11 replies to this topic

[Dainshdude118]

Hey guys, just a quick question i need an answer to for a bit of fanfic i'm writing:

Roughly how many people has Fleming's Bond killed by the end of the 14 books? (including his time in the nave etc)

Thanks

Edited by Dainshdude118, 17 February 2009 - 05:44 PM.

[Greene Planet]

uuuuuuuuhhh...no idea. Why does it matter?

[Bryce (003)]

Tough call, but I *think* we have a thread around here somewhere.

For some reason, the number 34 sticks in my head, but I'd have to do some digging. That's including the two kills that earned him his "00". I can't recall if it takes his kills during WWII into account.

[spynovelfan]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

[Jim]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

I think it's a provisional licence, allowing you onto the roads, until you pass your test.

[spynovelfan]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

I think it's a provisional licence, allowing you onto the roads, until you pass your test.

Yes, I see. I think. Shame if the chap fails the test and is killed, of course. And why not keep him keen - make it twenty kills before that licence becomes official?

[MkB]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

You might then want to contribute to this thread, Spynovelfan:
http://debrief.comma...showtopic=43146
I am myself rather confused, sometimes, about the 00 status...


About Dainshdude118's question: I don't think we ever got any estimation from Fleming of Bond's kills during the war, but some have certainly kept an account of his kills in the novels.

[MHazard]

Just to make it more confusing, I think Bond's first two kills were during WW @ before he was in the British Secret Service, most likely serving as part of Sir William Stephenson's Special Operations Executive (although he may have been in Naval Intelligence or some other dept.). So, he probably qualified for 00 status by virtue of his wartime non 00 kills. Although, to make things even more confusing, I think in the early novels Fleming implies Bond was in SIS before the war, but when he revises his bio in YOLT (probably to keep Bond from being too old) he has him joining SIS after the war. I don't think even Bond knows how many men he's killed and there are probably things like explosions where he wouldn't have an accurate count. Fleming doesn't tell us about all his missions so there's no way to get an accurate count from the books.

[dogmanstar]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

I think it's a provisional licence, allowing you onto the roads, until you pass your test.

And passing the written test is murder!

[spynovelfan]

Just to make it more confusing, I think Bond's first two kills were during WW @ before he was in the British Secret Service, most likely serving as part of Sir William Stephenson's Special Operations Executive (although he may have been in Naval Intelligence or some other dept.). So, he probably qualified for 00 status by virtue of his wartime non 00 kills. Although, to make things even more confusing, I think in the early novels Fleming implies Bond was in SIS before the war, but when he revises his bio in YOLT (probably to keep Bond from being too old) he has him joining SIS after the war. I don't think even Bond knows how many men he's killed and there are probably things like explosions where he wouldn't have an accurate count. Fleming doesn't tell us about all his missions so there's no way to get an accurate count from the books.

Well, I don't think Fleming thought it all through. After all, in FRWL he says that Bond had never killed in cold blood, which rather ruins the story Bond tells (twice) in CR.

Incidentally, SOE was never Stephenson's as such - it was Colin Gubbins' organization. Stephenson headed BSC in the States, which represented several British intelligence agencies, including SOE.

[Jim]

Ah, I thought this was going to be a question about Bond's licence to kill, which I still don't really understand. Could someone explain it to me succintly? He has to kill two people in order to get the licence to kill more, right? Who gave him the licence to kill the first two, then?

I think it's a provisional licence, allowing you onto the roads, until you pass your test.

And passing the written test is murder!

Literally.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre, murder, knobbing, life raft, song.

[dogmanstar]

Crap, that's how it goes? I always get life raft and signal in the wrong order!