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TAD ANDERS

Anders_Tad3 Anders_Tad1 Anders_Tad2
 
Full Name: Tadeusz 'Tad' Anders
Nationality: British
Organization: MI6
Occupation Agent

Creator: Ted Allbeury
Time Span: 1974 - 1984

ABOUT THE SERIES

Tad Anders is an assassin for MI-6.

Tadeusz Anders, who goes by Tad, was the son of a Polish soldier, a member of the Free Poland underground, who was had fled a German concentration camp and was in England preparing to return to the Continent. The soldier met and fell in love with an English woman, they were married almost immediately, and in 1940 Tad was born. Three years later, his father was killed at Monte Cassino and Tad became the only man in the family. Though he was raised by his mother in the small English village, that town also housed a Polish community where he learned to speak Polish and Russian as a native.

At 18, he was accepted into University but chose a different path. It was the announcement by his mother that she was marrying a farmer who lived near them that changed his mind. Unhappy that his mother was abandoning the memory of his father, the day after the wedding he packed up his belongings and his father's medals and left home. He joined the military to be like his father.

In the army, the knowledge of Russian and Polish he had learned as a child got him admitted into the Intelligence community and it was not long before the SIS approached him. Though he had risen in rank in the army, having become commissioned and getting to the rank of Major, the appeal of the clandestine services was enough to get him to join their forces. They were very pleased to snatch him up and found in Tad Anders a man of 'singleness of purpose' who would let nothing or no one stand in the way of success of the mission.

Most telling about the character is an odd statement in that, despite his good looks and charm, few men saw in him a rival. Furthermore, while many women saw in him a good husband, none saw a lover. He refused to get close to another woman for fear of being betrayed as he felt he had been by his mother. And he never saw his mother again.

BOOKS

Number of Books:3
First Appearance:1974
Last Appearance:1984

1 Snowball Snowball
Written by Ted Allbeury
Copyright: 1974

An agreement from 1940 between the U.S. and Canada in which they agree to do nothing if Germany conquered England has surfaced and the Soviets are ready to use it to destroy the foundation of NATO. To stop it, British Intelligence picks the toughest agent they have.

2 Palomino Blonde Palomino Blonde
aka Omega-Minus
Written by Ted Allbeury
Copyright: 1975

The researcher named Hallett had come upon something of tremendous interest when he created what he called Omega-Minus. The interest that the Iron Curtain had in it was astounding and that made it very interesting to SIS who put agent Ed Farrow on the case to keep an eye on the scientist. Tad Anders plays only a small role in this adventure.

3 The Judas Factor The Judas Factor
Written by Ted Allbeury
Copyright: 1984

The time had come, so thought his superiors, for Anders to resign but no one really just walks away so they give him a pub to manage and tell him to wait. Soon another call for his services comes in as a Soviet assassin has the effrontery to take out an enemy on Western soil. The order is to remove the killer by any means.

PARODIES, SATIRES, AND PASTICHES

Number of Entries:1
First Appearance:1992
Last Appearance:1992

1 Blue Ice Blue Ice
Contributors: Ron Hutchinson (screenplay), Ted Allbeury (character), Russell Mulcahy (director)
Copyright: 1992

Harry Anders once was an MI6. He is now retired running a bar. When a beautiful woman he just started seeing learns of his history, she asks him for help and that puts Anders back into the game.

This movie, directed by Russell Mulcahy and written by Ron Hutchinson, based on the character by Ted Allbeury, as said to be an amalgam of Tad Anders and Harry Palmer. Michael Caine, who played Harry Palmer in the movies, starred as the retired Anders. Sean Young played the woman needing the help.

MY COMMENTS

Mr. Allbeury is considered by virtually every critic as a leader in espionage fiction. I certainly would not say otherwise. Nevertheless, I didn't like the two tales in which Anders was the principal character. The other one, where Anders is only a bit player, was considerably better. Maybe I was turned off too soon and didn't give him a chance. Maybe not.

The spycraft in the adventures is quite good and the action is top notch. The coldness of Anders, though, is just too hard to get around. To use a British expression, it is very "off-putting".

GRADE

My Grade: B-

Your Average Grade:   A

YOUR OPINIONS

009 A 2018-08-21

I need to read the Tad Anders series, but I can say that As Time Goes By (1994) is one of my favourite WW2 novels of all time.


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