16 replies to this topic

[dinovelvet]

Yet another ride on the Gardner Rollercoaster...I know marmaduke was interested to see what I had to say about this one - basically I thought it was OK, but I got the impression that this could have been any generic detective novel, its just that this one features a bloke called James Bond. This book, even more blatantly than Gardner's others, clearly has very little to do with Ian Fleming's Bond.
Still, at least it was something fresh and different (though perhaps inspired by the serial killer movie craze of the early 90s) and Gardner was not repeating his old plots this time (though there were a few 'familiar' motifs, like Bond staying at the villain's castle like in Licence Renewed, and backstories of characters who were largely irrelevant). The much-debated Eurodisney finale didn't feel all that weird to me. Shrug. The villain(s) was pretty good by Gardner's standards, and it was a decent twist with the twin brother (I was expecting Flicka to be a traitor, but for once it didn't happen, LOL).
Anyway, so...its different. I'd probably rank it somewhere in the middle of the Gardner pack, say 7th or 8th. And now for something completely different, I will be reading Christopher Wood's Moonraker novelization

[marmaduke]

Thanks Dinovelvet, your views are interesting and i would agree with them.You are a lot more kind to NSF than i was when i posted my own views on it back in April 2005.I think that you will enjoy Christopher Wood's Moonraker' a lot more than NSF. Don't forget to post your views on completion!
For the record here are my views on NSF posted in April 2005. My somewhat harsh reaction was on reflection proberbly influenced by the fact that this was my first taste of Gardner.My ihope then was that things could only get better and thankfully they did. Anyway here is that original post:

Never Send Flowers.
I have just read my first Gardner Bond novel: Never Send Flowers.
Awful. Not a bad novel (but certainly not a good one either) but certainly an awful Bond novel. Who is this character that Gardner calls James Bond? Certainly not the Ian Fleming character. This person refers to the police as

[Flash1087]

I've heard mixed reviews of Never Send Flowers. Part of me wants to skip right to it, but I've read them all in order so far (...okay, except Cold Fall, but it was my first Bond novel ever...), so I'd have to get through Death is Forever, the LTK novelization, and I think Man from Barbarossa first.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Dinovelvet, Never Send Flowers is a different Bond novel and, like you said, it's basically 007 working in a detective story in his hunt for a serial killer. But I think I liked it a little more than you did. I like mystery novels and it was nice seeing a villain who was a master of disguise. Bodo Lempke, Fredericka von Grusse, and David Dragonpol were all good characters and the climax was good. Overall, a thumbs up from me.

[zencat]

I rather like NSF. It feels like Gardner starts out to write a James Bond horror novel...then he sort of drifts into a detective novel. But I like the villain and I like the repeating motif of Bond in theatrical/imaginary worlds, culminating, of course, in EuroDisney, which is not as bad as it sounds.

[Mister Asterix]

[mra]I

[dinovelvet]

[quote name='marmaduke' post='552826' date='7 May 2006 - 01:46']
Thanks Dinovelvet, your views are interesting and i would agree with them.You are a lot more kind to NSF than i was when i posted my own views on it back in April 2005.I think that you will enjoy Christopher Wood's Moonraker' a lot more than NSF. Don't forget to post your views on completion!
For the record here are my views on NSF posted in April 2005. My somewhat harsh reaction was on reflection proberbly influenced by the fact that this was my first taste of Gardner.My ihope then was that things could only get better and thankfully they did. Anyway here is that original post:

Never Send Flowers.
I have just read my first Gardner Bond novel: Never Send Flowers.
Awful. Not a bad novel (but certainly not a good one either) but certainly an awful Bond novel. Who is this character that Gardner calls James Bond? Certainly not the Ian Fleming character. This person refers to the police as

[Flash1087]

Well...luck of the draw, I guess. Oddly enough, I've found them all for sale either in town or on eBay (the first three were found at my local library for sale, the next three on eBay, and then Scorpius and WLOD at a local thrift store) in the exact order they were published. So if I find Death is Forever or LTK next, I'll tackle them. But if I find NSF first...it has to be fate.

[Santa]

I just finished reading Never Send Flowers. Ugh. It was atrocious. Preposterous. Hideous (insert any random adjective meaning 'unpleasant' at will). I have to admit that up until about halfway through I was quite enjoying it. No, actually, that's not quite true, it's more realistic to say that I found myself pleasantly surprised to find myself thinking that I didn't dislike it as much as the other Gardners. By the end, however, I hated it. One of my main problems with it is Gardner's Bond, who I can't get to grips with in the same way I don't get Pierce Brosnan's James Bond - in fact I see JG's Bond as PB's Bond, it's as if JG wrote with PB in mind for the role - he's just so cheesy... There's nothing cold and cruel about him, he's just a bit naff (he talks about how he has to fight 'mano a mano' with his enemy ). The idea of Bond voluntarily going to Disneyland for a weekend with a girlfriend and enjoying it so much he stayed for a week is repulsive. And as for Flicka, the supposedly highly professional intelligence agent who gets herself tooled up and ready for a middle of the night escape from the enemy's castle in... a wide skirt??? And I really can't see Bond going for such a bunny boiler, claws out like Wolverine and putting Bond through the inquisition any time he so much as looks vaguely in the direction of another female. Shudder. Run, Bond, run as fast as you can.

[dlb007]

Never Send Flowers was one of the Gardner's that I really wanted to enjoy, and found myself doing until the very end. Of course, Gardner had to include his patented twist and blah blah blah. There was never really a seemless plot with him. There always had to be a double-cross. That said, the story really takes a downturn when Bond gets to EuroDisney. Now, clearly, I feel Gardner did this to appease the Disney people more so than Bond really loves Mickey Mouse and all that nonsense, but still, it was pretty pathetic. I could never imagine Fleming's Bond doing that; killing a man, vomitting over the violence of it, and then saying "The hell with it. I'll just go to Pirates of the Carribean and pretend to be a kid again."

[Righty007]

I could never imagine Fleming's Bond doing that; killing a man, vomitting over the violence of it, and then saying "The hell with it. I'll just go to Pirates of the Carribean and pretend to be a kid again."

Is that an actual quote!?

[dlb007]

No, but sadly it comes rather close to it. Bond spends a great deal of his time at EuroDisney riding the rides and repeating over and over again how it allows all adults to pretend to be children once more.

[Righty007]

No, but sadly it comes rather close to it. Bond spends a great deal of his time at EuroDisney riding the rides and repeating over and over again how it allows all adults to pretend to be children once more.

[dlb007]

Don't let it sway you from reading it though. It is worth a shot. It's a change from the normal Bond novel, and for the most part, it works rather well. You should still give it a shot, and just cringe like the rest of us when it gets to EuroDisney.

[Righty007]

Don't let it sway you from reading it though. It is worth a shot. It's a change from the normal Bond novel, and for the most part, it works rather well. You should still give it a shot, and just cringe like the rest of us when it gets to EuroDisney.

I'll still read it. I'm actually working my way through the Gardner novels right now. I'm currently on Role Of Honour so at this rate, I'll be on Never Send Flowers in a few years.

[dlb007]

Role of Honor was a slow one for me as well. After Nobody Lives Forever it gets a little rough, but picks up again before descending in quality once more; it really is a roller coaster ride . . . reminds me of Disney as a kid

Edited by dlb007, 27 April 2010 - 05:34 PM.

[Righty007]

Role of Honor was a slow one for me as well. After Nobody Lives Forever it gets a little rough, but picks up again before descending in quality once more; it really is a roller coaster ride . . . reminds me of Disney as a kid