Thursday 10 March 2016

Sex And Spying

In spy fiction, how often does our hero's sexual prowess become one of the skills to be used in Intelligence work? En route to Merseia, Ensign Flandry has initiated an affair with Lord Hauksberg's mistress. On Mersia, Max Abrams acquires sensitive intelligence that must be transmitted to Earth without the knowledge of either Hauksberg or their Merseian hosts. Solution: arrange for Hauksberg to surprise Flandry with the mistress so that the Ensign can be sent home in disgrace... Later in his career, Flandry obtains important intelligence from a Resident's wife.

SMERSH baits a trap for James Bond by persuading Tatiana Romanova to contact British Intelligence with the story that she has fallen for Bond and will defect bringing with her important intelligence provided that it is he who comes to get her. Of course, Tatiana, like several other women on the other side, really does fall for Bond.

I am not sure how long this Flandry-Bond comparison will continue but, while it does, I find it as interesting as anything else.

5 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Forgive me nit picking yet again, but another mistake was made in your first paragraph. Susette Kalehua Lagard's husband Martin was a RESIDENT, not a governor. Martin Lagard was the Imperial resident of the planet Diomedes and ranked below sector governors and high commissioners.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
OK.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I'm afraid I'm treating you the way SF fans often do when writing to their favorite authors--pointing out mistakes or possible mistakes. I admit doing that to Poul Anderson himself in some of the letters I wrote to him.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
The Technic History is like a real world where details matter.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Quite true! And the same phenomenon of passionate enthusiasm and Talmudic hyper-analyzing can be found among the fans of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth mythos.

Sean