tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post1242370926063657498..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: Assignment to Disaster (Sam Durell #1) by Edward S. Aarons (Gold Medal / Muller 1955/59); feat. Charles Binger Cover ArtNick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-53425760077221301022016-06-30T17:55:40.338-04:002016-06-30T17:55:40.338-04:00That's great except this is not a faux-Bond an...That's great except this is not a faux-Bond and is actually quite superior to any of Fleming's novels.Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-20583008908313725312012-11-30T21:37:41.886-05:002012-11-30T21:37:41.886-05:00Chris, point taken. After all my yak-yak about no...Chris, point taken. After all my yak-yak about not judging a book by it's cover, I shouldn't neccessarily clump this writer in with the faux Bonds.<br /><br />Hope you're doing well, Chris. I hadn't seen any of your posts here or on IMDB for a while and was wondering if you'd been effected by the Hurricane or something--I'm seeing your posts again so I'm glad you're OK. We may not agree on much but I've always gotten a kick out of your snarky sense of humor. Peace be with you!;-)Dave Plantenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-44041908921533761612012-11-25T14:08:05.231-05:002012-11-25T14:08:05.231-05:00Fascinating--so glad you started this, Nick.
ht...Fascinating--so glad you started this, Nick. <br /><br />http://www.mysteryfile.com/Aarons/Durell.html<br /><br />Research is a bit spotty (Casino Royale came before Assignment Disaster), but gives you an idea of how the series developed. There really is SO much less written about Aarons than Fleming--out of all proportion to the disparity in book sales, and Durell obviously sold a whole lot of books.<br /><br />Casino Royale came out shortly before the first Durell, but basically vanished without a ripple in the American market. The next Bond, Live and Let Die, didn't do much better stateside, but got a lot of very favorable notices from prominent critics. Fleming was originally considered to be a worthy successor to Raymond Chandler (Chandler himself liked the early 007 novels). <br /><br />That's after the first Durell came out, but hard to think Gold Medal wasn't paying attention as the Bond buzz grew louder--Durell got tweaked quite a lot in later novels, probably not just in reaction to Bond, but in part. He was not originally a superspy--just a capable one. <br /><br />In terms of book sales, Bond didn't become a force to reckon with in the U.S. until 1961, when President Kennedy said From Russia With Love was one of his ten favorite books. That created a run on 007, which led to Dr. No being made into a movie (not the first adaptation, but the first that clicked), and once the Connery films started coming out, everybody else in the spy-biz was an also-ran. <br /><br />Curious, though--with the plethora of spy films in the 1960's, featuring Bond, Helm, Flint, Palmer, Quiller, etc--why were there no Durell films? If they'd started in the late 50's/early 60's they could have gotten Robert Mitchum to play him (Cape Fear was 1962, and Mitchum was at the absolute top of his game then--not even Connery was quite in that league). If that had happened, the whole story could have gone very differently (though I don't see Mitchum doing more than one or two).<br /><br />When exactly did the Durell books start selling big? Though there were quite a few of them by 1961, that doesn't mean the series had really taken hold, since Gold Medal wasn't really about mainstream best-sellers most of the time--Durell was probably doing tidy book sales from the first, but I'd guess it was the Bond-inspired spy craze of the 60's that sent his sales skyrocketing, and made it possible for Aarons to finally make his mark, after a long career of writing little-noticed mysteries. <br /><br />So yes, I think James Bond was an influence on Sam Durell, but only well after both had made their respective debuts. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-81750095101786538962012-11-24T18:01:57.876-05:002012-11-24T18:01:57.876-05:00In all fairness to the OP on this thread, he's...In all fairness to the OP on this thread, he's always been very consistent in his policy that one has every right to pass judgment on any book or film, sight unseen. <br /><br />Oh wait....<br /><br />;)Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-49232994136395490872012-11-24T10:11:23.205-05:002012-11-24T10:11:23.205-05:00Funnily enough, Olman, I was making pretty much th...Funnily enough, Olman, I was making pretty much the same point in the comments on the previous post. Who's to say if Aarons had even read Fleming before penning Assignment to Disaster; Casino Royale wasn't published in the US until 1954, and didn't sell that well anyway.<br /><br />Dave, I promise you won't have much longer to wait for some thoughts on McGee!Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-12393567583832691432012-11-24T10:03:07.347-05:002012-11-24T10:03:07.347-05:00I really can't agree with that assessment, Dav...I really can't agree with that assessment, Dave. Certainly the Bond novels helped to spur a wave (though they were far from alone), but these books stand on their own. Just because something doesn't come first, doesn't make it invalid. Plus, Aarons was a very different stylist than Fleming. You should read one.OlmanFeelyushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521657876810568251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-45716596251984260292012-11-24T01:29:25.508-05:002012-11-24T01:29:25.508-05:00I am not so interested in these faux-Bond titles. ...I am not so interested in these faux-Bond titles. It seems as revolutionary as the Bond novels and films were they produced an amazing amount of bad rip-offs. <br /><br />I am still waiting for the inimitable Nick Jones review of a Travis McGee novel.Dave Plantenoreply@blogger.com