Operation: Super Ms.

by Andrew J. Offutt

Vintage detective story

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1974

About the author

Andrew Jefferson Offutt was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He wrote as Andrew J. Offutt, A.J. Offutt, and Andy Offut. His normal byline, andrew j. offutt, had his name in all lower-case letters. His son is the author Chris Offutt.

Offutt began publishing in 1954 with the story And Gone Tomorrow in If. Despite this early sale, he didn't consider his professional life to have begun until he sold the story Blacksword to Galaxy in 1959. His first novel was Evil Is Live Spelled Backwards in 1970.

Offutt published numerous novels and short stories, including many in the Thieves World series edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey, which featured his best known character, the thief Hanse, also known as Shadowspawn (and, later, Chance). His Iron Lords series likewise was popular. He also wrote two series of books based on characters by Robert E. Howard, one on Howard's best known character, Conan, and one on a lesser known character, Cormac mac Art.

As an editor Offutt produced a series of five anthologies entitled Swords Against Darkness, which included the first professional sale by Charles de Lint.

Offutt also wrote a large number of pornographic works under twelve different pseudonyms, not all of them identified. Those known include John Cleve, J.X. Williams, and Jeff Douglas. His main works in this area are the science fiction Spaceways series, most of whose volumes were written in collaboration, and the historical Crusader series.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a book I read many years ago and don't remember too much about except that I enjoyed it at the time and was amused by it. It's an adventure of a female undercover (insert joke here) agent named Eve Margaret Smith and her war on a drug cartel. It's obviously an exploitive thing, but not really hard core... or it would have appeared from an under-the-counter publisher under a pseudonym. There are chases and murders and all manner of shenanigans and adventures. _Double entendres_ abound... it's not offutt's best work by any stretch, but a harmless little product of the time wrapped in a simple good vs. bad story.

[Robert Woford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised, a female lead in a sexy spy novel and she saves herself all the time. Two really intense chase scenes. Hard to believe it was written in the 70's.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the greatest book it does have its good points. It's fast paced and intertaining.