The Scoreless Thai [Hardcover]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

Evan Tanner can't sleep. Ever. Which gives him plenty of free time to get involved in lots of interesting endeavors in all sorts of exotic locales.

Now Tanner's in Thailand with a partially baked plan and a butterfly net, hoping to snare a beautiful missing chanteuse who's metamorphosed into an international jewel thief. Tanner hopes everyone will buy his disguise as a rare butterfly researcher. And everyone does . . .

Except the guerilla band holding him captive. They intend to remove his head when the sun rises, so Tanner must put his fate in the hands of a randy Thai youth who will do anything for a woman, even set a suspected spy free. Soon they're running through the jungle together, chased by bandits, soldiers, and yellow fever, and racing headlong into the heart of darkness—and into the flames of war.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this first hardcover edition of a 1968 paperback original (titled Two for Tanner), Evan Tanner is "the spy who never sleeps," a Korean War vet whose head injury has destroyed the sleep center in his brain. Never having to sleep, Tanner has plenty of time to become interested in hopeless causes, help oppressed groups, learn obscure languages and travel to exotic locales. The U.S. government has used his undercover talents in the past, but in this fourth novel in the Tanner series he's working for himself. Missing in Thailand is his latest girlfriend, singer Tuppence Ngawa, who is half African and half American and speaks in a bizarre '60s jive. Tuppence and the jazz musicians with whom she was on tour have been kidnapped by Communist rebels, shortly after a major burglary of the Thai royal jewelry collection. Tanner rushes to Tuppence's rescue, only to be taken prisoner by another rebel group in the dense Thai jungle. Tanner escapes from a bamboo cage perched in a tree with the help of a small, comical Thai who believes that somehow Tanner can help him finally find a woman who will relieve him of his virginity. This early Block novel is very much of its time, very '60s, with eerie echoes of the treatment of American POWs in Vietnam. It's still a great pleasure today. (Nov. 8)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean Press (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892284995
• ISBN-13: 978-1931081054
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,727,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.

Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.

In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller--and thief-on-the-side--Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.

A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad for Block's Tanner, July 30, 2001

By 

Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scoreless Thai (Hardcover)

According to the author's note in the back of this book, "The Scoreless Thai," is the reprint of Block's 1986 novel "Two for Tanner." Block obviously likes puns in his titles and was, he says, puzzled and disappointed at the pointless title devised by the 1986 publisher. Anyway, the story has to do with Evan Tanner's adventures while venturing through southeast Asia in search of his girl friend, a jazz singer abducted during a tour. The title "The Scoreless Thai" derives from the traveling companion Tanner acquires -- a young Thai lad aching to lose his virginity. (Or did the young lad derive from the title?) The deal is that for having helped Tanner escape imprisonment, Tanner will see that this deflowering is accomplished. This is an amusing little novel with plenty of action. It doesn't suffer from the excessive cuteness Block can sometimes employ.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Evan Tanner, September 30, 2007

By 

Daniel Perrin "avidreader" (washingtondc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scoreless Thai (Evan Tanner Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Barry Eisler, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor fans will love this Evan Tanner series, if they can keep their sense of humor and have some notion of what the world was like during the Cold War. I read the entire series in a heartbeat, every book in the series is book-candy.

You must, however, read the first in the series first, The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scoreless Thai, June 16, 2008

By 

FaithWilson82 "Stanton Stomper" (Stanton, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Scoreless Thai (Evan Tanner Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Block delivers as usual. Well written, funny, poiniant, really captures the world of the late 60's.