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Modesty Blaise started life as a cartoon strip, but O'Donnell then put his creation into novel form, and did a superb job in both formats. This is the first novel in the series, and introduces the setting and most of the main characters.
Modesty Blaise is a former refugee and survivor of the terrible disruptions caused by the war, and as a child drifted across Eastern Europe and the Middle East in the company of an old professor. She had to be tough to survive; but her companion instilled in her a strong moral code. She took over a small criminal gang and built it up into a powerful criminal organisation infused with that moral code--they never touched drugs or vice, and occasionally co-operated with the police and intelligence services to help clean up such crimes. She retired a wealthy woman at the age of 24.
As the novel opens, Modesty and her friend and former second-in-command Willie Garvin are finding that retirement is boring and adrenaline an addiction they cannot shake. Sir Gerald Tarrant, the head of British Intelligence, exploits that addiction to recruit them for an intelligence operation for which they are peculiarly suited. What follows is a thrilling caper novel pitting Modesty and Willie against a bizarre criminal mastermind. Tight plotting and wonderful prose make this a very entertaining read, with a unique pair of heroes. It's wonderful to see Souvenir Press reissuing the novels, making them available again to both a new generation of fans and those with fond memories.
Modesty Blaise at amazon.com
Modesty Blaise
at amazon.co.uk Modesty Blaise at Powell's.
2006-06-13 02:35 am (UTC)
2006-06-13 02:45 am (UTC)
I first encountered the novels, and they're what I'm most familiar with, although I do have a mmp format of the "Modesty Blaise" storyline from the strip. I've started buying the trade paperback reissues of the novels from Souvenir, and once I've done those I'll probably start on the strip collections.
There are several fans on rasfc, although Dorothy always says she can never see what the rest of us like about them. :-) It seems to be one of those non-sf series that are very popular with sf people -- it pushes some of the same buttons.
2006-06-13 02:50 am (UTC)
I think I discovered the novels about 5 or 6 years after I was reading the strips. I haunted Mysterious Bookshop and a couple of other bookstores that specialized in mysteries til I got every book on them I could. I have pbs and hardcovers.
I do remember having a brief discussion about Modesty on rasfc about a year or so ago. I think I was most taken by how strong a character Modesty is, how loyal Willie is, and how their relationship was so close and not sexual. And I loved the art.
2006-06-13 03:18 am (UTC)
He was utterly right in insisting that Modesty and Willie's relatiionship was platonic -- it wouldn't have worked nearly so well if there'd been any hint of a sexual element. It's not that UST is necessarily wrong -- it worked in The Avengers -- but it was wrong for that particular setup.
2006-06-13 03:22 am (UTC)
I've never tried to write a relationship like that, but I'm not all that good with sexual tension, either. I do admire how O'Donnell maintained it so well for so long.
2006-06-13 09:04 am (UTC)
2006-06-13 09:04 am (UTC)
2006-06-13 09:05 am (UTC)
2006-06-13 04:39 pm (UTC)
I think the influence was probably mutal - there must have been some back and forth over the years. And yes, they're both often borderline sf, though I think probably a bit more so with The Avengers.
2006-06-13 02:49 pm (UTC)
2006-06-13 04:42 pm (UTC)
2006-06-13 05:07 pm (UTC)
2006-06-13 05:16 pm (UTC)
We've been discussing this in afp with regard to Dickens. There are several of us who loved him when we were kids, but find him far too long-winded now. We're wondering how much uf this is because we're more experienced, and thus more critical, and how much isd because we're more experienced, and thus more conditioned (or brainwashed) to current fashions in writing styles.
2006-06-13 06:35 pm (UTC)
I don't think it is, but I'm well aware that many others will disagree. Dumas isn't exactly concise - but I like his style; I like reading books written in another era and with a different rhythm from the one common today. I wouldn't want to read only those, but then I don't want to read only modern stuff either.
When I'm disappointed in an author I've liked when younger, it's mostly not been the style that's been a problem but the content. For example, I recently re-read "The Children of Captain Grant" by Jules Verne - and somewhere in the middle I got so outraged at the way he wrote about non-white people that I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I get the same problem, though to a lesser degree, with Jack London's books.
2006-06-13 06:06 pm (UTC)
One of the things I like about Modesty is how straightforward she is about sexual/romantic relationships. She's completely open and honest and simply doesn't do the long-term monogamy thing. Nobody owns her and she doesn't try to own anybody. I love that!
2006-06-13 06:21 pm (UTC)
I'm mono myself so I can't say from the inside, but I wonder if Modesty Blaise may have the same appeal for at least some polyamorous people as Dr Who does for gay people - here is a hero they can identify with, because the hero is not explicitly identified as being of a sexual orientation that excludes them. She simply doesn't fit into the "you're either exclusive or promiscuous" categories.
2006-06-13 06:28 pm (UTC)
Although I can identify with the current Doctor - he seems bi rather than gay. I'm so looking forward to seeing more of Captain Jack...