Russians on James Bond;
Merseians on Dominic Flandry;
an Exaltationist on Manson Everard;
an Inquisitor on Nicholas Pym;
a rogue Intelligence officer on Lisbeth Salander.
A Russian Intelligence chief on the British Secret Service:
"'They have notable successes...
"'...they serve with devotion.
"'Of course, most of their strength lies in the myth - in the myth of Scotland Yard, of Sherlock Holmes, of the Secret Service.'"
-Ian Fleming, From Russia, With Love (London, 1964), CHAPTER 5, p. 38.
It is good to see Holmes referenced yet again. Here again, he could be a real person... In this passage, fiction that is becoming myth cites fiction that has become myth.
The same chief on Bond:
"'Certainly I know the name of this Bond. He has been a great trouble to us at different times.'"
-ibid., CHAPTER 6, p. 41.
The Head of SMERSH on Bond:
"'Comrades, from many points of view this spy sounds an appropriate target. He appears to be a dangerous enemy of the State. His liquidation will be of benefit to all departments of our Intelligence apparat. Is that so?'
"The conference grunted."
-ibid., p. 42.
Brechdan Ironrede on Flandry:
"'Commander...your young man makes me proud to be a sentient creature. What might our united races not accomplish? Hunt well.'"
-Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 1-192 AT CHAPTER FOURTEEN, p. 145.
Ydwyr the Seeker to Flandry:
"'...you are the more intriguing in your own right, because of who you are. By virtue of my family connections, I obtained the story - or part of the story - behind the Starkad affair. You are either very capable, Dominic Flandry, or else very lucky, and I wonder if there may not be a destiny in you.'"
-Poul Anderson, A Circus Of Hells IN Young Flandry, pp. 193-365 AT CHAPTER TWELVE, p. 283.
To be continued.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
That "grunt" from the audience listening to the SMERSH chief struck me as exactly how a bureaucracy cowed by the terror and purges of Lenin and Stalin would react. I mean safe, but non committal assent. And, in fact, I recall how one of the audience, wearied and sickened by Soviet intrigues, had to force an appearance of dutiful enthusiasm.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
You have quoted several respectful, even admiring appraisals of Dominic Flandry. Therefore it's right to cite an unfriendly evaluation of Flandry, from the revised version of "Tiger By The Tail," Prince Cerdic speaking: "You're typical of your kind. I've studied the Empire long enough to recognize you; I've traveled there myself, incognito, and met persons aplenty. You are another worthless younger son, given a well-paid sinecure so you can wear a bedizened uniform and play at being a fighting man."
And needless to say, Cerdic could hardly have been more wrong in his appraisal of Flandry! Also, was that mention of Flandry being a "younger son" a possible hint about his family? Did Flandry have at least one older half brother or brother? More questions!
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I should have quoted and commented on this additional remark by Prince Cerdic to Flandry, from "Tiger By The Tail," after the bit I cited above: " Did you imagine I had you snatched at random, without learning something first?" Which led me to thinking Cerdic's spies would of course ferret out any public information about Dominic Flandry. Which probably included routine details about his family, including how many children his parents had. That would explain Cerdic's derisive comment about Flandry being "another worthless younger son."
Or am I drawing out too much from what Cerdic said?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Cerdic says he did some research specifically on Flandry.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, but I doubt Cerdic's spies had the time or means to dig DEEPLY into Flandry's background. Mostly publicly available information about his early life, family background, how he was in the Imperial Naval Flight Corps before transferring to Intelligence, etc. If the spies had ferreted out any information about Flandry's role in the Starkad affair, Cerdic would probably not have been so contemptuously dismissive of him.
Ad astra! Sean
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