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Calder and Behrens #2
Mr. Calder And Mr. Behrens (Calder and Behrens) by Michael Gilbert
A collection of 12 stories:
- The Twilight of the Gods (May 1967)
- Emergency Exit (Sep 1968)
- One-to-Ten (Jul 1968)
- The Peaceful People (Aug 1968)
- The Lion and the Virgin (Dec 1971)
- The African Tree Beavers (Aug 1971)
- Signal Tresham (Jul 1980)
- The Mercenaries (Feb 1981)
- Early Warning (Oct 1981)
- The Killing of Michael Finnegan (Aug 1981)
- The Decline and Fall of Mr. Behrens (Jan 1973)
- The Last Reunion (Dec 1982)
- The Twilight of the Gods (May 1967)
- Emergency Exit (Sep 1968)
- One-to-Ten (Jul 1968)
- The Peaceful People (Aug 1968)
- The Lion and the Virgin (Dec 1971)
- The African Tree Beavers (Aug 1971)
- Signal Tresham (Jul 1980)
- The Mercenaries (Feb 1981)
- Early Warning (Oct 1981)
- The Killing of Michael Finnegan (Aug 1981)
- The Decline and Fall of Mr. Behrens (Jan 1973)
- The Last Reunion (Dec 1982)
Paperback
First published May 1, 1982
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About the author
Michael Gilbert
143 books90 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
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December 2, 2024Not as good as the first collection but still fun.
July 1, 2025
Enjoyable and sometimes witty stories about two middle-aged British secret service men and their escapades.
From Early Warning - "The trouble with Intelligence work nowadays," said Mr. Calder, "is that it has become obsessed with gadgets. In the old days, an operator who was told to obtain some piece of information went to the most likely source and, by the appropriate expenditure of cash or cunning -"
"Force or fraud," agree Mr. Behrens sleepily.
"Exactly. He brought home the bacon. But how does your modern operator work? He sits on his backside all day, in a huge room - " Mr. Calder demonstrated the size of the room by spreading his arms and knocked a tobacco jar off the table. Fortunately it fell on top of Rasselas who was asleep on the floor beside his chair. Rasselas looked reproachful. Mr. Calder replaced the jar.
"A huge room, crammed with machines. Screens linked to radar trackers and listening posts, wireless sets in touch with patrolling spy planes and submarines, and bank upon bank of computers to digest and analyse and classify the unceasing flow of incoming information, most of it pointless -"
"Talking of banks," said Mr. Behrens who was listening to one word in ten of what Mr. Calder was saying, "I had a call from Fortescue this morning. He wants to see me tomorrow."
"Both of us?"
"No. Just me."
"Good. Rasselas and I have other plans for tomorrow."
"He said that it was a problem which called for the intellectual outlook."
"It's probably a new and even more complicated computer," said Mr. Calder.
From One-to-Ten - [Sands-Douglas]"...We shall have to do something about this claret, we ought to have tackled it earlier."
[Behrens]"It's the 1943. The only wartime vintage they produced in the Medoc."
"I expect the vignerons had other things to think about in 1943," agreed Mr. Happold. "It's our fault. We should have drunk it as least ten years ago. What were we talking about?"
"Bridge," said Behrens. "The possible permutations and combinations of a pack of cards."
"A large computer probably could deal with that number. But there's a snag. I don't suppose your chap is sending code messages every week?"
"Almost certainly not. Half a dozen times a year, probably. He'd key the column in some way - put an agreed word or expression into the first paragraph so that they'd know a code was coming."
"Exactly. So if we took, say, fifty-two examples, and fed them into a computer with instructions to detect any repeated correlations between the cards in the hand and known alphabetical and numerical frequencies in the English language, and the mathematics of physics - which is roughly how it would have to be done, do you follow me..."
"I don't understand a word of it," said Mr. Behrens. "But go on." He was sipping the claret. It was quite true; gradually, imperceptibly, over the years it had built up to maturity, had climbed from maturity to super-maturity, and was now descending into gentle ineffectiveness. "Like us," thought Mr. Behrens sadly.
"If only ten percent of your examples were true," said Sands-Douglas, "and the others weren't examples at all, but only blinds, even a giant computer would turn white hot and start screaming."
"Is that true?" said Mr. Happold. "I've often wondered. If you abuse a computer, does it really start screaming?"
"Certainly. It's only human!"
From The Lion and the Virgin - Sue Garnet was hardened to her father's methods of discourse and argument. These, as she had warned Terence Russel when he became her father's military secretary and her fiance, resembled a machine gun firing on fixed lines interspersed with casual grenade-throwing.
From Early Warning - "The trouble with Intelligence work nowadays," said Mr. Calder, "is that it has become obsessed with gadgets. In the old days, an operator who was told to obtain some piece of information went to the most likely source and, by the appropriate expenditure of cash or cunning -"
"Force or fraud," agree Mr. Behrens sleepily.
"Exactly. He brought home the bacon. But how does your modern operator work? He sits on his backside all day, in a huge room - " Mr. Calder demonstrated the size of the room by spreading his arms and knocked a tobacco jar off the table. Fortunately it fell on top of Rasselas who was asleep on the floor beside his chair. Rasselas looked reproachful. Mr. Calder replaced the jar.
"A huge room, crammed with machines. Screens linked to radar trackers and listening posts, wireless sets in touch with patrolling spy planes and submarines, and bank upon bank of computers to digest and analyse and classify the unceasing flow of incoming information, most of it pointless -"
"Talking of banks," said Mr. Behrens who was listening to one word in ten of what Mr. Calder was saying, "I had a call from Fortescue this morning. He wants to see me tomorrow."
"Both of us?"
"No. Just me."
"Good. Rasselas and I have other plans for tomorrow."
"He said that it was a problem which called for the intellectual outlook."
"It's probably a new and even more complicated computer," said Mr. Calder.
From One-to-Ten - [Sands-Douglas]"...We shall have to do something about this claret, we ought to have tackled it earlier."
[Behrens]"It's the 1943. The only wartime vintage they produced in the Medoc."
"I expect the vignerons had other things to think about in 1943," agreed Mr. Happold. "It's our fault. We should have drunk it as least ten years ago. What were we talking about?"
"Bridge," said Behrens. "The possible permutations and combinations of a pack of cards."
"A large computer probably could deal with that number. But there's a snag. I don't suppose your chap is sending code messages every week?"
"Almost certainly not. Half a dozen times a year, probably. He'd key the column in some way - put an agreed word or expression into the first paragraph so that they'd know a code was coming."
"Exactly. So if we took, say, fifty-two examples, and fed them into a computer with instructions to detect any repeated correlations between the cards in the hand and known alphabetical and numerical frequencies in the English language, and the mathematics of physics - which is roughly how it would have to be done, do you follow me..."
"I don't understand a word of it," said Mr. Behrens. "But go on." He was sipping the claret. It was quite true; gradually, imperceptibly, over the years it had built up to maturity, had climbed from maturity to super-maturity, and was now descending into gentle ineffectiveness. "Like us," thought Mr. Behrens sadly.
"If only ten percent of your examples were true," said Sands-Douglas, "and the others weren't examples at all, but only blinds, even a giant computer would turn white hot and start screaming."
"Is that true?" said Mr. Happold. "I've often wondered. If you abuse a computer, does it really start screaming?"
"Certainly. It's only human!"
From The Lion and the Virgin - Sue Garnet was hardened to her father's methods of discourse and argument. These, as she had warned Terence Russel when he became her father's military secretary and her fiance, resembled a machine gun firing on fixed lines interspersed with casual grenade-throwing.
November 8, 2021
I had a little trouble with the conservative politics, but, really, for spy stories, they’re not that politically offensive. And they are brilliant spy stories—so much less boring than John Le Carre, and so much better written than Ian Fleming.
May 17, 2020
Another dozen stories about the deceptively respectable looking Mr. Behrens and Mr. Calder, from some of Behrens' (pre-Calder) adventures inside World War II Germany, to their decision to--but I mustn't give too much away. As always, the pair are ruthless in defense of their country, their friends, and the innocent (even when it gets them in trouble with their handler), but they avoid bloodshed if it's possible to do so. So often it isn't...
March 13, 2013
My first Michael Gilbert. Came across him when searching for names of crime writers. Had to hunt down second-hand copy which came from the States. Worth the effort, good read.
January 7, 2025
Michael Gilbert created Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens in Game Without Rules—two middle-aged, unassuming, mild men living in the country but who're also MI6 spies who go away on missions and don't hesitate to kill when necessary. This was a fantastic collection of short stories and I looked up Gilbert's bibliography to see what else he had written featuring this interesting duo. That led me to Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens.
Written 15 years after the first, this is another anthology featuring the adventures of Mr.C and Mr.B and covering a variety of internal and external threats to the country. The chronology felt a little mixed up because a character who dies in Book 1 is alive in Book 2—but because these are standalone stories, it doesn't take away from the reading experience. You can read the books in any order you like and it's all good fun!
Written 15 years after the first, this is another anthology featuring the adventures of Mr.C and Mr.B and covering a variety of internal and external threats to the country. The chronology felt a little mixed up because a character who dies in Book 1 is alive in Book 2—but because these are standalone stories, it doesn't take away from the reading experience. You can read the books in any order you like and it's all good fun!
February 20, 2020
Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens are spies, working for a secret government group in the UK called the Joint Services Standing Intelligence Committee (JSSIC). They are called upon when needed to handle special projects and missions. This book is comprised of twelve short stories featuring these characters.
Each story averages about 20 pages in length and follows an incident that one or both of the agents have been asked to address. They don't always work together and the cases are quite varied. Rasselas is often quite useful. Calder and Behrens carry out their tasks with ruthlessness when necessary.
The stories featuring Calder and Behrens were written from 1962 to 1982. The stories in this book are mostly later stories. Eleven short stories were published in Game Without Rules in 1968, and those stories were first published in Argosy.
I loved all the stories. However, they are not light reading. They are packed with details and nuances, most of which I am sure I miss. I like the two agents and their matter of fact approach to their work, and other characters in the stories are also interesting, although usually not so well fleshed out.
A more detailed review is here:
https://bitterteaandmystery.blogspot....
Each story averages about 20 pages in length and follows an incident that one or both of the agents have been asked to address. They don't always work together and the cases are quite varied. Rasselas is often quite useful. Calder and Behrens carry out their tasks with ruthlessness when necessary.
The stories featuring Calder and Behrens were written from 1962 to 1982. The stories in this book are mostly later stories. Eleven short stories were published in Game Without Rules in 1968, and those stories were first published in Argosy.
I loved all the stories. However, they are not light reading. They are packed with details and nuances, most of which I am sure I miss. I like the two agents and their matter of fact approach to their work, and other characters in the stories are also interesting, although usually not so well fleshed out.
A more detailed review is here:
https://bitterteaandmystery.blogspot....
July 28, 2024
I liked this collection of short spy stories, but not as well as the first book in the series. Some of these stories has more violence in them than the previous volume, and I just don't enjoy that personally. Also, this was published many years after Games Without Rules, but that book's final story contains an ending that is negated by these stories. Details here: I don't care that much about continuity, but if it's important to you I'd read this first, then Games.
I love that Gilbert can create such a real world and characters in so few pages, and his stories definitely aren't all the same. I had a lot of fun reading this, just preferred the other collection even more. I'd definitely recommend his stories and books for those who like mysteries or spy/war stories. He deserves to be more widely read!
NB: Among his novels I can especially recommend can especially recommend Murder in Captivity and Smallbone Deceased.
I love that Gilbert can create such a real world and characters in so few pages, and his stories definitely aren't all the same. I had a lot of fun reading this, just preferred the other collection even more. I'd definitely recommend his stories and books for those who like mysteries or spy/war stories. He deserves to be more widely read!
NB: Among his novels I can especially recommend can especially recommend Murder in Captivity and Smallbone Deceased.
September 5, 2024
The Twilight of the Gods **
Emergency Exit ***
One-to-Ten ***
The Peaceful People **
The Lion and the Virgin **
The African Tree Beavers **
Signal Tresham ***
The Mercenaries ***
Early Warning ***
The Killing of Michael Finnegan ***
The Decline and Fall of Mr. Behrens ****
The Last Reunion ** (It's presented as a possibility final outing before real retirement - but can't be because Rasselas is still alive. & their boss is stated as about to retire, but again - internal conflict.)
There are moments when outdated attitudes are promematic. And then there's shinning example of the best of beliefs. Overall - a fine read.
Emergency Exit ***
One-to-Ten ***
The Peaceful People **
The Lion and the Virgin **
The African Tree Beavers **
Signal Tresham ***
The Mercenaries ***
Early Warning ***
The Killing of Michael Finnegan ***
The Decline and Fall of Mr. Behrens ****
The Last Reunion ** (It's presented as a possibility final outing before real retirement - but can't be because Rasselas is still alive. & their boss is stated as about to retire, but again - internal conflict.)
There are moments when outdated attitudes are promematic. And then there's shinning example of the best of beliefs. Overall - a fine read.
October 18, 2017
This time it's necessary to review a book for what it is and not for how I like it, for it is not my favorite read but is very well done! In story after story, the master crime writer is clearly at work. The dry wit and subtle maneuvers of these two undercover ops (plus Rasselas!) are a wonder!
June 6, 2020
Is there any kind of format for a story that Gilbert does not excel at? No. I did not expect to enjoy the short stories in this collection, but they were excellent (if a little bloodthirsty at times).
October 18, 2025
I read a reissue of Game Without Rules a few months ago and then got a copy of this earlier story collection. Cold War espionage with wry wit and charm. I have imagined what all three look like (must count the noble Rasselas, too).
November 5, 2025
Overall rating of collection 3.5
Okay set of stories, nothing really outstanding for me at least. Perhaps reading them at monthly intervals as they were originally published would have changed my opinion. Reading them back to back over a couple of days probably lowered the rating.
Okay set of stories, nothing really outstanding for me at least. Perhaps reading them at monthly intervals as they were originally published would have changed my opinion. Reading them back to back over a couple of days probably lowered the rating.
June 8, 2020
You need to like England during the war to enjoy these.
June 20, 2021
Exceptionally high quality spy story collection .
December 14, 2021
If George Smiley could escape his bad marriage and the Circus skulduggery to be a character in these books, he totally would.
September 28, 2024
I didn’t enjoy this volume quite as much as the first one (can I say it just wasn’t as twee?). Still a lot of fun and I really wish the author had written more stories about these two gentlemen.
March 31, 2025
Another collection of page turning adventures by the "retired" special ops guys. Very entertaining.
Want to read
June 11, 2023Read so far:
The twilight of the gods (aka Eyes that miss nothing)--
Emergency exit (aka Mr. Calder acquires a dog)--
*One-to-ten --
*The peaceful people --
*The lion and the virgin (aka The panic button)--
*The African tree beavers --
*Signal Tresham --
The mercenaries --
Early warning (aka Dangerous enemy)--
*The killing of Michael Finnegan --
The decline and fall of Mr. Behrens (aka The man who had met Hitler)--
The last reunion --
The twilight of the gods (aka Eyes that miss nothing)--
Emergency exit (aka Mr. Calder acquires a dog)--
*One-to-ten --
*The peaceful people --
*The lion and the virgin (aka The panic button)--
*The African tree beavers --
*Signal Tresham --
The mercenaries --
Early warning (aka Dangerous enemy)--
*The killing of Michael Finnegan --
The decline and fall of Mr. Behrens (aka The man who had met Hitler)--
The last reunion --
June 7, 2013
A collection of short stories about a pair of ordinary gentlemen who happen to have a long and successful career in espionage and assassination. The stories range from 1943 up to the 1970s, presumably having written by Gilbert at different points during his career. Nicely done.
March 18, 2012
Excellent short stories - set around the period of WWII or just after. Intelligence work performed - no 'superspy' stuff- but in it's way, quick chilling.
October 8, 2014
How did I just now find Calder and Behrens? Witty, elegant, and fun. I loved this, and will get the other C&B book shortly!
November 1, 2014
I'm just not a fan of short stories.
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December 16, 2016Quite liked this - unusual spy thriller
October 16, 2014
A collection of short stories: the adventures of two middle-aged British spies.
Dry wit.
Dry wit.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews