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Looking Back: Licence Renewed


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#1 Athena007

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 06:48 AM

From CBn's Main Page...

[center]Posted Image
Looking Back: Licence Renewed
[4]John Gardner

#2 Genrewriter

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 07:38 AM

Nice article, Devin. Very nicely done. The book isn't my favorite Gardner but it is a very strong, fun re-introduction to the character.

#3 Aussie21

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 03:59 PM

One of these days I'm going to have to find a copy of a few of Gardner's novels and buy them. I feel like I'm missing out on some huge secret because I haven't read them yet. :)

#4 Loomis

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 04:08 PM

Looking back, I think I was much too kind to "Licence Renewed" in that review of mine. I now feel it's a desperately dull and really rather feeble piece of work, Benson's "Zero Minus Ten" being, to paraphrase Genrewriter, a much stronger and much more fun reintroduction of the literary Bond. I've tried, but I guess I just don't dig Gardner.

#5 Qwerty

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 05:29 PM

Hope you all like this. There will be more in the future.

#6 zencat

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 06:37 PM

Nice work, Qwerty. I'm always up for a second look at the Gardner books. Bring on the rest. :)

#7 Qwerty

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Posted 16 April 2005 - 08:50 PM

Glad you liked. Thanks. :)

#8 James Boldman

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 05:17 AM

Great article, Devin. Looking forward to "For Special Services" :)

#9 Mr. Somerset

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 05:36 AM

Cool article. Makes me want to go back and re-read the book as it's been about 17 years since I first read it.

#10 Qwerty

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 05:58 AM

Thank you both. For Special Services will indeed be next.

#11 DLibrasnow

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 12:32 PM

It isn't my favorite Gardner, but it certainly was great back in the early 1980s to see the literary Bond return. Though at the time (and still today) I think Christopher Wood was the better choice for a continuation author after his two fantastic efforts in the late 1970s.

Having said that I think Gardner did a great job and I have nothing but total respect for him as a writer (not something I can say for all the continuation authors, not naming names).

#12 David Schofield

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 01:10 PM

It isn't my favorite Gardner, but it certainly was great back in the early 1980s to see the literary Bond return. Though at the time (and still today) I think Christopher Wood was the better choice for a continuation author after his two fantastic efforts in the late 1970s.

Having said that I think Gardner did a great job and I have nothing but total respect for him as a writer (not something I can say for all the continuation authors, not naming names).

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Agree 100%.

#13 hrabb04

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 01:17 PM

I always had a soft spot for this book. I almost married a girl named Andrea Peacock, so to have a Bond girl named Lavender Peacock was pretty cool.

#14 Tanger

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 03:24 PM

Hope you all like this. There will be more in the future.

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Excellent article Qwerty - as always. Your output is really astounding and of a consistently high quality. Good job.

#15 Nelson David George

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 07:21 PM

I've only read a few of Gardner's Bond's - started well, but tailed off a bit, and having picked up a load on eBay I decided to go through from the start. I will be finishing Licence Renewed tonight! Great article and great timing. Looking forward to more of the same.

#16 Bond_Bishop

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 07:46 PM

Great article. Keep this Looking back thingy on! :)

#17 DLibrasnow

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 08:27 PM

Great article. Keep this Looking back thingy on! :)

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LOL...I love the way you phrased that.

#18 Qwerty

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 10:05 PM

Hope you all like this. There will be more in the future.

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Excellent article Qwerty - as always. Your output is really astounding and of a consistently high quality. Good job.

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Very kind of you. :)

I've only read a few of Gardner's Bond's - started well, but tailed off a bit, and having picked up a load on eBay I decided to go through from the start. I will be finishing Licence Renewed tonight! Great article and great timing. Looking forward to more of the same.

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Excellent timing indeed! :) Be sure to post your thoughts on it.

Great article. Keep this Looking back thingy on! :)

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For Special Services is nearly ready. :)

#19 DLibrasnow

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Posted 18 April 2005 - 10:51 PM

Fantastic news Devin.

#20 Qwerty

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Posted 19 April 2005 - 12:54 AM

One of these days I'm going to have to find a copy of a few of Gardner's novels and buy them.  I feel like I'm missing out on some huge secret because I haven't read them yet.  :)

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http://cgi.ebay.com/...ssPageName=WDVW

$1.99

#21 Gri007

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Posted 26 April 2005 - 07:49 PM

:) When I first read Licence Renewed, i juct couldn't help but picture Roger Moore as 007. it could be the fact that he was playing bond at the time the book was published. To me Gardner writes the books like Benson wrote the books, very easy to understand. Where has Fleming seems to write diffrent. Does anybody think the same, or is it just me.

#22 Tanger

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Posted 26 April 2005 - 11:36 PM

Hope you all like this. There will be more in the future.

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Excellent article Qwerty - as always. Your output is really astounding and of a consistently high quality. Good job.

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Very kind of you. :)

I've only read a few of Gardner's Bond's - started well, but tailed off a bit, and having picked up a load on eBay I decided to go through from the start. I will be finishing Licence Renewed tonight! Great article and great timing. Looking forward to more of the same.

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Excellent timing indeed! :) Be sure to post your thoughts on it.

Great article. Keep this Looking back thingy on! :)

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For Special Services is nearly ready. :)

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My favourite Gardner novel. Hopefully you've picked out some nice positive comments for this one to let people know how great it is.

#23 Qwerty

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Posted 27 April 2005 - 01:19 AM

Ah, Tanger, you haven't seen it yet? :)

http://debrief.comma...showtopic=22636

#24 Tanger

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Posted 27 April 2005 - 01:23 AM

I had actually. I found the thread for it about 2 minutes after I posted here. I had seen the link on the main page but it didn't click with me what it was.

Good article Qwerty. FSS deserves a lot of praise as it's Gardner's best.

#25 Qwerty

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Posted 27 April 2005 - 01:27 AM

Thanks, and I certainly agree with you about the praise. One of my (and practically everyone's judging by the quotes) faves as well.

#26 Lazenby880

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Posted 27 May 2005 - 01:44 PM

Licence Renewed was the first Gardner novel I read and found it an excellent introduction to his works and re-introduction of the character. It was a taut thriller, suspenseful and with riveting action sequences. As technically proficient as the novel undoubtedly is, above all Licence Renewed is an enjoyable and satisfying read. I even liked Q'ute. :)

One issue: Lavender Peacock? Mr Gardner's chosen names for his Bond girls often left much to be desired.

Again, the way Qwerty has wriiten these articles is very good and are useful as reference points. In particular, the cover to what I assume is the German edition of Licence Renewed is interesting with a very Roger Moore looking Bond. :)

Edited by Lazenby880, 27 May 2005 - 01:45 PM.


#27 Trident

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Posted 27 May 2005 - 03:41 PM

Again, the way Qwerty has wriiten these articles is very good and are useful as reference points. In particular, the cover to what I assume is the German edition of Licence Renewed is interesting with a very Roger Moore looking Bond.  :)

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I believe the cover in the article is the Swedish paperback. Funny is, the German edition did indeed have a photo of Roger Moore on the cover.

#28 Qwerty

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Posted 27 May 2005 - 06:46 PM

[quote name='Lazenby880' date='27 May 2005 - 09:44']Licence Renewed was the first Gardner novel I read and found it an excellent introduction to his works and re-introduction of the character. It was a taut thriller, suspenseful and with riveting action sequences. As technically proficient as the novel undoubtedly is, above all Licence Renewed is an enjoyable and satisfying read. I even liked Q'ute. :)

One issue: Lavender Peacock? Mr Gardner's chosen names for his Bond girls often left much to be desired.

Again, the way Qwerty has wriiten these articles is very good and are useful as reference points. In particular, the cover to what I assume is the German edition of Licence Renewed is interesting with a very Roger Moore looking Bond.

#29 Jaws0178

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Posted 03 June 2005 - 05:19 AM

I have come along way since I received "Moonraker". I have recently bought "License Renewed" and found it to be a very good book. When I read, I actually saw our man Pierce as 007. Don't ask.

Todd

#30 K1Bond007

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Posted 11 August 2005 - 08:43 PM

Semi-review - I figure here's the best place.

First off, I liked the book. It's not great, but it's not bad either. My biggest turn off was the Saab 900 Turbo aka The Silver Beast and only because it was stocked full with gadgets that I thought were a little over doing it. One feature being the CO2 and oxygen masks under the seat. I'm of the opinion that Bond shouldn't rely on gadgets in the books; what he does in the films is a completely different story, but for books, I like the idea of keeping Bond realistic. Making him use his knowledge, intuition, and balls to the walls fighting tactics rather than taking Bond from point A to point C by using a <insert random gadget here> to get by point B. Ultimately the Saab is a threat to that ideal, although admittingly Gardner doesn't use it to it's fullest in this novel.

The good thing about Licence Renewed is Gardner's writing style and his way of working a "thriller" to keep you reading. Truly, the scheme by Murik is more or less a retread of previous schemes from other books such as Thunderball and not really all that more alluring, but it doesn't really matter because Gardner is able to make it more thrilling than it really is. I should also note that I just came off reading Casino Royale through (with the exception of Pearson) Wood's Moonraker in order of publication. So I basically went from "Great" to "Poor" to Gardner. I didn't care for Wood's writing style at all, more so for "James Bond, and The Spy Who Loved Me", but that's another review. Point is, reading it like that, Gardner is a breath of fresh air.

:)

Edited by K1Bond007, 15 August 2005 - 03:57 AM.