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Kyril Bonfiglioli (1928–1985)

Author of Don't Point that Thing at Me

44+ Works 1,516 Members 43 Reviews 9 Favorited

About the Author

Series

Works by Kyril Bonfiglioli

Don't Point that Thing at Me (1972) 487 copies
The Mortdecai Trilogy (1991) 279 copies
After You with the Pistol (1979) 191 copies
All the Tea in China (1978) 125 copies
The Mortdecai ABC (2001) — Author — 22 copies
Impulse 2 (1966) — Editor — 10 copies
Science Fantasy 71 (1965) — Editor — 9 copies
Impulse 5 (1966) — Editor — 8 copies
Science Fantasy 75 — Editor — 7 copies
Science Fantasy 80 — Editor — 7 copies
Science Fantasy 70 — Editor — 6 copies
Impulse 3 (1966) — Editor — 5 copies
Science Fantasy 73 (1965) — Editor — 5 copies
Science Fantasy 69 (1965) — Editor — 5 copies
Science Fantasy 79 (1965) — Editor — 4 copies
Science Fantasy 81 (1966) — Editor — 4 copies
Impulse 4 (1966) — Editor — 4 copies
Science Fantasy 66 (1964) — Editor — 3 copies
Science Fantasy 78 — Editor — 3 copies
Science Fantasy 67 (1964) — Editor — 3 copies
SF Impulse 6 (1966) — Editor — 3 copies
Science Fantasy 68 — Editor — 3 copies
SF Impulse 7 (1966) — Editor — 3 copies
Science Fantasy 72 (1965) 2 copies
Science Fantasy 76 (1965) — Editor — 2 copies
Science Fantasy 74 — Editor — 2 copies
SF Reprise 6 (1940) — Editor — 1 copy
SF Reprise 3 — Editor — 1 copy
SF Reprise 4 — Editor — 1 copy
Netēmē uz mani (2006) 1 copy

Associated Works

England Swings SF: Stories of Speculative Fiction (1968) — Contributor — 80 copies
Winter's Crimes 8 (1976) 6 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Alcoholic, unethical, and having received a good, if abusive, British education, Charlie Mordecai is an art historian who writes on the subject and facilitates sales of great art. But he's also willing to dabble in blackmail and murder.
In this first of the series, Mordecai is persuaded, through extreme torture, to travel across America in a Rolls Silver Ghost that will be delivered to the man who is the hit.
If you enjoy the snappy British dialogue of Wooster and Jeeves but would like it raunchier and more violent, Mordecai is a fun alternative.… (more)
 
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mstrust | 21 other reviews | Mar 26, 2024 |
The second of Bonfigliolis' Mortdecai books picks up immediately from the first, with the dissolute and shady art dealer in the clutches of various agencies who wish him harm. He manages to extricate himself by promising to marry the gorgeous Johanna and keep tabs on her activities.

Johanna manipulates Mortdecai into a series of increasingly dubious activities from assassinating the Queen, training at a camp for lesbian warriors and smuggling heroin out of China. As the plot proceeds it just gets sillier and sillier, serving mainly as a vehicle for Mortdecai to toss off a series of acid observations, which keep the laughs coming.

After You with the Pistol is pure fluff, but very enjoyable and well-executed fluff. There's a lot of Wodehouse in Bonfiglioli's characters, and he makes reference to Jeeves and Wooster several times, so it's clear they are among his inspirations. These books are a bit more manic than the Jeeves stories, but lovers of Wodehouse would probably enjoy them.
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gjky | 6 other reviews | Apr 9, 2023 |
Something Nasty in the Woodshed is the find instalment in the Mortdecai trilogy. Charlie and Johanna have decamped to the Isle of Jersey because certain authorities in London have suggested to Charlie that he not show his face in London for a long while.

The wife of one of Charlie's chums is assaulted and raped in her home. Soon after, another of the wives in their circle is also raped. Accounts indicate that the rapes may be linked to a practitioner of witchcraft. Charlie does the obvious thing and arranges for a Satanic Black Mass to entrap the miscreant.

The book has Bonfiglioli's usual quota of arch observations from Charlie, and the ending is good. However I simply could not go along with the idea of building a light-hearted caper story around women being raped. That may have seemed funny in the '70s when the book was first published, but it's far less so now.

I also think this final instalment would have been stronger if it was a continuation of the plot lines of the first two novels. One doesn't get the sense of a story being brought to a conclusion, rather than an additional yarn being tacked onto the end of a two-novel plot.
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gjky | 4 other reviews | Apr 9, 2023 |
Don't Point That Thing at Me is the first of a series of novels about the Hon. Charles Mortdecai, a dissolute and amoral art "dealer" (read "thief") who lives in Piccadilly with his thuggish valet Jock. Mortdecai comes from the landed gentry but is more likely to be involved with far more disreputable and often illegal activities.

In this first instalment, Mortdecai gets his hands on a stolen Goya on behalf of a wealthy and shady American client. This client has also decided to go in for a bit of blackmail, the consequences of which rebound on the unsuspecting Mortdecai and spectacular and often painful fashion.

The plot is wildly improbable from start to finish, but Mortdecai is a brilliant character that the reader warms to readiy. The narration is droll and arch, with some acid comments on matters such as the aristocracy, sex and airline food that provoke sputtering laughter. The Mordecai books are not easy to find, but worth seeking out.
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Flagged
gjky | 21 other reviews | Apr 9, 2023 |

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Associated Authors

Keith Roberts Contributor, Cover artist, Associate Editor
Harry Harrison Contributor
Brian W. Aldiss Contributor
R. W. Mackelworth Contributor
Langdon Jones Contributor
Chris Boyce Contributor
Johnny Byrne Contributor
Dikk Richardson Contributor
Eric C. Williams Contributor
Clifford C. Reed Contributor
John Rackham Contributor
Judith Ann Lawrence Cover artist
Poul Anderson Contributor
James Blish Contributor
Ernest Hill Contributor
J. G. Ballard Contributor
Richard Wilson Contributor
Jack Vance Contributor
Angus McAllister Contributor
Mack Reynolds Contributor
E. C. Tubb Contributor
Rob Sproat Contributor
Daphne Castell Contributor
R. Mackelworth Contributor
A. K. Jorgensson Contributor
Roger Harris Cover artist
Fred Wheeler Contributor
Alistair Bevan Contributor
M. J. P. Moore Contributor
Robert Cheetham Contributor
Simon Prebble Narrator
Nicky Zann Cover artist
T.F. Thompson Contributor
Peter Tate Contributor
Alasdair Bevan Contributor

Statistics

Works
44
Also by
2
Members
1,516
Popularity
#16,964
Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
43
ISBNs
94
Languages
10
Favorited
9

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