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No Deals, Mr. Bond


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#1 Jriv71

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Posted 21 May 2003 - 04:58 PM

Well, after a brief break, I resumed re-reading Gardner in sequence, with NDMB. Well, by far the oddest title of any of them, but I liked it.

Gardner appears in the last two, to be thankfully getting away from "the formula." The Bond Formula is great on screen, and great when done by Fleming, but Gardner was getting too, well, formulaic. You know; who's the bad guy, follow the bad guy to his lair, bring the girl with you.....there was still plenty of that, but the storyline here (and to a small degree, the last two) are beginning to remind me of LeCarre. And that's a good thing. Blown networks, safe houses, even a paper chase, that sort of thing. I like the gradual change in Gardner.

One thing that does get annoying (as someone else pointed out on another thread) is the constant double-triple cross. I loved it in Icebreaker, because I wasn't expecting it. But now, every single novel has it. There had to be one in NDMB, otherwise that network couldn't have been blown, that was fine, but at the end, when Murray appears out of nowhere was just horrible. THAT was pointless! It extended the book by 2 or 3 pages but had no other merit. I wasn't sitting around wondering where Murray had gone...we didn't need it.

But I did like NDMB, even if the title still has me scratching my head.

#2 DLibrasnow

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Posted 21 May 2003 - 05:23 PM

Despite its really bad title NDMB ranks as my favorite John Gardner novel after "Icebreaker" -- I thought Gardner wove a really interesting and involving narrative.

#3 zencat

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Posted 21 May 2003 - 05:43 PM

I

#4 Cesari

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Posted 22 May 2003 - 02:29 PM

I've just re-read NDMB. I find it interesting. I like the car chase in Ireland and most of all the climax in Hong Kong. The gladiator-like chase is really amazing.
But as a lot of people here I can't bear all the double-triple-triple-triple-triple crosses.
With that book, Gardner was finding a good "balance" between traditional bond stories and LeCarre's like plots.
Later, he will leave more and more the James Bond universe...

#5 Jriv71

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Posted 23 May 2003 - 04:24 PM

[quote]Originally posted by zencat
I

#6 Righty007

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Posted 23 May 2003 - 08:04 PM

This book sucked. I didn't understand it at all. Creme Cake!?

#7 DLibrasnow

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Posted 30 May 2003 - 12:02 AM

Originally posted by Jriv71


I don't know, Zeke, I really liked it.  I loved the characters, Smolin especially.  I even liked Norman Murray, until the stupid double-cross at the end.  That just didn't belong there.  His was a good character, who helps Bond out, that they could've brought back in the future (like an Irish Leiter.)


Yes it is probably one of Gardners best Bond books -- if only the title was a little better.

#8 Righty007

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Posted 20 May 2010 - 01:35 AM

This book sucked. I didn't understand it at all. Creme Cake!?

Thank you, Righty007, for that intelligent and in depth evaluation of No Deals, Mr. Bond. You're only 14 now but perhaps you should try re-reading it in 2010 when you're a little bit older.