Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Donald Hamilton/Matt Helm from Titan Books

Ed here: As I've noted before I never really took to James Bond in print or in the movies probably because I've never been fan of camp. That JFK took to him always disappointed me. It revealed the privilege that informed too much of his life. Personal opinion only of course.

Matt Helm was much closer to the real deal. Allan Dulles, the most sociopathic of all our Cold Warrior political psychopaths would probably have built a shrine to Helm. Which is to say that Helm was a true blue Cold Warrior himself, so certain in his job of destroying Communism that assassinating people rarely troubled him morally.

But Hamilton was so skilled in presenting him, so deft at making Helm's war our own, that we at least understood him if not always agreed with him. The novels remain fresh today and given Putin's recent sociopathic moves) even the Cold War atmospherics are once again realistic.

Unlike all the writers influenced by Ian Fleming and other upper crust British espionage novelists, Matt Helm is very much blue collar. Parts of his books set in the American west read like early Elmore Leonard westerns. Like most workingmen and workingwomen, he knows how to do stuff, whether it's fixing the hinges on a door getting an obstinate car to start.

They are nodal available again beautiful inexpensive editions. Buy them now.

Matt Helm - The Devastators
Matt Helm - The Devastators
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Infiltrators
Matt Helm - The Infiltrators
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Interlopers
Matt Helm - The Interlopers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Intimidators
Matt Helm - The Intimidators
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Intriguers
Matt Helm - The Intriguers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Menacers
Matt Helm - The Menacers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Poisoners
Matt Helm - The Poisoners
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Ravagers
Matt Helm - The Ravagers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Removers
Matt Helm - The Removers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Retaliators
Matt Helm - The Retaliators
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Revengers
Matt Helm - The Revengers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Shadowers
Matt Helm - The Shadowers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Silencers
Matt Helm - The Silencers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Terminators
Matt Helm - The Terminators
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99
Matt Helm - The Terrorizers
Matt Helm - The Terrorizers
Mass market paperback
Donald Hamilton 
RRP £7.99

2 comments:

Ben Boulden said...

I love the Matt Helm novels, and I've read several in their new Titan editions. They are mass market, nicely designed, and very easy to read. It doesn't that your reading words written by Donald Hamilton, either.

Mathew Paust said...

Good news indeed. I read them all, but gave most if not all of them away years ago. The only one I didn't see among the covers you've posted is my favorite, #1, Death of a Citizen.