What's New
The last ten major changes to the site.
- 11/22/2024 - I ponder in My Comments for today's newcomer to the site, , how nice it would be for a couple of those who are supposedly on his side to come into violent contact with a bus. They are not the kind of people you want helping you, IMHO, but they, and of course Marlowe, are really interesting to read about. There are currently seven adventures and more on the way from author Jack Gatland.
- 11/21/2024 - I mention in My Comments about , who joins the compendium today, that even if this adventurer did not have many of his 13 escapades decidedly spy-adjacent, I would have collected and read these Belgian comic books. Penned by the terrific Jean Van Hamme and incredibly drawn by Christian Denayer, these "stories are terrific, the dialogue spot on, the action nearly constant" and then there is the artwork. Oh, wow!
- 11/20/2024 - I am not a fan of today's entrant into the compendium, giving it a pretty low grade. I found that "the writing is fine but the pacing is troubled" in the three adventures by L.J. Boyce about the , a twin brother-sister act known to us as Tanya and Junior. However, I am just one person and others may find these books better than I.
- 11/19/2024 - I really enjoyed a while back the terrific adventures of a woman named Marion Bailey, wonderfully penned by Felicity St. John. I was pleased to hear that she had sort of continued the series by writing three addition adventures, taking place a couple of decades later, about Marion's son, . That fellow is an interesting guy who can be found, when not forced to do things for British Intelligence he would rather not, in the closest pub. The man loves to drink.
- 11/18/2024 - It was the covers for this three-book spy-adjacent series that convinced me to add to the compendium - that and the name of the character. These tales penned in 1976 by Jeffrey Noel surprised me by being quite good! There are not that many spy series in which the main character is 'cowardly and lecherous' but Perfect is. I liked him!
- 11/17/2024 - "Okay, I think it is official - Simon Gervais cannot write a bad book!" That is how I start My Comments on the three-book series about by that awesome author and storyteller. I also state, 'cause it be the truth, that White "is a fascinating and interesting character who is a blast to follow". Considering the various series that Mr. Gervais has gifted us with, I do not know which series I would like to see him work on next. Actually, anything he wants, cause he "cannot write a bad book!" I know, I repeat myself but, wow!
- 11/16/2024 - On this Saturday morning, we are heading back in time 70 years (if my math holds up) to 1953 and a series of young adult spy adventures about , an agent with the British Secret Service. In the same year that Ian Fleming was releasing the first in the James Bond series, author Ronald Seth was giving readers the first of a half dozen Grant tales. Both Fleming and Seth came to the spy fiction genre by way of having worked in that field.
- 11/15/2024 - "These books are meant to amuse and to put a smile on your face and they did for me." That is how I ended My Comments for the 9 books in the series started just a couple years ago by Amy Woodley. They deal with a woman in her mid-20s who runs a restaurant but who has always fantasized about being a spy. And then she gets a chance to. Unbelievable? Mostly. Fun? Oh, yeah!
- 11/14/2024 - Say hello to two members of the US Army who separately get thrown into the cloak and dagger work and then find working together is a good thing. is the name I've given the series of 4 adventures by Karl Braungart. I had some trouble with the first couple of books but the next two show a good deal of improvement.
- 11/13/2024 - 'Count me in as a first-day buyer'. That is how I ended My Comments on today's entrant into the compendium, talking about how author James Byrne's third book in delightful series is coming next year. Limerick is a 'Gatekeeper' for clandestine missions and he is very good at it but he would rather be on a stage or a in a recording studio playing bass guitar. I can understand the latter since no one is (usually) shooting at him doing that but a whole lot of people do it at him when he is opening and closing doors for other operatives. Check him out.
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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!!