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Evan Michael Tanner is a fictional and the lead character in the novels written New York bestselling author Lawrence Block. The character is featured in eight books, and seven of which were published in a span of 5 years the period between 1966 and 1970. The eighth novel was published 28-years later in 1998. Tanner suffers from insomnia, a sleeplessness disorder, and the cause being the injury inflicted during the Korean War by a stray shrapnel shell. Despite the war making him “the perfect soldier” Tanner was discharged after the incident. The eight novels in the series mostly describe the adventurous Tanner travels through the world and has interests particularly on lost causes.
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Order of Evan Tanner Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Canceled Czech | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Tanner's Twelve Swingers | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Here Comes a Hero / Tanner's Virgin | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Scoreless Thai / Two for Tanner | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Tanner's Tiger | 1968 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Me Tanner, You Jane | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Tanner on Ice | 1998 | Description / Buy |
The Thief Who Couldn’t Sleep the first book in the series; was first published in 1966. The book describes the adventures of Tanner while in Turkey pursuing hidden Armenian Treasure.
EVAN TANNER AWARDS
The author of Evan Tanner series Lawrence Block has won and been nominated for various awards such as Anthony Awards, Edgar Awards, and Shamus Awards. Some of the awards won by the all time award winning and bestselling author include; Life Achievement Award in 2002, and Best Character Award during the 2009 Shamus Awards.
Lawrence Block is also a distinguished Scriptwriter and has written several television episodes- for instance, in 2005, he scripted two episodes for the Television Show Tilt which was aired by ESPN channel. The author also Co-wrote My Blueberry Nights, a 2007 film starring Norah Jones and directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
BEST EVAN TANNER BOOKS
These are the best books of the Evan Tanner series by Lawrence Block.
The Thief Who Couldn’t Sleep: For a decade; Evan Tanner has not slept since an incident that occurred during the Korean War. He was hit by a stray shrapnel shell that injured his skull and altered his brain sleep center. Despite his condition, he still managed to find ways to manage his sleepless hours.
Tanner is a member of several international organizations such as Flat Earth Society and Internal Macedonian Revolutionary. He is a member of these groups not because he believes in their ideologies but simply because he is just a joiner by nature. Besides this, they keep him preoccupied 24-hours a day. The Russians suspect that he is a CIA agent on a clandestine affair while the CIA has the suspicion that he is a Soviet operative. However, the truth is that he is in Turkey in pursuit of a hidden Armenian treasure. Tanner will do anything to ensure that he gets his payday even if it means that he start a revolution or turns himself a spy.
The novel is written in the first person in an adventurous and a non-stop action style. Even though set in the 1960’s the book is classically written to entertain myriads of generations to come.
Tanner’s Virgin is the 6th book in the series by Lawrence Block. When Tanner’s ex-girlfriend goes missing, her mother Mrs. Horowitz comes knocking at Tanner’s door to help her find her daughter. Tanner is unaware that the missing girl is indeed her ex-girlfriend until her mother informs him that she changed her name. The reason why Tanner still thinks of the ex-girlfriend is simply that she is the one girl that he could never to trick to his bed- as described Deborah, had sworn to stick with her virginity until the day she would marry.
Deborah has been abducted to serve as a white slave in the Middle East. In search of Deborah, he dives himself into England commits some atrocities then lands himself in France where Russian Assassins confront him and finally makes the long swim to the warm climates-vacation spot in Afghanistan. Finding Deborah unhurt, and unmolested is almost impossible, but Tanner will do anything to find the one girl he could never take to bed.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
If you love Evan Tanner series by Lawrence Block, you will find this other book series appealing. “Ell Donsaii” series written by Laurence E. Dahners a series of books written in the near future of a young courageous Ell Donsaii whom a mutation has rendered her intelligent and swift.
“Emily Kane” series is authored by Jacques Antoine is a great novels series. It details the adventures of Emily Kane the lead character who undergoes martial arts training to help fight crime.
What Is The Next Book in The Evan Tanner Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Evan Tanner Series. The newest book is Tanner on Ice and was released on January, 1st 1998.