20 replies to this topic

[dinovelvet]

Just finished NDOD, my last of the Benson original novels; I started off with Red Tattoo, so I've been reading them in a circle And this one was great! Never a dull moment throughout the whole thing, and I couldn't put it down a lot of the time.
I enjoyed the use of old favorite characters like Mathis and Draco; I see a lot of people have booed the Draco twist at the end, but it seemed appropriate to me. Great use of locales, I feel I got to know a little bit about Corsica, about which I previously knew nothing (I was even intrigued enough to look up those menhirs on the net).
Its a fun and exciting read, classic James Bond all the way through. We finally get up close and personal with Le Gerant and he doesn't disappoint; nice torture scene too, probably the most squirm-inducing one since Colonel Sun! Ah Raymond, only six books, we hardly knew ye. Still, I look forward to reading his novelizations and short stories. My rankings for his stories :

1. The Man with the Red Tattoo
2. Never Dream of Dying
3. High Time to Kill
4. Zero minus Ten
5. Doubleshot
6. The Facts of Death

[zencat]

NDOD is my # 1 fav Benson book.

[dinovelvet]

NDOD is my # 1 fav Benson book.

Yeah NDOD and TMWTRT are very, very close for me. I think Red Tattoo wins out because as well as being a cracking good James Bond thriller, the details we get about the locations and culture are exceptional. And there's a weird dwarf henchman

[Qwerty]

Always been fairly fond of Never Dream Of Dying - a solid ending to the Union Trilogy. If ranking the novels, I suppose it would be:

• The Facts Of Death
• High Time To Kill
• Doubleshot
• Never Dream Of Dying
• Zero Minus Ten
• The Man With The Red Tattoo

It's been a little while since I've read some of them though.

[tdalton]

Always been fairly fond of Never Dream Of Dying - a solid ending to the Union Trilogy. If ranking the novels, I suppose it would be:

• The Facts Of Death
• High Time To Kill
• Doubleshot
• Never Dream Of Dying
• Zero Minus Ten
• The Man With The Red Tattoo

It's been a little while since I've read some of them though.

I loved Never Dream of Dying, and if they were to only make one of the continuation novels into a film, this would probably be the one that I would choose to adapt.

My rankings of Benson's novels:


Never Dream of Dying
Doubleshot
The Man With The Red Tattoo
The Facts of Death
High Time To Kill
Zero Minus Ten

[zencat]

To throw my hat in...

Never Dream Of Dying
High Time To Kill
The Man With The Red Tattoo
Doubleshot
The Facts Of Death
Zero Minus Ten

[ACE]

My tuppence...
My favourite Raymond Benson Bonds in descending order.

1.) Never Dream Of Dying 2001
2.) Doubleshot 2000
3.) Zero Minus Ten 1997
4.) High Time To Kill 1999
5.) The Man With The Red Tattoo 2002
6.) The Facts of Death 1998

If anyone has not read them, I urge them to give them a try.

[Lazenby880]

If anyone has not read them, I urge them to give them a try.

Or, you know, read a Fleming.

On another point, the original poster points to the locales of NEVER DREAM OF DYING, specifically Corsica. Although I do not think that this was fully realised on the page, I would acknowledge that this is one area in which Mr Benson *does* excel. In the books of his that I have read he does succeed in embodying a sense of place, and while not always proficiently or even interestingly written his knowledge/research of Corsica, Japan et al is evident in abundance in his novels.

This element is not succesfully weaved with the rest of the story, as in, say, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE or COLONEL SUN, but Mr Benson's attention to detail in terms of the setting is to be commended.

Edited by Lazenby880, 29 April 2006 - 11:55 PM.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Just finished NDOD, my last of the Benson original novels; I started off with Red Tattoo, so I've been reading them in a circle And this one was great! Never a dull moment throughout the whole thing, and I couldn't put it down a lot of the time.
I enjoyed the use of old favorite characters like Mathis and Draco; I see a lot of people have booed the Draco twist at the end, but it seemed appropriate to me. Great use of locales, I feel I got to know a little bit about Corsica, about which I previously knew nothing (I was even intrigued enough to look up those menhirs on the net).
Its a fun and exciting read, classic James Bond all the way through. We finally get up close and personal with Le Gerant and he doesn't disappoint; nice torture scene too, probably the most squirm-inducing one since Colonel Sun! Ah Raymond, only six books, we hardly knew ye. Still, I look forward to reading his novelizations and short stories. My rankings for his stories :

1. The Man with the Red Tattoo
2. Never Dream of Dying
3. High Time to Kill
4. Zero minus Ten
5. Doubleshot
6. The Facts of Death

I liked the use of Rene Mathis and Marc-Ange Draco as well. I've always liked Mathis and enjoy seeing him whenever he shows up much like I do Felix Leiter's appearances. I, too, don't mind the Draco twist. It may have been sad and disappointing, but it was appropriate and plausible also, I believe. Despite that though, I'm not as wild about Never Dream Of Dying as you are, I'm afraid. I'm not exactly sure what it is, whether it's Bond's relationship with Tylyn or the Skidoo stunt scene, or what, but I find the book lacking in some way and prefer many of Benson's other novels to this one.

My ranking of Benson's books are:

1. High Time To Kill
2. Zero Minus Ten
3. Doubleshot
4. The Man With The Red Tattoo
5. Never Dream Of Dying
6. The Facts Of Death

[Loomis]

My Benson ranking - rather different to the rankings of most, it would seem. I consider his first book his best (well, of the ones I've read):

1. ZERO MINUS TEN (love)

2. THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO (like)

3. NEVER DREAM OF DYING (like)

4. HIGH TIME TO KILL (dislike)

5. DOUBLESHOT (by default, never read it, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it's better than....)

6. THE FACTS OF DEATH (....which I tried but failed to read)

[terminus]

I'm probably in the extreme minority here, judging by this thread:

1. The Man With The Red Tattoo (great girls, henchman, villain, stunts)
2. Doubleshot (as above, plus the best femme fatale in recent literary Bond)
3. The Facts Of Death (very cinematic, relatively fast paced)
4. Zero Minus Ten (interesting villain and foray into the Triads, interesting Bond girl and set pieces too)
5. High Time To Kill (interesting concept, but too slow)
6. Never Dream Of Dying (nice title, boring and badly paced plot, boring Bond girl, didn't mind the Draco twist and liked the torture scene)

[David Schofield]

I see a lot of people have booed the Draco twist at the end, but it seemed appropriate to me.

I am not the greatest fan of Benson's books (there is much about everything involved in each that is really bad) but just to stick to the conceit of the Draco vendetta, for a moment. (There are spoilers here so those who haven't read the book look away now - or just don't read the book)

Draco loses his daughter as a result of Bond's incompetance - his inability to finish Blofeld off before gettin married. However, for almost 40 years (?! OK, I know this genuinely may "not" apply but its clearly quite some time since the end of OHMSS and NDOD) he carries this knowledge about, getting depressed, dropping out of sight, ultimately passing on the "leadership" of the Union Course to his nephew who makes it something bigger. Then, James Bond reappears in Draco's life resulting in the death of Draco's second wife and daughter... and Draco NOW vows revenge and goes slightly mad.

Doesn't this sound to one as slightly Austing Poweresque? How unfortunate can Draco be that everytime he comes across Bond he loses a loved one? (Come to think of it, isn't there a character in Austin Powers I who suffers an injury everytime he appears on screen?) And Bond - how freakin useless and incompetent is he that everytime he comes across Draco he damages him? (Fleming's use of Bond's incompetence in OHMSS "humanises" Bond - just as his inability to see through Vesper does - but too much incompetence makes Bond look like a clumsy fool).

Now in context the Draco revenge plot in its simplest form as a straight sequel to OHMSS in its immediate aftermath certainly could have worked (I have no problem with Draco as the bad guy). The idea that Draco invesitgates (and it wouldn't take much digging)and finds that Bond/MI6 didn't have Blofeld in the bag before the wedding, and THEN goes after Bond would have made a great plot, a twist on OHMSS and a cracking sequel. But not, with the added contrivances described above, 40 years later!

Revenge is, apparently, a dish best served cold. But no so cold rigor mortis has set in.

[terminus]

Tracey couldn't have been saved - the new wife and kid could have been.

Bond failed to take out Spectre, Tracey died - well, that's a shame. But Bond fails to take out the Union and the new wife and kid die, well, that's two times so it shows some incompetence to Draco.

[James Boldman]

Just finished NDOD, my last of the Benson original novels; I started off with Red Tattoo, so I've been reading them in a circle And this one was great! Never a dull moment throughout the whole thing, and I couldn't put it down a lot of the time.

Yes, I found that a lot with Benson. More so than even Fleming. I finished the average Benson novel quicker than I've ever finished any other novel. I finished TMWTRT in two nights...for me that's amazing. I'm the slowest reader! Benson may not have the same fluency that Fleming had, but he sure does know how to write a great thriller...it's justa pity he didn't write more.

Whilst I cannot say NDOD is my favourite Benson (DS is my favourite, followed closely by ZMT), I still loved it! Of course, the Union and their leader return, so naturally I was excited to read their next adventure (as I read the trilogy as soon as each novel was released and therefore obviously in order). My only disappointment with the novel is the fact that Le Gerant may be dead. However, Benson saved himself beautifully, by allowing his return.

I was also surprised with his treatment of Draco, though I wasn't necessarily annoyed with it. Raymond, himself explained to me, in one of the interviews I did with him, that Draco is a villain, pure and simple (he's head of the Union Corse!). So it's quite reasonable that he should turn on Bond, especially after Bond got his daughter involved with Blofeld in the first place!

The locations in the novel are also beautifully mapped out and described by Benson. Such as France and Corsica...

The novel also has some extremely tense moments, such as the early scenes in France, as well as Bond's animal dream. This passage is particularly impressive and well thought out.

Overall, it's still a strong novel. Great villain, interesting Bond girl, the return of Mathis, a torture sequence, a confrontation with Le Gerant and the return of Draco. Benson does it again for me.

NDOD is my # 1 fav Benson book.

Yeah NDOD and TMWTRT are very, very close for me. I think Red Tattoo wins out because as well as being a cracking good James Bond thriller, the details we get about the locations and culture are exceptional. And there's a weird dwarf henchman

I loved the 'Kappa'. He's without doubt the best henchman of the Benson era. Though, Benson had many great henchmen/women. Piel comes to mind as well.

Edited by James Boldman, 23 August 2006 - 04:56 AM.

[Willowhugger]

Yes, Benson took on a bit more than he could chew by incorporating Draco. The Draco "twist" actually takes over the majority of the book really and leaves Le Gerant in the dust. Honestly, he didn't need to incorporate the second wife and child being killed into this. Revenge over Tracy was enough even with the significant time difference.

[Zing!]

Just finished NDOD, my last of the Benson original novels; I started off with Red Tattoo, so I've been reading them in a circle

That is exactly how I started on the Benson books. TMWTRT was a terrific book to start out with - but little did I know that it would turn out to be Benson's best book by far (for me anyway). They all went downhill from there, and by the time I reached NDOD I felt Benson had scraped the bottom of the barrel. If nothing else, Benson's books are cinematic, and NDOD is no exception. Maybe it's the movie theme running throughout the book, but this just seemed like a screenplay that had been (somewhat) fleshed out into a full-length novel. If I wanted a Bond movie I would WATCH a Bond movie - I read the books because they give me a different angle to 007 that the movies just don't supply (although CR came very close). NDOD was formulaic, predictable, and boring - and the infamous 'sex scene' seemed out of place for a Bond book - Fleming used more class when it came to this. This wasn't the worst Bond book I've ever read - several of Gardner's were quite hard to plod through - but it's certainly not the best. I rank Benson's like this (and this changes over time upon re-reads):

1. The Man with the Red Tattoo
2. Zero minus Ten
3. The Facts of Death
4. High Time to Kill
5. Doubleshot
6. Never Dream of Dying

[MarkA]

I really cannot understand this praise of Benson. He truly is a terrible writer, real fan boy stuff. I noticed listening to one of the Blackstone audio readings of one of his books they corrected his English. It made me smile. I was so pleased when he finished. Charlie Higson is a far better writer.

[AWM]

1. The Man With The Red Tattoo
2. Never Dream Of Dying
3. Zero Minus Ten
4. High Time To Kill
5. The Facts of Death
6. Doubleshot

[zencat]

I really cannot understand this praise of Benson. He truly is a terrible writer, real fan boy stuff. I noticed listening to one of the Blackstone audio readings of one of his books they corrected his English. It made me smile. I was so pleased when he finished. Charlie Higson is a far better writer.

For such a Benson hater, I find it surprising that you know the books well enough to spot differences in the audiobook versions. In fact, why are you listening to a Benson audiobook if you despised the books so much? (I'd also like to know exactly which book this was.)

[Lazenby880]

I really cannot understand this praise of Benson. He truly is a terrible writer, real fan boy stuff. I noticed listening to one of the Blackstone audio readings of one of his books they corrected his English. It made me smile. I was so pleased when he finished. Charlie Higson is a far better writer.

For such a Benson hater, I find it surprising that you know the books well enough to spot differences in the audiobook versions. In fact, why are you listening to a Benson audiobook if you despised the books so much? (I'd also like to know exactly which book this was.)

Goodness me, leave the poor chap alone! Why can one not simply have differing opinions on Benson's writing?! There have been plenty of positive comments on Benson's work, so why cause such a fuss just because someone else happens to have a contrary opinion to your own. I also really dislike this talk of 'Benson hater'; surely one can dislike the man's writing without hating him?

I do not understand why it is necessary to be so hostile. I like lots of things other people cringe at and often criticise. That's life. To each his own, and all that.

[zencat]

I don't think my post was that hostile (okay, maybe a little ). But I really would like to know which audiobook "corrected his English" because I'd like to check that out for myself.