30 replies to this topic

[Jacques Nexus]

I suppose some day the Gardner Bonds will be rereleased. Instead of just new paperback covers, why not revamp some of the titles as well ?. It would add much needed spark to them and may make them very collectible. The following suggestions are not exactly "Fleming" but may be more...HIP !
more...HAPPENNING !
more...WICKED !
(I don't really know what those words mean !) Here we go:

M E L T D O W N
(Operation Meltdown from "Licence Renewed")

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN SHOCK FORCE
(the words come from the chapter titles of "For Special Services")

ICEBREAKER
(Not even I would tamper with this beauty)

ESCALATION
(Operation Escalator Down involving an airship in "Role Of Honour")

HEADHUNTERS
(The Head Hunt for 007 in "Nobody Lives Forever")

NO DEALS WITH THE DEVIL

VIPERSTRIKE
(The head of the hijackers taking over HMS Invincible was codenamed the Viper, from "Win Lose Or Die")

SCORPIUS
BROKENCLAW
THE MAN FROM BARBAROSSA
DEATH IS FOREVER

NEVER SLAY IT WITH FLOWERS
(A chapter title from YOLT called "Slay It With Flowers")

SEAFIRE
COLD

Notice how most of the later titles are okay ?. The problem is with the first half. I know most of you probably won't agree with my proposition, but it would be an exciting prospect to try something like it !...If you don't agree with my new titles, then what about the principle behind revamping some of the worst ones ?...Drop a line here and tell me what you think.

[Jacques Nexus]

Trevelyan (27 Nov, 2001 06:48 a.m.):
Don't make your hinting TOO obvious nexus ;-) I was thinking of doing that...ok I'll give it a whirl!

Good man !!...that's what I like.

[Jim]

These are just off the top of the head

(and not in any order)

Never Send Flowers - "Dragon's Kiss"; alternatively "John's been watching The Silence of the Lambs"

Win, Lose or Die - "Weapons Grade". Dunno, just like the title. Alternatively "John's been watching Top Gun".

Cold (Fall, whatever) - "The Last Days" (end of an era in so many ways)

No Deals, Mr Bond - "Dare to Die" (bit of a giveaway); alternatively Hell is Here, not because it's anything much to do with the book, but because it's a shame they haven't used it as a title yet. Admittedly, this could be used for any of the Gardner Bonds and not just ND,MB

Icebreaker - "Plot Twist A-Gogo". OK, so I'm messing about, but in me humblest of opinions, it sums up the content.

Role of Honour - "A View to a Kill"

Brokenclaw - "John's been watching Dances with Wolves"; other than that, I have no suggestions.

Licence Renewed - "The Man who Killed the World". A bit more ambitious than "red tattoo", perhaps. Could also pass for the quasi-environmental content of SeaFire.

Nobody Lives For Ever - "Death to Spies". Although the current title's absolutely fine, Death to Spies is (again in me humblest of opinions) the greatest unusued title the Bond books have thrown up. (As t'were).

[zencat]

This is a cool idea. These are off the top of my head, but how about...

1. MELTDOWN (License Renewed)
2. S.P.E.C.T.R.E (For Special Services)
3. A LIKING FOR BLONDES (Icebreaker)
4. THE GENEVA AFFAIRE (Role of Honor)
5. HEAD HUNT (Nobody Lives Forever)
6. BLACKFRIAIR (No Deals, Mr. Bond)
7. DEATH IN THE THAMES (Scorpius)
8. RETURN TO DUTY (Win Lose or Die)
9. DAY OF THE LOARDS (Brokenclaw)
10. THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE (The Man from Barbarossa)
11. TOMORROW ALWAYS COMES (Death is Forever)
12. THE SCENT OF DEATH (Never Send Flowers)
13. TRUTH OR DEATH (SeaFire)
14. CHILDREN OF THE LAST DAYS (Cold)

[Mister Asterix]

zencat (05 Nov, 2001 06:16 p.m.):
14. CHILDREN OF THE LAST DAYS (Cold)

But then the U.S. version would have to be something like:
Children Of the Last Days Form A Little League.

[Jim]

Scorpius - some sort of reference to "Valentine". A Flemingy in-joke and adheres to the "mention love or death" model; so something like "Valentines Die" (a truly awful pun; sorry).

Any of the (many) Gardner books where the love interest turns out to be a traitor; as it's been done above, let's say No Deals, Mr Bond - "A Whisper of Love, a Whisper of Hate"

For Special Services - as the plot relies on a knowledge of the book You Only Live Twice (which I hadn't read when I first read this Gardner and had barely a clue what was going on, although that might not be that unusual for Gardner's stuff) - "Death Stare" or "Death's Stare" - you only live twice, once when you...etc.

Icebreaker - "Cold War". Just seems to appeal, given the content.

Never Send Flowers - "Bouquet of Blood" (a bit cheesy, but suitably botanical).

[Mister Asterix]

Just a few ideas:

Blood And Roses - Never Send Flowers

Inscription of a Gun - For Special Services

The Fourth March - Icebreaker

C.O.L.D. - Cold

[Harmsway]

I think its brutal what you guys are doing to the titles. In my opinions, only three needed change:

Never Send Flowers
The Man From Barbarossa
No Deals, Mr. Bond

I liked most of the others. Licence Renewed may have been a little stupid, but I found the others fascinating. They have much more mystique to them than Benson's titles. The title Brokenclaw leaves you wondering, but Benson can only come up with Zero Minus Ten and other poor efforts. Gardner's titles were very well done (but content-wise, lacking). Here's to using a Gardner title - Icebreaker, preferably - in the future of James Bond.

[zencat]

Harmsway (17 Feb, 2002 03:19 p.m.):
The title Brokenclaw leaves you wondering, but Benson can only come up with Zero Minus Ten and other poor efforts.

You should check the Benson threads and learn what his original title choices were before you judge him. For instance, Benson's original title choice for The Facts of Death was The World is Not Enough. I think we can all agree this is a pretty good Bond title. Never Dream of Dying was the only original Benson title the publishers used, the rest were Gildrose committee compromises.

[Harmsway]

I've actually read his preferred titles, and still think, other than The World Is Not Enough, that they are not very strong. A Better Way To Die doesn't impress me, and No Tears For Hong Kong is worse than Zero Minus Ten. Doppleganger doesn't have the ring DoubleShot does, so my position holds.

[zencat]

Fair enough then.

[Icephoenix]

All right, lets pick the best fan-titles up above.

1. (License Renewed)
2. (For Special Services)
3. (Icebreaker)
4. (Role of Honor)
5. (Nobody Lives Forever)
6. (No Deals, Mr. Bond)
7. (Scorpius)
8. (Win Lose or Die)
9. (Brokenclaw)
10.(The Man from Barbarossa)
11. (Death is Forever)
12. (Never Send Flowers)
13. (SeaFire)
14. (Cold)

[freemo]

Licence Renewed - HIGHER FREQUENCY
(From the torture scene, not that good an idea really, but it just hit me thats all)

For Special Services - FIRST TO DIE TWICE
(Since Bond and SPECTRE both looked dead in YOLT, hence they have both already died once. Made that one up myself)

Never Send Flowers - DRAGONPOLE
(Why not use the villians name ? Its a pretty cool one)

Like you said, most of the others are great titles, better than the Benson ones I think (don't really like Never Dream of Dying or The Facts of Death).

[Icephoenix]

1. MELTDOWN (License Renewed)
2. SPACEWOLF (For Special Services)
3. FOURTH REICH (Icebreaker)
4. ZEROS AND ONES(Role of Honor)
5. END OF AN ERA (Nobody Lives Forever)
6. CHECKMATE (No Deals, Mr. Bond)
7. A FALSE GOD (Scorpius)
8. SUMMIT OF FEARS (Win Lose or Die)
9. TRACKED BY THE RED (Brokenclaw)
10. OVERTHROW(The Man from Barbarossa)
11. THE CABAL TUNNEL (Death is Forever)
12. AN ENTERTAINING DEATH (Never Send Flowers)
13. THE NAZI REGIME (SeaFire)
14. BITE OF THE COBRA (Cold)

[scaramanga]

MELTDOWN - Licence Renewed
FOR SERVICES RENDERED - For Special Serivces
UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER - Icebreaker
THE HOLY CODE - Role of Honour
TOMORROW NEVER COMES - Nobody Lives Forever
ENDGAME - No Deals, Mister Bond
VALENTINE'S DAY - Scorpius
CALL OF DUTY - Win, Lose or Die
BETTER RED THAN DEAD - The Man From Barbarossa
MISANTHROPE - Death is Forever

Not very good ones, I'll think of some better ones.

[Jacques Nexus]

Good stuff guys !...well done !. So far 4 out of 6 of us agree MELTDOWN should be the new title for "Licence Renewed".............keep the titles coming ! and perhaps one day CBN can send off a petition to Glidrose asking to revamp the titles. What do you guys think of sending a petition ?.

[Jacques Nexus]

We must be geniuses...some of the above titles suggested had also been on my mind, such as:

DRAGONPOL for NSF (Freemo)

HEAD HUNT for NLF (zencat)

BLACKFRIAR for NDMB (zencat)

SPACEWOLF for FSS (Trevelyan)

THE HOLY CODE for ROH (Scaramanga)

[scaramanga]

I think that THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT is a much better title for Scorpius, I think it suits the story better than the villain's name. Plus, its original. Maybe that could have been the title and Glidrose wouldn't allow it and wanted a more 'Bondish' title.

[Jacques Nexus]

scaramanga (09 Nov, 2001 06:57 a.m.):
I think that THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT is a much better title for Scorpius, I think it suits the story better than the villain's name. Plus, its original. Maybe that could have been the title and Glidrose wouldn't allow it and wanted a more 'Bondish' title.

Interesting title Scaramanga...it's got potential. Keep the titles rolling in, because I would love to have this become a serious project to really get Glidrose change most of the titles...perhaps we could have a CBN poll to get members to vote on the different alternatives, then send Glidrose the results ?.

[Jacques Nexus]

Okay...here's some more:

WAR-LOCK ("Licenced Renewed")

FORTRESS OF THE HEAVENLY WOLVES ("For Special Services")

ICE BLONDES ARE DEAD BLUE ("Icebreaker")

THE BALLOON GAME ("Role Of Honour")

GOOD EVENING MADAME DEATH ("Nobody Lives Forever")

ZERO HOUR IN DARK HEAVEN ("No Deals Mr Bond")

SCORPIONIC ("Scorpius")

THE MAN WITH THE GLASS HEAD ("Never Send Flowers")

[Jacques Nexus]

ALL VICTIMS ARE EQUAL ("No Deals Mr Bond")

THE DEAD NEVER WIN ("Win, Lose Or Die")

[Icephoenix]

MELTING POINT - Licence Renewed
NO NEED FOR TEARS - For Special Serivces
IN COLD BLOOD - Icebreaker
CALLED TO SERVE - Role of Honour
CHOSEN TO DIE - Nobody Lives Forever
TIMES WAITS FOREVER- No Deals, Mister Bond
SPELL OF THE SCORPION - Scorpius
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL - Win, Lose or Die
SHADOWKILLER - The Man From Barbarossa
TO DIE AGAIN - Death is Forever

[Jacques Nexus]

Trevelyan (20 Nov, 2001 11:31 a.m.):
MELTING POINT - Licence Renewed
TIME WAITS FOREVER- No Deals, Mister Bond
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL - Win, Lose or Die
SHADOWKILLER - The Man From Barbarossa

These are my favourite ones of yours. Bloody good stuff Trevelyan !. We will have to send a petition to Glidrose one day...would they take any notice ?. Let's try anyway ?.

[Icephoenix]

Why thanks Nexus! Yeah I wonder what they do if we sent in some titles, put them on there website? Who-knows?

[Jacques Nexus]

Trevelyan (24 Nov, 2001 01:12 p.m.):
Why thanks Nexus! Yeah I wonder what they do if we sent in some titles, put them on there website? Who-knows?

Somehow I can't let this topic rest. Most of the old Gardner titles really need a face-lift. It would be nice if some one could create some fan novel covers out of these new titles.

[Icephoenix]

Don't make your hinting TOO obvious nexus ;-) I was thinking of doing that...ok I'll give it a whirl!

[Icephoenix]

I can't leave this topic alone either! Besides, I want to hear what the newer members can come up with!


1. License Renewed: FALLOUT.
2. For Special Services: SPECTRE OF THE PAST.
3. Icebreaker: LONE WOLF.
4. Role of Honor: ZERO ZERO SEVEN.
5. Nobody Lives Forever: NEVER FEAR GHOSTS.
6. No Deals, Mr. Bond: COUNTER CHECK.
7. Scorpius: THE SERPENTS TAIL.
8. Win, Lose, or Die: CAT IN THE BAG.
9. Brokenclaw: TRAIL OF RED.
10.The Man from Barbarossa: THE NEW, CLEAR HORIZON.
11. Death is Forever: ALWAYS DIE LIVING.
12. Never Send Flowers: A ROSE FOR DEATH.
13. SeaFire: LAST DAYS OF COLD.
14. Cold: HALF PAST DREAD.

[Kronsteen]

I just tampered with my mind for a while...


Licence Renewed (pretty good title)
--Licenced As Killer
--Mission Nuclear (I know, it's silly)

For Special Services (very good title)
--Service For Glory
--Death Before Glory

Icebreaker (nothing special, but pretty cool)
--Ice Hell
--Cold as Ice (could have been good)

Role of Honour (great title)
--Honoured Role
--Dishonour Before Death (I like it)

Nobody Lives Forever (bad title)
--One on One (kinda cool, and pretty hard)
--Spectre of Death

No Deals, Mr. Bond (also a bad title)
--Deal with the Devil (would have been great)
--Never Deal with the Death

Scorpius (very good title)
--The Scorpion Man

Win, Lose or Die (an OK title)
--Win or Lose, Live or Die
--Seafire (could have worked out well here)

Brocenclaw (great title)
--Clawbreaker (it's bad, I know)

The Man From Barbarossa (wonderful title, one of the best ever)
--The Scales of Justice

Death Is Forever (poor title)
--Forever Dead
--Life Isn't Forever
--You Wont Live Forever

Never Send Flowers (very good title)
--Dragonpol
--The Dragon Of Death

Seafire (good title, but what to do with it?)
--???

COLD (pretty nice title)
--Ice cold
--Fallen Chill

[SirMiles83]

Blackfriar would be an amazing title for No Deals, Mr. Bond. Brokenclaw shouldn't change and neither should Scorpius, The Man From Barbarossa, Role of Honor, Never Send Flowers, and Icebreaker. But Win, Lose or Die, License Renewed, and Death Is Forever desparately need changes. I like the above changes to those novels.

[Hotshot007]

Here goes:(i'll only do the few that i can think of)

LICENSE RENEWED-
Laird of Murcaldy(it's dumb)
Chain Reaction
Warlock


WIN,LOSE,OR DIE-
Rolling the Dice(how corny can i get,i know)
A Game of Luck and Chance(not much better)

DEATH IS FOREVER-
A Permanent Demise

NEVER SEND FLOWERS-
Blood and Red Wine(don't know why,just sounds kinda catchy)

All i can think of right now.