Point Blank discussion

A discussion of Spy fiction and the novels that are noir-crime-fiction...

Greetings...are there any Point Blankers who are aficionados of Spy fiction who could enlighten us for Justin & Kurt's upcoming podcast, E52, Spy Fiction? -I've read a fair amount of Spy fiction and there's a few that I would consider noir. In my teens I read the entire Bond series by Ian Fleming (still have them stashed in the basement)...my favorite was On Her Majesty's Secret Service. An excellent book...but not noir. I really liked Six Days of the Condor by James Grady, Grady is a really good writer. From memory I'd say Condor comes close to noir-fiction with the man on the run theme, etc...The one novel that I think is close to qualifying as noir-fiction though, is, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre. Now I'm not a big fan of Le Carre...Tinker, Tailot, Soldier Spy was a snooze fest imho...BUT, The Spy Who, etc, is excellent, and dark, dark, dark! The entire book is noir-ish right up to the bitter end...-What Spy fiction have you read?

Hey Joe! Can't say I'm an aficionado of spy fiction, but have read a few spy novels in my day. Thoroughly enjoyed the Robert Ludlum's Bourne series way back when. Eric Ambler is definitely worth exploring, and some of his books might qualify as noir.

I've recently stumbled on Mick Herron and his Slough House series. I've read three and intend on finishing the series. To me, they are the spy equivalent of Ed McBain's great police procedural series, 87th Precinct. Slough House is where hapless MI5 spies are sent, in hopes they'll quit. There is a cast of recurring characters, but the plots concentrate more on spycraft/spy v spy stuff rather than their personal lives. That said, the characters are well-drawn and fill out as the series progresses.

Sometimes you'll see the books described as comic, which I think gives a false impression. There are some wryly comic moments, but these are serious stories. I'm not sure they qualify as noir, buth they are highly recommended by me, FWIW.

And I agree about Tinker Tailor (too opaque and hard to follow), and The Spy Who. . . (good noir-ish read).

Hi Girard! Sorry about the delay, been a busy week...Thanks for the 'chat'! -Eric Ambler, & Mick Herron have caught my eye, I'll check them out...-Hey, let's discuss familiar ground, Ed McBain and his 87th Precinct...yes, police procedural at their best....that's my fave element of the 87th. But I've noticed some reviews aren't too crazy about McBain's writing and I think it may be because police procedural can be cookie-cutter, so its understandable but, I like these stories (I also really like Connelly's Bosch); the inter-workings of the cops, etc...I've read maybe 20 to 30 of the 87th's since I was a teen...I now wish I had kept track because I have re-read a couple by mistake. I have a pile of about seven 87th's here that I recently bought at the used-book store...the first one I read, of my new buys, was King's Ransom (#10, 1959) ...Why?...My favorite Japanese film-noir is High and Low, an excellent film, suspenseful and gets a grip on you from beginning to end...that film was based on the 87th King's Ransom...this book was pretty good, smaller in scope than the film but also held you in suspense...I've got a review at my Goodreads My Books... I gave King's Ransom 4 outa 5 stars! -Well, I'm quite often long-winded, I'm trying to break that...here's some good Ed McBain 87th links:
Ed McBain Books in Order
https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/ed-...

 Hark! The 87th Precinct Podcast! (a good British 87th podcast...here's the link to the first episode): Ed McBain's Cop Hater: Episode One, Bonus Episode - Ken and Sandra Internet...
http://hark87podcast.blogspot.com/201...

Alice in Jeopardy (2004) – an Ed McBain stand alone that's pretty good..
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

Also, the best for last...Ranking the 87th Precinct Mysteries at blog Tipping My Fedora...this a GREAT blog/site. There's a ton of crime-fiction related stuff here...At the link below, starting half-way down the page ("OK, first off let me just say that King’s Ransom,...")...here he ranks the top 12 87's with a bonus pick, and the worst five...here's the link...:
https://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/20...

87th Precinct - definitely familiar ground! I haven't done any in-depth assessment of these. I've been downloading the Kindle editions when they become available at 99¢. I now have 38 of 'em. The Amazon pricing is perplexing. Right now prices range from $1.99 to $15.99! Anyway, I find they're great as a palate cleanser in between meatier tomes. I can't say they are great, but they're consistently well-written and entertaining - I always want to know what happens. All the beautiful writing in the world won't hold one's interest if there is no story. The 87th Precinct books are like old friends and comfy shoes.

The 2nd Slough House book, Dead Lions, has some particular style characteristics in common with McBain. I'll be curious if you agree, if Herron interests you enough to read that far.

Thanks for all the references, and the reminder of High & Low, which I haven't seen in years. It's time to watch it again!

Girard wrote: "87th Precinct - definitely familiar ground! I haven't done any in-depth assessment of these. I've been downloading the Kindle editions when they become available at 99¢. I now have 38 of 'em. The A..."
Hey Girad, Wow! 38..you're well on your way to collecting the whole set...-You know....2020 has been such a weird & pathetic year, even my reading has gone sour!!! :-) I'm in the middle of Motor City Blue by Loren E., supposed to be a semi-classic...ahhhh, I don't like it...at all! I hardly ever bail on a book...when I was younger I NEVER bailed, finished everything, no matter...but this past year I've set aside a number of books because they were just bad...so, what am I going to do about it-? Why visit the the 87th Precinct of course! I've got a few lined up... -I'll look into Dead Lions later tonight and I'll be back in touch! Thanks!

Hi, Joe! It's been awhile since I've downloaded any at 99¢; I don't understand Amazon's pricing logic. I'll probably start picking them up at $1.99 when I get to holes in my series reading - I've been reading them in order and am up to #14. The next hole in my collection is #19. Maybe some more will come down in price by the time I get there.

I try to give a book about 50-60 pages. If it hasn't grabbed me by then, I move on. There's too many good books out there. I like the Crime Reads newsletter, but rarely check out the latest books, as I have too many "old" books to catch up on. Any current reading I do is usually based on direct recommendations from friends, or the Pulp Fiction monthly read.

You might want to start the Slough House series with the first book, Slow Horses. It's a good introduction to all the characters, providing some background for the later books. That said, I think the subsequent books might stand up well if read out of order. If Slow Horses doesn't grab you, I don't think the other books will.

Len Deighton wrote a 9 novel series (three trilogies, beginning with Berlin Game) about a spy named Bernard Samson. Most critics agree the character is inspired by Phillip Marlowe, and the books are definitely hard boiled, and some what noir.

Thanks Nicholas for the quicky run-down on Len Deighton and Berlin Game...yes I read Berlin Game a while back...I need to review it (in fact, I just went to my entry for it on My Books and I didn't write a mini-review nor leave a score which I almost always do...what's up with that-???!!!!...:-))...let me take a look at Berlin Game and I'll get back to you in a few days...