Customer Reviews

Game Without Rules

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This particular book is a series of short stories about a two man British espionage team around WWII. It is a wonderful introduction to Mr. Gilbert's very British and very dry style of writing while also being very exciting. The last story in the series, which involves a deerhound, is one of the best. If you can find a copy of this book, buy it

When Michael Gilbert is at his best, few writers can equal him. In GAME WITHOUT RULES (1967), we have eleven of his highly enjoyable "spy thrillers"--all of them starring Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, his duo of elderly spies/counterspies. In most of these stories, our pleasure chiefly comes from seeing the intelligence and courage and quirky calmness of these two senior citizens, functioning effectively in suspenseful and dangerous situations. (I am reminded of an enjoyable 1969 film with a similar premise--THE OVER-THE-HILL GANG--about a group of elderly Texas Rangers who succeed where younger men cannot.)

In alphabetical order, here are the stories: "The Cat Cracker" (about a scientist who plans to leave Britain); "Cross-Over" (concerns an attempt to rescue a double-agent); "The Headmaster" (a Fair-Play Puzzle story about detecting who is a spy known as the Headmaster); "Heilige Nacht" (about a defector with a code machine; has a scathing scene of diplomatic incompetence and a touching scene involving the courage of one of Mr. B's friends--with a nice quotation from Schiller--this is one of my favorites in this collection); "A Prince of Abyssinia" (a touching story involving a magnificent dog that we are compelled to love--with some unpleasant elements AND a huge plot hole); "Prometheus Unbound" (a story with a surprise ending, as Mr. C. and Mr. B. re-enact Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"); "On Slay Down" (a "humorous" story about the killing of a female traitor); "The Road to Damascus" (a complex story about a Soviet spy--although it is full of plot holes and leaves loose ends, it has been anthologized many times; despite its flaws, it is very clever in many parts and very enjoyable); "The Spoilers" (Mr. C. & Mr. B. help catch a gang of renegade ex-military blackmailers; very suspenseful and fairly satisfying); "Trembling's Tours" (another complex story about Soviet spies, again full of plot holes; this story was originally published in July 1962, in ARGOSY magazine in the UK as "Fear and Trembling's," and is a rare instance of Gilbert writing a "Didactic" or "Rhetorical" work: at the end, when he and the police fail to catch one of the spies, Mr. C. concludes that government security agencies ought to cooperate with each other; almost 50 years later, this "lesson" still needs to be heeded, both in the UK and in the US); "'Upon the King ...'" (an uncharacteristic story focused on a boy, a young monarch who is returning to his country from Britain, who is kidnapped and shows more resourcefulness than Mr. C. and Mr. B. do).

Odds and Ends: one paragraph on page 174 of my (hardback) copy of this book has too many misprints to be read; despite the title GAME WITHOUT RULES, several "rules" are presented in several of these stories; insofar as the two main characters are middle-aged bachelors who never think about sex (and the male spy they work with in one story has been a virgin), the author may be deliberately setting up a contrast to Ian Fleming's James Bond thrillers.

Finally, if you enjoy these stories, the really good news is that Michael Gilbert collected 12 more in a similar book titled MR. CALDER AND MR. BEHRENS (1982).

When Michael Gilbert is at his best, few writers can equal him. In GAME WITHOUT RULES (1967), we have eleven of his highly enjoyable "spy thrillers"--all of them starring Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, his duo of elderly spies/counterspies. In most of these stories, our pleasure chiefly comes from seeing the intelligence and courage and quirky calmness of these two senior citizens, functioning effectively in suspenseful and dangerous situations. (I am reminded of an enjoyable 1969 film with a similar premise--THE OVER-THE-HILL GANG--about a group of elderly Texas Rangers who succeed where younger men cannot.)

In alphabetical order, here are the stories: "The Cat Cracker" (about a scientist who plans to leave Britain); "Cross-Over" (concerns an attempt to rescue a double-agent); "The Headmaster" (a Fair-Play Puzzle story about detecting who is a spy known as the Headmaster); "Heilige Nacht" (about a defector with a code machine; has a scathing scene of diplomatic incompetence and a touching scene involving the courage of one of Mr. B's friends--with a nice quotation from Schiller--this is one of my favorites in this collection); "A Prince of Abyssinia" (a touching story involving a magnificent dog that we are compelled to love--with some unpleasant elements AND a huge plot hole); "Prometheus Unbound" (a story with a surprise ending, as Mr. C. and Mr. B. re-enact Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"); "On Slay Down" (a "humorous" story about the killing of a female traitor); "The Road to Damascus" (a complex story about a Soviet spy--although it is full of plot holes and leaves loose ends, it has been anthologized many times; despite its flaws, it is very clever in many parts and very enjoyable); "The Spoilers" (Mr. C. & Mr. B. help catch a gang of renegade ex-military blackmailers; very suspenseful and fairly satisfying); "Trembling's Tours" (another complex story about Soviet spies, again full of plot holes; this story was originally published in July 1962, in ARGOSY magazine in the UK as "Fear and Trembling's," and is a rare instance of Gilbert writing a "Didactic" or "Rhetorical" work: at the end, when he and the police fail to catch one of the spies, Mr. C. concludes that government security agencies ought to cooperate with each other; almost 50 years later, this "lesson" still needs to be heeded, both in the UK and in the US); "'Upon the King ...'" (an uncharacteristic story focused on a boy, a young monarch who is returning to his country from Britain, who is kidnapped and shows more resourcefulness than Mr. C. and Mr. B. do).

Odds and Ends: one paragraph on page 174 of my (hardback) copy of this book has too many misprints to be read; despite the title GAME WITHOUT RULES, several "rules" are presented in several of these stories; insofar as the two main characters are middle-aged bachelors who never think about sex (and the male spy they work with in one story has been a virgin), the author may be deliberately setting up a contrast to Ian Fleming's James Bond thrillers.

Finally, if you enjoy these stories, the really good news is that Michael Gilbert collected 12 more in a similar book titled MR. CALDER AND MR. BEHRENS (1982).

Any of Gliberty's Calder and Behrens short stories are worth reading if you can find them nowadays! They are GREAT!!!!!!

When Michael Gilbert is at his best, few writers can equal him. In GAME WITHOUT RULES (1967), we have eleven of his highly enjoyable "spy thrillers"--all of them starring Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, his duo of elderly spies/counterspies. In most of these stories, our pleasure chiefly comes from seeing the intelligence and courage and quirky calmness of these two senior citizens, functioning effectively in suspenseful and dangerous situations. (I am reminded of an enjoyable 1969 film with a similar premise--THE OVER-THE-HILL GANG--about a group of elderly Texas Rangers who succeed where younger men cannot.)

In alphabetical order, here are the stories: "The Cat Cracker" (about a scientist who plans to leave Britain); "Cross-Over" (concerns an attempt to rescue a double-agent); "The Headmaster" (a Fair-Play Puzzle story about detecting who is a spy known as the Headmaster); "Heilige Nacht" (about a defector with a code machine; has a scathing scene of diplomatic incompetence and a touching scene involving the courage of one of Mr. B's friends--with a nice quotation from Schiller--this is one of my favorites in this collection); "A Prince of Abyssinia" (a touching story involving a magnificent dog that we are compelled to love--with some unpleasant elements AND a huge plot hole); "Prometheus Unbound" (a story with a surprise ending, as Mr. C. and Mr. B. re-enact Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Dying Detective"); "On Slay Down" (a "humorous" story about the killing of a female traitor); "The Road to Damascus" (a complex story about a Soviet spy--although it is full of plot holes and leaves loose ends, it has been anthologized many times; despite its flaws, it is very clever in many parts and very enjoyable); "The Spoilers" (Mr. C. & Mr. B. help catch a gang of renegade ex-military blackmailers; very suspenseful and fairly satisfying); "Trembling's Tours" (another complex story about Soviet spies, again full of plot holes; this story was originally published in July 1962, in ARGOSY magazine in the UK as "Fear and Trembling's," and is a rare instance of Gilbert writing a "Didactic" or "Rhetorical" work: at the end, when he and the police fail to catch one of the spies, Mr. C. concludes that government security agencies ought to cooperate with each other; almost 50 years later, this "lesson" still needs to be heeded, both in the UK and in the US); "'Upon the King ...'" (an uncharacteristic story focused on a boy, a young monarch who is returning to his country from Britain, who is kidnapped and shows more resourcefulness than Mr. C. and Mr. B. do).

Odds and Ends: one paragraph on page 174 of my (hardback) copy of this book has too many misprints to be read; despite the title GAME WITHOUT RULES, several "rules" are presented in several of these stories; insofar as the two main characters are middle-aged bachelors who never think about sex (and the male spy they work with in one story has been a virgin), the author may be deliberately setting up a contrast to Ian Fleming's James Bond thrillers.

Finally, if you enjoy these stories, the really good news is that Michael Gilbert collected 12 more in a similar book titled MR. CALDER AND MR. BEHRENS (1982).