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Should Gardner's be read in order?


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#1 Flash1087

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:28 AM

I just recently won two collections of his stuff off eBay, one with Licence Renewed/For Special Services/Icebreaker and the other with Role Of Honor/No One Lives Forever/No Deals, Mr. Bond. The second one will be arriving first, and truth be told I'd really like to start reading it right away.

But I have a question. Should I hold off until the Licence Renewed collection arrives? Or does it not really matter at which point I jump into the Gardner novels?

#2 Qwerty

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:30 AM

Read them in order. IMO, it is strongly recommended to start off with Licence Renewed and essential to read For Special Services - Icebreaker - Role Of Honour - Nobody Lives Forever in that order as well as Never Send Flowers - SeaFire - Cold in that order.

#3 zencat

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:32 AM

I would wait and read them in order. They read well in order, and some of the books loosely connect (Role of Honor and Nobody Lives Forever have the same villain, for example).

#4 Flash1087

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:39 AM

Awesome. As of right now I actually own all of those except for Never Send Flowers and SeaFire (and I've already read Cold...oops).

Now what about his other ones, should I just get to those when I get to them?

#5 Qwerty

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:42 AM

The order is here: http://commanderbond...es/1563-1.shtml

Personally, I would really try to read them in order for your first time. Wish I had when I first started reading them some years ago. They all should be easy to obtain.

#6 dinovelvet

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:43 AM

I would say they don't have to be read in order, with the exception of Licence Renewed, which establishes the 'reboot' of Bond for the 1980s and introduces his new car, lifestyle, and a recurring character or two. Most of them have a small reference to the/a previous book, but overall it doesn't affect the overall scheme of things, much like Fleming's books in fact (obviously with the exception of OHMSS-YOLT) So far I've read them in this order :

Licence Renewed
For Special Services
The Man from Barbarossa
Icebreaker

and have started Nobody Lives Forever, but yesterday I put it on the back burner to read Raymond Benson's Splinter Cell, which so far is great!

Edited by dinovelvet, 26 October 2005 - 03:45 AM.


#7 Flash1087

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:46 AM

Yes. Yes it is. Fan of the games?

#8 zencat

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 03:53 AM

Awesome. As of right now I actually own all of those except for Never Send Flowers and SeaFire (and I've already read Cold...oops).

Now what about his other ones, should I just get to those when I get to them?

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dinovelvet makes a good point in that you should read License Renewed first as it sets up the Gardner/Bond world. The first three books really work well together and, IMO, should be read first and in order (I think of them as the Silver Beast Trilogy :)). Then you can skip around. But make sure you read Never Send Flowers before Seafire...and I would have added COLD here but you've already read that. And, as I said, Role of Honor should be read before Nobody Lives Forever. Really, you can't go wrong reading the first five books in order.

Oh, and don't listen to what people tell you about Brokenclaw. It rocks. :)

Have fun. Let us know how it goes. :)

#9 zencat

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 04:06 AM

In case you need it, here's the order.

Licence Renewed (1981)
For Special Services (1982)
Icebreaker (1983)
Role of Honor (1984)
Nobody Lives Forever (1986)
No Deals Mr. Bond (1987)
Scorpius (1988)
Win Lose or Die (1989)
(Licence To Kill - novelization - 1989)
Brokenclaw (1990)
The Man From Babarossa (1991)
Death Is Forever (1992)
Never Send Flowers (1993)
SeaFire (1994)
(GoldenEye - novelization - 1995)
COLD (1996)

#10 Genrewriter

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 04:20 AM

Oddly enough, it works even better if you read the Goldeneye novelization after Cold.

#11 terminus

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 07:28 AM

I haven't read ALL of the Gardner's but, does he ever demote Bond after Win, Loose or Die ? I know in Benson, he's back to Commander but Benson ain't ever specified how he got demoted.

#12 dinovelvet

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 08:01 AM

Yes. Yes it is. Fan of the games?

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Yeah big Splinter Cell fan. I thought the book might turn out to be a bit cheesy and like bad videogame fan fiction, but no, its a real political thriller, good stuff so far.

#13 Streetworker

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 09:26 AM

I just recently won two collections of his stuff off eBay, one with Licence Renewed/For Special Services/Icebreaker and the other with Role Of Honor/No One Lives Forever/No Deals, Mr. Bond. The second one will be arriving first, and truth be told I'd really like to start reading it right away.

But I have a question. Should I hold off until the Licence Renewed collection arrives? Or does it not really matter at which point I jump into the Gardner novels?

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What was the second prize? Three[I] collections of the complete Gardner...? :)

#14 David Schofield

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 09:52 AM

Oddly enough, it works even better if you read the Goldeneye novelization after Cold.

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Yes, if you're into continuity and include the Goldeneye novelisation - as I do - it should be read after Cold.

#15 eddyellis

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Posted 26 October 2005 - 11:50 AM

I've just ordered Gardner books 2 & 3 used from Amazon, as I've already got 1 & 4. I do plan to read them in order, starting with Licence Renewed in a couple of days time when I've finished Goldfinger.

#16 Flash1087

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 03:00 AM

Just finished Goldfinger myself, oddly enough. It was...alright, but no CR or LALD.

Hey, I got another question. Is LTK a straight-up novelization with no attempt to fit it into the book continuity or what?

#17 Qwerty

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 03:01 AM

There is some continuity. I believe there is a big thread in the Gardner forum discussing the differences since it had to tackle things like Felix and the shark.

#18 ComplimentsOfSharky

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 03:14 AM

Just finished Goldfinger myself, oddly enough. It was...alright, but no CR or LALD.

Hey, I got another question. Is LTK a straight-up novelization with no attempt to fit it into the book continuity or what?

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There's some dumb chapter called lightning strikes twice or something. In the LTK novelization he gets his fake leg bitten off by a shark.

#19 Qwerty

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 03:15 AM

Here's the thread: http://debrief.comma...showtopic=18197

#20 DLibrasnow

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 04:34 PM

Just finished Goldfinger myself, oddly enough. It was...alright, but no CR or LALD.

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I actually really like Goldfinger. I don't find it as bad as many people seem to. I particularly like all the golf stuff.

I think structurally its one of the stronger novels.

#21 Qwerty

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 04:35 PM

Just finished Goldfinger myself, oddly enough. It was...alright, but no CR or LALD.

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I'd say it's one of Fleming's lesser Bond novels compared to quite a few of his others.

#22 Streetworker

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 04:43 PM

Just finished Goldfinger myself, oddly enough. It was...alright, but no CR or LALD.

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I'd say it's one of Fleming's lesser Bond novels compared to quite a few of his others.

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Funny; I find it one of the stronger ones because it's so rich in detail and characterisation. And, as Raymond Benson points out in the Bedside Companion, Fleming's Bond is at his most likeable in Goldfinger. Fleming was at the top of his game when he wrote this one - and it shows.

#23 Qwerty

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 04:46 PM

I disagree. It lacks the real sense of pace and excitement that was in his earlier books. I actually like Diamonds Are Forever more than this one.

That said, it still is a very good read.

#24 dinovelvet

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 06:54 PM

Funny; I find it one of the stronger ones because it's so rich in detail and characterisation. And, as Raymond Benson points out in the Bedside Companion, Fleming's Bond is at his most likeable in Goldfinger. Fleming was at the top of his game when he wrote this one - and it shows.

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I like Goldfinger too; GF is a wonderfully perverse and terrific character and I love how he has Bond completely under his thumb for the second half of the book and even has Bond help him in his scheme.

#25 DLibrasnow

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Posted 27 October 2005 - 06:58 PM

Funny; I find it one of the stronger ones because it's so rich in detail and characterisation. And, as Raymond Benson points out in the Bedside Companion, Fleming's Bond is at his most likeable in Goldfinger. Fleming was at the top of his game when he wrote this one - and it shows.

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Yes, it is one of Flemings better novels in my opinion. It has a solid structure and it is rich in detail. I know a lot of people prefer the movie, but to me the book is one of my favorite novels. I think it works much better structurally than some of Flemings other Bond books.

#26 Flash1087

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Posted 28 October 2005 - 02:16 AM

I disagree. It lacks the real sense of pace and excitement that was in his earlier books. I actually like Diamonds Are Forever more than this one.

That said, it still is a very good read.

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I honestly enjoyed Diamonds Are Forever! I really did! Being as I read most of the Flemings hopelessly out of order, I tackled it after YOLT and before Thunderball, and frankly there's parts of DAF I prefer to either of those.

Edited by Flash1087, 28 October 2005 - 02:17 AM.


#27 Qwerty

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Posted 28 October 2005 - 02:21 AM

It's one of Fleming's most underrated in my opinion. I think it moves very, very fast.

#28 Harmsway

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Posted 28 October 2005 - 04:41 AM

It's one of Fleming's most underrated in my opinion. I think it moves very, very fast.

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I had trouble summing enough will to finish DAF. I found it slow and totally uninteresting. Easily, IMO, Fleming's weakest Bond novel.

#29 Qwerty

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Posted 28 October 2005 - 04:57 AM

Guess it's still one of his most divided. Perhaps it's the opening introductory chapters or the plot, but I always enjoy this one immensely. Granted, it has it's flaws such as the weak villains, but I still enjoy it.

My least favourite Fleming remains The Man With The Golden Gun.

#30 K1Bond007

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Posted 28 October 2005 - 05:32 AM

Funny; I find it one of the stronger ones because it's so rich in detail and characterisation. And, as Raymond Benson points out in the Bedside Companion, Fleming's Bond is at his most likeable in Goldfinger. Fleming was at the top of his game when he wrote this one - and it shows.

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Yes, it is one of Flemings better novels in my opinion. It has a solid structure and it is rich in detail. I know a lot of people prefer the movie, but to me the book is one of my favorite novels. I think it works much better structurally than some of Flemings other Bond books.

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I like it. I think it's pretty well structured and written, although the story was far more implausible than his other books (IMHO). The ending wasn't that good either; otherwise it's a fantastic book.