My Top 10 Favorite Spy Book Series of the 60s/70s

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I searched for the best existing thread to post this, but nothing seemed to really fit. On my personal blog site, I just posted an update with an expanded version of an article which I wrote for publication in Paperback Fanatic 50. It focuses on my top 10 favorite spy series from the 60s and 70s. Please note, I have not attempted to make this an exhaustive list; these are simply my personal favorites from a lifetime of collecting and reading espionage thrillers.

If you’re a fan of espionage fiction and particularly series devoted to spy adventures, then you may find this worth your time. And yes, James Bond is on the lst, though not in my top spot. I invite you to read and share your thoughts and especially share anything you think I missed that should be included. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

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Thanks for that - I did not know many of those, will check them out!

Also: cool site!

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Thanks for taking the time to check it out. Much appreciated!

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Very interesting list, some of my favourites (Modesty, Matt Helm, Bond) there. Honourable mention would go to Marc Olden’s Black Samurai on a tangent to the spy genre and Trevanian’s satirical Eiger-/Loo-Sanction/Shibumi triptych.

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Oddly enough, I covered the Black Samurai series in a separate blog post, which can be read here:

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Captivating blog, huge thanks for the link.

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With regards to Marc Olden, I have fond memories of Gaijin, a novel with a WW2 espionage plotline in its 1940s part (and a patently gruesome torture sequence). Have to dig that one out again one of these days, it’s been 40 years since I read that one…

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Olden was a solid writer. I am a fan of his prose style, which was far more literary then would seem necessary for a men’s adventure series. His non-series books are especially good and I’m particularly fond of his historical occult-themed mystery/thriller, Poe Must Die.

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The longest series is missing: S.A.S. Malko written by Gerard de Villiers. Despite the sex scenes it was a good series because almost every book´s plot had a real political background. And the hero is an austrian prince! who does contract work for the CIA. What makes him probably the only austrian action star except Schwarzenegger :laughing:

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I have the only editions of the original series translated at the time (the 70s) into English and published by Pinnacle here in the US. I have read only a couple so far and found them interesting and enjoyed them. That said, my list was never intended to be exhaustive; they are my personal favorites. The Malko series’ longevity is impressive and as you point out, they were often rooted in real political issues of the day. Though Pinnacle tried to make them look like other series contemporaries like The Executioner and The Destroyer, they were a very different beast altogether.

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Never quite understood why Villiers chose that particular idiosyncrasy. Any public use of former titles of Austrian nobility has been illegal since 1919. Restoring his manor was of course a great device to keep him in need of funds. But the nobility angle somehow didn’t sit well, nor did it add anything worthwhile (admittedly, in the 10 or so books that I read). Carl Hamilton is much the same in that regard, only in his case it helps with putting him above suspicion in his official function(s) in Sweden.

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I wholeheartedly agree. It seems to be a novelty for the non-European market. Its inclusion was never germane to the books that I have read thus far, just a footnote and, as you say, an excuse for establishing his need to seek funds in the restoration of his manor. Certainly unique, yet odd in the overall foundation of the character.

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As 15 year old austrian boys living in the countryside my friends and me found it the coolest thing ever :person_shrugging:. I think Villiers found it unique and made Malko even more distinguished and naturally posh than Bond from the films…

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Hah - me and my siblings have been traumatised for decades by the bitter tale of our grandmother (on my mother’s side, merely Systemadel, nothing posh) how the horrible Austrian commoners took away her family’s titles before she had a chance to marry into a ‘fitting’ family outside Austria. For us anything to do with gentry, landed or otherwise, always had something fishy and terribly absurd about it.

But horses for courses, Blofeld even risked getting caught for getting a title recognised he already used anyway…:man_shrugging:t3:

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