5 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

This review has been on CBn for a few years, but I've decided to give it a sole discussion thread. If you haven't read it yet, here's your chance!

'Death Is Forever' by John Gardner

Daniel Dykes' review of this Gardner novel

[Flash1087]

Honestly, I always get this and Never Send Flowers confused. I will check it out though...it does sound like a re-tread of No Deals Mr. Bond but I liked that one.

[Qwerty]

Two very different ones. Never Send Flowers, with its somewhat simple plot centering around a serial killer works far, far more effectively in my opinion. A hard book to put down at times and definitely one of the high points in what can be called the Gardner rollercoaster.

[Genrewriter]

Nice find, Devin. I do agree that a few of the deaths do have a sort of arbitrary feel to them. Good book, though.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Death Is Forever is my favorite novel of the second half of John Gardner's run. It is action packed with terrific villains throughout. A great read.

[David Schofield]

Pretty typical Gardner "sod this Fleming-type stuff, let's put Bond in the real world of spies, cross and double cross".

Like most of the Garnder canon, its OK it you like that sort of thing but it does tend to grate. One wonders why Gardner refused to keep things simple - after LR and FSS - and went down that route: his best "late" stories, for me, were those provided for him, Goldeneye, and, particularly, Licence to Kill, essentially very simple plots.

I suppose Gardner's "real spy-world Bond" works no worse than Benson's "movie Bond" but I still regret Glidrose did not engage Christopher Wood to do an original Bond novel.