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Rate John Gardner's James Bond Books

Started by Qwerty , Jun 15 2004 01:59 PM

48 replies to this topic

Poll: Your favorite Gardner book?

Your favorite Gardner book?

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#31 The_Hunted

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Posted 27 June 2005 - 08:05 PM

I havn't yet read them all so I'll rate the ones I've read:

Licence Renewed ***
For Special Services **
Icebreaker *****
Role Of Honour (I won't rate this yet as I'm still reading it)
Death Is Forever ****

#32 James Boldman

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 04:34 AM

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

My favourite being Death Is Forever, closely followed, as you can see, by SeaFire. I'm a big fan of the Gardner series with his only slight hiccup being The Man From Barbarossa. Interestingly enough, Gardner's favourite Bond novel...

* Haven't read Gardner's novelisations.

#33 James Boldman

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 04:39 AM

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

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Yep, definitely agree with you there. Role Of Honour is so often underrated.:)

#34 James Boldman

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 04:43 AM

what's so bad about Cold Fall?

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

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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.

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I've never really liked COLD either...strange though, seeing I've read it 3 times lol. I think I just like my Gardner.:)

#35 Qwerty

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 04:44 AM

* Haven't read Gardner's novelisations.

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They're both not bad IMO - grab them if you can. I particularly liked GoldenEye.

#36 James Boldman

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 04:56 AM

* Haven't read Gardner's novelisations.

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They're both not bad IMO - grab them if you can. I particularly liked GoldenEye.

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The problem is when I had a chance to get them at Borders I didn't have cash. Now they're out of print.:)

#37 Qwerty

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 05:00 AM

Should be able to get them on eBay readily enough?

#38 tdalton

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 05:31 AM

For Special Services was my favorite of the ones that I have read. Scorpius and Icebreaker are close seconds, however.

#39 Qwerty

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Posted 10 July 2005 - 06:06 AM

what's so bad about Cold Fall?

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

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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.

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I've never really liked COLD either...strange though, seeing I've read it 3 times lol. I think I just like my Gardner.:)

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LOL.

#40 James Boldman

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Posted 11 July 2005 - 07:02 AM

Should be able to get them on eBay readily enough?

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I've gone off ebay...too much time, money and effort.:)

#41 Qwerty

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Posted 11 July 2005 - 07:23 AM

Should be able to get them on eBay readily enough?

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I've gone off ebay...too much time, money and effort.:)

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Hopefully you'll stumble across a good deal soon JB.

#42 ACE

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Posted 11 July 2005 - 10:35 AM

My favourite Gardners
(I have not included the novelizations but if I were they would come at the bottom)
1.) Nobody Lives For Ever 1986
2.) Licence Renewed 1981
3.) Role Of Honour 1984
4.) For Special Services 1982
5.) Scorpius 1988
6.) Death Is Forever 1992
7.) Icebreaker 1983
8.) No Deals Mr Bond 1987
9.) Never Send Flowers 1993
10.) SeaFire 1994
11.) Cold 1996
12.) Win Lose Or Die 1989
13.) The Man From Barbarossa 1991
14.) Brokenclaw 1990

Gardner's favourite is The Man From Barbarossa.

ACE

#43 James Boldman

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Posted 12 July 2005 - 05:02 AM

Gardner's favourite is The Man From Barbarossa.
ACE

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Yep, that's right. Mostly due to the fact that it was so different from the others and left the Bond formula for dead.

And yep hopefully I will, qwerty.:)

#44 Buck

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Posted 30 July 2005 - 04:04 AM

Should be able to get them on eBay readily enough?

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I've gone off ebay...too much time, money and effort.:)

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I found all of them at a used book store. They are pretty beat, but at least I have them. You can also look for used copies at Amazon.com. I'm still hoping for reprints. Happy hunting.

Buck

#45 Skin 17

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Posted 31 July 2005 - 02:29 AM

I really like Never Send Flowers it was a great book and David Dragonpol is a good villain.

#46 bryonalston

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Posted 31 July 2005 - 02:33 AM

I personally like Licence Renewed and Nobody Lives Forever. My least favorite is Icebreaker. I guess it just reminds me to much of DAD :)

#47 Qwerty

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Posted 31 July 2005 - 08:59 PM

I really like Never Send Flowers it was a great book and David Dragonpol is a good villain.

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Excellent villain indeed. Some of the villains in the Gardner books seem kind of flat sometimes.

#48 Quartermaster007

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Posted 31 July 2005 - 09:01 PM

Seeing as I've only read Licence Renewed I give it a :)

#49 Kronsteen

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Posted 24 August 2005 - 08:14 PM

I have yet to read Role of Honour, Seafire and Cold. Shame on me! :)

Here's what I've read so far:

Licence Renewed :)
For Special Services :)
Icebreaker :)
Nobody Lives Forever :)
No Deals, Mr Bond :)
Scorpius :)
Win, Lose or Die :)
Brokenclaw :)
The Man From Barbarossa :)
Death Is Forever :)
Never Send Flowers :)

I've always enjoyed John Gardners books, and the only one I really disliked was Brokenclaw. Other than that he did a good job in the beginning and some excellent novels towards the end. Never Send Flowers is still my favourite non-Fleming Bond-novel. :)
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