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The Demolishers
''The Demolishers'', published in 1987, is the twenty-fourth novel in Donald Hamilton's long-running Matt Helm spy series. Categorized within the spy fiction, action, espionage, and mystery thriller genres, this installment continues the adventures of U.S. government counter-agent and assassin Matt Helm. The novel is notable for its gritty realism and Hamilton's distinctive portrayal of espionage, which stands in stark contrast to the lighthearted, comedic Matt Helm film adaptations starring Dean Martin. Publication Details ''The Demolishers'' was originally published on September 12, 1987, by Fawcett Publications. The initial print edition was a paperback spanning 347 pages. Its original ISBN-10 was 0-449-13233-1. The enduring popularity of the Matt Helm series is evidenced by the novel's subsequent re-publication in various formats. Later editions include a mass market paperback and ebook released on October 25, 2016, by Titan Books, with an ISBN-13 of 978-1783299935 for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Hamilton
Donald Bengtsson Hamilton (March 24, 1916 – November 20, 2006) was an American writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction, but also crime fiction and westerns, such as ''The Big Country''. He is known best for his long-running Matt Helm series (1960-1993), which chronicles the adventures of an undercover counter-agent/assassin working for a secret American government agency. The noted critic Anthony Boucher wrote: "Donald Hamilton has brought to the spy novel the authentic hard realism of Dashiell Hammett; and his stories are as compelling, and probably as close to the sordid truth of espionage, as any now being told." Life Hamilton was born on March 24, 1916, in Uppsala, Sweden, to Dr. Bengt Leopold Knutsson Hamilton and Elise Franzisca Hamilton (née Neovius). On September 27, 1924, he boarded the S/S ''Stockholm'' with his mother and three sisters at the Port of Gothen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Helm
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in most Spy fiction, spy thrillers. Helm appeared in 27 adventure/suspense novels by Hamilton, first published in 1960, and the character was later adapted into film, television and other media. The 1960s film series, starring Dean Martin, featured a campy, humorous tone quite different from the gritty novels. The 1970s Matt Helm (TV series), television series was featured a more serious dramatic tone, but was a relatively standard private investigator series with little connection to Hamilton's books. The character and the books Published between 1960 and 1993, the 27 books in the series portrayed Helm, who acquired the code name "Eric" during his secret wartime assignments, as jaded, ruthless, pragmatic, and competent. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spy Novel
Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of communism and fascism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure (''The Prisoner of Zenda'', 1894, ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', 1905), the thriller (such as the works of Edgar Wallace) and the politico-military thriller (''The Schirmer Inheritance'', 1953, ''The Quiet American'', 1955). History Commentator William Bendler noted that "Chapter 2 of the He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz Bang'' and expanded into a magazine empire with the first issue of ''Mechanix Illustrated'' in the 1920s, followed by numerous titles including '' True Confessions'', ''Family Circle'', ''Woman's Day'', and ''True''. Fawcett Comics, which began operating in 1939, led to the introduction of Captain Marvel. The company became a publisher of paperbacks in 1950 with the opening of Gold Medal Books. In 1953, the company abandoned its roster of superhero comic characters in the wake of declining sales and a lawsuit for infringement by the Captain Marvel character on the copyright of the Action Comics character Superman, and ended its publication of comic books. It was purchased by CBS Publications in 1977 and subsequently was dismantled and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vanishers
''The Vanishers'' is a 1986 spy novel by Donald Hamilton. It is the twenty-third book in a series of novels featuring the adventures of assassin Matt Helm Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of .... Plot summary While Mac (Helm's boss) is on a rare solo assignment, elements within Mac's agency try to take power away from him. It's up to Helm to stop this coup in its tracks, while simultaneously dealing with some deadly family-related issues of his own. Meanwhile, in a storyline continued from '' The Annihilators'', Mac finds himself in the middle of yet another revolution in Costa Verde. The Vanishers, one of the more complicated Matt Helm stories, is unique in several ways. Usually Helm is captured by the enemy in order to complete his mission. Here, for once, Helm’s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Frighteners (novel)
''The Frighteners'' (not to be confused with the film of the same title) is a 1989 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, continuing the adventures of his creation, assassin Matt Helm Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of .... (The 1996 Frighteners movie is not based on this novel.) Hamilton took a break from writing Matt Helm novels after this book; the next volume would not appear until 1992. Plot summary Helm is assigned to impersonate a rich oil baron in order to track down a shipment of weapons before it can be used to overthrow the Mexican government. Matt Helm starts by taking the place of an oil millionaire—one of the assignments where Mac is helping another agency by loaning out the services of his agent, Matt Helm. As usual, Mac is not doing this from purely altrui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1987 American Novels
Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader Mohammad Najibullah says that Afghanistan's 1978 Communist revolution is "not reversible," and that any opposition parties will have to align with Communist goals. * January 4 – ** 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route from Washington, D.C. to Boston collides with Conrail engines at Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people. ** Televangelist Oral Roberts announces to his viewers that unless they donate $8 million to his ministry by March 31, God will "call [him] home." * January 15 – Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, is forced into retirement by political conservatives. * January 16 – León Febres Cordero, president of Ecuador, is kidnapped for 11 hours by followers of imprisoned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
