Spotlighting the popular female detective and her trusty sidekick, this collection of short stories pursues Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin through one adventure after another, following their footsteps from South America to Finland. Recounting their constant duels with the world’s villains, these tales also detail the dauntless duo’s improvised weaponry—from circus cannons to human kites. Serving as a fascinating companion to the legendary crime fighter's full-length escapades, this anthology delves deeper into her relationship with Willie Garvin, who is given his own heroic story while he is once again carried along on even more cunning plans.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Modesty Blaise attracts adjectives as honey draws bears: beautiful, smart, sexy, tough, not-to-be-messed-with and, of course, totally unconventional. Those who don't know her will probably enjoy this collection of short capers more than her longer adventures. (After three or four manic stunts, the longer pieces often get too outrageous.) Here we're treated to romps involving South American guerrillas and a cricket bowl ("A Better Day to Die"); a novel way to get over the Berlin Wall ("The Giggle-Wrecker"); Willie Garvin's own tale of derring-do ("I Had a Date with Lady Janet," happily not narrated in Cockney); jewel thieves on the Riviera ("A Perfect Night to Break Your Neck"); vicious industrial spies in Finland ("Salamander Four"); and a rich man's kinkiness ("The Soo Girl Charity"). Disbelief isn't so much suspended as flouted. Some readers will lap up all the derring that's done and leave it at that. Connoisseurs of James Bond's high seriousness and snobbery, though, will howl in delightespecially since under it all, Modesty really is a nice girl.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“These books are the finest escapist thrillers ever written.” —Times
“Before Buffy, before Charlie’s Angels, before Purdy and Emma Peel there was Modesty Blaise. For almost 40 years, Peter O’Donnell’s iconic heroine drop-kicked her way through a swath of villains and into a unique place in popular culture.” —Observer
“The fantastic elements of the Modesty novels were tempered by O’Donnell’s superb physical writing.” —New York Times Book Review
“The stories of Modesty . . . are better than James Bond and funnier.” —Tribune
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Tomorrow's always a better day to die.",
By
This review is from: Modesty Blaise: Pieces of Modesty (Hardcover)
"Pieces of Modesty" is a collection of six short stories about Modesty Blaise and her loyal sidekick Willie Garvin. It was published in 1972 after Peter O'Donnell had written five novels about Modesty and Willie from 1965 to 1971 and achieved great success with them.
All six of these short stories are quite good, with several of them being very good. In the mini-reviews below I've given five stars to four of the stories, and four stars to two of them. But beyond the stories being very good in their own right they also provide a more complete image of Modesty and Willie. For die-hard Modesty fans this is almost as valuable as the enjoyment of the stories as isolated stories. In this rather long review I'll take a closer look at each story. But first a general comment: The strength of these stories (and the whole Modesty series of books) is the character of the persons in the stories. In Modesty stories we find people with unusual personalities, people with some special character trait that is fascinating, people with amazingly strong drives, etc. This, together with the unique relationship between Modesty and Willie, gives the stories their distinctive appeal. On the negative side is the fact that the book, at only 183 pages, is much too short. You can practically read the whole book during a single afternoon. Also, some of the stories are a bit too contrived. Finally, it irritates me that Modesty and Willie are still smoking so much. In summary, highly recommended, even today, although the book is, of course, rather dated. "A Better Day to Die" - 5 stars This story takes place in South America and features a violence-hating British missionary who discovers violence in an unexpected place: his own deepest human nature. Modesty and the missionary fall into the hands of a rag-tag band of guerillas in the jungle. When Willie comes to their rescue there's a pitched battle with machine guns and sniper's rifles, until the missionary decisively ends the fighting in a very unexpected way. The British missionary and his marked personality and the neat twist in the plot based on his character are the best parts of this story. Other good parts include the wonderful teamwork between Modesty and Willie and descriptions of their great fighting abilities. The quote that provides the title for this review ("Tomorrow's always a better day to die.") is uttered by Modesty in a state of post-battle exhaustion, and serves as a nice insight into her way of looking at life. "The Giggle-Wrecker" - 5 stars This is a Cold War spy/agent story occurring in East Berlin, and is thus rather dated. (It's amazing to think that members of the youngest generation today don't realize that Germany and Berlin were divided for many years. Or is it the fact that Germany and Berlin were divided for all those years that's amazing?) A Japanese scientist who has worked for the Russians for 20 years has decided to defect to the West and has made it to East Berlin. Now he's demanding that Britain's sleeper network of East German spies be activated to get him through the Berlin Wall to the West. Modesty and Willie offer to do the job and thus avoid exposing the British spy network. The method they use to get the Japanese scientist over the Wall is ingenious and unexpected, to say the least. This story shines for being quite funny at times, and for the ingenuity shown on the part of Modesty and Willie. Modesty's use of the kongo in close-up combat and the trickiness of the opposition are also nice points. "I Had a Date with Lady Janet" - 5 stars The most interesting thing about this story is that it's told by Willie Garvin in the first person. This story also marks the introduction of Lady Janet Gillam into the "Modesty family" - she reappears in several of the later books, playing a major role in "The Silver Mistress". The story starts at Willie's pub, The Treadmill, and then moves to a castle in a desolate part of Scotland. Rodelle, an old enemy of Modesty and Willie, has resurfaced and has captured Modesty and is using her as bait to lure Willie into the trap. Rodelle is consumed by revenge, and has a horrific plan for what he is going to do to Modesty and Willie. High points include Willie's treatment of Fitch, Rodelle's messenger, and Willie continuing in his rescue mission despite suffering an incapacitating (for anyone else) injury. The twist in the story at the end is also in keeping with the character-driven aspect of most Modesty stories. Incidentally, this short story was recorded as an audio program and sold on cassette tape back in the early 1980's. The reader was John Thaw, and he does a good job of being Willie Garvin. It may be possible to find an MP3 version of this floating around on the Internet. "A Perfect Night to Break Your Neck" - 4 stars This story takes place on the French Riviera, and is the weakest one in this collection. Dinah Pilgrim and Stephen Collier, two long-time members of the "Modesty family", are spending a vacation together with Modesty and Willie. The plot involves a mad playboy and a not-very-believable gang of thieves who prey on parties attended by rich jetsetters. The best part of this story is the description of how Modesty and Willie make use of a hang-gliding wing towed by a speedboat as a way of getting aboard the playboy's yacht while sailing at sea. This is a typical Modesty device, making use of the latest developments in sporting activities as a tool that can be used against the bad guys. On the down side, the story is too contrived, with things being obviously set up to allow a certain ending. The way in which Modesty manipulates the situation to "save" Dinah and Stephen is not all that charming when you think it through. "Salamander Four" - 5 stars An isolated spot in Finland in the snowy, icy winter provides the location for this story. Alex Hemmer is a recluse and an artist, a sculptor, and has been hired to make a sculpture of Modesty. Then a man who has been shot by the bad guys shows up on the doorstep of Alex' home/studio. Modesty takes the man under her wing despite strenuous objections from Alex, who, due to terrible experiences in his youth, has decided to refuse to involve himself in any kind of conflict. The bad guys, from the organization Salamander Four, show up in search of their victim. First Modesty fools them, and then she and Willie (who comes to the aid of the party) take the bad guys out. Alex maintains his policy of non-involvement, and Modesty and Willie respect this. There is a nice erotic interlude in this story that, although not totally unknown, is fairly unusual for a Modesty story. The insights into the character of an isolated artist and his interaction with the forces of the real world are appealing, as is Modesty's love of people who bring a bit of style to their endeavors. And as usual the teamwork between Modesty and Willie is great, as are the descriptions of their fighting skills. "The Soo Girl Charity" - 4 stars This story starts in London and then moves to a manor house in Surrey, just south of London. Charles Leybourn, a disgusting millionaire businessman, has brutally pinched Modesty's bottom and now it's payback time. But what was intended as a light-hearted raid to teach Leybourn a lesson turns ugly when Modesty and Willie encounter Leybourn's wife Soo, a beautiful young girl from Indonesia. It turns out that Leybourn is a real sadist, and has tortured Soo to the point where Soo is about to commit suicide. What to do? How much can Modesty and Willie intervene in what is basically a problem that Soo should handle herself, although she's apparently incapable? And then the plot takes an unexpected twist. And then everything is turned upside down on the last page. This story suffers from being a bit too contrived, and especially the idea of sending Soo half way around the world all on her lonesome with a bag full of money is obviously inviting disaster. On the plus side the light-heartedness of the first part of the story is really nice and the ingenious method by which Modesty and Willie gain entry to Leybourn's safe is great. Willie's joyful anticipation ("That'd be nice. It's a long time since we stole anything.") at the prospect of ripping Leybourn off is especially amusing. In summary, four great stories and two good ones. The stories are enjoyable on their own merits, and for the real Modesty fans the additional information about Modesty and Willie is very satisfying. Rennie Petersen
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super Reader,
By Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Modesty Blaise: Pieces of Modesty (Hardcover)
A sterling collection of short story adventures featuring the pair of super agent, super rogue, super spy, super cosmopolitan (well, with a rather Cockney accent) super thieves.
Really well done, these tales, as a group, nothing ordinary at all to be seen, and lovers of Modesty and company will be well pleased. Pieces of Modesty : 01 A Better Day to Die - Peter O'Donnell Pieces of Modesty : 02 The Giggle-Wrecker - Peter O'Donnell Pieces of Modesty : 03 I Had a Date with Lady Janet - Peter O'Donnell Pieces of Modesty : 04 A Perfect Night to Break Your Neck - Peter O'Donnell Pieces of Modesty : 05 Salamander Four - Peter O'Donnell Pieces of Modesty : 06 The Soo Girl Charity - Peter O'Donnell Modesty is travelling to visit her dying right-hand man Garcia, from the old days, and due to a car breakdown is on a bus. This gets hijacked by guerillas, along with a priest and some schoolgirls. Now unarmed, it is up to Willie to provide a distraction if he can track her down later. 4 out of 5 Fraser has a problem that Tarrant wants to quit over, arranging a defection of a triply-suspect Japanese bacteriologist from East Berlin: 'Bloody hell. The longer I live, the more I sympathize with Guy Fawkes, except that blowing up politicians is too good for them. Do you think I could have a drink?' Modest and Willie, however, have an in: 'You actually go there once a year? You go and spend ten days or so in that God-awful country, just to maintain these identities?' 'It's a chore,' Modesty said, 'but it always seemed potentially useful. Now, a bit of a circus act, with some help, to get the man out. 4 out of 5 A first person Scottish castle rescue for Willie Garvin. 3.5 out of 5 Running an armed hold-up subterfuge gang around Modesty Blaise is not too bright, particularly when she has friends involved she'd like to give a lot of money to. 4 out of 5 Modesty is posing for a sculpture for a friend, the artist a famous Finn. An industrial spy chase manages to turn up at their door. 3.5 out of 5 A wealthy cheapskate, abusive to women, gropes the wrong woman named Blaise, while she is helping out with some charity work. Says Willie, asking for some advice: "I hope we won't have to build a con situation. It's interesting but it takes a long time. What I'd prefer would be a straight steal.' Willie said, 'What d'you know about Leybourn, Sir G?' 'Are you inviting me to subscribe to the commission of a theft.' 'Why not? If you wanted us to do a safe in some Foreign Trade Mission you wouldn't think twice, you bloody old hyena,' Willie said amiably. And that was true, Tarrant reflected." 3.5 out of 5
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pieces of Modesty (Blaise) Review,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Pieces of Modesty (Modesty Blaise series) (Paperback)
Although I have always been a James Bond fan, I am a fanatical Modesty Blaise fan. She is a far more complex, inventive, surprising and fun hero. Each of these short stories is a gem. Get the book and be 100% certain that you will love the experience. Then get Peter O'Donnell's other Blaise books and read them all. You are in for a treat.
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