Evan Michael Tanner, or simply Tanner, is the literary creation of author Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block is an acclaimed contemporary American crime writer best known for two long-running New York–set series, about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, respectively...

 and appears in eight of his novels. Seven of those were published in the 5 year period 1966-1970; the eighth one appeared in 1998, after a 28-year gap. Tanner is known to have fought in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, when his sleep center was destroyed by a stray piece of shrapnel, making him a permanent insomnia

Insomnia

Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...

c. He was most likely discharged after this incident, despite becoming an idea of the "perfect soldier"- one who is constantly awake. As a result of his injury, he does not sleep, nor does he need to.

The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep

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 meets a black-haired beauty whose Grandmother has fantastic tales of a fortune of gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 European hidden under her front porch in a war-torn country, he embarks on a profitable journey. Though only intending to extract 573 pounds of pure gold, he accidentally starts a revolution

Revolution

A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...

 in Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, ends up in a Turkish jail, and gets hired by a government agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

 so secret that even the CIA hasn't even heard of them.

The New Job

Tanner's new employer may have mistaken him as an informer

Informant

An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...

 to one of their dead agents, but that doesn't 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 Czech

Czech people

Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...

, smuggle 12 hot female Olympians

Olympians

Olympians may refer to any of the following:*The Olympians of Ancient Greek mythology*Those who have competed in the Olympic Games*Citizens of the ancient Greek city-state of Olympia*Citizens of Olympia, Washington*The Olympians of Marvel Comics...

, one princess, and a defector above a Soviet fighter plane to America, end a white slavery

Sexual slavery

Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...

 ring, and rescue a cannibal named Jane from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

From The 1970s To The 1990s

While meeting with a double cross

Double cross

Double Cross may refer to:In film and television:* Double Cross , a film by Albert H. Kelley* Double Cross , a Bollywood action film* Double Cross , a Bollywood film...

ing Scandinavian resistance operative, Tanner was incapacitated and cryogenically frozen, though not intended to be brought back. In 1999, his freezing machine was found within a secret chamber of a house being remodelled 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 modern day New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. When he came back home, he found that it was occupied by his adopted 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's been out of it for 25 years. His new assignment takes him to former Burma (now called Myanmar), and the deadly Orient

Orient

The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...

, which he hasn't seen since the Korean War. To make things even more complicated, he has to bring back an exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

d Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 beauty, overcome malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

, and get used to the new world.

Evan Tanner novels

1. The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep (1966)
2. The Canceled Czech (1966)
3. Tanner's Twelve Swingers (1967)
4. The Scoreless Thai (a.k.a. Two for Tanner) (1968)
5. Tanner's Tiger (1968)
6. Here Comes a Hero (1968) (a.k.a. Tanner's Virgin)
7. Me Tanner, You Jane (1970)
8. Tanner on Ice (1998)