Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Best News of the Day

Titan Books - The Return of Matt Helm: Titan Books announced today that beginning in 2013, they will reissue the original Matt Helm spy thrillers written by Donald Hamilton, starring the famed counter-agent whose career included 27 novels spanning more than three decades, four films, and a network television series.

The first Matt Helm novel, Death of a Citizen, was released in 1960, just two years after publication of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale—which hadn’t yet caught on in the United States. Otto Penzler noted, “Whereas Bond was a sophisticate who knew wine, expensive cars, and tuxedos, Helm lived much of the time in the American Southwest, drove a pickup truck, and wore flannel shirts.” The novel introduced a man in his mid-thirties, 6’4” and intelligent, who had been a military assassin eliminating Nazis during World War II.

7 comments:

Randy Johnson said...

That is good news, although I have a complete set. If they find a new audience, sales may be good enough that we will get that unpublished Helm novel.

Anonymous said...

Excellent! I am slowly working my way through the ones I've missed. I believe I have all of them now. You can't go wrong with Matt Helm.

Jeff

Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King) said...

Not to blow me own trumpet or anything, but I "broke" this story earlier today...

Unknown said...

Hadn't seen that. That's a great cover on the first book that you've featured.

Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King) said...

Thanks, Bill. That's the cover to the second printing of the UK Coronet edition of Death of a Citizen. I blogged about that – and some wider Matt Helm publishing matters – in November. I'd heard Titan's news back then (I used to work for them), and hinted as much, but it's great the story's out there now.

Michael E. Stamm said...

"Death of a Citizen...was released in 1960, just two years after publication of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale"--it may be that CASINO ROYALE was first released *in the US* in 1958 (although I doubt it), but it was first published in 1953...

Unknown said...

I think the first U. S. edition was 1954. Probably even the paperback was earlier than '58, though the title was changed for that.