20 replies to this topic

[Loomis]

I have just read what may prove to have been the final James Bond novel, Raymond Benson's "The Man With the Red Tattoo", and thought I'd share a few thoughts with my fellow CBners. (I bought the new UK paperback at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, Europe's largest bookshop, and UK-based CBners who collect the Bond novels might be interested to know that, as of last Thursday, the shelves of that shop boasted hardback copies of TMWTRT, the DIE ANOTHER DAY novelization, the British Fleming re-issues, and, curiously enough, the large print edition of "High Time to Kill". Alas, the "Licence Renewed"/"For Special Services"/"Icebreaker" paperback with a reported 9 June release date was nowhere to be found.)

I loved TMWTRT. At this point, I feel I ought to declare an interest (additional to that of being a hardcore Bond fan who looks indulgently on any novel featuring the character, whether penned by Fleming, Amis, Gardner or Benson): as a Japanophile, the mere thought of a Bond book containing references to such J-luminaries as writer Yukio Mishima and architect Tadao Ando was enough to get me very excited indeed about Benson's latest offering. I confess that my reading pleasure was enhanced considerably by my having lived in or visited many of the novel's exotic and wonderful locations (Tokyo, Kamakura, Aomori, Okayama and, er, Uxbridge). However, I do not believe that I overrate the book based on my enthusiasm for all things Japanese. Benson has not only surpassed my expectations in his handling of Japan, he has also delivered an intelligent, gripping thriller that compares favourably to lesser Fleming (for instance, "Thunderball" and "The Man With the Golden Gun").

While it lacks the spellbinding prose and extraordinary (for the series, anyway) pathos of "You Only Live Twice" (Fleming's masterpiece, IMO), TMWTRT is a thumping good read that the makers of the Bond movies ought to consider adapting for the screen. It'll never happen, of course, but TMWTRT would make a splendid BOND 21 (or 22, 23....).

Like most of us (I suppose), I have no set mental picture of "the literary James Bond". Generally, the book's era decides. When reading Fleming or Amis, a hybrid of Connery and some fuzzy outline of a tall dark handsome man usually comes to mind, with the latter generally mixed with or replaced entirely by Brosnan when reading Benson (I have yet to read Gardner). "Never Dream of Dying" had me switching between Brosnan and Moore. For some reason, I had Dalton in mind all the way through TMWTRT, and it struck me that a great idea for a "back to basics", LIVING DAYLIGHTS/LICENCE TO KILL-style BOND 21 would be a faithful adaptation of this novel, shot on location in Japan (with my favourite filmmaker John McTiernan in the director's chair, natch;)).

The plot is compelling, and well within the bounds of plausibility (recalling a Japanese scheme during World War II to breed one billion plague-carrying fleas for the ultimate battle in defence of Hirohito [http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/1135368.stm]), and the action scenes excellent. In the right hands, the mosquito attack onboard the train and the subsequent chase in the Seikan Tunnel could be some of the most suspenseful cinema since MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE's CIA break-in.

I remember reading something to the effect that Benson aimed to chronicle the exploits of Fleming's Bond in the Eon Bond universe. To my mind, intentionally or otherwise, he achieves the opposite in TMWTRT, giving us Eon's Bond in the Fleming Bond universe, which is infinitely preferable.

Why preferable? "High Time to Kill" (a truly dire piece of work, IMO) gives the impression that Benson was trying very, very hard to drag Fleming's-Bond-with-a-capital-F-for-Fleming (sans chauvinism and other unpleasant characteristics) kicking and screaming into the modern world. The 007 of HTTK hobnobs with colonial governors, wears sea island cotton shirts and listens to the Inkspots. All well and good, but HTTK is set squarely in Eon-ville, where hi-tech cars with flying "scouts" are de rigueur. The result is a messy collision of the old and the new, or, more accurately, of elements appropriate only to the literary Bond and elements appropriate only to the cinematic Bond.

Of course, the "Fleming's Bond" of HTTK was nothing more than a rough approximation of the real thing, and with TMWTRT Benson seems to have wisely abandoned past quests for "authenticity". Here, the character of 007 bears far fewer hallmarks of clumsy and ultimately pointless efforts to resurrect an old ghost. He is more "Eon" insofar as he is not the end-of-Empire bigot of yesteryear, and has been watered down for this era of political correctness (although Benson does have Bond observe that "women could not be relied upon to keep their mouths shut", possibly as a sop to Fleming-reading "purists"). On the other hand, he is still very much the rather dull and shallow fella to whom amazing things happen, the blank canvas on which male readers may project their fantasies of the high life. It works as well as ever.

In what way does the world of TMWTRT have more in common with the world of Fleming than the world of Eon? First and foremost, there is the escapist thrill of exotic locations described well. While he peppers the text a little too often with superfluous Japanese words, Benson's enthusiasm for the Land of the Rising Sun shines through, and he describes the country (Tokyo in particular) vividly and unpretentiously. "Tokyo lay before him, a sprawling, metropolitan machine" is just what the doctor ordered for a story set in the land of haiku. There is the odd ammunition-for-the-Benson-bashers clunker, though, for instance: "Yoshida's eyes betrayed the madness behind them. His evil stare travelled through the hundreds of miles of the telecommunication system's fibre optics and clutched Bond and Mayumi's souls." Never mind: occasional howlers are more than made up for by moments like Bond's sadistic shooting of a sitting duck target ("one of those rare moments when he received utter and complete satisfaction"), recalling his brutality towards Professor Dent in the film DR. NO, and neat jokes like the meeting between Bond and Tiger Tanaka at the statue of Hachiko (a loyal dog that continued to wait for its master at Shibuya Station long after the latter's death).

Also very Fleming are elements of the bizarre, most notably the notion of an evil dwarf hidden with deadly mosquitoes inside a model of the human heart, while a nearby art installation flashes random phrases such as "speak and live", "smile and die", "think and live" and "love and die". Well, it's pure Fleming as far as I'm concerned, the cuteness of the allusion to Fleming's second novel notwithstanding.

Minor quibbles: M's reference to "the events of September 2001" (for the benefit of readers in years to come) seems a little strange in a narrative apparently set in 2002, in which year it would have been more natural to say simply "September 11th" or "9/11". I'd have liked a little more pondering on the nature of the unique country that is Japan, more probing into its stubborn isolationism (especially given the fact that the villain is a Japanese ultranationalist). Perhaps a paragraph or two along the lines of:

"Bond never ceased to wonder at the fact that, in the world's second largest economy and a country that in many ways seemed to be at the cutting edge of technological innovation, Japanese people still insisted on gawking at a foreigner such as himself. The Japanese were like members of a remote Amazonian tribe that had only learned of the existence of the outside world five minutes ago and were still reeling from the shock of it. As Bond stood there slurping his udon in the stand-up noodle bar, a gaggle of schoolgirls toting the very latest in mobile phone technology giggled and pointed at him, exclaiming: "Gaijin da!" How is it possible, Bond thought, that a country can simultaneously display such sophistication and such backwardness?"

Then again, that sort of thing was hardly Fleming's stock-in-trade, either, and is it really required of a Bond novel? Perhaps not.

Anyhow, TMWTRT is splendid stuff. Buy it.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis
While it lacks the spellbinding prose and extraordinary (for the series, anyway) pathos of "You Only Live Twice" (Fleming's masterpiece, IMO), TMWTRT is a thumping good read that the makers of the Bond movies ought to consider adapting for the screen. It'll never happen, of course, but TMWTRT would make a splendid BOND 21 (or 22, 23....).  

What I have also always thought was that Eon could adopt High Time To Kill, Doubleshot and Never Dream Of Dying as Bond 21, 22, 23- (The Union Trilogy) and then follow those up with Bond 24 being The Man With The Red Tattoo seeing that the villain for TMWTRT- Goro Yoshida -was actually part of the Union Trilogy.

During the Union trilogy (from Bond 21 to 23) audiences would almost be forced to watch the next Bond film to see what happens much like the audiences had to watched Diamonds Are Forever after seeing On Her Majesty's Secret Service. That is one way that Eon could get the series back up on its feet again. IMO the series at the moment is on its knee's and what Eon have to do IMO is bring in some new writers chuck out Purvis and Wade and get someone like Roald Dahl to write the screenplay's for Bond 21 onwards.
Thanks for reading.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by James Boldman

What I have also always thought was that Eon could adopt High Time To Kill, Doubleshot and Never Dream Of Dying as Bond 21, 22, 23- (The Union Trilogy) and then follow those up with Bond 24 being The Man With The Red Tattoo seeing that the villain for TMWTRT- Goro Yoshida -was actually part of the Union Trilogy.

Maybe it's just because I'm a Japan nut, but I'd prefer them to film "The Man With the Red Tattoo" only. Location aside, I think TMWTRT has all the ingredients for a good old-fashioned "back to basics" Bond outing, a Daltonesque affair, if you will. I hated "High Time to Kill" and have yet to read "Doubleshot", but I enjoyed "Never Dream of Dying".

I doubt that Eon will make a movie based on a continuation novel, but I'd like at least one Gardner and at least one Benson to be filmed.

Originally posted by James Boldman

what Eon have to do IMO is bring in some new writers chuck out Purvis and Wade and get someone like Roald Dahl to write the screenplay's for Bond 21 onwards.

Definitely. Talking of Dahl, it's a pity he never wrote a Bond book. I feel he'd have been an excellent choice as a continuation novelist.

[zencat]

Great review, Loomis. I agree with many of your points and, yes, I'd love to see TMWTRT as Bond 21.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by zencat

I'd love to see TMWTRT as Bond 21.  

It'll never happen, obviously, but a faithful adaptation, with as much location shooting in Japan as possible (a tall order in many respects, not only because of the logistics of a Bond movie but also because of the fact that Japan is not, as I understand it, a particularly film unit-friendly place*) is as good an idea as I can think of for BOND 21.

Yep, I really loved "The Man With the Red Tattoo", so much so that it ranks among my 10 all-time favourite Bond adventures (http://forums.comman...&threadid=10169).

*OTOH, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was partly shot there, so....

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis

...have yet to read "Doubleshot", but I enjoyed "Never Dream of Dying".

Well I'd really recommend you have a read of Doubleshot it is a beauty IMO.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis


I'd like at least one Gardner and at least one Benson to be filmed.

Yes me too.

Originally posted by Loomis
Definitely. Talking of Dahl, it's a pity he never wrote a Bond book. I feel he'd have been an excellent choice as a continuation novelist.

Yes it would have been interesting to see what he was capable of.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by James Boldman

Well I'd really recommend you have a read of Doubleshot it is a beauty IMO.  

I'd love to. Unfortunately, I'm told that it's out of print here in the UK, as is "The Facts of Death". The out-of-print Bensons, Gardners and "Colonel Sun" are very tough to get hold of, even in London, with its many large, specıalıst and secondhand bookshops.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis


I'd love to. Unfortunately, I'm told that it's out of print here in the UK, as is "The Facts of Death". The out-of-print Bensons, Gardners and "Colonel Sun" are very tough to get hold of, even in London, with its many large, specıalıst and secondhand bookshops.

Gee that's interesting- T.F.O.D. and Doubleshot are out of print in England. I'm pretty sure they're still in print here, in Australia.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by James Boldman

I'm pretty sure they're still in print here, in Australia.  

Really? I'm planning to visit Australia later this year, so perhaps I'll be able to pick them up.

England may be the home of Bond, but the novels are not always easy to find. It appears that a lot of large bookshops don't even stock the recent Fleming reprints, never mind the Bensons (even the new paperback edition of "The Man With the Red Tattoo" is nowhere to be found in many London bookshops).

[Cesari]

You could find them on ebay

[Loomis]

True.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis


Really? I'm planning to visit Australia later this year, so perhaps I'll be able to pick them up.  

England may be the home of Bond, but the novels are not always easy to find. It appears that a lot of large bookshops don't even stock the recent Fleming reprints, never mind the Bensons (even the new paperback edition of "The Man With the Red Tattoo" is nowhere to be found in many London bookshops).

Well probably depending which state you came to in Australia but I could help you out if you were coming to Melbourne.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by James Boldman

I could help you out if you were coming to Melbourne.  

Cheers, James Boldman. If I make it out to Australia this year, I'll definitely be visiting Sydney, and probably nowhere else, although the trip's very much in its earliest planning stages and nothing has been sorted. Hopefully I'll have managed to lay my hands on "The Facts of Death" and "Doubleshot" before then.

[James Boldman]

Originally posted by Loomis


Cheers, James Boldman. If I make it out to Australia this year, I'll definitely be visiting Sydney, and probably nowhere else, although the trip's very much in its earliest planning stages and nothing has been sorted. Hopefully I'll have managed to lay my hands on "The Facts of Death" and "Doubleshot" before then.

that's alright but even with Sydney I could help you seeing that my dad lives up there.

[Loomis]

Thanks again, James Boldman, but I think I'll follow Cesari's suggestion and buy the books online. I don't fancy waiting until the end of the year to get hold of them.

[James Boldman]

ok that's fine

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Loomis

For some reason, I had Dalton in mind all the way through TMWTRT, and it struck me that a great idea for a "back to basics", LIVING DAYLIGHTS/LICENCE TO KILL-style BOND 21 would be a faithful adaptation of this novel, shot on location in Japan (with my favourite filmmaker John McTiernan in the director's chair, natch;)).  

And how about Takeshi Kitano ("Beat" Takeshi) as Goro Yoshida? Good grief, who could possibly be a better choice?

[Simon]

Originally posted by Loomis
True.

........or abebooks.com

[Loomis]

Thanks, Simon.

[Triton]

If Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, with the assistance of the people at Eon, adapted The Man With the Red Tattoo into a screenplay, I don't think that the film version would have much resemblence to your beloved book Loomis.

Better to just enjoy the book for what it is, and not let Eon film it, because you know they will change things around.

The same goes for the rest of the Union books written by Raymond Benson. First off, Kevin McClory would probably sue because of the similarities between "The Union" and SPECTRE, so they would need to change that around. Plus, the villains projects wouldn't result in megadeaths and seem too modest, so the screen writers would give the villains bigger and more lethal projects.