- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan; New edition edition (4 Jun 1971)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0330026291
- ISBN-13: 978-0330026291
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.7 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 741,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Well ... you'll have to win now, Willie love.",
By
This review is from: A Taste for Death (Paperback)
"A Taste for Death" was written by Peter O'Donnell in 1969 and is the fourth book in the Modesty Blaise series of books. In my opinion it is the best book in the series, and perhaps the best book I've ever read. (And re-read and re-read. I think I've probably read this book at least 10 times in the last 35 years.)The book starts with two parallel stories, one in Panama and one in England. In Panama, Willie Garvin (Modesty's loyal side-kick) runs into Gabriel and McWhirter, the two memorable bad guys from the first Modesty Blaise book. They are trying to kidnap Dinah Pilgrim, a blind girl they need because of her having a special talent. Willie saves Dinah and then a major confrontation ensues, with Modesty coming to Willie's aid and both Modesty and Willie surviving traps that should not possibly be survivable. Meanwhile, in England Modesty Blaise has encountered Simon Delicata, an incredibly nasty villain and perhaps the scariest fictional bad guy I've ever read about. Delicata first kills an archeologist with ties to a research expedition in the Sahara Desert, and later strikes directly at Modesty's cottage in the English countryside. In a very satisfying plot maneuver the two supposedly separate story lines merge. It turns out that Gabriel and McWhirter are in league with Delicata, and Modesty and Willie must travel to Algeria to face this trio of villains in a fight to the death. A fight that they have almost no chances of surviving against the combined force of Gabriel and Delicata. The most fascinating thing about the Modesty Blaise books is the personality of the two main characters, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin. They both have an amazing will to survive and to overcome the incredible dangers they are faced with. They have fantastic fighting abilities and can be cold and deadly when necessary. But they are also warm and loving, and intensely loyal to each other and to their friends. The quotation at the start of this review is what Modesty says to Willie near the end of the book, when they suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves once again face to face with Simon Delicata, the main villain of the story. Modesty is already seriously injured from a previous fight and unable to move, and Delicata, a cold-blooded killer, has previously demonstrated that he can easily beat Willie in an unarmed fight. This situation, and the ensuing fight between Willie and Simon Delicata, is one of several high points in the book, and one I'll remember for the rest of my days. Incidentally, Stephen Collier, introduced in "I, Lucifer", is back, and he and Dinah Pilgrim remain recurring figures in the remaining books in the series. This book is a bit special in the Modesty Blaise series due to there being an interesting love story with an unexpected twist. I'm rather hard pressed to say anything negative about this book. It's too short, like all of the Modesty books, and there's too much smoking. And, unfortunately, being the best book in the series it marks the start of the slow decline in the rest of the series. Very, very highly recommended. Rennie Petersen
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the very best books I have ever read (ever :-),
By A Customer
This review is from: A Taste for Death (Paperback)
Peter O'Donnell is one of the most underrated writers the english language has probably ever known. There isn't a single writer alive today who couldn't learn a great deal from his characterisations, plotting and sheer story telling brilliance. This book is to my mind the best of the Modesty Blaise novels and the novels themselves are among the best adventure stories you could ever read. Unfortunately the original comic strips and an appalling film adaptation (and I mean really dire) probably put most people off trying the novels. A taste for death is probably not a good place to start with Modesty Blaise. You should at least read the first novel (just called: modesty blaise) as that sets the background this novel returns to in part.But whatever you do: read peter o'donnell, his books never date, his writing never grows stale and Modesty Blaise (Lara Croft eat your heart out) and Willie Garvin (and he could take Jack Reacher) manage to pull off almost superhuman feats with a casual nonchalance that is utterly convincing. A taste for Death has my all time favourite fictional villain in Simon Delicata. Read this book and discover for yourselves just how short changed you've been by the major publishing houses. Peter O'Donnell was there first and does it so much better it's truly criminal there are no paperback re-prints.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Modesty Blaise novel, ever,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Taste for Death (Paperback)
this is undoubtedly the best modesty blaise novelalthough i would run I LUCIFER a close second. If the powers that be ever get round to making a decent modesty movie, rather than the travesty starring monica vitti (who)! this is the novel they should film. the novel starts with willie garvin having his own little adventure which demonstrates he is no mere cipher to modesty blaise. an old foe Gabriel shows up, and a new terrifying seemingly superstrong and invulnerable villain Simon Delicata is introduced. The story concerns a group of archelogists who are being held by delicata and gabriel they believe the site they are digging on contains an ancient treasure. modesty and willie get involved without really knowing what they are up against. there then follows some of the most exciting action scenes you will read(worthy of Ian Fleming) suberb combat descriptions and a real nailbiter of an ending. This is one of the few Modesty books that is relatively easy to get hold of, but i warn you that if you do get it, you wont be able to put it down enjoy!!1
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