What do you think?
Rate this book
Get Smart #7
Max Smart - The Spy Who Went Out to the Cold
157 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
36 people want to read
About the author
William Johnston
106 books15 followersLibrarian note: William Johnston has also written under the pseudonyms Susan Claudia, Willa Jay, Heather Sinclair, Ed Garth, Alex Steele, and William Howard.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2020
The biggest problem is that this feels like a failed script for a TV movie with unrealistic and lazy world building. I'm not angry just dead inside. I expected dumb comedy and I found stupidity. It's been years since I watched this so I can't really compare apart from a few flashbacks.
Cover
This cover tries way too hard to make you pick it up. There's no faith in the story at all.
Obviously having Don Adams on the cover isn't a surprise. It is a nice touch having him bundle up holding a skate phone, something we've never seen before now. Having the theme blue perfect. Makes sense with the title direction. This should be enough to entice anyone to read it but clearly no one involved that was enough convincing consumers.
How desperate?
I would like to direct you to a statement on the cover.
"CONTROL'S MASTER CHUCKLEHEAD AND THE EVIL MEN OF KAOS FIGHT THEIR OWN COLD WAR AT THE NORTH POLE" Completely deceptive to the story.
Also the back cover lays out pretty mush everything and anything that could entice you to the story revealing nothing to the imagination. The real kicker is that Nothing ties into the title. (I'll get to that later)
Interior
There as so many issues with the story Where do I start?
A very serious problem this book had was Smart is supposed to be the oddball among normal people along the lines of Inspector Clouseau, Mr. Magoo, and Inspector Gadget. This this world Somehow Maxwell Smart fell a touch smarter (not by much) than most of the other characters. It really become hard to root for the underdog when he is being held hostage by two archeologists that are convinced he is a dead/alive? thousand year old mummy that needs to be held prisoners to be authenticated.
The show was quite animated. Comedy came from pacing, properly placed over explained rambles, expressive faces, and a touch of slapstick.
On paper pacing is based on how you read and most often I didn't even snort a chuckle. Expression's are completely gone from the book, and slapstick is non-existent. Here there is an abundance of over explaining rambles to the point it only feels like filler such as talking about this "Sidney" character that isn't even in the book.
I would have figured a winter themed book really focused on the north pole the cold and winter really just went to the desert? If they focused more on the story and less getting there it probably would been more cohesive and felt a touch more realistic. Sailing a ship during a sand storm across Africa makes no sense.
99 was in the show more to keep Smart in line more like a voice of reason at times. At times she felt genuine taking the lead when he could make any headway. But on the other side she also supported insanity a touch to often.
I think the Professor von BOOM wasn't fully utilized. At times the jokes really fit for him but I think he needed more that three word cues in the book to add more variety.
Final thoughts
Shockingly it missing some of the most iconic moments from the show. Such as the "Cone Of Silence" Honestly why on earth wouldn't you add into every book.
As well as his, "Missed it by that much." and as well as those exaggerated threats that became more petty when the villains would believe him.
Also I find it interesting that even in 68' this book was trying to convince people Sled Dogs don't love going out and Dog Sleighing.
SPOILERS! If it matters.
This ending feels a bit underwhelming. Turns out When you realize at least half the book has been a complete rouse. The worst part is the cover promises Control vs KAOS will have their own US/Russia
cold war like face off at the North Pole. The north pole is only in the last chapter has no purpose and ultimately the story becomes as bad as a dream sequence. Nothing is lost, nothing was impacted, and failing their mission had no major repercussions.
Cover
This cover tries way too hard to make you pick it up. There's no faith in the story at all.
Obviously having Don Adams on the cover isn't a surprise. It is a nice touch having him bundle up holding a skate phone, something we've never seen before now. Having the theme blue perfect. Makes sense with the title direction. This should be enough to entice anyone to read it but clearly no one involved that was enough convincing consumers.
How desperate?
I would like to direct you to a statement on the cover.
"CONTROL'S MASTER CHUCKLEHEAD AND THE EVIL MEN OF KAOS FIGHT THEIR OWN COLD WAR AT THE NORTH POLE" Completely deceptive to the story.
Also the back cover lays out pretty mush everything and anything that could entice you to the story revealing nothing to the imagination. The real kicker is that Nothing ties into the title. (I'll get to that later)
Interior
There as so many issues with the story Where do I start?
A very serious problem this book had was Smart is supposed to be the oddball among normal people along the lines of Inspector Clouseau, Mr. Magoo, and Inspector Gadget. This this world Somehow Maxwell Smart fell a touch smarter (not by much) than most of the other characters. It really become hard to root for the underdog when he is being held hostage by two archeologists that are convinced he is a dead/alive? thousand year old mummy that needs to be held prisoners to be authenticated.
The show was quite animated. Comedy came from pacing, properly placed over explained rambles, expressive faces, and a touch of slapstick.
On paper pacing is based on how you read and most often I didn't even snort a chuckle. Expression's are completely gone from the book, and slapstick is non-existent. Here there is an abundance of over explaining rambles to the point it only feels like filler such as talking about this "Sidney" character that isn't even in the book.
I would have figured a winter themed book really focused on the north pole the cold and winter really just went to the desert? If they focused more on the story and less getting there it probably would been more cohesive and felt a touch more realistic. Sailing a ship during a sand storm across Africa makes no sense.
99 was in the show more to keep Smart in line more like a voice of reason at times. At times she felt genuine taking the lead when he could make any headway. But on the other side she also supported insanity a touch to often.
I think the Professor von BOOM wasn't fully utilized. At times the jokes really fit for him but I think he needed more that three word cues in the book to add more variety.
Final thoughts
Shockingly it missing some of the most iconic moments from the show. Such as the "Cone Of Silence" Honestly why on earth wouldn't you add into every book.
As well as his, "Missed it by that much." and as well as those exaggerated threats that became more petty when the villains would believe him.
Also I find it interesting that even in 68' this book was trying to convince people Sled Dogs don't love going out and Dog Sleighing.
SPOILERS! If it matters.
This ending feels a bit underwhelming. Turns out When you realize at least half the book has been a complete rouse. The worst part is the cover promises Control vs KAOS will have their own US/Russia
cold war like face off at the North Pole. The north pole is only in the last chapter has no purpose and ultimately the story becomes as bad as a dream sequence. Nothing is lost, nothing was impacted, and failing their mission had no major repercussions.
December 14, 2019
It helps if one has watched the original TV series and thus can read the book with Max's voice in your head reading the dialogue.
July 28, 2023
Most of it was 4 stars, maybe the later part was 3 stars.
November 15, 2018
possibly read in spring 1968
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews