48 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

A simple thread to see what you all think of the John Gardner novels.

Licence Renewed
For Special Services
Icebreaker
Role Of Honour
Nobody Lives Forever
No Deals, Mr. Bond
Scorpius
Licence to Kill
Win, Lose Or Die
Brokenclaw
The Man From Barbarossa
Death Is Forever
Never Send Flowers
SeaFire
GoldenEye
Cold Fall

My favorite still remains to this day, Nobody Lives Forever.

[Jim]

Licence Renewed
For Special Services
Icebreaker
Role Of Honour
Nobody Lives Forever
No Deals, Mr. Bond
Scorpius
Licence to Kill
Win, Lose Or Die
Brokenclaw
The Man From Barbarossa
Death Is Forever
Never Send Flowers
SeaFire
GoldenEye
Cold Fall

[Qwerty]

In addition, please choose your favorite Gardner book.

[Johnboy007]

Licence Renewed ****
For Special Services *****
Icebreaker *****
Role Of Honour ***
Nobody Lives Forever *****
No Deals, Mr. Bond ****
Scorpius **
Licence to Kill *
Win, Lose Or Die **
Brokenclaw **
The Man From Barbarossa **
Death Is Forever ***
Never Send Flowers *****
SeaFire ***
GoldenEye **
Cold Fall ----

Never Send Flowers was my first Gardner, and is still my favorite.

[IanFleming007]

Licence Renewed: **
For Special Services: **
Icebreaker: ***
Role of Honour: ***
Nobody Lives Forever: *****
No Deals, Mr. Bond: ***
Scorpius: ***
Win, Lose, or Die: **
Brokenclaw: **
The Man From Barbarossa: *****
Death Is Forever: ***
Never Send Flowers: ****
SeaFire: ****
ColdFall: ***

Haven't read the novelizations yet, so I can't comment on those.

[Cesari]

Licence Renewed ***
For Special Services ***
Icebreaker **
Role Of Honour *
Nobody Lives Forever ****
No Deals, Mr. Bond **
Scorpius *
Licence to Kill **
Win, Lose Or Die *
Brokenclaw ***
The Man From Barbarossa *
Death Is Forever **
Never Send Flowers ***
SeaFire **
GoldenEye **
Cold Fall *

[DLibrasnow]

My favorite has always been ICEBREAKER!

[Qwerty]

My favorite has always been ICEBREAKER!

What are your ratings on the other books though, DLibrasnow?

[DLibrasnow]

Licence Renewed
For Special Services
Icebreaker
Role Of Honour
Nobody Lives Forever
No Deals, Mr. Bond
Scorpius
Licence to Kill
Win, Lose Or Die
Brokenclaw
The Man From Barbarossa
Death Is Forever
Never Send Flowers
SeaFire
GoldenEye
Cold Fall

[DLibrasnow]

Despite having possibly the worst title ever for a Bond novel I really liked NO DEALS, MR. BOND!

[Qwerty]

Despite having possibly the worst title ever for a Bond novel I really liked NO DEALS, MR. BOND!

I thought it to be a middle of the road Gardner.

[Johnboy007]

I agree with DLibrasnow on some levels with this book, it is one of his better ones, but not his best.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Based on this poll, and not having read a Gardner Bond yet, I'm tempted to at least read Nobody Lives Forever (the clear favourite), but then that leaves me with the also rans should I enjoy it and want to delve further into his take on the world of Bond.

I guess I could read one of the also rans first, but that sounds like a bit of a chore.

[Qwerty]

Based on this poll, and not having read a Gardner Bond yet, I'm tempted to at least read Nobody Lives Forever (the clear favourite), but then that leaves me with the also rans should I enjoy it and want to delve further into his his take on the world of Bond.

I guess I could read one of the also rans first, but that sounds like a bit of a chore.

BC, do not start with this book as it is the final part of a three part story.

For my advice, I'd start with the first, but it is up to you.

[DLibrasnow]

Yes....it's okay, but I thought ROLE OF HONOR was better!

[Qwerty]

Role of Honor seemed to be not as grand a scale, still very enjoyable though.

I did love reading that one for the first time on vacation years ago.

[DLibrasnow]

My first Gardner was ICEBREAKER which is still my favorite! I thought NOBODY LIVES FOREVER was without a grand scheme, which was one of the things I liked about my 007's in the 1980s.

[Qwerty]

My first Gardner was ICEBREAKER which is still my favorite! I thought NOBODY LIVES FOREVER was without a grand scheme, which was one of the things I liked about my 007's in the 1980s.

Oh, Nobody Lives Forever seemed to have the grandest scheme of them all. Icebreaker was very enjoyable also though. Just what you prefer.

[Bond_Bishop]

Of the ones I've read I rate them like this:

Licence Renewed:
For Special Services:
Icebreaker:
Nobody Lives Forever:
Win Lose or Die:
Licence to Kill:
Goldeneye:

[Tanger]

I received my hardback copy of Brokenclaw and Paperback of Licence To Kill today. These are both my first Gardner books but I'm still waiting for the omnibus to come before I read these. I did read the first few pages of each and must say that I was very impressed. Very easy to read, nice flow and much closer to Fleming, imo, than Amis's Colonel Sun, which I am reading at the moment and not enjoying at all.

[Qwerty]

In my view of his books, Gardner's run at the literary James Bond is kind a rollercoaster, with his first three being very smooth going, but certain ones like Role Of Honour, No Deals, Mr. Bond, Death Is Forever, The Man From Barbarossa, and others being some of the bumps of the ride.

[Tanger]

Finished Licence Renewed last night and moved straight on to For Special Services which is even better! Both are great though. Great updates on the Bond character imo. Thrilling reads.

[Qwerty]

Finished Licence Renewed last night and moved straight on to For Special Services which is even better! Both are great though. Great updates on the Bond character imo. Thrilling reads.

Indeed, they're both two of his good ones for sure Tanger. I was just one however, who never liked the idea of Q'ute. But his plot overall for both books is above his average IMO.

[DLibrasnow]

I think Gardner really hit his stride with his third book ICEBREAKER which I read when it was first released in the early 1980s.

I don't think NOBODY LIVES FOREVWER has a grand scheme though Qwerty. I mean it was just an ordinary manhunt for 007, so there was no scheme.

[Turn]

I think Gardner really hit his stride with his third book ICEBREAKER which I read when it was first released in the early 1980s.

I don't think NOBODY LIVES FOREVWER has a grand scheme though Qwerty. I mean it was just an ordinary manhunt for 007, so there was no scheme.

There may not be a grand scheme, but it was a nice change of pace novel and my personal favorite of the Gardners. I'd hardly call that manhunt ordinary by any means. You've got some of the most vicious killers in the world on your trail, backed by SPECTRE. That puts the stakes as high as some of the other plots, but on a more personal level, and I don't mean in a Purvis and Wade Brosnan script sort of way.

[Qwerty]

I think Gardner really hit his stride with his third book ICEBREAKER which I read when it was first released in the early 1980s.

I don't think NOBODY LIVES FOREVWER has a grand scheme though Qwerty. I mean it was just an ordinary manhunt for 007, so there was no scheme.

There may not be a grand scheme, but it was a nice change of pace novel and my personal favorite of the Gardners. I'd hardly call that manhunt ordinary by any means. You've got some of the most vicious killers in the world on your trail, backed by SPECTRE. That puts the stakes as high as some of the other plots, but on a more personal level, and I don't mean in a Purvis and Wade Brosnan script sort of way.

I agree with Turn on this one. Love it.

[CharlieBind]

This is quite a hard thread. Though I have read every Gardner Bond as soon as they came out, the books after ROLE OF HONOUR seem to meld into one disappointing Dalton of a muddle.

FOR SPECIAL SERVICES is the one I most fondly remember, though the first three are all very good in their way. I think Gardner peaked with ROLE OF HONOUR, the books which followed seemed to lack the energy of his first books.

[deth]

what's so bad about Cold Fall?

I think it's a good story at least...

[Qwerty]

what's so bad about Cold Fall?

I think it's a good story at least...

I never liked it much. It seems like things have just been rehashed and thrown together. While splitting the book up is a neat idea, it only makes reading more choppy IMO.

[Qwerty]

Bumping this up for fun.