61 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

Continuing with the other thread, what is your view on Benson's books?

And then of course, please vote for your favorite.

Zero Minus Ten
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Facts Of Death
High Time To Kill
The World is not Enough
Doubleshot
Never Dream Of Dying
The Man With The Red Tattoo
Die Another Day

My favorite is a constant switch between The Facts Of Death and High Time To Kill, currently it is The Facts Of Death though. Ever so slightly.

[Jim]

Zero Minus Ten
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Facts Of Death
High Time To Kill
The World is not Enough
Doubleshot
Never Dream Of Dying
The Man With The Red Tattoo
Die Another Day

Perhaps I just misjudged the lad
Perhaps he wasn't quite that bad

Having re-read the first two for reasons too complicated to bother with; top stuff.

And that interview - yeah, he's got it.

[Loomis]

I voted for "Zero Minus Ten". Benson's research into and descriptions of Hong Kong and southern China are genuinely impressive. I've read the book twice, and the only false note I could find was the misspelling of a street name, or something like that; otherwise, the history, the culture, the ambiance, the political mood(s) around the time of the Handover.... well, it's all there. A bit of a cliche, this, but Benson succeeds spectacularly in making Hong Kong into a character, and a character to care about.... to the point where the novel's closing lines pack a tremendous emotional wallop.

Bond's journey into the People's Republic on the Kowloon-Guangzhou Express ("Day Trip to China") is a wonderful piece of Flemingian travelogue, conjuring not only the excitement of "the exotic", but displaying a terrific eye for authentic detail. The subsequent chapter, "Agony and Anger", contains a horrifying torture sequence worthy of Fleming (or Amis.... or Lindsay Anderson's IF....):

Bond turned his head to the left and spat, 'Please ... sir. May ... I have ... another, you ... bloody ... bastard ...?'

Apart from which verisimilitude and unpleasantness, ZMT is a rollicking good yarn (and extremely filmic). The Bond girl, Sunni, is a far more developed and interesting character than may be apparent on first reading, while there's a surprising amount of humour (that works pretty well).

Is it a perfect book? No, not at all. There's a lot of what can only be described as "very sloppy writing" (I'm talking about a lack of elegant prose, and the occasional true howler in the use of the English language; Benson's research, as stated above, is spot-on, while characterisation is, generally speaking, good, and the story is more than sufficiently interesting and well-told to keep one turning the pages). If there weren't so many good things about ZMT, I wouldn't care - but there are, and those good things make me wish that Benson had had a better editor, more time to hone and polish his manuscript, etc. It's something I feel all the time when reading Benson. He has imagination and talent, but, bluntly, needed more help while writing the Bonds than he evidently received.

All in all, though, perhaps the second best continuation novel I've read (after "Colonel Sun"). My vote for second finest Benson goes to "The Man With the Red Tattoo", with "Never Dream of Dying" in third place, although I've yet to read "The Facts of Death" and "Doubleshot".

[Qwerty]

Apart from which verisimilitude and unpleasantness, ZMT is a rollicking good yarn (and extremely filmic). The Bond girl, Sunni, is a far more developed and interesting character than may be apparent on first reading, while there's a surprising amount of humour (that works pretty well).

I definitely noticed that a second, third....reading of this book helps it considerably. As I wasn't completely satisfied with it the very first time.

[zencat]

Zero Minus Ten
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Facts of Death
High Time To Kill
The World Is Not Enough
DoubleShot
Never Dream of Dying
The Man With The Red Tattoo
Die Another Day

[Loomis]

Hey, zencat, what's with the uniform *** ratings for the novelizations? Are you automatically taking a star or two off just because they're not "originals" (and if so, is that really fair?), or is it simply that you don't think they're all that good?

Just wanted to shout out on behalf of the novelizations of TND and DAD (not read TWINE). TND has a great deal of "character background" fans of the film might be interested in, as well as some nice descriptions of Far Eastern locations, while DAD is notable for having Bond escaping the Brits not in Hong Kong but in Seoul, leading to some entertaining escapades in the South Korean capital.

[zencat]

I should give a higher rating to TND than the other novelizations, but then it would be higher than ZMT and I ZMT is a much better book. So then I would have to raise ZMT to 4 stars, but that would put it equal with DoubleShot and I think DoubleShot is better than ZMT, so...

I can never "rate" things.

[Qwerty]

I should give a higher rating to TND than the other novelizations, but then it would be higher than ZMT and I ZMT is a much better book. So then I would have to raise ZMT to 4 stars, but that would put it equal with DoubleShot and I think DoubleShot is better than ZMT, so...

I can never "rate" things.

Maybe we need to get half-stars.

[Qwerty]

The one thing that puzzles me is why the filmbooks in HC are so rare

Well I do think they had much lower print runs, but Zencat is the expert on this matter.

[Napoleon Solo]

High Time to Kill is the best of Benson's books, hands down.

[Qwerty]

Do you have ratings for the others, Napoleon Solo?

[Napoleon Solo]

>>Do you have ratings for the others, Napoleon Solo? <<

I'd rate the original novels as follows:

1. High Time to Kill
2. Never Dream of Dying
3. Facts of Death
4. Zero Minus Ten
5. Doubleshot
6. The Man With the Red Tatoo

2 and 3 are fairly close but I give Dream a bit of an edge. Zero Minus Ten is at a plateau by itself. 5 and 6 are close to interchangeable. Doubleshot, I thought initially maintained the momentum started with HTTK but it dissipated somewhere in the midst of the book.

I do not have all the novelizations (I am missing Die Another Day), and I think they should be ranked separately.

Of the short stories, my least favorite is Midsummers Night Doom. The author, in the Commander Bond interview, describes it as a joke that should not be taken seriously. My feeling is that it is a James Bond story and you can't say it "doesn't count." The idea that Hef has known all along that Bond is a secret agent, well let's say I didn't like it and leave it at that.

[Cesari]

Novels
Zero Minus Ten *****
Tomorrow Never Dies ****
The Facts Of Death ****
High Time To Kill ******
The World is not Enough ***
Doubleshot ****
Never Dream Of Dying *****
The Man With The Red Tattoo *****
Die Another Day ***

Short stories
Blast from the past (full version) ****
Midsummer night's doom ***
Live at five ***

[Harmsway]

Zero Minus Ten ****
Tomorrow Never Dies ***
The Facts of Death ****
High Time to Kill *****
The World is Not Enough **
Doubleshot *****
Never Dream of Dying ****
The Man with the Red Tattoo ***
Die Another Day **

My personal favorite is Doubleshot. I particularly enjoy the story and atmosphere, especially the characters of Margareta Piel and Domingo Espada. Benson's books aren't Fleming quality at all, but they're good reads in their own right.

Edited by Harmsway, 29 June 2004 - 07:30 PM.

[Genrewriter]

I put High Time to Kill at the top because it kicks off the wonderful Union Trilogy. TMWTRT is also a very good read.

Zero Minus Ten

Tomorrow Never Dies

The Facts of Death

The World is Not Enough

High Time to Kill

Doubleshot

Never Dream of Dying

The Man With the Red Tattoo

Die Another Day

[Tanger]

I've been having difficulty in getting hold of the Benson's so I've only read three. Here's my ratings:

The World Is Not Enough -
Die Another Day -
The Man With The Red Tattoo -

TWINE - I don't really like the movie much so it was hard for me ro enjoy this. The few additions were nice.

DAD - Excellent. The only Benson book that I've throroughly enjoyed. Great improvements made to the movie imo.

TMWTRTT - I found this one hard to enjoy. I don't know whether it's the plot, Benson's writing or what. I just couldn't get into it. I guess I'll have to give it a re-read.

[DLibrasnow]

I'll post my thoughts on HTTK, DS and TMWTRT when I am done reading them.

Loomis, your enthusiasm for ZMT makes me wish that I had not given away that novel.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Geez!

17 votes in 10 months.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Voted for "High Time to Kill". The only one I read, along with the DAD novelization, by Benson.

[Qwerty]

You should get the others - they're often pretty cheap on half.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Most likely. I try going to Borders, where I usually buy my books, but all they sell are the Fleming/Penguin books. I'll make sure to get the others this summer.

[Qwerty]

Borders is good with the Bensons around here - the only bookstore that still has the Benson paperbacks.

[Loomis]

Loomis, your enthusiasm for ZMT makes me wish that I had not given away that novel.

When I first picked it up I thought it was utter tripe, stunningly badly-written. "No way am I going to make it to the end of this rubbish," I thought. But then I started to see the good things in the book. It's one of only two Bensons I've felt compelled to re-read (the other being "The Man With the Red Tattoo") - like Qwerty, "I definitely noticed that a second, third....reading of this book helps it considerably. As I wasn't completely satisfied with it the very first time."

[DLibrasnow]

Geez!

17 votes in 10 months.

Well once i have read them I will vote on this poll

You should get the others - they're often pretty cheap on half.

Right, I've picked up three Benson hardbacks for under $10. With P&P included it still only came to a little under $15.

[Qwerty]

Not a bad deal at all.

[Tanger]

I've been having difficulty in getting hold of the Benson's myself. They're mostly out of print in the UK and I don't fancy tracking down second hands or getting American imports (just doesn't seem worth it). I've only read three therefore.

The World Is Not Enough -
Die Another Day -
The Man With The Red Tattoo -

TWINE - I don't really like the movie much so it was hard for me to enjoy this. In fact I utterly detest the movie, so the novelisation didn't really stand much chance. The few additions made for a couple nice diversions but that was about it.

DAD - Excellent. The only Benson book that I've throroughly enjoyed. Great improvements made to the movie imo. And the fact that I got the book for free only added to the experience.

TMWTRTT - I found this one hard to enjoy. I don't know whether it's the plot, Benson's writing or what. I find that he either severely over writes bits or severely underwrites them rarely reaching a middle ground. I just couldn't get into it. I guess I'll have to give it a re-read after I'm done working through the Flemings (and after I've given Colonel Sun a second chance). The only bits I really enjoyed were the sword fights.

[Qwerty]

I particularly enjoy the story and atmosphere, especially the characters of Margareta Piel and Domingo Espada.

Two characters that are both standouts in my opinion.

[DLibrasnow]

Hey Devin. I cannot see the poll results until I vote and I have not read them all to vote yet. Which book is in the lead right now?

[Loyal Terrior]

Doubleshot gets my vote.

[DLibrasnow]

Doubleshot gets my vote.

I find it strange that this book is (apparently) largely overlooked, Certainly the plot sounds very good and thankfully Bond is not some superhero throughout. I'm very much looking forward to reading this novel.