16 replies to this topic

[James Boldman]

I think this is a great read and I advise you to read it if you have the oppitunity to do so.

How well do you think Benson brought in the new M?

Do you think the idea of the three Asian, Albino killers was taken from the unused Moonraker script written by Tony Barwick or do you think it was an original idea?

Please post your thoughts and observations of this novel.

[Double-0 Six]

This was the first Bond novel I read, and the first thing I did when I finished was go and seek out the rest - I really enjoyed it and want to read it again some time soon.

The three albino killers were good, I don't know where it came from but its the sort of thing that Fleming might have come up with.

In many ways, I think this is the best of Benson's Bond novels. Maybe its because its the first, or maybe its just because I have an interest in Chinese/Hong Kong stuff in general. It's also quite like the films, so its easy to imagine Brosnan in the role.

Anyway, I liked it.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Double-0 Six
The three albino killers were good, I don't know where it came from but its the sort of thing that Fleming might have come up with.
I agree

In many ways, I think this is the best of Benson's Bond novels. Maybe its because its the first, or maybe its just because I have an interest in Chinese/Hong Kong stuff in general.  
I agree

It's also quite like the films, so its easy to imagine Brosnan in the role.
I agree
Anyway, I liked it.

[Cesari]

Yesn the three chinese albinos killers are taken from the unused script of Moonraker.
And don't forget Raymond is a Hong Kong movie fan. With that book he wanted to give an "hommage" to John Woo Hong Kong movies like "The killer" and over all "Hard boiled".

[Roebuck]

Originally posted by James Boldman
Do you think the idea of the three Asian, Albino killers was taken from the unused Moonraker script written by Tony Barwick or do you think it was an original idea?

I'd always assumed it was a homage to the three blind assassins from the start of Dr. No.

[James Boldman]

oh yes that's an interesting thought. I'd never thought of that.

[zencat]

I really love the lengthy description of the Mahjong game, Bond's ordeal in the Australian outback, and that fact that the villain is kind of a drunk. It's not my favorite Benson book, but it was a great start.

[philbowski]

Personally I think Zero Minus Ten was Benson's best. The albinos didn't do much for me but I agree with zencat about the Mahjong game. I don't even understand the game but that was one of my favorite parts.

[Jriv71]

Just finished it, starting to read Benson, in order. I thought it was a good read. I didn't know what to expect from Benson, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was timely for 1997, it was well-paced and slightly tense, his dialogue was better than Gardner's, and I almost high-fived strangers on the subway, when I was reading the scene with Major Boothroyd, and I realized that it was probably the end of Q'ute, Gardner's stupidest idea of all.

Let's see if Benson has any staying power, as I continue to read them, or did he shoot his load (pardon the expression) all at once.

[zencat]

Read on, Jriv71. Benson just gets better, IMO.

[Qwerty]

I certainly agree. While Zero Minus Ten is a good Bond book, The Facts Of Death is even better! (Unless the next book you're going to read is the Tomorrow Never Dies movie novelization.) I think Benson wrote his first novel very well, my only complaint is the fairly bland villain in Guy Thackeray.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

i think i will read it again, i enjoyed it a lot

[Triton]

It's a pity that Glidrose (now Ian Fleming Publications) didn't let Raymond Benson title the novel No Tears for Hong Kong as he originally wanted.

The book is an above average action adventure book and I enjoyed reading it immensely. But a have three complaints about this Raymond Benson book:

Firstly, the book is clearly derived from James Clavell's Noble House which in turn was based on a real firm called Jardine Matheson previously headquarted in Hong Kong.

Secondy, this books is far too short. I wish that there was more story before the final confrontation with the villain. For example, I wish he had done much more with the General Wong story thread.

Third, and this a complaint I have with all the Raymond Benson books, is that the James Bond character is a distillation of the character from the movies and from the Fleming novels. After writing The James Bond Bedside Companion, Benson proves that he has encyclopedia-like knowledge of the James Bond character. Benson knows what the character's preferences are in food and clothes and knows how Bond thinks. But I see no evidence of this knowledge in Zero Minus Ten or his other novels. After being critical of John Gardner for attempting to emulate what is termed "The Fleming Sweep" in his novels, Benson avoids the Fleming comparison all together. There doesn't seem to be much detail in Benson's books when comparing them to Fleming or Gardner. I sure couldn't tell that Benson travelled to Hong Kong to research this novel. Based on his descriptions, he probably would have been better off staying home and reading the Fodor's guides or "Conde Nast Traveler". So his books are real let down to me because I know he was capable of doing better but restrained himself or he was restrained by an editor.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by zencat
Read on, Jriv71. Benson just gets better, IMO.

I agree, it's pity Benson's quit I was looking forward to reading his next novel.

[Loomis]

I'm re-reading "Zero Minus Ten" at the moment, and I really do find it a thumping good yarn. Benson's grasp on the character of James Bond is superb, while his research on Hong Kong and China is terrific (a few mistakes here and there, but you can't have everything - may just be typos), and he brings location to glorious life in a way accomplished by surprisingly few Bond novels. Guy Thackeray and Sunni Pei are much more interesting characters than they strike one on initial reading, and the plot is a real grabber. Could have used a better editing job and perhaps another draft, but, heck, this is still a cracking thriller. Not sure that Benson ever really bettered it (although I'm also very fond of "The Man With the Red Tattoo").

[B007GLE]

I agree with Loomis. I don't think that Benson ever wrote a Bond novel as good. MWTRT and FOD are both very good and come close but this is my personal fav.

The fight in the out of control airplane is a complete hoot and one of the best action sequences in any bond novel.

Also I much prefer "Zero Minus Ten" to "No Tears for Hong Kong" that sounds like a 1950s melodrama.

[Johnboy007]

Not my favorite novel, but it wins major sentimentalism as it is the first 007 novel I ever purchased.