Mal Bernhardt
16 February 2026
1h 2m 51s
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: Michael Avallone's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965)
00:00
01:02:51
Out of Order Book Club
In the sixth episode of our TV tie-ins mini-season, Mal, with contributions from a 'Resident Expert' (i.e. her Mum), takes a look at a 60 year old novel - The Man From U.N.C.L.E. by Michael Avallone. This was written in the 1960s, at a time when tie-in authors couldn't immerse themselves in the world of the TV show because they probably had to watch it once a week at the same time the rest of the population did. Does that mean that the novels were a mass of contradictions and discrepancies? Join me for an episode that takes a look at the challenges faced by tie-in authors in the 60s, as well as a (not long enough!) look at the author Michael Avallone the "Fast typewriter in the East".
A special thanks should go out to Lee Goldberg who shared the book 'Tied In: The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-In Writing' with me. He edited this book of essays and the one by David Spencer about tie-in writing in the 50s, 60s and 70s was so useful in this episode.
Content Warning: As this book is a spy thriller from the 60s, women aren't depicted or described in the most comfortable way. In addition, I talk briefly about how one of the female characters is threatened with sexual assault and I read examples of some of Avallone's famously bad writing (not from The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I should add!). I take a moment to warn listeners, so when we get to that point feel free to skip 10 minutes.
Email: outoforderbookclub@outlook.com
Useful Links and Sources:
manfromuncle.org: This contains an interview with Jon Heitland and the Kathleen Crighton introduction to the TV show which I use in the episode. The site itself is dense with information, but is absolutely worth your time.
Morgan Richter: This contains a warm and fun breakdown of The A-Team episode which reunited David McCallam and Robert Vaughn.
Tied in: This book is edited by Lee Goldberg. The essay by David Spencer about working as a tie-in writer in the 50s through to the 70s was both fascinating and invaluable in this episode.
Michael Avallone's obituary in The Independent: Written by Jack Adrian, this is unlike any obit I've ever read for an author!
Thrilling Stories article about Michael Avallone: This contained really useful context and, more importantly, enthusiasm for the stories behind Michael Avallone's work.
Gun in Cheek: Bill Pronzini's first book about 'alternative classics' was helpful in showing the range of 'bad writers' there are out there, and how enjoyable they are.
Son of Gun in Cheek: The second book by Bill Pronzini contains the chapter on Michael Avallone, which I quote from at length.
Reading this Life: Descend into Paperback hell - Michael Avallone's Satan Sleuth series: A quick and fun run through of this series from the 21st century perspective.