Some of the series books that came along in the '70s were a lot more entertaining than people generally think. I've mentioned The Destroyer here before, along with Warren Murphy's Razoni and Jackson series. The Hardman books by Ralph Dennis that I mentioned last week, and which had quite an influence on Joe Lansdale's Hap and Leonard novels, would be another example. And then there's The Inquisitor.His name is Francis Xavier Killy. He's a lay brother of the Militia Christi working for the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Rome. Unbound by vows of celibacy and fears of comman man, he's tough, aggressive, and a master of highly original deadly arts. Part saint, part sinner, he dares to hesitate before he kills.
There were, I believe, six books in this series, and I recommend all six. They're all a lot of fun and all are different from any other action series that came along. And in case you didn't know already, "Simon Quinn" is a pseudonym used by Martin Cruz Smith before he became the bestselling writer that he is today. If you haven't read these novels, check 'em out.
6 comments:
I didn't read all 6 of them but I did like the ones I read quite a bit.
And they were a lot shorter than Smith's recent books.
Jeff
YEAH, BABY! STILL HAVE ALL SIX OF THESE. THEY ARE A LITTLE UNEVEN IN QUALITY, BUT OVERALL A HIGHLY RATED SERIES OUT OF THE '70S.
It was Alice Turner's article in Dilys Winn's Muder Ink that turned me on to this series and I wasn't disappointed. Although I was amused to see certain lines and descriptions in Gorky Park recycled from The Inquisitor novels. There was talk of reprinting the series in light of the success of Gorky Park but nothing apparently came to pass. Paging Charles Ardai!
Where could I find them? I've only reently heard about them.
Try abebooks.com
Thank you! I love this blog!
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