Broken Bond? - Your thoughts on Brokenclaw (1990) by JG

SIULHOUETTE_MAN

I'd love to hear your views on John Gardner's Brokenclaw (1990) - was it just too fantastic a departure for Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond to be involved with Red Indian rituals etc. The Rough Guide to James Bond says this one remains a fan favourite - with some even suggesting that it is the best non-Fleming Bond novel yet to be filmed?

Did the fact that Gardner was suffering from prostate cancer at the time detract from the novel? - he thought it one of his weakest entries along with Role of Honour and Cold/Cold Fall.

It does, however, have a great villain with a great Flemingesque villain (lovingly descibed in detail for once) and a pleasingly bizarre torture sequence.

Raymond Benson once wrote that there was an overabundance of characters not being what they seemed as well as the book being too far-fetched for a Bond narrative - belonging to another genre altogether.

Your considered views on this rather controversial James Bond novel are welcomed by this blogger and Gardner fan/apologist/defender.

Bounine

From what I remember, the San Francisco scenes dragged for me. I liked the ritual at the end but it felt a bit short and rushed. Wished it had have gone on for longer. Brokenclaw is an interesting character but a good part of the book I felt just lacked suspense. It just felt a little on the dull side but then I think the same about 'Colonel Sun'.

'For Special Services' is my favourite Gardner book even though the icecream plot is pretty ridiculous. Still, probably no more stupid than Fleming's Fort Knox scheme in Goldfinger.

Yeah, here are Benson's reviews of Gardner's Bond books:

http://www.klast.net/bond/nov_gard.html

Dragonpol

Are there strands of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Indian-American reform here in Brokenclaw (1990). Brokenclaw Lee is surely John Gardner's most Flemingesque creation as a villain in that old mould?

trevanian

If they had to deal with AmerInds, I'd rather have seen a WILD GEESE-type scenario with the British Gov't needing leverage against the U.S. and having Bond break Leonard Pelletier out of prison. Would never have happened, but so there.

Dragonpol

trevanian wrote:

If they had to deal with AmerInds, I'd rather have seen a WILD GEESE-type scenario with the British Gov't needing leverage against the U.S. and having Bond break Leonard Pelletier out of prison. Would never have happened, but so there.

Thanks - very interesting theory, trevanian.

trevanian

It kind of ties in with a notion I had back around 1990, when they were supposedly going to remake MAGNIFICENT 7 ... thought instead of south-of-border action, that the heroes might be defending a small group of native americans from U.S. Military. But DANCES WITH WOLVES kind of trod all over this idea in a different way.

Dragonpol

trevanian wrote:

It kind of ties in with a notion I had back around 1990, when they were supposedly going to remake MAGNIFICENT 7 ... thought instead of south-of-border action, that the heroes might be defending a small group of native americans from U.S. Military. But DANCES WITH WOLVES kind of trod all over this idea in a different way.

Interesting idea - I'm consumed with interest in all of this at the moment as I've been rersearching it while reading John Gardner's Brokenclaw (1990) - I'm currently writing a review of it for The Bondologist Blog here:

http://www.thebondologistblog.blogspot.co.uk

Dragonpol

Any more views on this novel would be interesting to hear so I thought that I would revive this thread.

Plus, as an update to the thread discussion, how about Johnny Depp as Brokenclaw Lee Fu_Chu in a future Eon Bond film, post-Craig era? Or could Eon afford him?

Dragonpol

trevanian wrote:

It kind of ties in with a notion I had back around 1990, when they were supposedly going to remake MAGNIFICENT 7 ... thought instead of south-of-border action, that the heroes might be defending a small group of native americans from U.S. Military. But DANCES WITH WOLVES kind of trod all over this idea in a different way.

You must have felt left out then, @trevanian.

Dragonpol

Any more interest on this one? Is the time right to film a James Bond continuation novel finally? Or is it all just wishful thinking and pie in the sky?