THE SUCCESSOR

THE SUCCESSOR. Burt Schiller. Originally published in 1966. Aardvark Press Edition; 2022. 

Back in the day when I was a teen and The Man from UNCLE was my favorite TV show, I picked up a paperback in my local stationary store called The Successor because the plot made it almost sound like an episode of that show. The hero, Benjamin Seeker, inherits almost everything from his father, not knowing that his father was the founder and head of a criminal cartel called Unicorn (which reminded me of THRUSH, Uncle's nemesis). Seeker is pretty much told that he either takes over the organization or he'll die because he knows too much. For most of the book he tries to dodge or get away from Unicorn operatives with homicidal intent while trying to make up his mind what to do. 

I knew The Man from UNCLE could be weird -- it eventually degenerated into a foolish out and out comedy before getting back on track, too late, for the fourth season -- but The Successor even out-weirded that show. I mean in one of the early chapters Ben is kidnapped by two Unicorn operatives nicknamed "Ma and Pa Kettle." Ben is put into a bathtub where the mentally-defective "Pa" -- thinking Ben is a baby -- objects when "Ma" starts man-handling Ben in a way that no one should ever touch a baby. Definitely not ready for prime time! And that's only the start!

The wildest chapter is entitled "Killer Nuns," in which a group of women, who may or may not be actual nuns, force Ben to make love to them in order for them to release him and two other captives. Typical of sixties "spy"-types, although Seeker is not really a spy, Ben is absolutely irresistible to all women and horny for all of them as well. (The back cover copy reads "women want to smother him with kisses. Men want to riddle him with bullets," carried over from the old paperback edition.) One of the Unicorn operatives is Father Dunn, who leads the "nuns." Another is called Gorgon, who weighs 300 pounds and runs around in his underpants!

Okay, The Successor is obviously not a work of serious intent, and it is by no means politically correct, although I always thought it had a very good basic premise. However, it is so bizarre and amusing at times that I can see why a small press has brought out a new edition of the novel, written by an ad man named Burt Schiller (as far as I know this was his only book).

Verdict: This is by no means everyone's cup of java -- its weirdness both works for and against it -- but you gotta love any book that has killer nuns in it! **3/4.