[Callan Uncovered] [By: Mitchell, James] [October, 2014]

by James Mitchell

The collected and missing files of the enigmatic, totally ruthless and iconic secret agent Callan, created by James Mitchell. From his first appearance in the television drama A Magnum for Schneider in 1967, David Callan became a cult hero of British spy-fiction and went on to feature in hugely successful television series, films, novels and short stories – more than two dozen, which are collected here for the very first time. The stories – featuring Callan, Lonely and regular members of The Section including Hunter, Liz, Meres and FitzMaurice – were originally published in the Sunday Express (and syndicated in newspapers in Singapore and Australia). They have never been published in book form before and most have not been seen for over thirty-eight years. Along with the short stories, Callan Uncovered also contains an early Treatment for an episode of Callan the television series, the screenplay for an un-filmed episode, Goodbye Mary Lee, never before published, and an introduction by Peter Mitchell.

Genres: Espionage, Thriller

Hardcover

First published October 9, 2014

About the author

James William Mitchell (12 March 1926, South Shields - 15 September 2002, Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was a British writer of crime fiction and spy thrillers. Mr. Mitchell also wrote under the pseudonyms James Munro and Patrick O. McGuire. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford.


Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects a number of short stories James Mitchell wrote about his world-weary secret operative Callan, a man fully able to kill as needed despite his conscience often causing him problems — his bursts of humanity often cause his bosses a degree of frustration (over the course of the series “Hunter” changed several times.)

The short stories are somewhat different than the TV series — Hunter is pretty much the same man from story to story, while there’s more often a violent solution where the episodes often skipped the violent closure and instead twisted back and forth to a conclusion.

To round out the volume there’s an unused treatment and an unrecorded script — probably meant for the first series, before Callan rejoined the Section.

[Loyola L. Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super stories

The stories are well written and fast moving. After watching the Callan shows these provide more information and depth
about the characters.

[James Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay... this is not a novel, it is an anthology.

In this book you'll find a selection of tales that have never been collected before. Short stories, adaptations and serial tales.

The quality is a little bit variable but it is oddly addictive.

These tiny bite sized tales are fast paced and throw you straight into the action. No complexity, no depth but if you know the characters you can crack straight on with some quite brilliant tales.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Staid, stolid, down to earth British Gentleman. Callan is instead an Assassin for the British Government. No gee gaws, no fancy toys, just a gun and a man and a job finished

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blast from the past

Fascinating material from the creator of Callan. Terse thrillerettes with all the atmosphere of the primal programmes. A great memory of the past.