132:. A former American soldier who lost the need for sleep after a brain injury, Tanner's adventures take him around the world and he is particularly devoted to "lost causes". Tanner appears in eight novels. Seven of those were published in the five-year period 1966–1970; the eighth appeared in 1998 after a twenty-eight year gap. The often humorous tone of the books is reflected in their titles, such as
243:. These groups provide a loose network of sympathizers and helpers which Tanner utilizes as he travels the world on adventures. At the end of the first novel, he is recruited to join an American government agency so secretive it does't have a name. Yet Tanner is not a spy or secret agent in the usual sense and is usually not motivated by duty or political ideology. He more typically is motivated by
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259:(1966), the first book, Tanner takes an avid interest in political causes, primarily the ones existing in the late 1960s when the series first takes place. He is also very good at "coming across money", so when he meets a black-haired woman whose grandmother has fantastic tales of a fortune in European
372:, though not intended to be brought back. In 1997, his freezing machine was found within a secret chamber of a house being remodeled and repaired with Tanner still inside. Due to new technology, doctors were able to reanimate a perfectly preserved Tanner and he was let loose in then modern day
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He fills his time productively by reading voraciously, learning multiple languages, and, among other activities, charging stiff fees to write term papers, dissertations, and other documents for college students. He is enamored of lost causes, admiring the dedication to stay committed against
212:. As a result of his injury, he does not sleep nor does he need to. He was discharged after this incident with a pension of $ 112 per month (as mentioned in several of the novels) despite becoming an ideal of the "perfect soldier", one who is constantly awake.
332:(1968), Tanner goes to Thailand to seek a beautiful singer who may also be a jewel thief. Posing as a butterfly hunter, he himself is netted by bandits, makes a deal with a horny young man, gets lost in the malaria-filled jungle, and starts a little war.
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Block regards Tanner as an important development in his writing career. Tanner was the author's first successful series character who maintained an audience for several books, paving the way for later successful series with the characters Chip
Harrison,
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daughter, Minna, the rightful heir to the
Lithuanian throne, now fully grown. He also finds that he still has a job with his old boss, even though he has been out of it for twenty-five years. His new assignment takes him to former
339:(1968), there are Cold War tensions at the Montreal World's Fair, including a Cuban exhibit, a heap of drugs, Minna, the little girl in line for the Lithuanian throne, the future Queen of England, and a hot woman in a tiger skin.
321:(1967), during the Cold War, Tanner goes behind the Iron Curtain into Latvia to rescue a friend's girlfriend from communists, but she will not leave without eleven limber teammates, a subversive author, and six-year-old royalty.
357:(1970), Tanner is in Africa where the petty despot of Modonoland has gone missing and taken the state treasury, featuring the CIA, white supremacists, revolutionaries, and a blond jungle bombshell named Sheena.
350:(1968), Tanner rescues a woman named Phaedra, who has been abducted by white slavers in the Afghan wilderness. Her honor is at stake, featuring trigger-happy terrorists and a few assassinations.
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hidden under her front porch in a war-torn country, he embarks on a profitable journey. Though only intending to extract five hundred seventy-three pounds of pure gold, he accidentally starts a
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who all debuted in the 1970s. Though Block had published prolifically since the 1950s, he felt the Tanner books were his first truly original creations and not derivative imitations.
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to one of their dead agents, but that does not stop him from taking over the position and rising to become one of their best agents. As one of their men, he must "cancel" a
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when his principled support for the rebels' cause is interpreted as a guarantee of
American military support. From there, Tanner ends up in a Turkish jail and is hired by a
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Tanner is subject to fatigue after exertion and needs time to recover or regain his strength. When tired, he uses meditation and
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overwhelming odds. Tanner is a member of dozens of small groups espousing various fringe causes, such as support for
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172:: includes two "book bonuses", or condensed previews, of Blocks's Tanner novels which were featured in 1960s
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techniques to relax and enter a semi-trance state. But otherwise he has no need for sleep and suffers no
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Block, Lawrence (1979). Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print, Writer's Digest Books
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176:. The reprints collection features "The Great Istanbul Gold Grab", adapted from
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Lawrence Block (2021). A Writer
Prepares. L.B. Productions, ISBN 978-1951939939
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Lawrence Block in Men's
Adventure Magazines, May 23, 2023, ISBN 9781943444632
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Scandinavian resistance operative, Tanner was incapacitated and
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when his brain's sleep center was destroyed by a stray piece of
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286:(1966), Tanner's new employer may have mistaken him for an
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March 1968; and "Bring On the Girls", adapted from from
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454:Characters in American novels of the 20th century
306:aboard a Soviet fighter plane to America, end a
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113:Learn how and when to remove this message
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16:Not to be confused with martial artist
479:Literary characters introduced in 1966
200:Tanner is known to have fought in the
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385:(now called Myanmar) and the deadly
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400:, and get used to the new world.
237:political secessionist movements
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38:needs additional citations for
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484:Male characters in literature
474:Fictional spies in literature
469:Fictional Korean War veterans
364:(1998), while meeting with a
233:the restoration of monarchies
257:The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep
178:The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep
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174:1960's adventure magazines
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435:The Naked and the Deadly:
314:named Jane from Africa.
279:has never heard of them.
208:, making him a permanent
459:Fictional American spies
319:Tanner's Twelve Swingers
298:, smuggle twelve female
275:so secret that even the
170:The Naked and the Deadly
152:Creation and conception
302:, one princess, and a
168:The 2023 compilation
62:"Evan Michael Tanner"
464:Fictional insomniacs
370:cryogenically frozen
47:improve this article
355:Me Tanner, You Jane
310:ring, and rescue a
223:from not sleeping.
146:Me Tanner, You Jane
138:The Cancelled Czech
126:Evan Michael Tanner
326:The Scoreless Thai
284:The Canceled Czech
241:Flat Earth Society
196:Character overview
186:The Scoreless Thai
142:The Scoreless Thai
396:beauty, overcome
344:Here Comes a Hero
294:who was a former
273:government agency
163:Bernie Rhodenbarr
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346:also known as
337:Tanner's Tiger
330:Two for Tanner
308:sexual slavery
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103:September 2016
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182:For Men Only
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45:Please help
40:verification
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251:Appearances
221:ill effects
18:Evan Tanner
448:Categories
404:References
265:revolution
239:, and the
217:hatha yoga
202:Korean War
73:newspapers
300:Olympians
269:Macedonia
210:insomniac
312:cannibal
304:defector
288:informer
206:shrapnel
398:malaria
394:Russian
378:adopted
87:scholar
391:exiled
387:Orient
245:profit
161:, and
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383:Burma
292:Czech
94:JSTOR
80:books
296:Nazi
261:gold
190:Stag
140:and
134:puns
66:news
360:In
353:In
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277:CIA
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