The Avenging Saint (The Saint #4) by Leslie Charteris

The Avenging Saint (The Saint #4) Reviews

• 
  Charles van Buren

  The Saint saves the world...or at least Europe
  
  THE AVENGING SAINT is the second in what became a trilogy of Simon Templar vs Dr. Rayt Marius and Crown Prince Rudolph with the fate of Europe and, by extension, the world in the balance. The first in this informal trilogy is THE SAINT CLOSES THE CASE aka THE LAST HERO. The final one is THE SAINT'S GETAWAY. The story is easier to follow and generally makes more sense if read in order.
  
  The weapon of mass destruction (a term not used in the books) from the first volume is no more, gone, poof. However Marius and Prince Rudolph are still plotting mass destruction by way of a major war. A war which they calculate will enrich Marius and make Rudolph a new Napoleon. Of course the Saint feels obligated to stop them. Besides, the venture is Simon's idea of fun.
  
  This young Saint is more impetuous and violent than the Saint of most of the later tales and much more so than that of the famous and excellent Saint TV series staring Roger Moore. In the last volume he seems to also be more prone to acquiring other people's property without the justifications he uses in the later books.
  
  Another great adventure. Surely Ian Fleming had read this trilogy before he began writing his James Bond books.
• 
  ^

  Wow. I SO enjoyed this book; the first I’ve read of the (long) ‘Saint’ series.
  
  82 years after first publication, the language is, unsurprisingly, now dated. However, like Shakespeare and Austen, Charteris’ style, pace, humour, and use of the English language is so precise, vividly imaginative, and superbly evocative that it would be disasterous to even contemplate rendering “Knight Templar” (1930) into ‘modern’ (2012) language. Therein lies the skill and longevity of a truly great author.
  
  Chapter 1 commences with the Saint (aka Simon Templar), dressed to the nines, aptly (as it turns out) singing of seven lines from Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Yeomen of the Guard” in Piccadilly (London). The Law (a policeman) is unsurprisingly less than best pleased. Relatively few words, yet so perfectly placed on the page, bringing to mind an image of …. Of what? Of Bulldog Drummond having had a glass too many? Of a James Bond with fewer hang-ups than Fleming’s character? Of Rudolf Rassyndyll fishing in Ruritania? Or the brash adventurer Rupert of Hentzau? The winning claim came, I thought, from John Steed (The Avengers).
  
  As I lapped up the action of the plot, I discovered myself comparing Simon Templar with the much later James Bond. By the end of this book Templar was my clear winner by a very big margin. Charteris is SO cool, so astute; Templar wins his prize (the girl, of course!) not only through his fitness and bravado, but primarily by outwitting his (far from stupid) enemy, by using the power of and judicious application of his clear-headed strategic thinking. Whereas James Bond always takes the less demanding route by resorting to improbable ’technology’, doesn't he?
  
  Roger Conway, the Saint’s less cerebrally-sparkling comrade in the war against meglomaniacs and crime does serves a useful function in accentuating the Saint’s pre-eminence. I really liked the way that Charteris gave Conway the style, conviction, and modicum of skill to be a serious player; he is emphatically not just there to be Templar’s fall guy. Sonia Delmar, the heroine has plenty of verve too. Unlike those decorative Bond Girls of male fantasy, the beautiful Sonia is a valuable long-term asset.
  
  The plot of “Knight Templar” is very like a game of chess. I can just imagine children brought up on these books later pursuing careers in the British diplomatic service. The deeper I got into this book, the more the literary allusions alluringly grew like mushrooms; yet never, I thought, to such an extent as to be obtrusive, let alone irritating, to a less widely read reader. Here is a book which can be read, re-read, and enjoyed in layers.
  
  Had I been a 9 to 12 yr old I should have been over the moon to receive this book as a Christmas or birthday present in 1930. Yet the plot and writing remain more than strong enough to be enjoyed by an bright clued-up youngster today, especially when (for example) given an explanation of how life was lived in Britain before the invention and widespread dissemination of corded telephones and telephone exchanges, let alone terrestial and satellite cellphones!
  
  In 2012 this book has the capability to appeal well beyond the 'grown-up' market.
  
• 
  Mark

  This book opens with Simon singing out loud and the law does mind. However the Saint then saves a dame and finds himself once opposing Crown prince Rudolph and Rayt Marius who are hell-bent on creating a war. Once before they aimed to destroy peace and Norman Kent on of the group of friend around the Saint paid with his life.
  This time the Saint returns to England, where he is seriously wanted, to put a stop to his adversaries plot. Which entails saving a dame from kidnapping and a forced marriage taking a boat trip and a plane ride and in the End Simon and his merry band of friend save the King of England and all is forgiven.
  Too come to the end of such a glorious ending it takes some speedy action written by Messieur Charteris with his hero Simon Templar aka the Saint in a pre-WW2 adventure that actually shows the Saint character at his best. I personally enjoy the early outrageous adventure of the Saint the best, Charteris was stilling finding his style but he gave us a hero that baffled his opponents and readers alike and having splendid adventures. Sure they are outdated perhaps but this my kind of Saint.
  
  Well advised to people who enjoy the adventures of the older thrillers and don't mind some antiquated language of daft rhymes, by a Saintly character.
• 
  Lynda

  This is a sequel to The Last Hero. Like most other books in the series, this is full of wit. It is well written, has an engrossing plot, and a beautiful female sidekick. What more could you ask for?
• 
  Simon Mcleish

  Originally published on my blog
  here in September 1999.
  
  Following
  The Saint: The Last Hero, it must have been quite a challenge for Charteris to know where to take the Saint next. He hardly hesitated, however, before writing the third novel in the saga, Knight Templar. The villain, Rayt Marius, is back, still intent on world domination by provoking a war. Simon Templar follows him to England, seeking revenge for the murder of Norman Kent and overlooking the fact that he has become one of Britain's most wanted men. Marius' reason for going to England is typically devious: Sylvia Delmar and Sir Isaac Lessing are about to get married, and this will lead to a merger between oil companies owned by her father and her fiancé. Marius wants to fragment the oil industry so that he can have more influence there, so he sets out to kidnap Sylvia and force her to marry another man.
  
  The plot is fairly typical of the thirties thriller, but Charteris handles it in what is distinctly his own way, leading up to another surprise ending incredibly audacious for the time.
• 
  Shirley Jones

  Written in 1930 I was mindful as I read that my father would have been 15 and probably enjoyed this enormously when it came out - I wondered if this was his copy as I found it when doing a clear out of my bookshelves. It is dated in terms of some of the language but also enriched by it - what a shame our vocabularly seems so limited these days by contrast. I know ST from the Roger Moore and Ian Ogilvey incarnations on television but this is the first novel I have read and the Saint clearly is darker and perhaps more rounded than I had thought.
  This story has an excellent start, a decent bit on a boat and a rather fantastic (in the true meaning of the word) denoument with a fall from a plane on to a train - but if James Bond can do it then why not Simon Templar?
  This volume was very enjoyable not least because of the lovely paper and hard cover - but it didn't quite make 4 stars perhaps because I needed to have read three earlier stories to get the sequence and the relationships sorted. Inspector Teal makes an appearance briefly but local bobbies are given a very poor showing somewhat unfairly. It is of its time but a decent way to spend time and it would make for a fresh TV show - perhaps actually set in the 1930s with the smart attire, manners and lack of mobile phones.
• 
  Andrew

  having pretty much only been aware of the saint from the late seventies interpretation 'return of the saint' I was expecting a poor man's James Bond...how wrong I was.
  not only does the saint predate Bond(this title was first issued in the thirties)..but the saints slightly more outlaw status make him a hero more in the ilk of Bruce Wayne minus Batman or V from the V for Vendetta graphic novel/film..the saint remains on the side of right after all but is outside the estaishment.
  the prose within the book is flowery and Simon Templar himself spends as much time waxing lyrical as he does foiling evil deeds but this is done in such a way that it is hard not to like this book.
  the plot as it stands is a post world war one tale and the possibility of villainous forces plotting towards another war through goading capitalists into action ..it's a fun tale..frankly unbelievable and yet well written and it has given me an appetite to read more of these tales.
• 
  Tom

  I first met Charteris' dashing, witty, wicked and yet virtuous swashbuckler when I was about ten...and I've been trying to match his tired worldliness ( since that is all of Simon Templar's style I ever could match!) and wit since boyhood. I miss this world and always feel a bit better about myself and my outdated values when I spent a few hours with the wonderfully debonaire adventurer of those bygone Edwardian days!
• 
  Paul Magnussen

  Although the Saint books are definitely best if read in the right order, most of them — especially the later ones — can be read in isolation without great loss. The present book, the direct sequel to
  The Last Hero, is the exception.
  
  Once again arms-dealer Rayt Marius is plotting to start a war to increase demand for his products, and once again Simon and his friends frustrate his major plan. But of course, Marius has a second string to his bow, and the climax of Knight Templar is the most electrifying in any Saint book (and, incidentally, provides the mechanism whereby Simon is able to continue on through thirty-three more rather than spending the next forty years in jail).
  
  Crown Prince Rudolf, my very favourite villain, who only comes on stage towards the end of the previous opus, appears early here in the tale of the Desecrated Royal Toothpaste.
  
  BTW, the titles of ten of the Saint books were later — confusingly — changed, as follows:
  
  01: Meet the Tiger -> The Saint Meets the Tiger
  03: The Last Hero -> The Saint Closes the Case
  04: Knight Templar -> The Avenging Saint
  07: She Was A Lady -> The Saint Meets His Match
  08: The Holy Terror -> The Saint vs. Scotland Yard
  10: Once More the Saint -> The Saint and Mr. Teal
  12: The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal -> The Saint in London
  13: Boodle -> The Saint Intervenes
  18: Thieves Picnic -> The Saint Bids Diamonds
  19: Prelude for War -> The Saint Plays With Fire
  
  The fatuity of the revised titles is nowhere more evident than with the present book and its antecedent: in The Last Hero the Saint does not close the case, and in Knight Templar the one thing he does not do is avenge the death of Norman Kent.
• 
  Diane

  After the excellent "The Saint Closes the Case," this was a bit of a letdown. I can't say much without spoiling "Closes the Case," but this doesn't really wrap things up. The story itself is pretty dull until almost halfway through. There's a lot of talking as Charteris tries to explain things for those who have not read the previous book. Once things get moving, though, the story does improve somewhat, though I thought the ending was flat.
  
  Two things bug me:
  
  1. Sonia takes her kidnappings and rescues way too easily. It's like she used to this sort of treatment. "Oh, here we go again!" You'd think a millionaire's daughter who's engaged to another millionaire would have some sort of security, even in 1930.
  
  2. Roger is totally useless. If he's supposed to keep a secret, he'll divulge it. If he's supposed to guard someone, the bad guys will kidnap or rescue them. Roger is incredibly dumb. He reminds me of Nigel Bruce's Watson in the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies. You'd think the Saint would have more intelligent sidekicks. I miss Norman Kent.
• 
  Stephen

  I love the Saint. The older books bring back a time when we truly believed that a few men could make a big difference. In this book, the Saint continues to foil a plot to start a second world war. (Keep in mind this book was written before the start of WWII). He meets a lady who is in many ways his equal and his friend Roger falls for her. We'll see how that turns out in future books.
• 
  Tom Williams

  I grew up on the Saint. It's not big and it's not clever, but I will always have a soft spot for these books. I've been wanting to get this one for years. The Saint saves the King's life and is forgiven all his crimes just as Scotland Yard closes in. It's completely nuts and I love it.
• 
  Michele bookloverforever

  reread after many years
  another dastardly plot foiled. wonder what charteris would think of the manufactured wars of the 21st century that so benefit oil and defense industries at the expense of so many lives lost?
• 
  Rollie Reid

  This is a fun, light read.
• 
  Federico Kereki

  The early adventures of The Saint aren't the best (I rather prefer the later, more ingenious, ones) but this book is OK in any case.
• 
  Sem

  I've had quite enough of gay swashbuckling for the time being. I'd begun to feel as if I were being hit over the head with a stick of candy floss.
• 
  Patricia Roberts-Miller

  Fascinating from a cultural perspective--the easy racism, chivalric narrative, odd violence.
• 
  Peggy

  I continue to be entertained.
• 
  Rick Mills

  Major characters:
  
  Rayt Marius, a.k.a. "Angel Face"
  Prince Rudolf
  Sonia Delmar
  Sir Isaac Lessing, Sonia's fiancé
  Heinrich Dussel
  Alexis Vassiloff, a Russian husband-to-be
  Antonio, the "Italian Delegate"
  Simon Templar, The Saint
  Roger Conway
  
  Synopsis:
  
  The Saint is suspicious of Heinrich Dussel, who has brought an apparant invalid into his home, but it seems the invalid is there against his/her will.
  
  Arch criminal Rayt Marius is working for a group of war materiel manufacturers, and hatches a plan to start war in the Balkans. He teams up with Prince Rudolf. The general idea is get Sonia Delmar, daughter of a wealthy American manufacturer, to bail out of her upcoming marriage to Sir Isaac Lessing, marry Russian Alexis Vassiloff instead, and go over to Russia; at which point the jilted Lessing will initiate war.
  
  Heinrich Dussel had kidnapped Sonia to start the scheme. The Saint rescues her, but then allows her back into their hands in order to follow them. She is taken on board a boat and heading for international waters, where the captain will perform a forced marriage ceremony to Vasiloff.
  
  Review:
  
  This is the sequel to "The Last Hero", and the two should be read as a pair. The Saint is still seeking revenge from the death of his fellow saint, Norman Kent, at the hands of Rayt Marius (in The Last Hero). There are two great chase accounts, the first being to the ship in which Sonia is held captive; the second in which Roger Conway pilots a plane and lowers Simon on a moving train, in a James Bond-worthy incident. The plot to ignite war seems a bit far-fetched and hard to follow, but perhaps it didn't take much to get the shooting started in 1930's Europe.
  
  Note some pejorative terms for persons of various ancestry, unacceptable today but in common use at the time.
• 
  Danny VanVleet

  A little longer and a little more serious than the other books of his I've read. But it was a good plot with lots of daring and action and cheeky one liners. :)