thinking on his feet as he comes across CIA agents hunting him down.
Bagley sucks you in via the tunnel vision of just Stewart’s view so you might even assume that Stewart himself might be the rogue agent. I can’t stress how much of a blast this book is. If you’re a fan of this type of spy fiction, dig through your used stores for it. You won’t be disappointed at all.
HOPSCOTCH by Brian Garfield – Growing up in the ’70s and being taken to the movies all the time by my mom exposed to me to films I would never even think about seeing. HOPSCOTCH was such a film. I mean, Walter Mathau as a retired CIA operative?
I loved the film as a kid and was always willing to watch it if it came on TV. For years, I’ve been unsuccessful to find a copy of the 1975 novel on which it was based. First of all, if you’re just familiar with the film like me, wow, were things ever added for no reason! Namely, the addition of a love interest – that is nowhere in the book.
The basic plot is straightforward: Miles Kending is a CIA operative pretty much forced to retire, even though he feels like he can still play the game. So after being contacted by his Russian counterpart, he decides to play his own game for his own enjoyment. The game is that he has written a exposé pointing out all the dirty tricks in which he was involved, painting the company in a very bad light. He figures the only way the CIA can stop it is if they can capture him.
And that’s pretty much the whole book in a nutshell. Garfield writes the story showing Miles as not only one step ahead, but actually four steps ahead of his pursuers. He plays the game so well and just loves every second of the chase. Now, if only someone could remake the film and just make it a straight-up thriller as it was written – not a script that had to be rewritten 26 times until it finally got made. (Still love it, though.)
Next time: Candygram for Mongo! –Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• FREEDOM TRAP by Desmond Bagley
• MACAO by Nick Carter
• THE OMEGA TERROR by Nick Carter
• STRIKE FORCE TERROR by Nick Carter
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
One more question..lol! What is the possibility of someone remaking this movie actually based from the book? I love the books I am hooked and I’m not even a quarter of the way thru my dad’s collection! Is there any talk of a movie being made or is this title to out of date? Thanks again.
I’ve got no idea Robin it would defintly have to be updated for the climate of today that’s for sure.