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But let's put that aside. This is after all a world where ''By Jove!'' is a serious expletive, where evil cads give women time to prepare themselves for the prospective of being raped, where blackmailing, gold-digging sirens see the error of their ways with only the gentlest of persuasion, and where hardened American agents have a tendency to say "Gee".

That's clearly something I can do with ease, because (as with the first) I read this at a rapid click and enjoyed every second of it. If you want to compare it to anything, think of the Indiana Jones movies or Romancing the Stone. Utterly silly, but a joy none the less.

I'm sure that at the time the communist threat to Empire would have leant more of a thrill to the story than one can appreciate at this remove. Was Bulgarin ever at a secret meeting in a college in Lahore plotting with the Chinese, and a conglomerate of European nations to un-do the super-powers of the day? Not only have I no idea, but this isn't the kind of tale to make me want to go look it up. It's pure escapism. Enjoy it for what it is.

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