What's New
The last ten major changes to the site.
- 08/11/2022 - In 1987, CBS tried to create a silly parody of spy adventures using the perpetually tanned, always handsome and dapper George Hamilton as the perfection of spy-manliness, Ian Stone, in a television series called . It lasted only 6 episodes and was so memorable that I can only find a tad about a couple of them. And I am darned sure that back then, I watched all 6 because, well, that's what I did (and do). It garnered no respect back then and none now. But Hamilton was cool.
- 08/09/2022 - Today I enter into the compendium a series meant for what I called in My Comments "genre-crossover junkies". Black-ops fellow who has to go up against some strange opponents, including aliens, and not the cross-the-border kind. is the main character here in this three-book (so far) series that I enjoyed a bunch.
- 08/07/2022 - I have already added a Spy School series and a Schoolboy Spy series so why not one more: from a British boy's magazine in 1974. This very short (3 episode) foray into the cloak and dagger world for young lads being specifically trained to do so is, um, well-drawn. That is the best I could say for it. The concept is silly; not in the funny sense but in the unbelievable sense.
- 08/05/2022 - Again we are heading way, way back in time for this interesting and somewhat disturbing series about an English-German woman who chose to become a spy for the Kaiser just before and during World War I. At times she is addressed as while other time she is called Olga von Kopf (with no explanation for the switching). The first of these stories were printed in newspapers around the country in 1917. You have got to read my write-up.
- 08/03/2022 - For today's entrant, we look just shy of one hundred years ago and a dastardly spymaster from the still fairly new Soviet Union. I have not done the research that I want to do on the rise of Soviet villains in spy series but when/if I ever do, I would guess will be one of the very first!
- 08/01/2022 - Entering the compendium to day is , an agent with the Russian SVRR who is described, very correctly, as a "highly gifted and dangerous female operative". These seven novellas are just the right size for the adventures and I enjoyed them a bunch.
- 07/31/2022 - For today I head again to television land and a series which did not last very long two decades ago. was the name of the series which was, IMHO, far too cutesy to survive. I did not have any hope for it when it aired the first time and watching it again on YouTube, I can recall why.
- 07/29/2022 - A huge fan of Keifer Sutherland and his portrayal of Jack Bauer in the terrific television series 24, I was intrigued with the idea of a rookie in the CTU and intrigued even more about the concept of a webisode series. was the young man's name and I enjoyed the first season, minus the poor download speeds. Then I missed the next two season but they sound like something I would have enjoyed.
- 07/27/2022 - A very unmemorable graphic spy series from 1972 and the pages of the usually terrific British weekly comicbook anthology, The Victor, joins the compendium today. is the name of the series and Mike Stone is the fellow's name. There is a baker's dozen of stories that can be read here - okay but nothing special.
- 07/25/2022 - An 8-book series about a British agent during the height of the Cold War joins the compendium today. is the name of the unfortunate fellow who has the dubious honor of working for a department who put people in deep cover inside places of interest. In Mitchell's case, he gets to infiltrate Soviet Spetsnaz! He also does a whole lot more in the course of the series but talk about starting off with a tough one!
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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!!