Sabre-Tooth

Modesty Blaise #2

by Peter O'Donnell

In the second installment of Peter O'Donnell's best-selling Modesty Blaise series, Karz, a modern day Genghis Khan with an army of ruthless mercenaries, plans to take over oil-rich Kuwait. It is left to Modesty Blaise and her loyal lieutenant, Willie Garvin, to investigate Karz before an epic battle takes place in the Hindu Kush mountains. Modesty must fight alone to prevent an invasion that will change the world.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Crime, Action, Pulp

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Peter O'Donnell also wrote as Madeleine Brent.

http://www.cs.umu.se/~kenth/modesty.html
is an excellent resource on this author.

To help keep the novels and the adventure strip collections separate, here's some info about the Modesty Blaise works.

In 1963, O'Donnell began his 38-year run as writer of the Modesty Blaise adventure story strip, which appeared six days a week in English and Scottish newspapers. He retired the strip in 2001.

Each strip story took 18-20 weeks to complete. Several publishers over the years have attempted to collect these stories in large softcovers. Titan Publishing is currently in the process of bringing them all out in large-format softcover, with 2-3 stories in each books. These are called "graphic novels" in the Goodreads title.

Meanwhile, during those 38 years, O'Donnell also wrote 13 books about Modesty Blaise: 11 novels and 2 short story/novella collections. These stories are not related to the strip stories; they are not novelizations of strip stories. They are entirely new, though the characters and "lives" are the same. These have been labeled "series #0".

There is a large article on Peter O'Donnell on Wikipedia, with a complete bibliography.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

First US Edition.

Sabre-Tooth" is the second book in the Modesty Blaise series of books and was written by Peter O'Donnell in 1966. It is a direct sequel to the first book "Modesty Blaise" , with Sir Gerald Tarrant of the British Foreign Service sending Modesty and Willie out on another dangerous mission.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second novel in the series is a great step up from the rather routine MODESTY BLAISE (1965), which is not a bad book in and of itself but it can't help but pale in comparison to the subsequent stories that reveal O'Donnell to be a master of both characterization and page-turning suspense. SABRE-TOOTH has to do with a Mongolian military megalomaniac (Ooh! Alliteration!) who is assembling and training an army of mercenaries with the goal of seizing oil-rich Kuwait (can you say "eerily prescient?"), but he needs two utterly badassed commanders to lead his men. Aware of Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin as ideal choices for the role, and equally cogniscent of their retirement from professional ass-whuppin' and criminal activity, the blackguard kidnaps a child dear to our heroes and uses her as leverage to ensure their cooperation. Thus pressed into service, Modesty and Willie must figure out how to survive leading an army of cutthroats, rescue their young charge, defeat the hand-to-hand skills of "the Twins," stop the invasion of Kuwait, and somehow escape from an absolutely escape-proof training ground.

This one's as serious as a heart attack, and there's even a sequence in which Modesty endures...Well, let's just say that I had to put the book down for a while before I could continue reading what she was going through, an experience that made me respect her mental and physical skills all the more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Roybot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Modesty Blaise books, but why, oh why, are the covers so godawful terrible? I'm sitting reading my book, and my wife gives me the side eye... "What are you reading?" she asks with narrowed eyes and raised brow. I try to explain that it's an action thriller featuring daring plots, danger, excitement... "The cover is smutty." Well... yes. There's that.

Anyway.

Aesthetic critique aside, Sabre-Tooth is a solid entry in the continuing adventures of Modesty Blaise. Hidden bases, daring night rescues, and, of course, the eclectic and bizarre menagerie of villains. Like the Bond books, there's definitely some... problematic content that is *very* dated by modern standards (I would really enjoy some critical analysis of the series, honestly), but the plot and action are well paced and thoroughly enjoyable, all the same.

[Kerry Kilburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an unabashed Modesty Blaise fan, and have been for decades. I consider her to be one of the first modern kick-ass heroines, and admire the skill with which O'Donnell created her and her world - Blaise is obviously not your average young woman, but somehow remains both real and very likable throughout the series. I am rereading them now, and loving every minute.

For those who don't know, O'Donnell also wrote a set of gothics under the pen name Madeleine Brent; they are also well worth checking out!

[Bread winner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely, for such a smart writer, O’Donnell always seems to spin his wheels in the middle, and it’s particularly damaging here, to the point the story could start at page 200 and be just as effective. Thanks, but I don’t need two chapters of Willie chiselling a hole in a ceiling. But the third act is non-stop tension, drama, near misses and silly 60s comic book bullshit integrated seamlessly with some truly ugly developments. The biblical vengeance Modesty and Willie inflict on the villains is more than deserved.

Real funny that they have this obnoxious kid character who you kinda hate and then, LOL, turns out Modesty and Willie kinda hate her too.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Modesty Blaise book I have read and I’m now hooked. In the first book it was clear that she is a real ‘kickass’ heroine, but in this book we get to see just how much she is prepared to endure to get the job done. At times this is a really ‘gritty’ thriller.

When I started reading the books I had some worries that they would seem very dated, but it is easy to forget that they were written in the 60s, over 50 years ago.

The only minor criticism was as soon we meet Lucille it was clear what was going to happen. The problem then is it makes the next half the book almost redundant, because I was just waiting for the point when Lucille becomes the leverage.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got pointed at the Modesty Blaise series by a friend who knows my love of the genre that used to be called "men's adventure novels" and is now called "techno-thrillers". Well, these aren't "techno" per se -- this one was first published in 1966 -- but they're good solid adventure novels, and Modesty (the main character) has catapulted past Dirk Pitt as my favorite action-adventure hero ever. (Jack Ryan wasn't even in the running.) Basic premise: Modesty Blaise, a former criminal mastermind, has retired from running The Network and now lives in England as one of the idle rich. Except she's bored. Very bored. She and her right-hand-man Willie Garvin occasionally take jobs at the request of Sir Gerald Tarrant, member of the British secret service, who passes things on to Modesty if he can't do them officially and above-board.

This one is the second book in the series (the care package I got of the series didn't include the first), but I accidentally read out-of-order by following the inner bookplates, which in these editions aren't entirely accurate about sequence. Doesn't matter; they can be read in pretty much any order and enjoyed. If you like action-adventure, I'd totally give these a try. (They're products of their times, though; for all that they're fairly progressive in that they feature a female protagonist, one must look past some things that would be tremendously un-PC today.)

This one's about an attempted coup in Kuwait, in which Modesty and her faithful sidekick Willie get caught up, at the request of Tarrant. It's fast-paced and very readable, and I enjoyed it very much.

[Doug · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILERS AHEAD:



The pacing in this book was so bad I think I'm done with the series. First we get a lot of the author desperately trying to convince us that Modesty and Willie are cool. (If we didn't already think that, we wouldn't be reading the second book in the series). Introduce us to the obviously future hostage. Then set up set up set up. Action sequence that was obviously there because we had gone too far in the book without one. Set up set up set up. Then the action starts and the book picks up again, and things get dark with the getting shot and the rapey part and all.

And then the end? All better! Status Quo! Modesty's severe bullet wound? Plastic Surgery! She's pretty and perfect again! The traumatic multiple rape stuff? She's Modesty! She knew the job was dangerous when she took it! All happy and perfect again! The hostage faux-daughter they cared about, who had trauma BEFORE her kidnapping, and stole? Adopted by Americans! Don't worry about her!

Bah.

[Jan Sørensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long before Nikita, long before Geena Davis in "Kiss Goodnight", long before Tomb Raider and all the others there were Modesty Blaise! And she is equally good in the app. 100 graphic novels as in the dozen novels and short stories. They are wellwritten, never have You seen more crooky crooks nor ingenious action -and the good guys wins in the end -after You have suffered for long!
In "Tooth" she discovers a plot to take-over Kuwait. She becomes part of it along with some marvellous crooks never seen more evil. And smashes it in the end...
It has been seen before, but Modesty Blaise does it better. Some have compared her to James Bond, but Modesty is so much more complex and interesting as a character (and beautiful as well). And the stories are always great. And the plot to take over Kuwait? Does it remind You of something?

[Jack Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book of the Modesty Blaise series is a very well written novel and takes us on from the first book in the series 'Modesty Blaise' which - I believe - was a novelization of the script of the original film. The film - directed by Joseph Losey was a self indulgent ego trip and should be avoided at all costs. The book of the script was far superior and with 'Sabre Tooth' Peter O'Donnell has laid the foundation for the rest of the series.
Sabre Tooth is an excellent adventure story. It is intelligent, it is well written and leaves you wanting more.
Well done Mr O'Donnell.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the only other Modesty Blaise book I read back in the 60s when it first came out. There were two scenes I've always remembered from the books, just didn't remember which book they were in... this was it... her use of The Nailer move and her escape from capture by an army setting up to invade Kuwait. Imagine that. Oh, and the invasion was set for September 11. Ha. That had no significance back in the 60s.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome! A kick-ass, feminine James Bond, only harder and more lethal.

[Jane Jago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Modesty and Willie Garvin. It's kind of like a warm cuddle of a book with a bit of sex and violence. I'll probably go through the card now...

[Paul Magnussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, the second Modesty Blaise book, from 1966, is basically just as good as the first — which is to say very good. It’s about a plot to invade and take over Kuwait, and it caused a fair amount of retrospective amazement and expostulation when the real-life invasion of 1990 occurred.

The villains are (relatively) plausible, and the whole story moves along at a cracking pace.

This not to say that everything’s perfect. On p.123 the name of the head of the Deuxième Bureau, which had been Leon Vaubois up to that point, suddenly changes to René Vaubois for no apparently reason.

But this is trivial compared to the major problem, a deplorable tendency to which no other major thriller-writer that I can think of, from Sapper onwards, has succumbed. This is that the story is encumbered with tedious recaps, presumably for the benefit of new readers (a prologue with a synopsis is apparently out of the question). And this vice gets progressively worse as the series progresses.

There is, however, a remedy, if the book is your own; and this is to go through it with a black pen and cross the recaps out. This can be done without spoiling the flow of the narrative at all — quite the reverse, in fact, since the recaps aways appear as clumsy interjections.

I have done this with all my copies, and to my mind greatly improved them. And so, for the benefit of anyone who cares to do likewise, I present below a list of all the deletions in my copy of the present book. The "¶" sign denotes a paragraph number. The page numbers are from the Pan paperback of 1967.

If you find the bit about the deletions useful, leave a comment to that effect and I’ll do the other books.

Chapter 2

p. 24

¶ 1 "was the pub" thru "as an anchor it"
¶ 4 "He knew" thru "sound-proof."

pp. 34–35

¶ 5 "Willie was the man" thru ¶ 1 "the most dangerous."

p. 36

¶ 6 "The quotation" thru "to read."

Chapter 3

p.45

¶ 4–5 "Derived from the old" thru "stun, or kill."

p.54

¶ 3–6 "That was not long after" thru "payer of debts?’"

p.56

¶ 6 "Vaubois was the head" thru "as a colleague."

Chapter 7

p. 97

¶ 5 "The lipstick case" thru "at six feet."

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The creation of the team of Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin by Peter O’Donnell was an act of genius. Modesty is simultaneously an example of stunning femininity and one of the toughest fighters in the world. Willie Garvin is also one of the most formidable fighters in the world. They work together in taking on some of the most difficult challenges, working for the law, yet never within the confines of the law.
In this case, Willie and Modesty have taken some form of custody of a teen girl named Lucille and she is proving to be a handful. Like Modesty, she was an orphan that grew up on the streets, so she had to steal and cheat to survive. A major operation is brewing, and British intelligence has heard rumblings of the plot. Many of the best mercenaries in the world have dropped out of sight, so there is reason to suspect that a private army is being formed.
When approached by Sir Tarrant of the British intelligence services, Modesty and Willie come up with a scheme to make themselves attractive to those forming the army. They manage to be “recruited” to join that army as commanders of sections and they must survive some very brutal conditions. Yet, they are Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, so despite the nearly impossible odds, they manage to thwart the conspirators and free themselves.
What makes the characters so enjoyable is that while Modesty and Willie treat each other as equals, it is clear that Modesty is in charge. Given that the character of Modesty Blaise was created in 1963, this is most unusual. Modesty, is extremely intelligent and capable, yet can project nearly overwhelming feminine charm when needed. As she proves once again in this story, she will do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means she must do things that others would find degrading. Both Willie and Modesty also engage in intimate relationships with others with no jealousy between them.

[Secret Agent Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin are recruited into a mercenary army assembled and trained in the Hindu Kush mountains. The army, under the command of a megalomaniac named Karv, is planning to invade Kuwait. Modesty and Willie are secretly working for British Intelligence, but are getting very little assistance from the British. With the British unwilling to act on their warning about the impending invasion, it falls on Modesty and Willie to stop the invasion from within.

"Saber-Tooth" takes a little while to get going. The first part of the book spends a lot of time focusing on the daily life of Modesty and Willie in Britain. We're also introduced to Lucille, an orphan and accomplished pickpocket from Algiers that Modesty and Willie have semi-adopted.

We then get a series of vignettes, that are entertaining but seem a bit disconnected. A casino sequence with Modesty losing a fortune at the gaming table. A museum heist worthy of "Mission: Impossible." And a capture by persons unknown for reasons unknown, requiring Modesty and Willie to engineer an ingenious escape plan.

But eventually all of these plot threads come together, and once we get to the meat of the story--Modesty and Willie serving in the mercenary army--the story moves along at breakneck speed to a spectacular climax.

I became a bit impatient with the disjointed nature of the first part of the book--almost like watching three or four episodes of a non-existent "Modesty Blaise" TV-series. But once the story really started moving it kept me enthralled to the very end.

[MKenfield21 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a huge fan of the way in which Modesty and Willie often rely on semi-passive solutions to their problems. That is, when they undertake an action that does not accomplish their goal but attempts to provoke their enemy into a reaction that will accomplish their goal. I don't think this is a sustainable operational pattern. Sooner or later someone will react against the odds and you will die.

Other than that however, these are serious people in a serious business. That's always fun to read.

So far, the series is impressively date-agnostic, with only the absence of computers and the presence of revolvers as a significant giveaway. A revolver is clearly not an ideal primary-carry piece in 2018, but a lot of people thought it was in the 60s, and Modesty's decision to utilize such a weapon is reasonably informed for the time period.

The best part of the book continues to be her relationship with Willie, which is one of the great platonic male/female partnerships I have read, along with the Leary/Mundy pairing.

This book doesn't get an unqualified 4/5 recommendation because the first half of it is fairly slow (though still engaging and pretty funny at times) and because, in the second half, the caper relies too often on fortunate outcomes to succeed.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that's odd. This is No.2 in the Modesty Blaise series of novels. Throughout the rest of the series, there are repeated references to Sabre-Tooth being the caper in which Willie Garvin acquired the S-shaped scar on the back of his hand. However, not until the final pages of the book does anyone even mention the scar, which in this book is already old.
I know I must have read this book at least once in the past, but apart from Modesty and Willie's street child protege, I didn't remember a single thing, so it was a fresh read. It lacked the sexual and violent details of later books (which I did not miss), and there was a lot more technical stuff and description of the buildings and place. I will admit to having skimmed through the technical stuff, but I was amused to read how prevalent asbestos sheeting and fire curtains were in this 1960s terrorist camp.
The end of the caper was pure Early James Bond Movie, and made me laugh in the most "exciting" part. But for all that, I enjoyed it as a change of pace.

[Shawn Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Modesty novel I've read recently (along with Dragon's Claw and a book of short stories, Pieces of Modesty). Each time I'm amazed and impressed with author O'Donnell's characterizations, his imagination when it comes to bad guys and set-pieces, the skillful and clear descriptions and the storytelling suspense. Sabre-Tooth is, I believe, the second in the Modesty Blaise series but the first (I think to use) the infamous "Nailer," an attention-grabber that our heroine deploys when it's necessary to distract the bad guys. James Bond, eat your heart out.

[Conan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phew, what a book! I didn’t know what to expect, but I loved how the action gradually built its way up to the fantastic climax. Sure things got a bit slow, but I appreciated the world building, especially as the trope of Chekhov’s Gun made its way into the story. All in all, it was a fun romp, and seeing Modesty come out on top was what I needed.

[Marie Bouteille · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could be one of those action movies that are inspired by the news, except it was written 50 years ago. It's very modern. The settings remind me a little of a Mad Max movie. It's thrilling and fun to read.

[Reeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one with the Twins and Lucille and Dall. And Willie's Marlon Brando bit. Written in 1966 and referencing mental trauma in a way that is recognisable today. Violent and quite visceral. With touches of humour.

[James Hein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old but good series. IF you havenlt read them then do it.

[Nick Pengelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally hip!

[Pers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the first.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

[Seantheaussie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow start but QUALITY 5 star Modesty and Willie interactions from chapter 15 onwards.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast action. Nice to have a strong woman lead.

[Richard Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The finest escapist thrillers ever written' said one reviewer, and 'Sabre-Tooth' is the finest of the finest. Location, pace and characterisation are all riveting. Right from the outset, the villainous mercenaries are absolutely terrifying and the hazardousness of Modesty and Willie's position, undercover among them, holds the reader throughout. I do not want to give very much away, save that the power of the novel comes as much from the unique bond of friendship between our heroes, as from the hideousness of the adversaries (and, bloody Hell, are those adversaries hideous!) In other words, unlike so many misogynist or just plain misanthropic thrillers, the Modesty Blaise books in general, and 'Sabre-Tooth' in particular, have their heart slap bang in the right place. You'll enjoy reading this and it'll be the absolute reverse of a 'guilty pleasure.'