What's New
The last ten major changes to the site.
- 10/10/2024 - You get the idea I really disliked today's entrant into the compendium when I write, "Okay, these are porn - excuse me, highly erotic stories with just enough of a storyline to give the actors something else to use their mouths ... oops, too much!" The series has the odd name of which got me intrigued, not to mention the interesting covers. Then I started reading the two novellas penned by Evangeline Fox and lost that interest very quickly.
- 10/09/2024 - Today's newcomer to the compendium is not a newcomer to the Great Game. She served for quite a few years and is now well past her forced retirement age. is an octogenarian who may not physically be able to do some of the but her mind is still pretty sharp. Toss in that her 1.5 adventures are both "a hoot and a half" and you have a terrific series penned by Nick Harkaway a decade ago. It is not likely there will be any more about her since he has other things a-brewin' (continuing his father's George Smiley series).
- 10/08/2024 - Today's entrant to the compendium starts with an unusual device, the likes of which I had never heard of. Then it sees it get stolen. Then it sees put together a team to retrieve it. Then it throws a ton of trouble and a whole lot of excitement with others trying to stop that team. is the name for this series of five adventures, created and penned by T.C. Miller. Lots and lots of excitement and action.
- 10/07/2024 - I mention in My Comments about , the fellow joining the compendium today, that, "If you are looking for an exciting series filled with lots of different players, some of who have quite interesting background and motivations, this is definitely a should-read." I also mention that it is I who chose to give Riley the starring role in this series where all these characters do all sorts of interesting things. Other readers might nominate someone else or treat this as an ensemble series. Regardless, this is a well-crafted set of books by David Bruns and J.R. Olsen.
- 10/06/2024 - Author Duncan Wallace has created several excellent British detective series in a relative short time. The two books in the spy-adjacent series entering the compendium today rank among his others for being terrific reads. Far more murder mystery than espionage, they qualify because the protagonist, is a former MI5 operative who is first incentivized to look into a death that seem suspicious to him and then, in the second adventure, it is the same police who did not heed his advice in the first book that come asking for help in the second. "I liked Forsyth and I had a good time following the man as he finds ways to keep things interesting without breaking his promise to himself to not go back to work at MI5."
- 10/05/2024 - A 11-book "cute series designed for 9-12 year-olds, a 'chapter book' as they call them" joins the compendium this Saturday. The protagonist, , is a student who starts getting involved in spy stuff when he is sent to a strange boarding school after the disappearance of his parents. Penned by Simon Hartwell, it starts out alright, IMHO, but then goes ... odd. Then again, I am definitely not the target audience so... what do I know!?!
- 10/04/2024 - As I mention in My Comments, I have wanted for many years to be able to add something by noted military adventure writer Dale Brown to this compendium and today I get to do just that. While chock full of far more military terms and specifications than my feeble mind can hold, the tales of are also darn good spy thrillers.
- 10/03/2024 - I need to be in a certain mood to enjoy a post-apocalypse series cause they can be darned depressing and a whole lot scary. I was in such a mindset when I checked out this four-book series about CIA agent written a couple of years ago by John Babb and William Alan Webb. I wrote of her that "She is a survivor who fights like the devil to keep it all for going to pot. These are exciting and sobering books."
- 10/02/2024 - I thought the constant reference in today's entrant to the compendium as would get annoying, and it did for a bit, but after a while, I kinda liked it. Go figure! But I did enjoy this action-filled series of three adventures (so far) by veteran author, Rick Jones.
- 10/01/2024 - A relative newcomer to the thriller ranks is author Richard F. Paddon but, wow! Did he come packin', as the old expression goes. I introduce to the compendium his three-book series about CIA assassin who is out to avenge the death of her family at the very beginning of the first adventure and goes on to let a lot of people know that getting her very angry is very stupid on their part. This is an action-adventure series that I found a hoot and a half. I enjoyed all three books (as of this writing) and I hope there are more.
More
What's New!
SPY FICTION!
Say the word SPY to most people and they will respond with James Bond,
with good reason as he is the best known of all fictional spies. With 20+ blockbuster movies over the last 40+ years,
along with the standard movie hype, virtually the entire world knows about 007 and his License To Kill.
Of course, James Bond is by no means the only spy in the world of fiction, just the best known. Who are the rest?
Who has his or her own license to kill, thrill, or chill. How do these agents stack up against each other? Who would
you want beside you in a car chase, in a knife fight, in a dark alley, or beneath the covers?
This site is dedicated to the many, many men and women who, at least in fiction, have defended our freedoms against all forms of enemies, foreign and domestic. Well, granted a few of them were just in it for the money and many were only after the excitement, and sex played a huge role in the motivation of more than a few. But still, their actions helped not only preserve our way of life (on paper) but also brought us, the readers, many hours of escapism and vicarious pleasure.
So, who are these people that I have slaved so diligently to present to you? They are the men and women of spy-fi about whom there is a series. Single-book characters need not apply. There has to be at least two books. Two's the minimum but the more the merrier.
Moreover, I have confined membership to the English language. If it wasn't put into English so I can read it, I haven't worried about it.
Each spy has his or her own page. Click on the "Characters" button to go to a listing page. Click on the letter the
character's last name starts with (or a more common moniker like "Death Merchant" if appropriate). That will take one
step further into the labrynth. Finally, select the character's name from the list and, voila!
Have fun!!