The Saint series by Leslie Charteris is known for its highly adventurous flare. In fact, Charteris really created the James Bond film feel. If you read Ian Fleming, you find a Bond who is morose, cold, and rather unappealing. The flamboyant spy with the quips and one-liners is Simon Templar with the more realistic backdrop of Fleming to support it.
One can argue that neither the Saint nor 007 is particularly “realistic.” Criminals do not defy the police as Templar does Inspector Veal. Spies do not stand out as playboys and rock stars. If there is anything George Smiley can tell us, it is that these characters are fiction’s equivalent of comic book heroes. Which is alright. They serve a different purpose than John le Carre’s cold, depressing truth. They make us laugh and dream of fast cars and faster women. They embody the fourteen-year-old’s zest for life and all its possibilities.
Read the rest:
https://www.michaelmay.online/2017/10/guest-post-darker-drink-pseudonymous.html
