What if?
#1
Posted 08 June 2010 - 08:06 PM
#2
Posted 08 June 2010 - 08:10 PM
#3
Posted 08 June 2010 - 08:21 PM
#4
Posted 08 June 2010 - 10:00 PM
Raymond benson was comissioned to return and write DMC? Would have it been better to some people?
It might have been better for some and not so for others. Who knows as he didnt write it so we will never know.
#5
Posted 09 June 2010 - 04:39 PM
Do you have an opinion on this, Real008?
Given how so many people dislike the novel as it is, I was wondering what people's opinions would be if Raymond was asked to come back and write one final one?
#6
Posted 10 June 2010 - 01:23 AM
Now, had Benson been allowed to create his own plot, had Benson been allowed to write Bond as a period piece, had Benson been given proper editing and promotion... Alas, we'll never know.
#7
Posted 10 June 2010 - 03:55 AM
Now, had Benson been allowed to create his own plot, had Benson been allowed to write Bond as a period piece, had Benson been given proper editing and promotion... Alas, we'll never know.
I like Benson, don't get me wrong, but I don't see him at all as a period author. When it comes to Bond I think he's certainly capable, but period pieces is Faulks' strength.
Personally, we've now seen 2 great authors try to follow in Fleming's footsteps (Faulks and Amis) and both came up short. Honestly without an amazing amount of freedom and care, I just don't think anyone could have done a whole lot better than what they did. Deaver has an entirely fresh slate so his offering could really be knocked out of the park.
#8
Posted 10 June 2010 - 04:21 AM
As far as Amis goes, I'm a huge fan and still think that CS is by far the best of the continuation novels. Too dense to be Fleming, but very, very good.
My point about Benson is, we never had the chance to find out due to the constraints placed on him by Glidrose.
I like Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes novels, but I'm nervous. Reboots tend to work better in film, when it comes to more introspective media like novels, things can become more tricky, and you can loose the essence of the character, or series, easily. Deaver is a smart, talented writer who does his homework, so if anyone can do it...
#9
Posted 10 June 2010 - 04:36 AM
I like Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes novels, but I'm nervous. Reboots tend to work better in film, when it comes to more introspective media like novels, things can become more tricky, and you can loose the essence of the character, or series, easily. Deaver is a smart, talented writer who does his homework, so if anyone can do it...
At least this time we've got an actual Fleming Bong fan writing it. That will help a lot. Plus, I think we have to be realistic with our expectations. There are going to be differences. We all know it won't be like Fleming, so what is our criteria for judging if Project X is a success? It has to be different from Fleming, so what do we want it to be? A hard question to answer, a question that probably can only be answered by reading Project X. We likely won't really know what we want until we get it (or don't).
#10
Posted 10 June 2010 - 07:00 AM
If he had written DMC, I don't think it would have gone any better. There are inherent flaws with Faulk's cookie-cutter plot which attempted to ape Fleming so severely that it actually became a lampoon. A different authorial voice wouldn't have made much difference. Prose-wise, it would have most likely been worse.
Now, had Benson been allowed to create his own plot, had Benson been allowed to write Bond as a period piece, had Benson been given proper editing and promotion... Alas, we'll never know.
Agreed.
#11
Posted 10 June 2010 - 12:16 PM
#12
Posted 10 June 2010 - 12:25 PM
And I firmly believe he ought to have gone to Iran instead of doing his research on the net. Not that I'm saying he got his research wrong, but there's no passion in his descriptions of that country. Going there might have fired him up. It would have been neither illegal nor dangerous for him to have gone to Iran, especially as a world-famous millionaire novelist with access to the best hotels and guides. He would have been well looked after. I'm under the impression that Fleming had visited virtually all of the locations he wrote about. (On the other hand, perhaps Faulks refused to visit Iran on moral or human rights grounds.)
#13
Posted 10 June 2010 - 12:43 PM
The finest complement that I can pay Benson is that for a fanboy writing James Bond fan-fiction, the quality of his work is that of a revered best-selling LITERARY giant in Sebastian Faulks with DMC.
#14
Posted 11 June 2010 - 01:54 AM
#15
Posted 11 June 2010 - 01:59 AM
#16
Posted 11 June 2010 - 07:40 AM
What about Christopher Wood? Back in his '77-'79 heyday, do you think he'd have pulled it off?
If he'd used the tonal effect he used, particularly in "James Bond, the Spy Who Loved Me", I think we'd have felt we'd just discovered a missing Fleming novel.
#17
Posted 11 June 2010 - 08:06 AM
He very likely would have pulled off writing as Ian Fleming better than Faulks did or Benson would have and overall probably have given a better novel too.What about Christopher Wood? Back in his '77-'79 heyday, do you think he'd have pulled it off?