isn't a bad Modesty Blaise story, Fact. And this is one of the best, Thoroughly good romp New life goal: be half as cool as Modesty Blaise, I learned of Modesty Blaise through an English friend who knew that I was a James Bond fan.
Modesty has been described as "a female James Bond," and certainly, the Modesty Blaise stories are in the same genre.
Modesty differs in that arather than working for the English crown, she's actually a freelance agent who takes occasional assignments from it, b she's an expert in martial arts, weaponry, unarmed combat, and.
. . well, just about everything, and c she has a male partner, named Willie Garvin, and the two enjoy a sort of idealized platonic relationship thus freeing the writer from having to write romantic dialogue.
Overall, I think that the Modesty Blaise series is good fun, and despite comparisons to Bond original enough to make it worthwhile.
A TASTE FOR DEATH originally published inis the fourth novel in the series, While pearl diving in Central America, Willie Garvin rescues a blind girl from a pair of kidnappers, He learns that the kidnappers work for Gabriel, the villain from the first novel, Meanwhile, in England, Sir Gerald Tarrant and Modesty come across the murder of an archaeology professor, In a remarkable coincidence Remarkable coincidences admittedly happen somewhat more frequently in Modesty Blaise stories than in real life.
, Modesty and Willie soon learn that the two crimes are related,
This is the fourth Modesty Blaise novel that I've read, with the other three being SABRE TOOTH, THE IMPOSSIBLE VIRGIN and THE SILVER MISTRESS Each novel is a complete story, and the books can be read in any order.
. Of the four that I've read, this is my second favorite, with THE SILVER MISTRESS being, A TASTE OF DEATH gives us a memorable villain, a thrilling escape, a great fencing duel, a classic climatic showdown and a highly satisfying conclusion.
The "memorable villain," incidentally, is not Gabriel, but rather, the apelike, cruel and intelligent Simon Delicata.
I've only read about a quarter of the Modesty Blaise novels and a relative handful of the comic strip stories, but still.
. . I have to think that Delicata is one of O'Donnell's best villains, The character certainly captures the imagination,
If you've never encountered Modesty Blaise before, then A TASTE OF DEATH is a pretty good place to start.
I definitely recommend this one,
Simon Delicta is one of the most memorable villains you'll ever not want to meet, Criminal mastermind Gabriel is back with his schemes and hordes of henchmen, Steve Collier charms us with his desperate courage and selfdeprecating humor, A clever blind girl with unique talents, And of course Willie and Modesty are back, just as calm, creative, capable and deadly as ever, We find out more about their shared history and what Willie has been up to when he goes on his solo vacations.
Knife fights, lethal traps, shoot outs, clever undetectable murders, death by makeshift arrows in the night, a terrific fencing bout in the desert, a climactic barehanded fight to the death loved it all !! Ancient treasure provides the McGuffin for this adventure.
The treasure barely features in the story, merely providing an excuse for the action, which is fine, though not as well done as in previous books.
Turns out that I remember reading this one back in thes, Off to the next one, The story kind of takes a while to get going, and I think Collier is particularly annoying in this one, but there's great Modesty and Willie interaction, plus the fabulous pearl necklace!
Just read the whole series, I promise these are the most fun books ever.
sitelinkA Taste for Death is theth book in the Modesty Blaise adventure / thriller series by sitelinkPeter O'Donnell.
I enjoyed this as much as the first three, Modesty is a strong, independent woman think Lara Croft who finds herself in many sticky situations and is helped to deal with them by her partner / best friend Willie Garvin.
Both started out in the criminal world and have retired, Living in England and enjoying life they regularly help British spymaster, Tarrant, with various situations that need an independent, nongovernmental hand.
In this story, Willie Garvin is on vacation in Panama, diving for pearls, when he comes across an attack on two women and saves one, her sister being murdered.
The enemies involved include Gabriel and McWhirter, who Modesty and Willie have battled previously, A new foe also is involved, one from Willie's past, The two, along with Modesty's beau, Stephen Collier, must travel to Algeria, to try and save blind Dinah Pilgrim and a group of archeologists, from Gabriel and Delicata one of the more vicious villains I've met yet, risking their lives in the process.
Like the others, this is an entertaining, page turner, with strong likeable characters who you find yourself rooting for.
Most enjoyable.sitelinkBettie's Books Theses action romps suffered badly at the hands of Austin Powers and might be doomed to be read forever through a pair of ironically swinging glasses.
And in fact most of the elements of the genre are present and correct,
. Delightfully retro high technology.
. Stylised action:
. Comic opera bad guys led by the gorillalike Delicata the man with a taste for death, no sense of pain, and superhuman strength
.
Globetrotting plot
Modesty Blaises partnerincrime Willie Garvin is pearldiving off a remote island in Panama when he witnesses the murder of one young woman and the kidnap of another.
He is too late to prevent the murder, but foils the kidnap with brutal finality before escaping with the girl.
Garvin also sees the man in charge of the operation, an old enemy named Gabriel, The girl, Dinah Pilgrim, is brave, beautiful and blind, Gabriel wants her alive, but she has no idea why, Trapped in Panama, Garvin calls in Blaise to get him and the girl out in one piece, which she does in fine style.
Improbably, the action then moves to the Sahara Desert swordfights ensue,
So, its all good fun, But theres more here. A surprising, but very winning feature of the book and presumably the series is the strong sense of family.
Cockney actionman Willie Garvin is basically Blaises soulmate, despite the fact that he hooks up with Dinah Pilgrim and she is with the elegant mathematician Collier.
Blaises boss Sir Gerald Tarrant, who seems to work in British Intelligence, is the fatherfigure, Genuine bonds of affection, loyalty and occasionally poignant humour exist between them all, ODonnell clearly loved his characters and that really comes across,
Full review at
sitelink wordpress. com/ Somehow one of the "blandest" Blaise books, I don't mean I wanted more and darker violence, I mean the story itself, Dinah Pilgrim really, Peter is introduced, and Steven Collier reappears, and it looks like they're about to become fixtures in the life of Willie and Modesty respectively via marriage! Well, it looks that wayuntil Gabriel and Co.
turn up and kidnap Dinah,
I don't knowI've always felt the Collier contingent were there to prove to the reader that Modesty and Willie are just "regular folks" at bottom, which of course they are not.
In this installment Modesty is at her Mary Sueest, what with the perfect sense of direction, mad survival skillz, and now excellence in fencing beyond Tarrant himself "he fenced for England, you know!".
This time around Willie basically makes stuff and carries stuff and goes "Right, Princess" and does as he's told.
Even when he faces up to his old archnemesis, it's because she's wounded and watching,
This time around, I noticed that Willie's girlfriends all seem to be damaged in some way, either mentally or physically.
Dinah is blind, Lady Janet has only one leg, another of his girls had been brainwashed and still wasn't quite "right"and even the sexmad girls he tells stories about, aside from being each and every one a nymphomaniac, had definite kinks.
Not that I believe those stories, and I wonder Modesty does, They sound too much like a fifteen year old boy's letter to Penthouse, I can understand that no woman could ever be as perfect as Modestybut the need to pick lame ducks for romantic relationships says something about Willie's selfesteem.
It was okay for a bedtime read, but it's never been my favourite, It's not bad, but it needs a bit of salt, ludicrous but fun After seeing Mr, and Mrs. Smith, I can't help but imagine Angelina Jolie as Modesty Blaise, and Brad Pitt as Willie Garvin, Based upon the's comic strip, the Modesty Blaise series of books are a nononsense adult thrillers that are completely satisfying.
I came across this paperback copy at a yard sale, and I reread it for the third time.
The attempt of kidnapping of a blind girl on the seashore of Panama, by a notorious american operator Gabriel, engaged Willie Gravin to look into the matter in really a bloody way.
Ultimately Willie, obviously along with Modesty Blaise, faced the lethal archiological expedition on the search of treasures of ancient roman emperror Domotian Mass, and above all Willie's old enemy Simon Dicota, the manape, backed by one of the the british billionire.
How Modesty and Willie solved
the problem A really good archiological thriller, From BBC radio:
By Stef Penney, Action adventure with the female answer to James Bond, "There's this to say for blood and breath, they give a man a taste for death, "
A. E. Housman
As Souvenir Press continues to reissue Peter O'Donnel's Modesty Blaise novels, I gobble up each one with the eagerness of a puppy stumbling across a spilled plate of filet mignon and Yorkshire pudding, and this effort was more delicious than usual.
Once again, excriminal mastermind Modesty Blaise and her right hand man Willie Garvin are drawn into a violent maelstrom of intrigue, murder and international mayhem when Willie accidentally stumbles upon a young blonde getting kidnapped on a secluded beach in Panama.
Horrified to witness the sadistic demise of the girl's companion at the hands of two thugs, Willie mercilessly signs off the two goons and discovers that their kidnapping target, though quite lovely, is as blind as a brick, so what would her abductors be after The man behind the plot turns out to be Gabriel, a scumbag whom Willie and Modesty had put out of commission some four years earlier see Book: MODESTY BLAISE and presumed dead or in prison, but now he's back and up to more lowdown shit, so Willie contacts Modesty to help get him and Dinah the hot blind blonde out of the country after Gabriel recognizes Willie's handiwork on the corpses of his hired help and posts lookouts at every possible Panamanian exit point.
Once Modesty enters the proceedings we're off to the races, and the action barely lets up for the rich character development that sets O'Donnel's crime fiction apart from that of most of his contemporaries.
More murderous personages are introduced most notably Simon Delicta, a truly scary psycho who gives Ian Fleming's Red Grant a run for his money and actually puts the frighteners on Willie Garvin, and that's really saying something! Modesty's occasional boyfriend Stephen Collier makes a return appearance and nearly steals the book with his fromapoltroon POV, Dinah reveals hidden talents of an unusual nature, and the whole crew weathers a harrowing series of deceits, doublecrosses and death traps before the book reaches its breathless conclusion.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Okay I think I see the problem, . . I'm notanymore. The book is full of ACTION! Willie a master of the throwing knife and Modesty's good right hand and apparently long time dedicated minion.
Modesty herself master of every weapon including the bow and arrow, master of ninjutsu, jujitsu, judo, and apparently any and every other martial art in existence.
I mean after all, she's already in her, . . midtwenties
There is a moment in the book when a thug Reilly is waiting to "stitch" Modesty with a submachinegun when she comes through a door.
he's been anticipating the murder for several pages, he's hyped, up and looking forward to it, Modesty comes through the door, . . in a short black skirt, a man's black shirt unbuttoned to her navel of course, and black hose.
He's struck by how beautiful she is, her face, her legs, He waits till she sees him, enjoying the prospect of her knowing she's about to die, Only, when their eyes lock, he's unaccountably terror stricken, We then get a few words on combat psychology, The next scene, the submachinegun fires, . . but it turns out it's firing into the air as Modesty has out shot him, with the,from her pocket.
The scene actually made me laugh, I suppose the books are fun and if you like the action and Modesty's super powers including sex of course then you'll really like these.
I don't hate them, I don't really "like" them, they won't be jumping back onto the top of my to be read list soon.
I have too many other books waiting to be read, But as I said, there's some fun to be had here, .
Acquire A Taste For Death (Modesty Blaise, #4) Chronicled By Peter ODonnell Rendered As Manuscript
Peter ODonnell