What was the last Bond book you read?

[ShakenNStirred]

Originally Posted by bond 007

Just finished Role Of Honour, while not quite the page turner that Icebreaker turned out to be, it was enough for me to finish it in one day.

A great novel, I think it ranks in the first place of the Gardner novels (along with For Special Services). Nice to have SPECTRE back. Just one more novel to finish the Gardner (New) SPECTRE trilogy.

There's something about this one, that in the moment I thought about it been adapted as a film, Timothy Dalton was the ONLY choice for Bond in this story.

Great novel, as I said one of the best two I've read so far. I do think some of them would work nicely in films, but I think they would've worked in the 80's when the novels were published.... but then again, fleming wrote some novels in the 50's that were later adapted in the 70's so who knows?

Because of everything I heard and read about Gardner's Bond novels I thought the would be pretty bad indeed. He hasn't let me down at all. And while he is certainly No Fleming (Come on, who could ever be?) I think he was the right choice to continue his legacy, (in the 80's at least, we'll see about his final novels....)

Just keep up the good work, Gardner!

Glad to hear that Fleming's successor is satisfactory- could the plots be updated/adapted to the 21st century, or would they not translate very well? After all, consider the great challenge yet success of creating a 21st century Bond film from a 1950s spy novel for Casino Royale...

[bond 007]

Originally Posted by ShakenNStirred

Glad to hear that Fleming's successor is satisfactory- could the plots be updated/adapted to the 21st century, or would they not translate very well? After all, consider the great challenge yet success of creating a 21st century Bond film from a 1950s spy novel for Casino Royale...

Well, I think Licence Renewed could work, while most definitely For Special Services and specially Nobody Lives Forever would work (specially with Quantum instead of SPECTRE behind the plots I think it would be a great film). Role of Honour, I think it could work too. But that's not the case for Icebreaker, hmm... That one I think should be left on the literary series

Definitely, from his first five, I'd say Nobody Lives Forever has the most potential for a film, followed closely by For Special Services and both could very well be adapted into a film in the 21st century.

Hoping to finish Nobody Lives Forever today.

[bond 007]

Just finished Nobody Lives Forever.

Finally the final ending of the final plan of the final leader of the final reapparance of SPECTRE.

Great novel, and as I said, this one could very well be adapted into a film. Great turn of events for Bond; with a great personal plot for him in this one.

The scene at the Mozart Klinik, where Bond makes his prisioner talk is superb, showing a way darker side of Bond. Indeed, most violent than the ones before, but in a way, due to the personal plot for Bond, it seemes okay. Some of the one-liners near the end remind me much of Brosnan (I mean that in a good way)

And a nice little set up for the Blofeld's succesor and the end of SPECTRE.

Another great one; maybe his best along For Special Services.

Hope to start reading No Deals, Mr. Bond tomorrow

[bond 007]

Hmm... haven't started No Deals, Mr. Bond....

I guess that after reading 9 Bond novels non-stop, I needed a break.....

Hoping to start reading it soon

[ShakenNStirred]

Originally Posted by bond 007

Hmm... haven't started No Deals, Mr. Bond....

I guess that after reading 9 Bond novels non-stop, I needed a break.....

Hoping to start reading it soon

Don't blame you- you've been very dedicated so far, so a break's well deserved

[bond 007]

Well, as soon as I pick them up where I left, I'll post my thoughts on each of them. I still have 15 to go to finish all 45 of them!

[bond 007]

Finally got around to finish No Deals, Mr. Bond.

With the university and all, I tend to take a leave of absence on the board. But I'm planning on visiting more often now tht we are getting closer to November!

Ok, back to the novels; No Deals, Mr. Bond..... I don't know about this one, certainly, I think it is one of the most plausible Bond novels ever. Intriguing plot, purely cold war stuff, which I did enjoy tremendously. The thing is; the novel is so realistic, that sometimes I doesn't feel like a Bond story. On the other hand, Gardner seems to be more and more comfortable with Bond himself in each novel.

Really enjoyed it, though the climax was kinda rushed. And the one thing I didn't really care for, was the revealing of a double agent. Actually, it didn't need that at all. I think Gardner was thinking, "how como there is only ONE double agent / betrayal in my novel!" so he had to add another, which in turn was a good ally to Bond, or seemed to be. Even Gardner writes that it was a pitty as Bond liked him.

Anyway, I still say that Gardner was an inspired choice to be Fleming's succesor, maybe because he has a great balance between realism and ... shall we say Bond-ism?

Hope to start reading Scorpius today!

[bond 007]

Finshed Scorpius last week!

A great one! Engaging since the beginning. One of the most violent definitely. And something that I thought would never happen, happened in this one. The death of the bond girl... I know it happened with Tracy, well, she was Bond's wife... therefore she would die, and with Vesper, the girl who made Bond the man we all know... she had too die too, but I never expected the bond girl in turn to die... anyway, that leads us to one of Bond's most cold-blooded moments I've read... the way he disposses of Scorpius.... nice and viceral in a way.

A really great one, ranks as one of the best of Gardner!

[ophir]

Moonraker

[bond 007]

Sorry I took so long to update this.

during the last few weeks I finished reading Win, Lose Or Die, which I have to say is one of Gardner's best (I know I keep saying that)! Bond's return to naval duty is great, and this book really has the best love story in any of Gardner's book, or even the best one after Vesper's and Tracy's!

I really loved this one.

Then I finished Brokenclaw like two weeks ago... Well... I have to say that this one, I think is the worst of Gardner's Bond novels to the moment...

Of course, it has its moments, though in the end I didn't feel that sense of completion... and the ending was... shall we say akward? Though an incredible test for Bond... I don't know... I still enjoyed it immensely, but even Gardner said it was his least favourite of the ones he wrote. Maybe as he said, he was recovering from an operation and that had a say in it....

Anyway, as I said, I enjoyed it, even if it wasn't up to par with his previous 8 efforts.


For the moment I've started reading The Man From Barbarossa... as soon as I finish it, I'll try to post my comments about it!

[bond 007]

Finally! Finished The Man From Barbarossa a week ago. Took me long enough.

Now about this one, I've heard (or read) many people say this is one of the least liked Bond novels. Well this can be attributed to the fact that the story contains no physical action at all until the last chapters. Reads more like a serius spy novel rather than Bond.

Just as fleming experimented with his tenth novel, so did Gardner. As for me; I totally loved this approach. I really didn't feel it needed more action, as the plot itself was enough to make me go on reading. It gives us one of the greatest allies in the gardner novels, in Stepakov, a very likable agent of the KGB.

In all, I really loved the novel, though in the end the villain's plan turned out to be more, shall we say "spectacular", than the novel leads you to believe.

Now, Death Is Forever... Read it in two days. A great one, I think it suprasses TMFBR and Brokenclaw easily. I love the atmosphere it exudes, and after having visited all except one of the locations in the novel, during my trip to europe last year, it only added to the fun. But the novel made me feel Europe in a very different way; while reading I could almost feel the tangible danger in which Bond found himself during the whole novel, specially Paris and Venice, a very different and dangerous Europe than the one I know. Great allies once again, lots of doublecrosses, which are very well handled. Lots of action and a very interesting finale.

Got really hooked on this one. Already reading Never Send Flowers. Will post my opinion as soon as I finish it!

[ShakenNStirred]

I'm going to try and get as far as I can with the Fleming novels in the build up to Skyfall. I've finished Casino Royale, and I'm impressed with how loyal the film is to the book, while even the book's debate about who the real heroes and villains are is taken up in the film Quantum of Solace. I started Live and Let Die yesterday.

I read Colonel Sun while I was on holiday about a month ago. I must say, despite an interesting sequence around the Parthenon, it didn't really meet Fleming's standard. I was disappointed with this, though not as much as I was with Faulks's Devil May Care (best thing about that was the title- though admittedly I only got half way through). I think I'm going to just stick to Fleming for the time being...

[bond 007]

Finished COLD, a few hours ago. Finally, I finished the John Gardner cannon. His 14 novels and both novelizations.

First, Never Send Flowers. Interesting villain and twist. Great Bond girl in Flicka Von Grusse. While not as good as Death Is Forever, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Great fun reading about Bond in Eurodisney... experiencing the star wars ride, hehe.

Nice locations in Europe, and a worthy follow up to the previous novels. Interesting ending in which Flicka joins Mi6, and the promises of future changes for the agency. Though why in the world would M (or Gardner for that matter) would say that Bond would most likely like those changes, when you are talking about a joint commettee to take charge of an independently resurrected "Two Zero's" division, I don't know.

SeaFire; I just feel that Dalton's third would have been similar in tone and style to this novel. Great follow up, and much fun, even better than Never Send Flowers, and with a villain worthy of the Bond movies of the 90's. Nice to see good old Felix back in action, and great locations.

Microglobe One is now a joint committee in charge of the newly resurrected two zeros section, of which Bond is head of.

Certainly, Bond doesn't like this, even though M and Tanner are part of said commettee.

Really enjoyed this one, but due to me having read Gardner's GoldenEye novelization, I knew in advance the tragic fate of the Bond girl, Flicka, who since Never send flowers has been working alongside Bond, and living in his flat.

It is a really nice relationship the have, with Bond finally proposing to her. Unfortunately, you know how it will play out at the end....

Finally, COLD. First half set just a few months after The Man From Barbarrossa, and the second half starting just a few hours after the final chapter in SeaFire.

A nice (if sad) resolution to SeaFire. M's retirement is great. And the final page finds Bond on a Van, headed to headquarters about to meet his new boss.

COLD is a very interesting read, playing with different time frames. Always a fun thing, remembering what has happened in between and before and after each half of the book. A great helicopter chase sequence as the final act of the first part of the book.

Not Gardner's best, but quite enjoyable. My problem is the 5 Bond Girls. Two minor ones who end up dead quite soon, and not only the reappearance of one, but three previous Bond girls. First is Flicka, even thoug I'm not sure I should count her, then the princepessa Sukie Tempesta, who I really liked in Nobody Lives Forever, who brings up a nasty turn to her character, and which I feel was not deserved, and finally Beatrice Da Ricci, from Win, Lose Or Die, whom as I noted in my original review, remains my favourite of the Gardner Bond Girls.

In the end, an enjoyable ending to a very good (if not great, due to it's ups and downs) series of bond novels, by a great author, and as Gardner put it in his final sentence as Bond remembers; "Good with words, Churchill. Very good with words"

Well, I should add: "Good with words, Mr. Gardner. Very good with words"

[bond 007]

Originally Posted by ShakenNStirred

I read Colonel Sun while I was on holiday about a month ago. I must say, despite an interesting sequence around the Parthenon, it didn't really meet Fleming's standard. I was disappointed with this, though not as much as I was with Faulks's Devil May Care (best thing about that was the title- though admittedly I only got half way through). I think I'm going to just stick to Fleming for the time being...

The best thing you can do is to stop looking for someone to match Fleming. Not only his style, but as you said, his standard.

Having read every author (even though I still haven't read Benson's 6 original novels), I must say, that saddly, no one has come close to Fleming.... In my opinion, Kingsley Amis was the one who came up closer... though I can't and won't judge Benson only by reading his novelizations.

I really enjoyed every other single novel, even the ones that in my own opinion haven't been that good.... (Brokenclaw springs to mind). But this was only when having present at all times, that they are not Fleming, and each author has a very different and defining style, which to me is a plus. If they had tried to immitate Fleming, thing's would've been much worse (Like Faulks did).

In the end, I think it's just like the movies... a different ring to them depending on the actor/author. But just as I love every single Bond movie and actor, despite my personal favourites, I have been able to enjoy every single Bond novel just the same way.

And though Fleming will always have something that none of the others have had, and I'm sure, none of the upcoming authors will, I am always eagerly awaiting for the next novel.


As for the moment, having just finished the Gardner ones; I'm looking forward to Benson's 6 original novels.

[ShakenNStirred]

Perhaps you're right there bond 007- if I go back to non-Fleming Bond in the future, I'll try and avoid thinking of, and comparing with, Fleming too much.

I've just finished Live and Let Die and, while fairly enjoyable and more like the cinematic Bond and formula we're familiar with in the films, it was a fairly mediocre book for me- like its film counterpart. When I started reading this again, I was expecting it to feel more like Licence to Kill than the film of Live and Let Die, but the latter actually followed the book more than I remembered- with the Harlem setting, Bond being watched by Mr Big's army of followers and getting caught out in Mr Big's nightclub. Even Mr Big's cave from the book is kept as his lair in the film, and drugs do seem to be a far more credible and spy-like focus than the gold coins of the novel.

Although the producers have taken pretty much all the material they can from LALD, including using Mr Big's under-the-table gun for Stromberg in TSWLM, it would be good to see a villain in the films dropping Bond into a pool of barracuda- it would make a change from sharks!