What do you think?
Rate this book
Boysie Oakes #1
The Liquidator
Paris, 1944.
As the city is liberated, Sergeant Boysie Oaks kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn.
Two decades later, the suave, sadistic Mostyn has become the Second-in-Command of British Special Security.
He recruits the man he believes is a master assassin -- Boysie Oakes -- to quietly murder potential security risks.
He is 'The Liquidator'.
But is Boysie the right man for the job?
He is preparing to take Mostyn's secretary to the Cote D'Azur for a weekend of romance.
Yet what starts as a few days of seduction in the Mediterranean sun turns into a nightmare for Boysie as he becomes more and more embroiled in Operation Coronet.
Captured, the tables are turned, and the assassin becomes the target.
Boysie Oakes will need all his wits to stay alive.
As the city is liberated, Sergeant Boysie Oaks kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn.
Two decades later, the suave, sadistic Mostyn has become the Second-in-Command of British Special Security.
He recruits the man he believes is a master assassin -- Boysie Oakes -- to quietly murder potential security risks.
He is 'The Liquidator'.
But is Boysie the right man for the job?
He is preparing to take Mostyn's secretary to the Cote D'Azur for a weekend of romance.
Yet what starts as a few days of seduction in the Mediterranean sun turns into a nightmare for Boysie as he becomes more and more embroiled in Operation Coronet.
Captured, the tables are turned, and the assassin becomes the target.
Boysie Oakes will need all his wits to stay alive.
182 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
60 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
John Gardner
113 books167 followersBefore coming an author of fiction in the early 1960s, John Gardner was variously a stage magician, a Royal Marine officer and a journalist. In all, Gardner has fifty-four novels to his credit, including Maestro, which was the New York Times book of the year. He was also invited by Ian Fleming’s literary copyright holders to write a series of continuation James Bond novels, which proved to be so successful that instead of the contracted three books he went on to publish some fourteen titles, including Licence Renewed and Icebreaker.
Having lived in the Republic of Ireland, the United States and the UK, John Gardner sadly died in August of 2007 having just completed his third novel in the Moriarty trilogy, Conan Doyle’s eponymous villain of the Sherlock Holmes series.
Having lived in the Republic of Ireland, the United States and the UK, John Gardner sadly died in August of 2007 having just completed his third novel in the Moriarty trilogy, Conan Doyle’s eponymous villain of the Sherlock Holmes series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 11, 2018
John Gardner is quite a well known writer albeit for him having been the continuation writer for the Fleming estate concerning James Bond 007. He also wrote some Moriarty books who was the opponent of one Mr Holmes and they were fairly good.
However in the sixties he did write his own brand of spy books which were in direct respons to a certain Ian Fleming whose books were being filmed and stormed the box office all over the world and released a thirst for spy novels that was als being fulfilled by the series with Boysie Oakes. This is a government created assassin who takes care of his governments little problems and does so with good succes. However Oakes is not all that seems, he is not the assassin his government thinks he is, he kinda outsources this particular brand of work. And when he goes on a dirty weekend with his superiors secretary to the Cote Azur everything seems to go wrong. He gets caught up in some sort of complot that will take all his wit to get out of.
This is a fairly decent thriller that does take the mickey on more than one occasion and is a polar opposite of 007 and yet Gardner always could write a bloody great tale and he proves that with this book.
However in the sixties he did write his own brand of spy books which were in direct respons to a certain Ian Fleming whose books were being filmed and stormed the box office all over the world and released a thirst for spy novels that was als being fulfilled by the series with Boysie Oakes. This is a government created assassin who takes care of his governments little problems and does so with good succes. However Oakes is not all that seems, he is not the assassin his government thinks he is, he kinda outsources this particular brand of work. And when he goes on a dirty weekend with his superiors secretary to the Cote Azur everything seems to go wrong. He gets caught up in some sort of complot that will take all his wit to get out of.
This is a fairly decent thriller that does take the mickey on more than one occasion and is a polar opposite of 007 and yet Gardner always could write a bloody great tale and he proves that with this book.
November 16, 2019
A parody of the James Bond sort of books that were so popular in the early to mid 1960's. In the War, a spymaster accidentally encounters a man he mistakes for a stone cold killer. Later, he recruits Boysie Oakes as an assassin. The sight of blood makes Oakes sick, but he wants the money and the women that come with the station, so he fakes it.
An effective parody, but it's no Get Smart!
An effective parody, but it's no Get Smart!
September 13, 2021
John Gardner, the author of a long-running James Bond series in the 80s, wrote a masterfully deranged and darkly hilarious spy comedy series in the 60s as his attempt to mock the many things in Fleming’s work which he didn’t like and began the shenanigans of Gardner’s cowardly superspy – Boysie Oakes in The Liquidator (Originally published in 1964). This is definitely not a spy thriller, but a spy comedy that’s perfect for old-fashioned classical spy fiction readers and even more for the lunatic fanbase of the spy comedy/dark humor adult animated TV show – Archer – which is popular in the last decade.
The book starts in 1944, where a British Intelligence Corps officer is being beaten by two Nazis at the recently liberated Paris when a young armored corps Sergeant shoots down the two Germans and saves the older man. Then in the early 60s, the intelligence officer from WW-II Paris – Colonel Mostyn – became the second-in-command of British Intelligence. With new threats to his MI6 in the Cold War, Mostyn tracks down his savior from Paris who’s been mixed up in a few deaths in the course of his life with no evidence or suspicion of foul play. The cunning spymaster recognizes the natural talent of a cold-blooded murderer and traps him with a job filled with a life of luxury and richness which Boysie accepts only for the lifestyle and the women that he gets from his job.
Unknown to Mostyn, Boysie Oakes is a coward who gets shocked by the sight of blood, violence, and any form of danger. The now so-called assassin has spent his life trying to forget the day in Paris where he pulled the trigger and killed two Germans as he’d masterfully put in the effort to avoid combat and danger for his entire time in the army during the Second World War. Boysie’s idiotic life was spent in a few jobs and enterprising ventures that had collapsed disastrously because of his own stupidity and that of his partners whom he did not actually kill. His neurological disorder causes his eyes to pop out and his mouth to curl up a bit on one side when he’s in a state of extreme shock, fear, or anxiety. That facial expression when he was standing next to two men whom he had accidentally gunned down made the MI6 officer sure of Boysie’s ‘psychopathic killer instincts’ which the spymaster uses as an asset. Boysie’s put through a training program, which includes reading Fleming’s Bond books among lots of other forms of training and given the code name – The Liquidator or L.
The main story starts with Boysie, secretly going on a romantic getaway with Mostyn’s secretary – Iris – who plays a major role throughout the story in a classic Archer-esque fashion. Mostyn’s normal paranoia goes to a higher level when his two trusted subordinates go behind his back. The weekend getaway leads to Boysie getting kidnapped, his fake escape, codes, manipulations, trickery, and hilarity when he’s targeted by a Russian agent – The Coronet in a plan to use Boysie to kill the member of the Brit royal family and steal a top-secret weapon while leaving The Liquidator dumbfounded in confusion and embarrass the British intelligence. Without going into any major spoiler other than what I’ve already mentioned about the villain’s plans, the real charm of the book isn’t the plot, but the characters, their minds, and their interactions.
Just the perspectives of each character about other characters in all the scenes are the works of comedic greatness. Mostyn’s sadistic cunning along with Boysie’s idiotic helplessness mixed with Iris’ twistedly maniacal charm and the Coronet’s devious brilliance make this book better than Archer on many levels. Gardner’s writing keeps switching in a non-linear narrative, in old-fashioned prose that manages to stay character-driven while staying very atmospheric to the settings and the locations. His descriptive style and the world in this book is almost like visiting inside an early 60s James Bond movie, but with the type of ride written by someone crazier than the makers of Archer. My comparisons of this book to the TV show Archer feel redundant, considering when The Liquidator was written, and I can’t help but feel that the show-makers of Archer were heavily influenced by John Gardner’s Boysie Oakes books. There’s even a movie adaptation of this book from back in the 20th century, which I suspect of not having been very popular.
Boysie starts as a money-loving coward, who initially outsources his kills to a street thug in London to do the dirty work while standing at the right spot to fool his boss at MI6, and does not lose any money as he pays the thug with his government bonus and keeps his hands clean. Through the course of the book, he faces many of his worst fears, almost dies, accidentally saves the day, all while remaining an idiot and continuing to be the same. His relationship with Mostyn is ludicrous, with high amounts of mutual hate and mutual dependency, and never ceases to entertain. It’s not high literature, and it’s by no means an actual ‘thriller’ with serious action or spycraft, but it is a great piece of classically awesome comedy that any fan of both spy thrillers and deranged dark comedy should not miss reading in their life.
For more long-form book reviews, check out - www.kronosananthsimha.com/book-blog/
The book starts in 1944, where a British Intelligence Corps officer is being beaten by two Nazis at the recently liberated Paris when a young armored corps Sergeant shoots down the two Germans and saves the older man. Then in the early 60s, the intelligence officer from WW-II Paris – Colonel Mostyn – became the second-in-command of British Intelligence. With new threats to his MI6 in the Cold War, Mostyn tracks down his savior from Paris who’s been mixed up in a few deaths in the course of his life with no evidence or suspicion of foul play. The cunning spymaster recognizes the natural talent of a cold-blooded murderer and traps him with a job filled with a life of luxury and richness which Boysie accepts only for the lifestyle and the women that he gets from his job.
Unknown to Mostyn, Boysie Oakes is a coward who gets shocked by the sight of blood, violence, and any form of danger. The now so-called assassin has spent his life trying to forget the day in Paris where he pulled the trigger and killed two Germans as he’d masterfully put in the effort to avoid combat and danger for his entire time in the army during the Second World War. Boysie’s idiotic life was spent in a few jobs and enterprising ventures that had collapsed disastrously because of his own stupidity and that of his partners whom he did not actually kill. His neurological disorder causes his eyes to pop out and his mouth to curl up a bit on one side when he’s in a state of extreme shock, fear, or anxiety. That facial expression when he was standing next to two men whom he had accidentally gunned down made the MI6 officer sure of Boysie’s ‘psychopathic killer instincts’ which the spymaster uses as an asset. Boysie’s put through a training program, which includes reading Fleming’s Bond books among lots of other forms of training and given the code name – The Liquidator or L.
The main story starts with Boysie, secretly going on a romantic getaway with Mostyn’s secretary – Iris – who plays a major role throughout the story in a classic Archer-esque fashion. Mostyn’s normal paranoia goes to a higher level when his two trusted subordinates go behind his back. The weekend getaway leads to Boysie getting kidnapped, his fake escape, codes, manipulations, trickery, and hilarity when he’s targeted by a Russian agent – The Coronet in a plan to use Boysie to kill the member of the Brit royal family and steal a top-secret weapon while leaving The Liquidator dumbfounded in confusion and embarrass the British intelligence. Without going into any major spoiler other than what I’ve already mentioned about the villain’s plans, the real charm of the book isn’t the plot, but the characters, their minds, and their interactions.
Just the perspectives of each character about other characters in all the scenes are the works of comedic greatness. Mostyn’s sadistic cunning along with Boysie’s idiotic helplessness mixed with Iris’ twistedly maniacal charm and the Coronet’s devious brilliance make this book better than Archer on many levels. Gardner’s writing keeps switching in a non-linear narrative, in old-fashioned prose that manages to stay character-driven while staying very atmospheric to the settings and the locations. His descriptive style and the world in this book is almost like visiting inside an early 60s James Bond movie, but with the type of ride written by someone crazier than the makers of Archer. My comparisons of this book to the TV show Archer feel redundant, considering when The Liquidator was written, and I can’t help but feel that the show-makers of Archer were heavily influenced by John Gardner’s Boysie Oakes books. There’s even a movie adaptation of this book from back in the 20th century, which I suspect of not having been very popular.
Boysie starts as a money-loving coward, who initially outsources his kills to a street thug in London to do the dirty work while standing at the right spot to fool his boss at MI6, and does not lose any money as he pays the thug with his government bonus and keeps his hands clean. Through the course of the book, he faces many of his worst fears, almost dies, accidentally saves the day, all while remaining an idiot and continuing to be the same. His relationship with Mostyn is ludicrous, with high amounts of mutual hate and mutual dependency, and never ceases to entertain. It’s not high literature, and it’s by no means an actual ‘thriller’ with serious action or spycraft, but it is a great piece of classically awesome comedy that any fan of both spy thrillers and deranged dark comedy should not miss reading in their life.
For more long-form book reviews, check out - www.kronosananthsimha.com/book-blog/
January 18, 2021
I came across John Gardner when he took over the Bond Canon. His initial novels really impressed me, but soon he really depletes the Canon of worthy Bond stories, but you can read and see my rankings in those individual reviews on Goodreads.
This however, was the novel that started his career as a novelist, still an espionage tale — but look at it through these eyes. James Bond (Boysie Oakes) license to kill but in Oakes profession, they are the internal British citizens that impede the government. But unlike his Fleming counterpart, he’s afraid of heights, drinks way too much, had a fear of flying and air travel, is not allowed to fraternize with co-workers, especially the women... and deep down really doesn’t have the stomach to kill people.
What a true delight to follow this character through his adventure, and how he tries to overcome his faults. If your looking for a quick read unlike other espionage spy stories but still fits the formula, this would be the book for you.
I’m currently trying to track down book #2 to continue Boysie’s adventures.
This however, was the novel that started his career as a novelist, still an espionage tale — but look at it through these eyes. James Bond (Boysie Oakes) license to kill but in Oakes profession, they are the internal British citizens that impede the government. But unlike his Fleming counterpart, he’s afraid of heights, drinks way too much, had a fear of flying and air travel, is not allowed to fraternize with co-workers, especially the women... and deep down really doesn’t have the stomach to kill people.
What a true delight to follow this character through his adventure, and how he tries to overcome his faults. If your looking for a quick read unlike other espionage spy stories but still fits the formula, this would be the book for you.
I’m currently trying to track down book #2 to continue Boysie’s adventures.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2015
"Ο εκτελεστής επιστρέφει", εκδόσεις ΒΙΠΕΡ.
Ο Τζον Γκάρντνερ ήταν Άγγλος συγγραφέας θρίλερ, γνωστός για τις συνέχειες των περιπετειών του Τζέιμς Μποντ, ύστερα από συμφωνία με τους υπεύθυνους δικαιωμάτων των βιβλίων του Ίαν Φλέμινγκ. Έγραψε όμως και πολλά άλλα βιβλία με εντελώς δικούς του ήρωες και αυτό που μόλις τελείωσα είναι το πρώτο με ήρωα τον Μπόισι Όακς. Το 2011 θυμάμαι ότι είχα διαβάσει ένα άλλο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, το "Φλαμίνγκο", που σε γενικές γραμμές μου είχε αρέσει.
Στα του βιβλίου τώρα: Ο Μπόισι Όακς δουλεύει σαν εκτελεστής της Ειδικής Υπηρεσίας της Αυτής Μεγαλειότης, έχει όμως κάποια περίεργα κουσούρια. Δεν αντέχει τα ταξίδια με το αεροπλάνο (αν και υποχρεώνεται πολλές φορές να τα χρησιμοποιεί) και δεν μπορεί καθόλου το αίμα και την πολλή βία, κάτι τέρμα αντιφατικό με την δουλειά που κάνει. Τώρα θα μπλέξει με την όμορφη κοκκινομάλλα γραμματέα του αφεντικού του, με την οποία ταξίδεψε μυστικά στην Κυανή Ακτή, για ένα καυτό σαββατοκύριακο. Που να ήξερε όμως ότι έτσι θα έμπλεκε σε μια ιστορία με αντίπαλους πράκτορες, ένα διαβολικό σχέδιο και τις παραξενιές του αφεντικού του...
Είμαι φανατικός των αστυνομικών και κατασκοπευτικών θρίλερ των δεκαετιών του '70 και του '80, και αυτό είναι ένα πολύ καλό και χαρακτηριστικό δείγμα. Δεν έχει να ζηλέψει και πολλά από τις ιστορίες με ήρωα τον Τζέιμς Μποντ, μιας και διαθέτει μπόλικη δράση, ανατροπές στην πλοκή, αρκετό χιούμορ και ωραία ατμόσφαιρα. Ο Μπόισι Όακς είναι ένας ωραίος και σίγουρα συμπαθητικός ήρωας, αδέξιος και συνάμα θρασύς και ντόμπρος. Η γραφή είναι πάρα πολύ καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, με τις σωστές δόσεις πλάκας και σοβαρότητας.
Γενικά είναι ένα βιβλίο που απευθύνεται, κατά κύριο λόγο, σε φανατικούς του είδους, που έχουν μεγαλώσει διαβάζοντας Λεν Ντέιτον, Άλιστερ Μακλίν, Ίαν Φλέμινγκ και πάει λέγοντας. Προσωπικά πέρασα πάρα πολύ καλά τις λίγες ώρες που κράτησε. Στα ελληνικά έχουν μεταφραστεί και τα επόμενα δυο βιβλία με ήρωα τον Μπόισι Όακς, τα οποία ευτυχώς έχω. Το βιβλίο έγινε και ταινία το 1965, σε σκηνοθεσία Jack Cardiff.
Ο Τζον Γκάρντνερ ήταν Άγγλος συγγραφέας θρίλερ, γνωστός για τις συνέχειες των περιπετειών του Τζέιμς Μποντ, ύστερα από συμφωνία με τους υπεύθυνους δικαιωμάτων των βιβλίων του Ίαν Φλέμινγκ. Έγραψε όμως και πολλά άλλα βιβλία με εντελώς δικούς του ήρωες και αυτό που μόλις τελείωσα είναι το πρώτο με ήρωα τον Μπόισι Όακς. Το 2011 θυμάμαι ότι είχα διαβάσει ένα άλλο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα, το "Φλαμίνγκο", που σε γενικές γραμμές μου είχε αρέσει.
Στα του βιβλίου τώρα: Ο Μπόισι Όακς δουλεύει σαν εκτελεστής της Ειδικής Υπηρεσίας της Αυτής Μεγαλειότης, έχει όμως κάποια περίεργα κουσούρια. Δεν αντέχει τα ταξίδια με το αεροπλάνο (αν και υποχρεώνεται πολλές φορές να τα χρησιμοποιεί) και δεν μπορεί καθόλου το αίμα και την πολλή βία, κάτι τέρμα αντιφατικό με την δουλειά που κάνει. Τώρα θα μπλέξει με την όμορφη κοκκινομάλλα γραμματέα του αφεντικού του, με την οποία ταξίδεψε μυστικά στην Κυανή Ακτή, για ένα καυτό σαββατοκύριακο. Που να ήξερε όμως ότι έτσι θα έμπλεκε σε μια ιστορία με αντίπαλους πράκτορες, ένα διαβολικό σχέδιο και τις παραξενιές του αφεντικού του...
Είμαι φανατικός των αστυνομικών και κατασκοπευτικών θρίλερ των δεκαετιών του '70 και του '80, και αυτό είναι ένα πολύ καλό και χαρακτηριστικό δείγμα. Δεν έχει να ζηλέψει και πολλά από τις ιστορίες με ήρωα τον Τζέιμς Μποντ, μιας και διαθέτει μπόλικη δράση, ανατροπές στην πλοκή, αρκετό χιούμορ και ωραία ατμόσφαιρα. Ο Μπόισι Όακς είναι ένας ωραίος και σίγουρα συμπαθητικός ήρωας, αδέξιος και συνάμα θρασύς και ντόμπρος. Η γραφή είναι πάρα πολύ καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, με τις σωστές δόσεις πλάκας και σοβαρότητας.
Γενικά είναι ένα βιβλίο που απευθύνεται, κατά κύριο λόγο, σε φανατικούς του είδους, που έχουν μεγαλώσει διαβάζοντας Λεν Ντέιτον, Άλιστερ Μακλίν, Ίαν Φλέμινγκ και πάει λέγοντας. Προσωπικά πέρασα πάρα πολύ καλά τις λίγες ώρες που κράτησε. Στα ελληνικά έχουν μεταφραστεί και τα επόμενα δυο βιβλία με ήρωα τον Μπόισι Όακς, τα οποία ευτυχώς έχω. Το βιβλίο έγινε και ταινία το 1965, σε σκηνοθεσία Jack Cardiff.
June 5, 2016
Bought the eBook from Amazon. I read John Gardner's James Bond a number of years ago and when Amazon recommended this, thought I'd give it a try.
It was great fun as a fairly light read and for a nostalgic trip back to the sixties. The early part was a bit 'sex and shopping' with lots of brand names dropped and living the high life but once the thriller part got going it was exciting.
It was great fun as a fairly light read and for a nostalgic trip back to the sixties. The early part was a bit 'sex and shopping' with lots of brand names dropped and living the high life but once the thriller part got going it was exciting.
November 9, 2011
Astonished no one else has commented on this. The first of the Boysie Oakes stories about a British assassin for the security services, and hilarious. Became a cult film in the 1960s. It's fast, gripping and very, very funny.
August 2, 2019
As the description says, Boysie Oakes is the last man you would ever want as a secret agent. Despite his fear of flying and being sick at the sight of blood, he fumbles his way through the same adventures that James Bond would have finished in the intros to his movies.
Despite my personal lack of being thrilled by the character, it is easy to see why he was chosen to write more Bond adventures. Oakes is a more fleshed-out human being than 007 in the first few Fleming novels and it makes me like him just enough to go ahead and read the next book in the series.
It's an interesting take on the spy novels of the 60s, and worth your time. Especially if you are John Gardner fan.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
Despite my personal lack of being thrilled by the character, it is easy to see why he was chosen to write more Bond adventures. Oakes is a more fleshed-out human being than 007 in the first few Fleming novels and it makes me like him just enough to go ahead and read the next book in the series.
It's an interesting take on the spy novels of the 60s, and worth your time. Especially if you are John Gardner fan.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
December 10, 2020
Boysie Oakes is handsome (and he knows it), suave and debonair (after much training and he still isn’t all that good at it), and an assassin (except he has no stomach for it and subcontracts his assignments). James Bond he isn’t, although he likes the Special Security salary and perks. Boysie is afraid of flying and I could TOTALLY relate to the description of his inner feelings as a plane take off. Set in 1960’s Britain, the series lightly spoofs the spy genre. The author writes that Boysie’s freshly-shaved face is ‘now smooth as nylon stretched tight over arched female buttocks," and compares a bad odor to “a Turkish tramdriver’s jock strap.” Now that’s writing.
February 16, 2024
I don't have too much experience with adventure and spy novels of the 60s but this seems like a straight-up average example of what they were like. It was entertaining while I was reading it, but some of the details vanished from my head hours later. Boysie, the main character, isn't a spy but works as an assassin for British intelligence. There is a major plot twist which doesn't come until well over the halfway mark, and it's interesting and surprising, but not much is done with it. The movie based on this (with Rod Taylor) is very entertaining and springs that surprise much earlier in the narrative, allowing for it to affect the audience more strongly.
August 24, 2018
James Bond parody
Cleverly done, a story supposedly about a "license to kill" secret agent, until you ultimately learn he is not what you are lead to believe. Amusing and suspenseful.
Cleverly done, a story supposedly about a "license to kill" secret agent, until you ultimately learn he is not what you are lead to believe. Amusing and suspenseful.
April 5, 2023
I thought from the blurbs it was a Bond parody, but that part disappointed. Mostly it was multiple poorly distinguished villains, plus some improbable heroics. I'll try the next one hoping he got a better feel for the parody...?
October 4, 2017
3.5 stars
An assassin who isn't - this short, amusing and fast paced adventure is a delightful spoof on the James Bond genre of spy thrillers.
An assassin who isn't - this short, amusing and fast paced adventure is a delightful spoof on the James Bond genre of spy thrillers.
July 19, 2019
Not quite Bond and not quite Clouseau, somewhere in between, and closer to Bonisseur de La Bath, amusing nonetheless.
September 9, 2019
I enjoyed this.
March 5, 2022
Very Good Thriller.
It's been a long time since I read this book but it was just as good as I remembered. A first class introduction into the world of Boysie Oakes.
It's been a long time since I read this book but it was just as good as I remembered. A first class introduction into the world of Boysie Oakes.
May 20, 2023
Entertaining and a fast read. I do not like Boysie Oakes. He is James Bonds counter in that he is a coward who stumbles through his assignment. It did read a lot like a Bond novel. I can see why Gardner was asked to follow Fleming writing Bond.
Want to read
October 30, 2018Synopsis: Boysie's job is to murder top-secret security risks. Things begin to go wrong when he takes Mostyn's secretary for a naughty weekend.
February 3, 2025
These older thriller novels are sooo innocent it's almost touching. Everything is so clear, black and white and the world is so much simpler than the chaos we now live in.
1960's with nylon shirts and nylon stockings, no security checks or metal detectors on airports (you can travel with a pistol in your pocket) etc. And smoking is common, almost everybody smokes almost everywhere.
The Liquidator is a Cold War secret agent story and the hero, Boysie Oakes is obviously an agent in the British Secret Service.
At first Boysie appeared to be quite a lot like the famous James Bond by Ian Fleming; cold, merciless and slightly psychotic, patriotic killing machine. Being slightly disappointed I though that he's just a cheap copy of 007.
But when the story went on Boysie revealed to be a more complex personality than the first impression had told me. He wasn't so absolutely perfect agent for his special job - and this time the cause wasn't the usual and so often used drinking problem. But I don't spoil it for you, read yourself. Be patient.
The story was simple but it was spiced with a couple of old-fashioned surprises, just like in the movies. In a good way though. Reader doesn't need to think back and ask himself whether something is logical on not in the light of what has happened before. And still there is some twist.
All and all a nice little agent story - and I have another one waiting: "Amber Nine" by the same author and starring the very same Boysie Oakes.
Nitistäjä
K.J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö 1966
1960's with nylon shirts and nylon stockings, no security checks or metal detectors on airports (you can travel with a pistol in your pocket) etc. And smoking is common, almost everybody smokes almost everywhere.
The Liquidator is a Cold War secret agent story and the hero, Boysie Oakes is obviously an agent in the British Secret Service.
At first Boysie appeared to be quite a lot like the famous James Bond by Ian Fleming; cold, merciless and slightly psychotic, patriotic killing machine. Being slightly disappointed I though that he's just a cheap copy of 007.
But when the story went on Boysie revealed to be a more complex personality than the first impression had told me. He wasn't so absolutely perfect agent for his special job - and this time the cause wasn't the usual and so often used drinking problem. But I don't spoil it for you, read yourself. Be patient.
The story was simple but it was spiced with a couple of old-fashioned surprises, just like in the movies. In a good way though. Reader doesn't need to think back and ask himself whether something is logical on not in the light of what has happened before. And still there is some twist.
All and all a nice little agent story - and I have another one waiting: "Amber Nine" by the same author and starring the very same Boysie Oakes.
Nitistäjä
K.J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö 1966
November 18, 2014
This was free for Kindle a while back. I remembered reading one book in this series (must have been the second one, Understrike) in translation in my teens, although nothing of the plot really, just the strange nickname (even stranger in Finnish) of the hero.
The beginning shows signs of the author not yet having his style nailed down: the prose is sometimes rather ridiculous and awkwardly self-parodying. The excesses are toned down eventually, and the second half is a pretty good read.
Basically we have a Cold War spy thriller where the hero is a kind of anti-James Bond, a considerably less competent and ruthless individual than he seems. This is a trope that has been mined in comedy quite a lot and usually quite successfully. In this book, the author does not want to show all his cards too soon, which makes the reveal halfway through somewhat less funny than it could be.
There is the question about the morality of it all, though. The hero is basically a hired assassin working for the British intelligence service, ordered to discreetly kill very ordinary men and women who he was told worked for the opposition. Was this considered business as usual in the 1960s?
The beginning shows signs of the author not yet having his style nailed down: the prose is sometimes rather ridiculous and awkwardly self-parodying. The excesses are toned down eventually, and the second half is a pretty good read.
Basically we have a Cold War spy thriller where the hero is a kind of anti-James Bond, a considerably less competent and ruthless individual than he seems. This is a trope that has been mined in comedy quite a lot and usually quite successfully. In this book, the author does not want to show all his cards too soon, which makes the reveal halfway through somewhat less funny than it could be.
There is the question about the morality of it all, though. The hero is basically a hired assassin working for the British intelligence service, ordered to discreetly kill very ordinary men and women who he was told worked for the opposition. Was this considered business as usual in the 1960s?
February 5, 2015
This is one of those books I've heard so much about over the years that I could have sworn I had read it. I recently re-watched the film version - I had seen it before many years previously and had not thought very highly of it and while I may have enjoyed it a little more the second time around, it's still not a very good film. The book is better and enjoyable but mainly on the "making fun of Bond" level. What did amaze me was how faithful the movie was to the book. Other than making the story more linear (in the film, we learn how Boysie become The Liquidator before the current plot begins), characters and plot from the book are all in the film, and the casting (apart from Rod Taylor and Jill St. John) is perfect. Enjoyable comic spy romp.
January 5, 2014
Ian 'Boysie' Oakes is a hired assassin for a shady branch of the British secret service. The first few pages read like a catalogue of sixties brands. So far so sub-Bond spy thriller.
However, a plot twist around half way through turns this from forgettable pulp to a really quite good story. Nicely written, pacey and with a dash of humour.
However, a plot twist around half way through turns this from forgettable pulp to a really quite good story. Nicely written, pacey and with a dash of humour.
March 21, 2015
This was better than I expected. Spy fiction is not a genre I read very often. But this was a lot about Boysie Oakes, the Liquidator, as well. I will not reveal his secret here but it was quite a funny twist. Not bad for a spy novel and it was clear most of the book who was the enemy spies and who was the friendly and it was also humorous.
September 28, 2016
More than 15 years before becoming the James Bond continuation author, John Gardner created a spy/assassin of his own: Boysie Oakes. The first Boysie Oakes novel is a compact, exciting adventure that exhibits many of the qualities that would appeal to Bond fans and the Ian Fleming estate. I will certainly try and get my hands on more of these Boysie Oakes novels.
July 3, 2014
Not bad. Not as hilariously comic as some of the reviews made out. And occasionally a bit all over the place, like a drunk on an empty pavement. But other than that, it was good. I might dabble in the rest of the series...
April 18, 2012
What a disappointment... (read more
April 14, 2014
Entertaining
of course I got this book for free which is always a gamble. it was a treasure of a find, well written and engaging characters and character development.
of course I got this book for free which is always a gamble. it was a treasure of a find, well written and engaging characters and character development.
June 26, 2016
Read most of the series a long time ago. A bit dated but still quite a good read.
December 8, 2016
A light entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews