Is Modern literary Bond dead, and if so Why?

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  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,271
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't read outside the Fleming canon.

    What about Trigger Mortis, which incorporates Fleming material?
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    The fairly new Carte Blanche was a modern Bond? But like Ludovico, I don't really respect anything outside of the Fleming canon. I will read it though, just because I am obsessed with anything Bond.
  • Posts: 1,181
    I have bought hardcover copies of all of the Gardner, Benson, Faulks, Deaver, and Boyd novels. I have electronic copies of the Fleming and Amis novels. I'm working my way through the Gardner stuff right now. You can find the audio versions of his novels on Youtube as well, which is really convenient if you are multitasking or driving.

    I'd definitely be up for seeing another Bond novel set in modern day. I also don't mind the novels that take us back to the 50's or 60's.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Gardner put Bond in a Saab....awful.
  • Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't read outside the Fleming canon.

    Thats your choice and I'm sure regular readers of this haunted cyber hall are well aware of your specificity.

  • Posts: 11,189
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't read outside the Fleming canon.

    I've read some (Solo and a couple of the Benson stories), but I'm not in a rush to read the continuation books put it that way.

    Reading Fleming should be the main priority..,obviously.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Yep.
  • Posts: 9,846
    suavejmf wrote: »
    The fairly new Carte Blanche was a modern Bond? But like Ludovico, I don't really respect anything outside of the Fleming canon. I will read it though, just because I am obsessed with anything Bond.

    Carte Blanche well a modern piece of literature Was just one novel if IFP said look we are going to release one bond novel each year odd years will be set in the Carte Blanche Modern Era and even years set in the 50's/ 60's I would be 110 % on board with that sadly this is not the case.
  • Posts: 367
    After Fleming I only liked the Amis, Gardner books. Not keen at all on the modern ones.
  • Posts: 15,117
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't read outside the Fleming canon.

    What about Trigger Mortis, which incorporates Fleming material?

    I might read it. But the problem remains: it is a retro novel, the author is not contemporary to the story he is writing, unlike Fleming. And it is difficult to ignore the large and dark shadow cast by the movies.
  • I never say never (again...) That said (or not said) I have to admit that I haven't been satisfied with most of the continuation novels I've read, and therefore haven't read more than a handful of them.
  • Posts: 9,846
    I think a cool novel for a modern bond film is

    3 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

    the reason on the Doomsday clock right now that is the exact time and it kind of sounds cool.
  • Posts: 632
    I feel Bond novels should always be contemporary. Having said that, I am looking forward to Trigger Mortis.
  • DariusDarius UK
    edited October 2015 Posts: 354
    Back on topic. Is the literary Bond dead?

    No, I say. Despite what many may think, reading is still taught in schools and many people need to have a good familiarity with their native literature and language to obtain qualifications. However, despite this, there are a lot of people that don't particularly like reading and prefer entertainment of a more passive nature, so they watch movies instead. However, like them or loathe them, the Bond movies (due to the more universal appeal of passive entertainment) will always keep the literary Bond alive and well, whether his adventures are set in the present or the past.

    It is my hope that for every hundred people who go to watch SP in the coming weeks, at least one will be tempted to buy a Bond novel, whether Fleming or otherwise. When one considers the hundreds of millions likely to watch SP, whether on the big screen or on DVD/TV, this adds up to some pretty good book sales -- all of which help to keep the literary Bond alive. Okay, so many will borrow library books or get cross-platform transfers from friends, but at least it keeps the literary Bond in the public sights.

    My own preference is for the literary Bond to stick to his Cold War roots, because that's what I grew up with and reading stories of Bond set in this era remind me of my formative years. But for all that, I had no real problem with Jeffrey Deaver's Bond, although I did find Carte Blanche terribly bloated and slow paced. As a professional writer myself, I feel I could have edited out at least seventy pages and not lost a great deal. However, Deaver's modern Bond is far better than no Bond at all -- which probably would be the case if it weren't for the movies.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Darius. I agree with everything you say above.
  • Posts: 11,189
    After seeing SP last night it definitely felt more like a film Bond than a literary Bond onscreen.
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