Re: RARA-AVIS: Matt Helm
joseph (joseph@sos.net)
Sat, 26 Dec 1998 11:44:13 -0800
>Count me among those who never considered reading Matt
Helm based on the
>campy nature of the Dean Martin movies. After all of the
recent
>discussion, though, I picked up several books in the
series. I just
>finished Death of a Citizen and must thank whoever
brought up Donald
>Hamilton. How many other books had Hamilton written
before he began
>these (and just out of curiosity, were they westerns
like those Helm
>wrote)? This can not be a first novel. The plotting is
tight and the
>shift in Helm is very subtle as he is forced to
acknowledge he was
>stifled by trying to fit into civilization.
>
>I'll soon move on to The Wrecking Crew (should they be
read in order for
>greater appreciation?), but right now I'm reading Four
for the Money by
>Dan J. Marlowe. I've only read about a quarter of it,
but it is shaping
>up into a nice con/caper book. I'll report more when I'm
through it.
>
>Thanks,
>Mark
I'm glad that the appreciation of Matt Helm, in this group at
least, is
going up. Reading Helm out of order is no hardship as there is
not a lot of
continuity. Though reading the first book is best. The fun part
of reading
Helm in order is to enjoy Helms reaction to the changing world.
His job and
Mac's missions never change, but a lot more well meaning
amatures pop up
more often as the years pass.
Regarding the Military thread. Helm is made by the military.
Or more
specifically the assassin branch of military
intelligence.
And I think that Helm books would make crackerjack movies
today. They would
fit perfectly into the action movie genre as it is
today.
Joseph
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