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I’ll likely start Colonel Sun either tonight or tomorrow.
I thought that it also:
I thought it was leagues better than any of the newer continuation novels I've read, bar none. It's a shame he didn't get to carry on Fleming's legacy with even more installments.
He was already a successful novelist and presumably wanted to prioritize writing about his own characters. For Amis Colonel Sun was a fun genre exercise, but not the sort of book he wanted to regularly write.
Yes, I agree that that was a large part of it. Amis later wrote (in the 1991 introduction to the Coronet reprint of the novel) that he did Colonel Sun as a one-off sidestepping out of his career as a straight novelist. I believe Amis was just contracted by what was then called Glidrose for the one Bond continuation novel to see how that went first and foremost.
The original idea was to have one author write a single Bond novel each under the house name of Robert Markham. However, this idea ultimately floundered when Kingsley Amis' effort Colonel Sun received very mixed reviews and rather disappointing sales. The more's the pity as I (and a good many others) regard Colonel Sun as the best of the lot of the Bond continuation novels.
As we have seen*, Amis had initial plans for a second Bond novel and much later for a short story where Bond would be killed off a la Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls in the short story 'The Final Problem' (1893). Glidrose of course refused to even countenance the idea of a story where their golden goose, James Bond, was killed off. In any event, the literary Bond was not continued proper until the imminent death of the continuation project's objector-in-chief, Mrs Ann Fleming, allowed the commissioning of John Gardner to write Licence Renewed (1981) and embarking on his own long series of Bond novels.
* https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/6712/exclusive-information-on-kingsley-amis-proposed-second-james-bond-novel-in-the-1970s/
I'm impressed with the way Amis captures Fleming's writing style (though not surprised, as he's such a good writer). He has Bond's character down perfectly, and there's the same combination of a solid grounding in the present - you get a real sense that this is a couple of years after TMWTGG and the world has moved on slightly - with Bond's nostalgia for earlier days.
He writes Bond so well; the drugging scene gives him the mix of toughness and vulnerability that's why I love the character so much.
- I thought "Oh, that guy sounds like the baddie in The 39 Steps" a second before Bond thought the same thing!
Ariadne is a wonderful name; she's certainly got Bond all tangled up in her thread, but will she show him the way out of the labyrinth? The grim game she and Bond are forced to play with each other is a fascinating read, and she's clearly his type: sophisticated, brave and smart, but with a touch of vulnerability.
Then we meet some bad guys who aren't, after all, the main bad guys, and Bond forms the sort of uneasy East/West alliance we see in a few of the films: a meeting of professionals from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, united for a common goal, respectful of each other's skills, but not about to trust each other completely.
Some nice little details about food, drink and taxi drivers here. Very Bond. Very Fleming.
I was going to suggest audio books, but I've never been fond of them myself. I like reading at my own pace and the narrators always find ways to annoy me.
I really wish they had offed Kinnear's Tanner, as planned, in SP. Sure it's a total violation of Fleming (as if Tanner "ratting out" Bond to M wasn't!) but it's the only way to get rid of that portrayal at this point...
What struck me, even on first reading, is the pace and feel. Also the credible lead female character. Perhaps a little too much time spent on boats ...? ;) I don't really have many complaints about this story.
Bond's Greek allies, male and female, combine the best aspects of being Foreigners (e.g. they can get away with attitudes and actions that would be improper for Bond) with enough Britishness to make them acceptable. Fleming would approve.
Nice to see a bit more of Bond's relationship with Tanner, always described as his best friend at work.
All the minor characters are beautifully drawn. My favourite is Ariadne's chubby friend who lets them stay the night.
I feel we don't see enough of the Colonel himself; he only really makes two appearances, and it's not enough to build up the terror and disgust he should inspire.
The Greek scene-setting is just wonderful. The food, the drink, the landscape, the sun going down like a fat incandescent orange. Bond must be a bit homesick, though, as he keeps comparing bits of the scenery to golf courses and billiard tables.
Is it my imagination, or does Amis have a bit of a snide poke at the films with Bond's reflection on how little use Q Branch's gadgets have been? He's definitely tipping a wink to Casino Royale when he has Sun reject genital torture as too crude and obvious.
The single line that stuck with me from my first reading all those years ago is the one about the upward nod that signifies 'no' in that part of the world. It stood out because I knew about this from Ancient Greek lessons: a supplicant begging a favour from a man would take hold of his beard so he couldn't make the 'no' gesture!
On this re-read, I was impressed by how well Amis channels Fleming (although he has the advantage of writing quite soon after Fleming left off). He's my second-favourite continuation author, below Horowitz but comfortably above the rest of the pack.
We have Florida members still.
But Florida ... in July ... way too hot and humid for me. I hope you have a great time, though.
CR and YOLT.