- Hardcover: 182 pages
- Publisher: Viking Adult (12 Sep 1964)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670430080
- ISBN-13: 978-0670430086
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 16.6 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,882,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It was 1966 when, at the tender age of 13, I was seduced by Corgi's first edition of Gardner's "The Liquidator" whilst escaping a particularly draconian English boarding school by hiding out in Watford's WHS.
The cover hooked me. It showed a particularly phallic bullet tied in red ribbon and having read the cover blurb, I couldn't wait to get my hard earned 2/6 out of my pocket.
At that point in history, provoked by the Bond phenomena, the publishing industry was awash with new spy heroes but Gardner's Boise Oakes was new, different and better. The book was unique.Not only was it thrilling, it was laugh out loud funny and introduced us to a rich cast of characters that took the market by storm.
At the centre of the action was one Boise Ian Oakes, a coward, wimp and would be cad that is mistakenly recruited from civi street to be MI6's top assassin. He is seduced by the high life and desperate to hang onto the job perks but can't do the work. The solution is obvious - he subcontracts it!
This is a great book and it launched the career of the late, great John Gardner. In my opinion, Oakes was Gardner's greatest literary creation and the first three books in the Oakes series are excellent.
If you haven't read "The Liquidator", you are in for a great ride. If you did read it 45 years ago, give yourself a treat and go back in time. Of course, it's dated but that's part of the charm of reading it today.
Congratulations to "Top Notch" for publishing a jewel but, why on earth didn't you use the original cover?
The cover hooked me. It showed a particularly phallic bullet tied in red ribbon and having read the cover blurb, I couldn't wait to get my hard earned 2/6 out of my pocket.
At that point in history, provoked by the Bond phenomena, the publishing industry was awash with new spy heroes but Gardner's Boise Oakes was new, different and better. The book was unique.Not only was it thrilling, it was laugh out loud funny and introduced us to a rich cast of characters that took the market by storm.
At the centre of the action was one Boise Ian Oakes, a coward, wimp and would be cad that is mistakenly recruited from civi street to be MI6's top assassin. He is seduced by the high life and desperate to hang onto the job perks but can't do the work. The solution is obvious - he subcontracts it!
This is a great book and it launched the career of the late, great John Gardner. In my opinion, Oakes was Gardner's greatest literary creation and the first three books in the Oakes series are excellent.
If you haven't read "The Liquidator", you are in for a great ride. If you did read it 45 years ago, give yourself a treat and go back in time. Of course, it's dated but that's part of the charm of reading it today.
Congratulations to "Top Notch" for publishing a jewel but, why on earth didn't you use the original cover?
Format:Paperback
Brian Ian Oakes - better known as "Boysie" - enjoys the high-flying,jet-set lifestyle which comes with being the British secret service's top professional assassin, code-named "L" for "Liquidator". The fast cars, the even faster women, the fine wines and the generous expense account - these he takes in his stride. The only problems he has are minor ones such as being frightened of flying - oh, and spiders; he's terrified of spiders. And there's his inate cowardice and being scared of the sight of blood....and he hates violence and also killing, which is a bit of a handicap for a Liquidator. To keep up apperances, Boysie hits on the idea of sub-contracting his lethal missions to a lugubrious underworld hit-man (and former undertaker) called Griffin, who does the killing while Boysie enjoys the lifestyle. The deception works well enough until Boysie decamps to the French Riviera for a dirty week-end with his boss' secretary and is suddenly surrounded by real spies and professional killers far less squeamish than he is.
Written as an affectionate spoof of the cult of 007, "The Liquidator" launched the careers of both Boysie Oakes and thriller writer John Gardner, who was later to be asked to continue the James Bond novel franchise, just as Sebastian Faulkes and Jeffrey Deaver do today. Almost 50 years on from first publication, "The Liquidator" shines out as the perfect antidote to the flood of Sixties spy novels which took themselves far, far too seriously. I think Gardner had a lot of fun writing it, and it shows.
Written as an affectionate spoof of the cult of 007, "The Liquidator" launched the careers of both Boysie Oakes and thriller writer John Gardner, who was later to be asked to continue the James Bond novel franchise, just as Sebastian Faulkes and Jeffrey Deaver do today. Almost 50 years on from first publication, "The Liquidator" shines out as the perfect antidote to the flood of Sixties spy novels which took themselves far, far too seriously. I think Gardner had a lot of fun writing it, and it shows.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Many questions left unanswered
23 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
I am a big fan of the spy and espionage genre and it was interesting reading 'The Liquidator.' It was good getting away from the seriousness of it all and reading of an assasin who loves getting paid for killing, but not killing anybody himself. He has a fear of flying and his womanising will get him into trouble.
The reader follows an assassin working for the government known as Boysie Oakes. What starts off as a dirty weekend turns into a mission and Boysie lands himself within the grasps of the enemy before chapter three.
As the book progresses there is more action that gets the blood pumping, but when you reach the last page...there are alot of unanswered questions. However I can't write these questions down as it will divulge to much of the plot and make the book worthless to read.
So if you want a break from the seriousness of it all, then read Boysie Oakes adventure in 'The Liquidator
The reader follows an assassin working for the government known as Boysie Oakes. What starts off as a dirty weekend turns into a mission and Boysie lands himself within the grasps of the enemy before chapter three.
As the book progresses there is more action that gets the blood pumping, but when you reach the last page...there are alot of unanswered questions. However I can't write these questions down as it will divulge to much of the plot and make the book worthless to read.
So if you want a break from the seriousness of it all, then read Boysie Oakes adventure in 'The Liquidator
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Lighthearted Romp
13 Jun 2010
Format:Hardcover
Meet Boysie Oakes, ruggedly handsome, would be assassin, womanizer, super spy cut from the same cloth and era as 007. This is a fun read that I covered during a day of rush hour commutes. Tame by modern standards, this is an origin novel that reveals how Oakes is recruited by spy chief Mostyn when Oaks saves his future boss's life at the end of WW II, then is recruited to deal with the dirty jobs no-one wants to do, least of all Oakes.
Oakes seduces (or is seduced by) the delectable Iris who as Mostyn's secretary doubles as a Miss Moneypenny style character, is thrown into a prison cell with the all too willing ingenue Coral on the French Riviera by "Quadrant" and his nefarious henchmen, skilled in torture but not too smart, and becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate royalty hatched by the mysterious "Coordinator".
Take it for what it is and you won't be disappointed. The language and it's approach is definitely early sixties pulp and an attempt to emulate the success of Ian Fleming. There are 7 other books in this series and a 1965 movie with Trevor Howard as Mostyn, Rod Taylor as Oakes, latter Bond girl Jill St. John as Iris and David Tomlinson (The Prisoner) as Quadrant. Author Gardner was later selected to write a number of 007 novels in the 1980s.
Worth reading if you are a fan of the genre. I liked it a lot.
Oakes seduces (or is seduced by) the delectable Iris who as Mostyn's secretary doubles as a Miss Moneypenny style character, is thrown into a prison cell with the all too willing ingenue Coral on the French Riviera by "Quadrant" and his nefarious henchmen, skilled in torture but not too smart, and becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate royalty hatched by the mysterious "Coordinator".
Take it for what it is and you won't be disappointed. The language and it's approach is definitely early sixties pulp and an attempt to emulate the success of Ian Fleming. There are 7 other books in this series and a 1965 movie with Trevor Howard as Mostyn, Rod Taylor as Oakes, latter Bond girl Jill St. John as Iris and David Tomlinson (The Prisoner) as Quadrant. Author Gardner was later selected to write a number of 007 novels in the 1980s.
Worth reading if you are a fan of the genre. I liked it a lot.
The Liquidator
22 Feb 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Judging by the title, I expected a cloak and dagger novel. It is about a British Special Security agent named Boysie Oakes. Much to my delight it was quite funny. I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style and it was a wonderful experience....couldn't put the book down. There are many John Gardner authors, so it's kind of hard to figure who's who by browsing the web with that name. Sorrowfully, this appears to be only one of two books he ever wrote. I tried to find the other one....Spin the Bottle" but its out of print. I invite all to find this gem and get it. It will bring you the rare joy of smiling even after you put it down.
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