MY MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

I started reading thrillers, mostly spy fiction, before I was a teenager.  Anybody out there old enough to remember the Nick Carter series?  Killmaster ring a bell?  Had my mom really thumbed through some of the pages, she would have been as surprised as I gladly was.  Guess the innocent looking covers were a nice misdirection.

As time passes, you read and read and certain books influence or stay in your mind as ones you could read over and over again. 

Here, in no particular order, is my Magnificent Seven list.

1.  The Day Of The Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

      I said there's no particular order but I have to confess this is the book that set the standard for me.  The subject came up once during an interview with Tom Clancy and he agreed with my assessment.  Forsyth created a masterpiece in both plot and character development.


2.  Marathon Man by William Goldman

      I've never liked the dentist and this book created a phobia that exists to this day.  Perhaps you've seen the movie but reading it first-hand, late at night... who can forget...

      "Is it safe?"

      "Yes.  It's very safe.  It's so safe you wouldn't believe
      it.  There.  Now you know."

      "Is it safe?"


3.  Six Days of the Condor by James Grady

     If memory serves me right, this was the first book I ever read in one day.  It was short but one hell of a page turner.  A very well thought out and unique plot.  Robert Redford did a good job in the movie version and Max von Sydow - special.


4.  The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum

      That I got to meet and interview Robert Ludlum at a time when I was a huge fan, makes this book special.  Most people know about Jason Bourne but the lead character in this offering, Brandon Scofield, is a bad man.  He has a Russian counterpart and they hate each other but as fate would have it, they are forced to join forces to snuff out an organization known as The Matarese.  Good stuff.


5.  The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian

     Jonathan Hemlock was in interesting character.  A professor of art, skilled mountain climber and a free-lance assassin who often killed in order to acquire precious works of art.  Shame this character was only operational in two books.


6.  Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn

    I have had the pleasure of knowing Vince for several years and he serves as an inspiration since he had to self publish his first novel when no one would give him a serious nibble.  Several bestsellers later, it proves the literary world can miss out on talent.  Flynn's CIA assassin is Mitch Rapp and after all the killing he's done, it stands to reason that one day, someone would come looking for revenge.  That day comes to light in this entertaining read.


7.  From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

     Another book I shouldn't have been reading when I did was this James Bond offering.  SMERSH sets up a lavish trap to kill Bond and they have trained the perfect killer in Red Grant.  How can you go wrong a writer who brought an entire genre to the forefront.