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JOHN SPENCER

Spencer_John1 Spencer_John3 Spencer_John5 Spencer_John4 Spencer_John2
 
Full Name: John Spencer
Nationality: British
Organization: Organization
Occupation Spymaster

Creator: Lou Smith
Time Span: 1968 - 1976

ABOUT THE SERIES

John Spencer is a British spymaster.

A former Major in the army with a D.S.O. to his credit, he holds the position of Head of O2 Group (Special Operations) of the British Secret Service. He is described as suave, cunning, utterly ruthless, and terribly ribald with a love of good pornography. Whether he is telling an indecent joke or ordering someone's demise, he is always calculating.

Spencer is in his late forties having served more than twenty years in the military before retiring to take a position with O2. His work with his army's Special Forces had made him uniquely qualified to lead a department that took the fight to the enemy in any way that was necessary. It was not the job of O2 to collect and analyze intelligence, it was to fight the enemy and stop them. Spencer had done that job admirably for two decades before leading others in doing it.

The face that Spencer shows the world an "imposing" mustache as its most dominating feature though his pale-blue eyes, "clear and cold" would come a close second. He still has a full head of thick dark hair though it now is sprinkled liberally with silver at the temples. Overall his face shows the years of fighting the good fight and suffering more than its share of defeats. Through it all, though, his sense of humor has never left him even if it often has a touch of melancholy in it.

He is assisted by the thoroughly competent agent, Simon Russell, a man said to be "sardonic, unorthodox, daring". His actions are almost enough to give him equal billing but in the final analysis, the series really centers around his boss.

BOOKS

Number of Books:5
First Appearance:1968
Last Appearance:1976

1 Fear And The Dead Man Fear And The Dead Man
Written by Lou Smith
Copyright: 1968

John Spencer goes up against a leading KGB officer while his assistant goes around in circles with a female agent who loves him and must betray him.

2 Psycho In Focus Psycho In Focus
Written by Lou Smith
Copyright: 1969

When John Spencer's favorite agent heads to France to investigate a murder and lands up in an East German jail, Spencer must resort to blackmailing a KGB official to exact a rescue.

3 Secret Of MI-6 Secret Of MI-6
Written by Lou Smith
Copyright: 1975

Thirty years after the end of WWII, John Spencer discovers a situation that got its start during that war as espionage conducted then is revealed to cause trouble today.

4 Master Plot Master Plot
Written by Lou Smith
Copyright: 1976

What started as a simple act of indiscretion blossumed with an intense coverup and threatened key players on both sides of the Iron Curtain. A British undercover agent may be forced to kill her KGB lover despite now having deep feelings for the man.

5 The Fourth Man The Fourth Man
aka Primrose: The Fourth Man
Written by Lou Smith
Copyright: 1976

Primrose was the name given to the suspected fourth man in the infamous case of the Cambridge Four. Philby, Burgess, and MacLean were already known and had fled to Russia. John Spencer knows who he is but getting the proof is proving a challenge.

MY COMMENTS

The adventures are written with a considerable amount of wit and dry humor. These are not comedies by any means. The principals, however, seem to have a feel that what they do, while important, is not without some irony. They take what they do very seriously but recognize the humor behind the motives.

I would not like Spencer but I would definitely want him on my side, except for needing to watch my back to make sure a knife was looming. He does what it takes to get the job done. Woe to those he deems expendable.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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