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Comments
If you've read the other continuation books, how would you compare it to the Gardner novels and Colonel Sun?
( The first six or so) and very close to Col Sun, as I do prefer Bond
Set in the Fleming time period, rather than modernised. It's also
Leaps ahead of the stuff R Benson put out.
I should think so! Thank god for that. :)
Anthony Horowitz does and outstanding job overall. the villain Is just magnificent
Sorry
DrG. What do you love about the Gardner novels? For me they are the worst continuation novels as they stray very far from Fleming. On the flip side I liked Devil May Care and Solo as I prefer the 'Fleming feel'. Just interested in your opinion?
So maybe I'm reviewing them with rose tinted glasses but do think ( only my
Opinion) he did a great job updating Bond for the 80s, which I know is now a long
time ago. I'm no expert on the novels, so I can only explain it as a reader of thrillers.
DMC, I liked, very Fleming as you say, but I hated the last third of the book with Bond
Having to escape from Russia. Which he now says isn't such a bad place ?
Faulks forgets JB's stationing at the Embassy in Moscow, and later Vladivostok and Leningrad.
Sadly Solo, I hated, I've read it twice and find it so boring. Absolutely nothing happens in it, Bond doesn't even throw a punch until something like page 150 and then it's only
some annoying reporter.
I think it all boils down to " We like what we like" and sometimes it's hard to put
into words.
I did like the Saab, as my older Brother had one, and I got to drive it a few times.
The closest, I'm likely to get to owning a Bond car. :)
while we have our differences we definitly agree on DMC and SOLO (was Boyd just trying to piss us all off?) so your postive review of Trigger Mortis has me hopeful but we shall see.
I remember being disappointed with Carte Blanche but for the life of me I can't remember why. I may have to reread it again.
As for your view on Benson well we will have to agree to disagree there. but like i said either when I have cash or for my Birthday I will definitly get Trigger Mortis and read it. I am thankfull it's at least better then Solo and Devil May Care in your opinion so hopefully I will agree.
But I never really got into them after Facts. He was good at adding neat and clever stuff ..better than Gardner but not so much the writing itself.
Also being a fellow Texan I was proud of him. He took Bond to Bastrop TX where I lived at the time which was kinda cool but I found the book as a whole embarrassing.
Texas does have its fair share of talented authors ..and filmmakers.
It doesn't really matter. They have all had some good ideas, perhaps poorly executed.
Recently I reread all the Bond Books by all the authors and really enjoyed the experience. Although from here on, apart from any new Books, I'll only be reading
Fleming again. As I want to become a bit more knowledgeable on his Books.
When Facts came out I lived in Tucson and by the time I moved to Austin in 2006 I had forgotten that the middle portion took place here. It gave it a completely different flavour knowing the locations when i reread it, especially the Chuy's as I've eaten there quite a bit!
I always felt Benson merged the literary Bond with the film Bond in his novels and enjoyed them when I was younger. I'm rereading the series in order, so I wonder how my feelings will change when I finally get to his entries!
I wonder what Benson thinks of Trigger Mortis, if he's read it.
I also recall that I think the publishers pushed for a more cinematic interpretation of Bond.
Agree with you re Q'ute (hideous pun) and Leiter's daughter - those two things alone made me stop reading Gardner, also hated the SAAB. I mean a SAAB really! Though I do remember a local dealer lending one for our local Fair Week as a promotion, although our Ad Manager was big-ing it up as from the next film, idiot! Also thought it was quite an ugly car.
Count me as well. The Q'ute character was terrible, and Bond should never bed a colleague. And Leiter's daughter... that was really lazy for Gardner.
I'm not keen on
like a tank. So in a way I can understand giving it to Bond, so he
could ram other cars if needed.
I do remember in Never send Flowers, Bond sets out in a BMW,
yet arrives in a Saab 9000. :D ( unless I skipped a page on reading )
has there been any info on sales figures thus far?
I did love the villain, Sin Jai-Seong. It was really interesting to read him tell his story, what brought to where he was at the point of the novel. I almost felt bad for the chap, but clearly his past trauma made his a maniacal villain. Bond even reflects on how personal tragedy affects people, which was an neat touch.
Very cool plot however. It was awesome
I'm one of the few that actually enjoyed Solo, a book I know a lot of Bond fans hated. While I agree that Trigger Mortis is the best continuation novel since 2008's Devil May Care, it only narrowly beats out Solo in my opinion.
I've only read one or two of the Bensons. It was difficult for me to really get into them, basically for the reason I highlighted in bold in your post. They simply weren't written with much style. There was no identity to them. It was very flat overall.
And for what it's worth, I liked the Gardner books (most of them) and the Benson books. I didn't like the 3 post Benson books.
I really did enjoy Solo & Carte Blanche. Nothing ground breaking, but I honestly had fun reading them. Devil May Care was the only continuation novel I thought was honest to god terrible. Faulks was damned terrible.
I'm still waiting on Waterstones to ship out my copy of Trigger Mortis. Ordered it over a month ago - still waiting.