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| SFReader Forums > SF Fiction and Art > Books You Should Read > Peter O'Donnel's Modesty Blaise | Forum Quick Jump
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Jaqhama
Adventurer
      
Date Joined Oct 2007
Total Posts : 401
| Posted 4/11/2008 10:54 AM (GMT -4) |   | | Modesty Blaise is THE female action star. Long before any other modern Lara Croft like person came along Modesty was IT!
Along with her cockney henchman Willie Garvin, Modesty used to run The Network. A world wide criminal organisation.
Finding retirement too boring she and Willie agree to take on a mission for MI5 chief Tarrant.
Much more than a female James Bond, Modesty is both wordly, sexy and deadly.
Willie Garvin is the coolest sidekick ever. He's useless with a pistol...but equally deadly with his custom made throwing knives.
Never dated, even by todays standards I've yet to meet anyone who enjoys action/adventure stories who doesn't like the Modesty Blaise series.
Lot's of realistic hand to hand combat. Often unusual weapons. Sword fights, knife fights, quarterstaff fights, bow and arrows, improvished catapults, fast draw gunfights.
And the best villians ever created.
I can only recommend the original 6 novels...the rest in the series were not of equal calibre.
Modesty Blaise
Sabre-Tooth
I, Lucifer
A Taste for Death
The Impossible Virgin
Pieces of Modesty.
There was a terrible film made in the 60's called Modesty Blaise...ignore it.
Tarantino recently made another version...quite good, but takes place before Modesty ran the Network.
Peter O'Donnel created two unique characters that time has not made any less readable.
Often the small homely interaction between Modesty and Willie and their friends is as interesting as the action scenes.
Modesty Blaise is my all time favourite female action character...and not a few people have pointed out that the design of the Marvel comics Black Widow character and Lara (Tombraider) Croft obviously started with someone reading the Modesty novels.
Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Cheers: Jaq.
You can read some of my stories here: Swamp Story. Down South. Florida Haze.Wild Justice...
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MichaelEhart
Sage
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 2315
| Posted 4/11/2008 2:27 PM (GMT -4) | | You'll get no argument here. Though Emma Peel of the TV series the Avengers was pretty cool, and had the advantage of being played by one of the most beautiful women of the 20th century.
Click here to buy my book!
The Servant of the Manthycore from DEP
Illustrated by Rachel Marks, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock
Read me in 2008!
"Without Napier" Every Day Fiction, April 9
"Night of Shadows, Night of Knives" Magic and Mechanica, Ricasso Press, Spring 2008
"To Destroy All Flesh" Return of the Sword, Flashing Swords Press, Spring 2008
"Only His Name" Every Day Fiction, March 30
"An Exorcism Straight, Hold the Elvis" They Are Not What They Seem, Janrae Frank, ed., TBA
"The First Trial of Jermaish the King" Flashing Swords #10, May 2008
Still in print!
"The Stars by Law Forbidden" Unparalleled Journeys II, Journey Books, 2007
"Six Zombies Doing That Mick Jagger Strut" Damned in Dixie, Tenoka Press, 2007
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Pamela J. Dodd
Neophyte
Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 74
| Posted 6/17/2008 3:27 PM (GMT -4) | | I really liked this series, and those first books were indeed the most memorable. My favorite is "The Impossible Virgin" but that is, perhaps, due to my having read that one first. For me, Modesty is even more fun than Emma Peel, which is saying quite a great deal. Friday nights with Steed and Emma were one of the highlights of my youth. As I recall, The Avengers came on right after Star Trek.
The film version of Modesty Blaise from the 60's was worse than awful. Somewhere here there is a thread about the worst book I ever read; that may be the worst film I ever watched.
I did find, on DVD, a 78 minute film by Quentin Tarantino, "My Name is Modesty" which comes fairly close to doing justice to the characters. It claims to be based on the graphic novels, which I have not read, but it covers mostly the back story from the novels I read. I got the DVD via Amazon. I don't remember what year it came out, but it is modern, and the disk comes with interviews, including one with Peter O'Donnell.
Those of you who likes Ian Fleming or The Avengers should sample Peter O'Donnell.
Pamela J. Dodd
www.pamelajdodd.com
Pamela J. Dodd
www.pamelajdodd.com
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Bookworm
Stablehand
Date Joined Jul 2007
Total Posts : 38
| Posted 6/17/2008 5:22 PM (GMT -4) | | Pamela:
I first read about the Modesty Blaise movie sometime in the '70s. And I had to wait until the invention of the DVD to actually see it in the '90s.It was not a worthwhile wait. A bad movie, but I have seen worse. "Rhinestone," starring Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton, comes to mind with a painful shudder.
I remember the first time I saw "Pulp Fiction," and John Travolta was carrying around this book. And everybody was asking, "What is that book?" And of course I knew it was, "Modesty Blaise." I didn't have to buy myself any beer that whole summer.
Enjoy.
Lee | | Back to Top | | |
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Jaqhama
Adventurer
Date Joined Oct 2007
Total Posts : 401
| Posted 6/19/2008 12:49 PM (GMT -4) | | Hi Pamela and Bworm
As bad as the first Modesty movie was, starring Monica Vitti...I think the Tarentino movie was excellent. He only made it to keep the copyright option for another movie by the way.
And speaking of awful movies from novels or other movies...
Sly Stallone in the his re-make of Get Carter...truly a film that should have been binned on the cutting room floor.
I have never read another series that compliments a male and female team as well as Modesty and Willie.
If you like the Avengers and Modesty you two might enjoy James Mitchell's Callan series. Made into a couple of movies and a tv show with Edward Woodwood.
James also wrote another series under the alias of James Munro.
The first novel was The Man who sold Death.
The third novel was made into a movie with Stanley Baker. Innocent Bystanders.
And...the absolute best show on tv bar none for the last couple of years is Spooks. The British seceret service drama.
Absolutly riveting.
Cheers: Jaq.
You can read some of my stories here: Swamp Story. Down South. Florida Haze.Wild Justice...
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