A classic cover

A certain book to be published this week in France can expect to sell between 100,000 and 200,000 copies -- but, oddly, don't expect to read any reviews. "Hostage of the Taleban" is the latest (171st!) in the monumental series of S.A.S action thrillers by Gerard de Villiers. The first novel starring his Austrian aristocrat hero Malko Linge was written in 1965, and since then he claims to have sold 150 million books around the world! (S.A.S. stands for Son Altesse Serenissime -- Linge's honorific). Anyone who knows France will have seen the books -- though oddly enough not in book-shops. Places like FNAC refuse to stock them. Instead they are on sale in stations and airports, where they go by the bucketful. There's no denying the books are pulp. I have just read "The defector of Pyongyang". After a few pages I had the measure of it, and had no great desire to continue. But what is fascinating is the way such a massive literary success story (however low-brow) is simply ignored in France. Part of the reason is that de Villiers is uncompromisingly right-wing. He has said some things that are certainly provocative, and as a result is seen as a pariah. The other reason is that the literary establishment regards the books as beneath them. I agree they are crap, but no worse than a lot of other shlock that the shops are happy to put on sale. And in their favour, it has to be said that the S.A.S. novels are impeccably researched. "Hostage of the Taleban" was written after a trip to Afghanistan this year, where de Villiers drew on his excellent contacts in the French armed forces and intelligence. The books may be turgid, but he knows what he is talking about. Every story is rooted in some real-life geopolitical crisis. The next is set in Kosovo -- where de Villiers (just back from the scene) warns of an impending explosion. De Villiers features in the next edition of Champs-Elysees. Check it out.