Book Review

The Swastika Hunt (first published as Johnny Goes North) by Desmond Cory

This book could be described as a cross between Jonathon Creek and a thinking man's version of James Bond. Like other Desmond Cory novels, it has an intriguing plot that keeps the reader guessing until the very end when all is revealed.

At a time when the old James Bond franchise (of beautiful women, locations, cars, hi-tech gadgetry) is being challenged (yes, even the new ROYAL CASINO film moves away from it), one can do worse than looking at alternative secret agents such as Johnny Fedora. Described by reviewers of the time as the "thinking man's James Bond", it certainly is a bit more thoughtful in the development of its plots. Although written in the 1960s (as the dialog shows all too well), it has many of the traits you might associate with modern fictional books. In Cory's novels, women have substantially more character and are far more intriguing. The secret agent (Johnny Fedora) also has a darker and more pensive side to him, seeing no real glory in involving himself in violence.

If anything, Johnny Fedora, in this novel, could do with a little more action-packed scenes (a lá Robert Ludlum), but on the whole this book is a good read.

This is Johnny Fedora's 7th assignment (novel), and as usual nothing is quite what it seems. Resigned from working for the British Intelligence Services, Fedora is enjoying some time off in Venice when suddenly he finds a friend of his murdered. The only clue seems to be his friend’s photo of an attractive woman.

From Venice, Fedora tracks the woman to Paris, Stockholm and Bohuslav (Sweden). In each location, another murder takes place, and slowly the true identity of the mysterious woman emerges.

Teaming up with Sebastian Trout (who appeared in Dead Man Falling, Intrigue) of the British Intelligence Services, Fedora finds himself in search of millions in hidden Nazi gold (hence the dubious title of the book).

The end scene (which I will not give away) is particularly clever and witty given the substance of the plot. Do read this book, and be prepared to be surprised in ways you could not suspect.

CONCLUSION: A recommended read for those who like thrillers full of surprises and with a decent plot.

Vote for favourite British Secret Agent

Who are our favourite British Secret Agents? Ian Fleming's James Bond, Len Deighton's Harry Palmer, or someone even more secretive? At its peak, the British Spy Novel genre sold several million books across the world, and was watched by even greater numbers on the Big Screen, due to the immense popularity of James Bond, as incarnated by the incomparable Sean Connery. Preceding the now legendary 007 was Desmond Cory's Johnny Fedora, "the thinking man's James Bond".

In this blog, I hope to introduce to the outside world the glory that is the 20th Century British Spy Novel, covering many of the great authors that contributed to it.

I start by listing the most successful fictional British Secret Agents. If there are others I have missed out, please let me know.

Below I list the candidates in alphabetical order, and their creators/authors:

Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Boysie Oakes - John Gardner
General Besserley - E. Phillips Oppenheim
Harry Palmer - Len Deighton
James Bond - Ian Fleming
John Brock - Desmond Skirrow
John Craig - James Munro
Johnny Fedora - Desmond Cory
Mr.Calder & Mr.Behrens - Michael Gilbert
Quiller - Adam Hall
Roger Brook - Dennis Wheatley
Tommy Hambledon - Manning Coles

To vote: send the name of your favourite secret agent to me, janhart1@planet.nl

In the following months I hope to comment on some of their works, especially those not covered by other web sites. Soon after, I will pool a team of reviewers known to be interested in this genre, and vote for Britain’s most popular fictional secret agent.

Welcome to Beyond Bond

Like many others, I find the topic of “spy fiction” fascinating. Fuelled by the spy fiction novels of the 60s and 70s, James Bond in the cinema, and even the Avengers on TV, I spent many an hour enwrapped in this exciting world of the secret agent.

Unfortunately, its popularity lapsed in the late 1980s following the end of the Cold War, but now the fictional secret agent seems to be as popular as before. Today we have films such as Mission Impossible, the Bourne Supremacy and Spy Kids being made into sequels, while the younger generation can watch popular secret agent cartoons such as Totally Spies.

Since little is publicly known about the real-life secret agent, my blog will focus on the secret agent as portrayed in 20th and 21st century literature and cinema. The Secret agent is generally regarded as a recluse, sometimes immoral, an existential hero operating outside the confines of our society. Ian Fleming’s James Bond is the most famous fictional secret agent of all.

Yet there are many others.

The intention of this blog is to show that there is life BEYOND BOND. New and young secret agents such as Alex Rider, created by Anthony Horowitz, are emerging both in novels and in the cinema. There are also equally glorious fictional secret agents such as Johnny Fedora and Harry Palmer.

This site will solely focus on the British secret agent- an important subject in its own right. For a number of reasons, Britain has been blessed with a wealth of successful writers in this genre (from John le Carre and Len Deighton, to Desmond Cory and Frederick Forsyth). These novelists and their works truly represent what is “Best of British”.
I encourage you to read on!