''Son Altesse Sérénissime'' (His

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...

) is a series of

espionage novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

s created by French author

Gérard de Villiers Gérard de Villiers (; 8 December 1929 – 31 October 2013) was a French writer, journalist and publisher whose ''SAS'' series of spy novels have been major bestsellers. Life Born in Paris in 1929, Villiers was the son of playwright Jacques Ad ...

, featuring Austrian prince Malko Linge as the lead character. Since 2006, the novels have been published as comic books, though aimed chiefly at adults given their contents of violence and sex. Villiers's books have been bestsellers, making him a very wealthy man. The novel's title is a play on initials: ''Son Altesse Sérénissime'' (SAS) is the French version of "His Serene Highness" (HSH); and the British

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

(SAS) is the principal

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. In 2014, Vintage Books posthumously published English versions of ''The Madmen of Benghazi'' and ''Chaos in Kabul,'' translated and adapted by William Rodarmor. The publisher released three other books in English through 2016.

Background

Gérard de Villiers was a correspondent for ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'' and other newspapers. He began writing the ''SAS'' novels in 1964, when an editor told him that

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

had died and that de Villiers might create the next

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

. He succeeded; the series had sold about 100 million copies worldwide, comparable to the Bond series. It may be the longest book series in history written by one person. Government officials and intelligence officers, who enjoyed seeing themselves fictionalized and reading about events they could not publicly reveal, told de Villiers secrets that appeared in ''SAS'', making the series' plots and settings unusually realistic. The books often predicted future events such as the capture of

Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...

, assassination of Anwar Sadat, and events in the Syrian Civil War.

Robert F. Worth Robert Forsyth Worth (born September 29, 1965) is an American journalist and former chief of ''The New York Times'' Beirut bureau. He is the author of ''Rage for Order''. Life Born and raised in Manhattan, Worth has an M.A. and a Ph.D. (in Engli ...

, former Beirut bureau chief for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', was amazed to read in ''La Liste Hariri'' details of the

assassination of Rafic Hariri On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of TNT were detonated as his motorcade dr ...

that no journalist knew when the book appeared. A Lebanese intelligence officer who wanted to reveal information but did not trust journalists (including Worth) helped de Villiers, the novelist said.

Hubert Védrine Hubert Védrine (; born 31 July 1947) is a French Socialist politician. He is an advisor at Moelis & Company. Early life and career Following a history degree and graduating from both Sciences Po and ENA, Védrine had toyed with the idea of e ...

said that while

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, before visiting a country he read ''SAS'' novels to learn what

French intelligence This is a list of current and former French intelligence agencies. Currently active *DGSE: Directorate-General for External Security – ''Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure''. It is the military foreign intelligence agency, whi ...

believed about it. While the books' many detailed sex scenes give the series a poor literary reputation, "the French elite pretend not to read him, but they all do", Védrine said.Robert F. Worth, "The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much"
''New York Times'', 03 February 2013; accessed 14 November 2018

Plot

In order to finance the repairs of his castle in

Liezen Liezen (Central Bavarian: ''Liezn'') is a municipality in the Austrian federal state of Styria, district capital of the district of the same name and economic center on the River Enns. Population Politics Since 1995, the left-wing SPÖ party ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, main character Malko Linge works as a freelance agent for the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

of the United States. The CIA sends him on dangerous missions all over the world. He has an excellent memory and speaks several languages fluently. He is very well-groomed, preferring to wear tailor-made alpaca suits. He carries an ultra-small gun.

Recurring characters

The following supporting characters regularly appear in the S.A.S. espionage novels: * ''Samantha Adler'' : A German brunette and arms dealer. * ''Mandy Brown'' aka ''Mandy la salope'' (Mandy the bitch) : An American maneater. * ''Frank Capistrano'' : Italian American who is a special advisor to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. * ''Elko Krisantem'' : Turkish servant of Malko Linge. He used to be a killer. * ''Alexandra Vogel'' : Malko's fiancée. * ''Milton Brabeck'' : A CIA agent who protects Malko on several missions. Partner of Chris Jones. * ''Chris Jones'' : A CIA agent who protects Malko on several missions. Partner of Milton Brabeck.

List of novels

# ''SAS à Istanbul'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1965 # ''S.A.S. contre C.I.A.'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1965 # ''Opération Apocalypse'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1965 # ''Samba pour SAS'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1966 # ''Rendez-vous à San Francisco'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1966 # ''Le Dossier Kennedy'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1967 # ''SAS broie du noir'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1967 # ''SAS aux Caraïbes'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1967 # ''SAS à l'ouest de Jérusalem'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1967 # ''L'Or de la rivière Kwaï'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1968 # ''Magie noire à New York'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1968 # ''Les Trois Veuves de Hong Kong'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1968 # ''L'Abominable Sirène'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1969 # ''Les Pendus de Bagdad'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1969 # ''La Panthère d'Hollywood'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1969 # ''Escale à Pago-Pago'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1969 # ''Amok à Bali'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1970 # ''Que viva Guevara'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1970 # ''Cyclone à l'ONU'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1970 # ''Mission à Saïgon'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1970 # ''Le Bal de la comtesse Adler'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1971 # ''Les Parias de Ceylan'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1971 # ''Massacre à Amman'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1971 # ''Requiem pour Tontons Macoutes'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1971 # ''L'Homme de Kabul'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1972 # ''Mort à Beyrouth'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1972 # ''Safari à La Paz'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1972 # ''L'Héroïne de Vientiane'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1972 # ''Berlin : Check-point Charlie'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1973 # ''Mourir pour Zanzibar'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1973 # ''L'Ange de Montevideo'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1973 # ''Murder Inc., Las Vegas'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1973 # ''Rendez-vous à Boris Gleb'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1974 # ''Kill Henry Kissinger !'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1974 # ''Roulette cambodgienne'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1974 # ''Furie à Belfast'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1974 # ''Guêpier en Angola'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1975 # ''Les Otages de Tokyo'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1975 # ''L'ordre règne à Santiago'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1975 # ''Les Sorciers du Tage'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1975 # ''Embargo'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1976 # ''Le Disparu de Singapour'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1976 # ''Compte à rebours en Rhodésie'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1976 # ''Meurtre à Athènes'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1976 # ''Le Trésor du Négus'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1977 # ''Protection pour Teddy Bear'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1977 # ''Mission impossible en Somalie'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1977 # ''Marathon à Spanish Harlem'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1977 # ''Naufrage aux Seychelles'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1978 # ''Le Printemps de Varsovie'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1978 # ''Le Gardien d'Israël'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1978 # ''Panique au Zaïre'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1978 # ''Croisade à Managua'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1979 # ''Voir Malte et mourir'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1979 # ''Shangaï Express'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1979 # ''Opération Matador'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1979 # ''Duel à Barranquilla'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1980 # ''Piège à Budapest'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1980 # ''Carnage à Abu Dhabi'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1980 # ''Terreur à San Salvador'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1980 # ''Le Complot du Caïre'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1981 # ''Vengeance romaine'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1981 # ''Des armes pour Khartoum'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1981 # ''Tornade sur Manille'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1981 # ''Le Fugitif de Hambourg'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1982 # ''Objectif Reagan'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1982 # ''Rouge grenade'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1982 # ''Commando sur Tunis'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1982 # ''Le Tueur de Miami'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1983 # ''La Filière bulgare'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1983 # ''Aventure au Surinam'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1983 # ''Embuscade à la Khyber Pass'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1983 # ''Le Vol 007 ne répond plus'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1984 # ''Les Fous de Baalbek'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1984 # ''Les Enragés d'Amsterdam'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1984 # ''Putsch à Ouagadougou'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1984 # ''La Blonde de Pretoria'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1985 # ''La Veuve de l'Ayatollah'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1985 # ''Chasse à l'homme au Pérou'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1985 # ''L'affaire Kirsanov'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1985 # ''Mort à Gandhi'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1986 # ''Danse macabre à Belgrade'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1986 # ''Coup d'État au Yémen'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1986 # ''Le Plan Nasser'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1986 # ''Embrouilles à Panama'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1987 # ''La Madone de Stockholm'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1987 # ''L'Otage d'Oman'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1987 # ''Escale à Gibraltar'', Plon / Presses de la Cité, 1987 # ''Aventure en Sierra Leone'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1988 # ''La Taupe de Langley'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1988 # ''Les Amazones de Pyongyang'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1988 # ''Les Tueurs de Bruxelles'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1988 # ''Visa pour Cuba'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1989 # ''Arnaque à Brunei'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1989 # ''Loi martiale à Kaboul'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1989 # ''L'Inconnu de Leningrad'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1989 # ''Cauchemar en Colombie'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1989 # ''Croisade en Birmanie'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1990 # ''Mission à Moscou'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1990 # ''Les Canons de Bagdad'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1990 # ''La Piste de Brazzaville'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1991 # ''La Solution rouge'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1991 # ''La Vengeance de Saddam Hussein'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1991 # ''Manip à Zagreb'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1992 # ''KGB contre KGB'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1992 # ''Le Disparu des Canaries'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1992 # ''Alerte Plutonium'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1992 # ''Coup d'État à Tripoli'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1992 # ''Mission Sarajevo'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1993 # ''Tuez Rigoberta Menchu'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1993 # ''Au nom d'Allah'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1993 # ''Vengeance à Beyrouth'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1993 # ''Les Trompettes de Jéricho'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1994 # ''L'Or de Moscou'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1994 # ''Les Croisés de l'Apartheid'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1994 # ''La Traque Carlos'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1994 # ''Tuerie à Marrakech'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1995 # ''L'Otage du triangle d'or'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1995 # ''Le Cartel de Sébastopol'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1995 # ''Ramenez-moi la tête d'El Coyote'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1995 # ''La Résolution 687'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1996 # ''Opération Lucifer'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1996 # ''Vengeance tchétchène'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1996 # ''Tu tueras ton prochain'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1996 # ''Vengez le vol 800'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1997 # ''Une lettre pour la Maison-Blanche'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1997 # ''Hong Kong express'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1997 # ''Zaïre adieu'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 1997 # ''La Manipulation Yggdrasil'', Éditions Malko productions, 1998 # ''Mortelle Jamaïque'', Éditions Malko productions, 1998 # ''La Peste noire de Bagdad'', Éditions Malko productions, 1998 # ''L'Espion du Vatican'', Éditions Malko productions, 1998 # ''Albanie, mission impossible'', Éditions Malko productions, 1999 # ''La Source Yahalom'', Éditions Malko productions, 1999 # ''Contre P.K.K.'', Éditions Malko productions, 1999 # ''Bombes sur Belgrade'', Éditions Malko productions, 1999 # ''La Piste du Kremlin'', Éditions Malko productions, 2000 # ''L'Amour fou du Colonel Chang'', Éditions Malko productions, 2000 # ''Djihad'', Éditions Malko productions, 2000 # ''Enquête sur un génocide'', Éditions Malko productions, 2000 # ''L'Otage de Jolo'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2001 # ''Tuez le Pape'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2001 # ''Armageddon'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2001 # ''Li Sha-Tin doit mourir'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2001 # ''Le Roi fou du Népal'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2002 # ''Le Sabre de Bin Laden'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2002 # ''La Manip du Karin A'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2002 # ''Bin Laden, la traque'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2002 # ''Le Parrain du 17 novembre'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2003 # ''Bagdad-Express'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2003 # ''L'Or d'Al-Qaida'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2003 # ''Pacte avec le diable'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2003 # ''Ramenez les vivants'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2004 # ''Le Réseau Istanbul'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2004 # ''Le Jour de la Tcheka'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2004 # ''La Connexion saoudienne'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2004 # ''Otages en Irak'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2005 # ''Tuez Iouchtchenko'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2005 # ''Mission : Cuba'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2005 # ''Aurore noire'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2005 # ''Le Programme 111'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2006 # ''Que la bête meure'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2006 # ''Le Trésor de Saddam : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2006 # ''Le Trésor de Saddam : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2006 # ''Le Dossier K'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2006 # ''Rouge Liban'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2007 # ''Polonium 210'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2007 # ''Le Défecteur de Pyongyang : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2007 # ''Le Défecteur de Pyongyang : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2007 # ''Otage des Taliban'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2007 # ''L'Agenda Kosovo'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2008 # ''Retour à Shangri-La'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2008 # ''Al-Qaïda attaque : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2008 # ''Al-Qaïda attaque : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2008 # ''Tuez le Dalaï-Lama'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2008 # ''Le Printemps de Tbilissi'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2009 # ''Pirates'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2009 # ''La Bataille des S-300 : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2009 # ''La Bataille des S-300 : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2009 # ''Le Piège de Bangkok'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2009 # ''La Liste Hariri'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2010 # ''La Filière suisse'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2010 # ''Renegade : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2010 # ''Renegade : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2010 # ''Féroce Guinée'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2010 # ''Le Maître des hirondelles'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2011 # ''Bienvenue à Nouakchott'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2011 # ''Rouge Dragon : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2011 # ''Rouge Dragon : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2011 # ''Ciudad Juárez'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2011 # ''Les Fous de Benghazi'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2012 # ''Igla S'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2012 # ''Le Chemin de Damas : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2012 # ''Le Chemin de Damas : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2012 # ''Panique à Bamako'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2012 # ''Le Beau Danube rouge'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2013 # ''Les fantômes de Lockerbie'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2013 # ''Sauve-qui-peut à Kaboul : 1'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2013 # ''Sauve-qui-peut à Kaboul : 2'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2013 # ''La Vengeance du Kremlin'', Éditions Gérard de Villiers, 2013

Movies

Some books have been turned into movies. * '' S.A.S. à San Salvador'' (1982
(IMDB)
starring

Miles O'Keeffe Miles O'Keeffe (born June 20, 1954) is an American film and television actor. O'Keeffe got his first big break playing the title role in the 1981 version of '' Tarzan, the Ape Man''. Youth O'Keeffe was born in Ripley, Tennessee. A star footb ...

as Malko. Based on the novel ''S.A.S. à San Salvador''. * ''

Eye of the Widow ''Eye of the Widow'' (french: SAS : L'Œil de la veuve) is a 1991 French-American action film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the last of his career. It was released in France on October 17, 1991, and in the Philippines on October 14, 1992. Plot ...

'' (1989
(IMDB)
starring

Richard Young Richard Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Young (cinematographer) (1939–2010), American cinematographer * Richard Young (photographer) (born 1947), English society and celebrity photographer *Richard Young (actor) (born 1955), ...

as Malko. Based on the books ''Vengeance Romaine'' and ''La veuve de l'ayatollah''.

References

External links

The home of Editions Gérard de Villiers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Son Altesse Serenissime Series of books Fictional secret agents and spies Fictional Central Intelligence Agency personnel Fiction books about the Central Intelligence Agency French film series Characters in pulp fiction