Featuring the Saint by Leslie Charteris

Featuring the Saint Reviews

• 
  BrokenTune

  1.5*
  
  Featuring the Saint contains three novellas: The Logical Adventure, The Wonderful War, and The Man Who Could Not Die.
  
  I originally picked up the book from a favourite secondhand bookshop because I wanted to give the Saint books another chance.
  
  I read my first Saint adventure back in 2013, and even tho I was not overly impressed with the book I have been wondering if this was a series I could enjoy. It turns out, I will always love the tv series but have no intention to continue with the books.
  
  The main reasons for this are two-fold:
  
  1. The writing does not work for me. Yes, the books are action-packed and the Saint is an interesting character, but it strikes me the books were written for an audience of teenage boys. We have swashbuckling, which is great, but we also have lots of damsels in distress and women characters being either dismissed, characterised mostly by their relationship to male characters, and other cringe-worthy scenes.
  
  2. I seek out formulaic vintage crime fiction books or tv series for entertainment between more serious books, or while digesting another more complex read, or just to relax. While The Saint is a perfectly great tv series, I've been spoiled by other series when it comes to the books - most recently, Francis Durbridge's Paul Temple series. While Durbridge's plots are extremely formulaic (and quite similar to those of Charteris actually), his main characters, Paul Temple and his wife Steve, are so much more likable and so much more fleshed out. It would not occur to Steve to accept the role of damsel, nor would Paul dismiss his wife's ideas or comments on a case (or in any other matter).
  
  Anyway, I'm done with the The Saint books.
• 
  Bill

  Having read all of the Saint stories over the years it's nice to dip into one of the audio versions once in a while. These three stories featuring Simon Templar see our hero battling the Ungodly from London to Berlin & Central America. Author Leslie Charteris provides the Saint with plenty of witty dialogue & the stories move along at a surprisingly fast pace considering they were published in 1931.
  The first two stories in the trology, The Logical Adventure & The Wonderful War, feature memorable villains. However, it's Miles Hallin in The Man Who Could Not Die who really stands out as one of my favourite creations in the Saint saga. Patrick Allen played him in the 1965 TV version, where he battles wits against Roger Moore. I think it's time to watch that episode again!
  John Telfer reads the stories in Featuring the Saint very well & he supplies a variety of amusing accents that fit nicely with the tone of these Saintly adventures. What else can I say ? Except...Watch for the sign of the Saint! He will be back!
• 
  Charles van Buren

  Simon Templar in fine fettle
  
  The three stories in this book should be regarded as period pieces. Not only is the technology archaic but so are many of the attitudes. Leslie Charteris wrote them while flush with the exuberance of youth. He has said that the opinions and beliefs expressed in his early writing are not necessarily those of a more mature Simon Templar or Leslie Charteris. That said, these are fine adventures. I remember the last two as altered but very recognizable episodes in The Saint TV series with Roger Moore.
  
  The first story, THE LOGICAL ADVENTURE, was printed in 'The Thriller Magazine' in issue 68, dated 24 May, 1930 under the title of “Without Warning”. In 1931 it was collected as one of the three tales in this book, FEATURING THE SAINT. In this story, the Saint is very slowly becoming a less reckless and more mature character. As the story itself explains it, "The Saint, it should be remembered, had been in that sort of game for some time and he knew, better than anyone, the value of painstaking preparation. When everything that could possibly be known about the lie of the land and the personal habits of its denizens was known, and the line of subsequent retreat had been thoroughly surveyed , mapped, dressed, ventilated, and upholstered—then, oh, yes, then the blunt instrument, wielded with decisive celerity and no uncertain hand. But not before." I don't recall anything like that in the first four books (considering THE SAINT'S GETAWAY as number 4 instead of number number 5, 8 or 9).
  
  
  In this story, the Saint rescues a damsel in distress who insists that she doesn't need rescuing and can take care of herself. She can't and she definitely needs rescuing, The Saint also removes a couple of particularly nasty villains from the land of the living.
  
  In the second story, THE WONDERFUL WAR, the Saint reverts to his old ways, doing such things as deciding on the spur of the moment to invade the palace without ever having been inside, trusting to his luck and abilities. Fans of the Saint don't really have to wonder if things work out anyway.
  
  A note of warning to a certain type of modern reader: If you insist upon 21st century American and, to a lessor extent, Western European political correctness and sensibilities in your entertainment and are deeply disturbed by the straying from it, even to a relatively minor degree, you should probably avoid THE WONDERFUL WAR. It was originally published in 'The Thriller' magazine in issue 17, dated 1 June, 1929 as “The 'Judgement of the Joker'. The story is written with attitudes and beliefs which were a matter-of-course at the time and not questioned by most.
  
  Charteris also wrote some most peculiar dialogue for the citizens of the Republic of Pasala. Their speech is full of
  thee's, thou's, couldest's and hast's. They sound as though they are bad 1920's - 30's Quaker imitators. Anyway, it is a great story and a great way to run a war.
  
  In the third story, THE MAN WHO COULD NOT DIE, the Saint again helps someone who doesn't want his help but really needs it. The bad guy is a villain but not quite as despicable as those in the first two stories. This story was first published in 'The Thriller' magazine, issue 88, dated 11 October 1930, as “Treachery.”
  
  Regard the stories in this collection as historical fiction and enjoy some wild adventures.
• 
  F.R.

  As normal I’ll review each story as I finish it…
  
  The Logical Adventurer
  In the nexus where James Bond meets Bertie Wooster we have The Saint. He has the dapper, gentleman about town quality of the latter, and – surprisingly to someone who mainly knows the character from the 1960s television show – a streak of ruthlessness the former would be proud of.
  Narrated in the third person, but very much capturing the style and tone of the character, ‘The Logical Adventurer’ bounds along with a very 1920s variety of vim and vigour that no doubt would have pleased Wodehouse. Although given that the tale includes betrayal, subterfuge, burglary, drugs, the illicit smuggling of women and a hero not shy of a bit of murder, it’s obviously much more in the Fleming ballpark.
  Why The Saint isn’t as well known a character as the other two is something I can’t possibly answer on the evidence of one story. Certainly the films are hugely important to James Bond, even if the television is less so to Jeeves & Wooster. But one reason Simon Templar may struggle to get a foothold in the affections of today’s audiences is that very boundless 1920s confidence. Without a doubt he is the smartest man in every room he enters, a man who always has a plan, a man whose armour has no chinks and who will certainly do what needs to be done. But if you think of Bond, if you think of Batman, then today’s audiences like their heroes to have a bit of brooding and self-doubt, and it’s hard to really brood when you’re posing at a jaunty angle with a halo on your smug head.
  
  
  The Wonderful War
  There’s a fantastic devil-may-care excitement to these early Saint tales. Here The Saint, along with his chum, Archie Sheridan attempt to carry out a bloodless coup in a small Latin American country. Such is the deftness of the prose and the plotting, that the tale manages to feel exquisitely light even as its clockwork insides move unhesitatingly on.
  It’s an incredibly problematic story though because of the Latin America characters, or rather the lack of Latin American characters. The Saint actually begins the tale by enumerating all the white people in the country, as they’re clearly going to be the only ones who matter. Indeed when a Latin American character does appear he (it’s always a he) is lazy, feckless, corrupt, stupid, unable to fight and covered in flies – in short the worst of the worst stereotype. I’m sure when the story was published, at the height of Empire and all that, it was all good sport and there were men talking over brandies in their club about how they’d met a johnnie who was just like one of them blokes in that Saint story. Now though it can’t help but be very troubling and very Agatha Christie at her worst.
  So a story that feels fresh and charming and vibrant; but also a schizophrenic story to 2014 eyes, one that loses a lot of freshness, charm and vibrancy through its casual and blind racism.
  
  
  The Man Who Could Not Die
  What’s truly interesting about ‘The Man Who Could Not Die’ is that The Saint actually gets a Nemesis. In Miles Hallin we have another good looking, man about town, with improbable luck, improbable fame and a polite disregard for the law. Of course, since he is Simon Templar’s nemesis, he’s a much more ruthless sort of cove than The Saint himself. Indeed at points he reveals himself to be dangerously psychotic. It’s fascinating though how quickly and with what economy Charteris creates this character, putting him in direct opposition to Templar and ensuring that we have to compare the two; but also (SPOILER ALERT) it’s fascinating in a more bizarre way that this character is gone by the end of the story.
  This really is no long lasting Professor Moriarty, in fact Templar needs only seventy or so pages to deal with him..
  Did Charteris not see what he had here? Was he not tempted to draw out these characters’ rivalry until it took in Britain and the world? Evidently not. Perhaps that was a missed opportunity, or perhaps Charteris knew that someone so brilliantly and confidently at the centre of everything as Simon Templar, would not tolerate a nemesis for too long.
  
  
  This is a charmingly entertaining volume of tales and I am glad to properly, and finally, make a true acquaintance with the famous Simon Templar!
• 
  Lauren Stoolfire

  As much as I enjoy watching the tv show starring Roger Moore and listening to radio show with Vincent Price, I have never once read one of the books in the books in the series by Leslie Charteris. Featuring the Saint includes two novellas called "The Logical Adventurer" and "The Wonderful War". Both are quite enjoyable, but it was much easier to follow the writing style of the second one. The style is much more direct rather than the incredibly roundabout method used in the first. If you like the show I definitely recommend the books. I'm looking forward to reading more of them!
• 
  Simon Mcleish

  Originally published on my blog
  here in October 1999.
  
  Reverting to his favourite length of Saint story after two full-length novels, Charteris published these extremely typical novelettes in his fourth volume from the Saint saga. This includes one of my favourite of all Saint stories, The Wonderful War, in which Simon Templar brings off a South American revolution with the help of two friends.
  
  The other two stories are set in England, now safe once again for Templar following his royal pardon. In these, the Saint aims to rid the world of two men who prey upon others: a drug dealer, and a man who has made his fortune after murdering his partner. The serious side of the preceding stories is still apparent; the Saint's activities lack something of the facetiousness that came to characterise them later.
• 
  LeeAnn

  Well, I tried really hard to enjoy this book. It started out promising, with all the things I love about Sherlock mysteries and Doc Savage action adventures. But somehow, the stories just unraveled. I thought the book was okay. But nothing that really kept my interest; I found it harder and harder to pick this book back up once I'd set it down. Sorry, goodreads giveaway, but this book just didn't work for me.
• 
  4cats

  Disappointing, but pleased I've read one Saint book.
• 
  Paul Magnussen

  Three stories from the early days of the Saint. In The Logical Adventure he deals in a pretty unequivocal way with a ring of (what used to be called) white slavers. The Wonderful War sees Simon planning and executing a bloodless revolution to overthrow a corrupt Latin American government, and in The Man Who Could Not Die he avenges the murder of a friend.
  
  But although this is the fifth book in the Saint Saga, the exact chronology seems to be more involved.
  
  The second story refers to events in the first, and is therefore later. But in that second story, the Saint still has his little throwing-knife Anna, which he loses in
  The Last Hero, the third book in the series.
  
  On the other hand, in the last story Teal refers to Simon’s Royal Pardon, which he gets at the end of the fourth book,
  Knight Templar. This is a strange, intense story, featuring a moody and irresponsible Saint; and I don’t like it much, which is the reason for four stars instead of five.
  
  Otherwise, vintage stuff from Charteris, whose excellent grasp of idiomatic Spanish stands him in good stead.
  
  (Incidentally, those who view the Author’s portrayal of Latin Americans with disfavour may be interested to know that he had previously written a book —
  The Bandit — with a Latin American hero. Probably not coincidentally, the Saint himself later [in The Inland Revenue] writes such a book. Could the outraged letter Simon receives in response be based on — perhaps even be taken taken verbatim from — one Charteris received?)
• 
  Bernie4444

  A good place to start with Simon Templar
  
  This is as good as any way to be introduced to the Saint. This is a collection of short stories reprinted from earlier publications. You get a good sampler of the series that started in 1928 with "Meet the Tiger." "Meet the Tiger" is not one of the stories in this book.
  
  I have a hand full of old copies from childhood. I decided now that I have changed to get reacquainted with The Saint.
  
  The publisher preserved the original vocabulary, grammar, style, and punctuation. This is great as a lot of novels that I returned to even changed which war was fought or even the original premise of the story and if we do not keep our library, we lose the writer forever.
  
• 
  Stephen

  This book holds several short stories. I truly enjoyed the Saint's machinations in creating a bloodless revolution in a South American country. The timbre of the stories reflects the times in which they were written.
• 
  Deborah Gebhardt

  Three more Saint adventures
  The Logical Adventure - with Patricia Holm and Inspecter Teal; The Wonderful War - how to make war that lasts less than 24 hours (I remember this TV episode); and The Man Who Could Not Die - with Patricia Holm and Inspecter Teal.
• 
  Wayne

  an ok read. Cool protagonist
• 
  Andrew

  Three tales featuring Simon Templar(AKA the saint)...its a strong collection, I found the first tale a bit 'saint by numbers' really a tale where the Saint became a pilot for a businessman to try and uncover a plot he suspected, It was fun enough but not really as strong as th upcoming tales seeming a bit too neat.
  The second tale was much more fun and involved the Saint working to overthrow a corrupted Government by organising a coup, it again is a tale of politics and nefarious business dealings...in some ways the Saint works almost as a proto anarchist in these tales bringing down capitalists with shady dealings....this tale is the best of the three.
  The last features the Saint looking into the case of a socialite who has had numerous brushes with death which he has cheated a every turn...it's a short tale this one an involves the Saint indulging a hunch.
  all in all a good collection and one that makes me want to delve more into the Canon of works.
• 
  Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)

  Now, don't get that four-star rating wrong. I don't compare it to the "serious reads" I or anyone else has given four stars to. But for its time and type, it's a four-star romp. Three novellas for the price of one in the best 1930s Boys Own style: the Saint knows all, sees all, does all. Oh he makes a few blunders along the way, but we can rest assured that this god-unto-himself Saint will answer his own prayers and a few other people's.
  
  The women are just markers, or sometimes marks--reasons to put the baddies out of business, or helpless near-victims to be rescued. But even one of them, despite being bound hand and foot, gagged, and drugged, manages to get up and walk around a bit!
  
  Templar even instigates a banana-republic revolution--for all the right reasons of course, and without a shot being fired, at least on purpose.
  A cracking good read for when you just want to be amused.
• 
  David

  I received this book as part of the Goodreads first-reads program.
  
  This was my first time to read any of The Saint stories though I have seen and enjoyed the television series with Roger Moore. This book is a collection of 3 Simon Templar ("The Saint") stories originally published in 1931. "The Logical Adventure", "The Wonderful War", and "The Man Who Could Not Die" are all witty and intelligent tales of this modern day Robin Hood. I also thoroughly enjoyed the additional publication history and mini-biography included in this edition of the book. I highly recommend this book to new and seasoned readers of The Saint.
• 
  Alice

  Not the best Saint collection ever, though a ripping read as always. I got a bit bogged down in the South American clichés of the second story, 'The Wonderful War', having enjoyed the first tale with its aviation action. The third story, 'The Man Who Could Not Die', I thought was a brilliant concept which I won't spoil. It is pure Saint, with some classic Teal too.
• 
  Julie

  Nice collection of stories featuring Simon Templar==The Saint. Who is he? He is a former criminal, sort of spy and detective who works on his own. He sees things that others don't and has elaborate schemes to figure out what to do about a situation. Over it all, he is determined, but comes across as not nervous and always one up on the other person.
  
  Charmingly written
• 
  John

  Enjoyable romps - amazingly written when Charteris was in his early 20s, which might explain why they are overwritten. But putting that aside, they are great escapist fun.
• 
  Stephanie Cornwell

  I won my copy of Featuring the Saint from Goodreads, and I love it!!!! It has me wanting more of the Saint a great read.
• 
  Mumbler

  Middle story is the good one. good bits in third. worse at the end; goofy 'mad' psychology.