Much of Hornung 's work fell out of favour as time passed ; Rowland observed that " all of Hornung 's other works have been forgotten , with the possible exception of Stingaree , but the cricketing Cracksman continue to enthral " . The idea of a criminal as a positive character was one of Hornung 's legacies , and Twentieth @-@ Century Literary Criticism state that " critics have also interpreted Raffles as a prototype of the antihero in modern crime fiction " . The academic Frank Wadleigh Chandler , describing Raffles 's death , write that " all his creator 's attempts to portray him as a hero , rather than an anti @-@ hero , deservedly fail . " Valentine highlight one aspect of the stories was the mix of " devilry and daring " demonstrated by Raffles ; in this respect he was a literary " forerunner of The Saint , James Bond and other insouciant types " . The writer Colin Watson agree , and called Hornung " a precursor of [ Ian ] Fleming " .