31 replies to this topic

[db007]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

[Mister Asterix]

No reason not to at least give them a shot. Opinions of them widely vary, of course, but you can’t really know if you like an author’s take on Bond until you give it a take. And add Higson’s books to your list; many believe the Young Bond are the finest of the non-Fleming Bonds.

[db007]

Thanks. Will do!

[OmarB]

Only you can know your own mind and your own opinion. In my opinion some of the Gardner novels as well as Amis' stood on equal footing with the best of Fleming. Some of the books read like pastiche too though, depends on what you like, personally I think Gardner's take was my favorite.

[Trident]

Definitely read on! Definitely make up your own opinion about the continuations. While many fans don't think much of them beyond Amis CS, there still are a lot of fans who have tremendously enjoyed many Gardners, Bensons and even Faulks DMC. It's impossible to tell what you will enjoy and in Gardner's and Benson's case it's even possible to love a few entries and downright hate others. Find out for yourself, there is tons of stuff, reviews and discussions here about all novels, originals and continuations. And also a lot of other recommendations you might enjoy if you're into Bond. Discover an enjoy!

[Bryce (003)]

What Asterix said.

Moonraker is perhaps my favourite of the Flemings. It's simple and the bridge game is art IMO.

Once you get through the Fleming books, Colonel Sun is a nice bit and - if you can find them - the novelisations of TSWLM and MR are cool.

Gardner is great too and the first three are worth your time.

Benson did good/great/fun work as well.

The "unauthorized Biography" by Pearson is a fine if not odd read, but it's cool as well.

BTW - Welcome to CBn - "The craziest corner of Her Majesty's secret service"

No...Really.

[Matt_13]

If anything, absolutely read Higson's Young Bond. Fantastic stuff there.

Welcome to CBn.

[db007]

Thanks for the welcoming and the advice. It would appear the novels work much like the films; some people prefer Fleming and Connery, while others prefer Gardner and Moore. Thanks again.

[Loomis]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

*Waiting for zencat to give his answer*

[zencat]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

*Waiting for zencat to give his answer*

Nah, skip 'em. Always always follow the advice of cranky fanboys on the internet. Also avoid all James Bond movies made after 1969. I've heard they're not good.

[Scrambled Eggs]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

I've avoided Gardner and Benson for a long time. Mostly because I didn't like the sound of the little I knew about them. Bond reinvented for the 80's with the Flemings assumed to've taken place in the 70's just sounded a bit . Also because I'm not a huge fan of Colonel Sun or Devil May Care, which hasn't really filled me with enthusiasm for continuation authors.

But, the other day I picked up a copy of License Renewed (for the look of the thing mostly. A beautiful hardback copy for £1 second hand) and its good stuff. Its not something I'd put next to Fleming but its enjoyable in its own way.

I suppose the best advice is the obvious - give it a go and see what you think.

[Qwerty]

Definitely worth giving them a try. Some are definitely better than others, but there are more than a few gems to be found.

And welcome to CommanderBond.net!

[Bryce (003)]

*Waiting for zencat to give his answer*
Nah, skip 'em. Always always follow the advice of cranky fanboys on the internet. Also avoid all James Bond movies made after 1969. I've heard they're not good.

Who's the snob now bitch?

BTW - I was laughing for a half hour reading your above reply buddy.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Definitely worth giving them a try. Some are definitely better than others, but there are more than a few gems to be found.

And welcome to CommanderBond.net!

I concur with Qwerty. There's several good stories in there from all the authors. Do yourself a favor and try at least one from everyone.

[db007]

Well thanks for all the opinions. I'll give them all a try. I'd be interested in hearing who you guys like the best. It appears that most people like the authors in this order: Fleming, Amis, Hidgson, Garnder, and Benson. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hear who your favorite writer is and why. Cheers.

Pardon me: Higson.

[OmarB]

After Fleming my favorite is Gardner, then Higson.

[zencat]

I would move Benson above Gardner (not a bad book in Benson's run) and drop Amis all the way down to the bottom. Colonel Sun is incredibly overrated. I believe most Bond fans just name it second best to Fleming because they think they're supposed to. They can't have read it.

[Mister Asterix]

I would move Benson above Gardner (not a bad book in Benson's run) and drop Amis all the way down to the bottom. Colonel Sun is incredibly overrated. I believe most Bond fans just name it second best to Fleming because they think they're supposed to. They can't have read it.

While I’ll agree Amis is overrated, I don’t see him as that bad. He just had a different feel, I don’t know what but Colenel Sun just doesn’t feel as exotic as the others and his use of the language is probably the most overrated. But Colonel Sun does have what I consider the best torture scene of the series.

Gardner is like the Moore films the first ones are some of the best and then they generally go down toward the bottom as they continue on.

[jwheels]

Mine would be: Fleming, Higson, Benson, Amis, Gardner, Faulks. Higson is the closest to Fleming's Bond, while Benson is the most fun. Amis was good, but as Zencat said, a bit overrated. Gardner's first few were good, and I'm one of the few that liked his last couple, but most inbetween are nothing special. Faulks was an ok summer read, but just not a good Bond novel.

[quantumofsolace]

1.Fleming, 2.Higson, 3.Weinberg, 4.Amis, 5.Gardner, 6.Benson, 7.Faulks, 8.Mascott, 9.Pearson.

Edited by quantumofsolace, 16 July 2009 - 02:45 AM.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Overlooked in this discussion are the two "novelisations" By Christopher Wood they are excellently written and both contain the original ideas for the movies The Spy who loved me & Moonraker. The books are different from the movies and the 007 in books is closer to Flemings 007 than one expects.

So... search high and low for Wood, then?

[ACE]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

*Waiting for zencat to give his answer*

Nah, skip 'em. Always always follow the advice of cranky fanboys on the internet. Also avoid all James Bond movies made after 1969. I've heard they're not good.

ROTFLMAO!

[00Twelve]

Yes, by all means continue on. They may never quite recreate the palpable atmosphere of Fleming, but there are some fun stories in those continuation novels.

[Donovan Mayne-Nicholls]

Hi all. New member here. I just started reading the Ian Fleming novels; I'm just staring Moonraker. I've looked up the novels by Amis, Gardner, Benson, and now Faulks, and am wondering whether to continue once I finish with Fleming. I'm a writer myself and the negative reviews I've seen of the later works make me question whether they are worth the read. Thanks!

Skip Benson altogether. His prose is embarrassingly bad.

[Tybre]

I haven't read much continuation -- in fact only Licence Renewed and Man with the Red Tattoo are completed of the continuations I own; currently about halfway through Icebreaker (missing For Special Services, sadly) and I started Colonel Sun this morning. Based upon what little I have read, I would say Amis, Gardner, Benson. Wouldn't go much by me though, given my minor work through my massive pile of continuation thus far.

Anyway, always carry on. I still think Fleming is the best overall, naturally because Fleming created the character and thus knew the character better than any other, but I do think Amis provides a good somewhat Fleming-esque narrative, and I admit I find Gardner's prose to be more interesting/engaging than Fleming, for the most part, even if his actual plotlines and characters aren't quite up to snuff.

Edited by Tybre, 16 July 2009 - 04:53 AM.

[Double-Oh Agent]

1. Ian Fleming -- The master. Simply the best. Nobody does it better.

2. Raymond Benson -- Great plots with not a bad one in the bunch. Arguably, he's the best plotter of the whole series--including Fleming! His prose could have been better but you still get a great ride.

3. John Gardner -- The first half of run is very solid. His second half, however, is more erratic but it still has good moments and is fun.

4. Kingsley Amis -- His book has an interesting plot and a good torture scene, and he proves that someone other than Fleming can write Bond.

5. Charlie Higson -- He did a very good job with the Young Bond series, capturing the world and essence of our favorite hero as a youth, skillfully walking the razor's edge with aplomb--although I prefer adult Bond.

6. Christopher Wood -- He did a good job with his two novelizations and added some nice extra touches that aren't in the films.

7. John Pearson -- His lone effort presents an interesting take on the life of 007 with some very good Bondian moments. A must-read for the literary Bond fan.

8. Samantha Weinberg -- Like Higson, she also did a solid job on a project that could have easily flopped. I would have preferred a little bit more Bond, but the trilogy is definitely worth reading as it gives one a different look into the inner workings of Bond's SIS. P.S. You'll never look at Moneypenny the same way again.

9. Sebastian Faulks -- He had some nice ideas/moments, but it seems like he coasted on the centenary novel way more than a man of his supposed talents should have. Ultimately, the story reads fine initially, but begins falling apart upon reflection.

[Loomis]

I would move Benson above Gardner (not a bad book in Benson's run) and drop Amis all the way down to the bottom. Colonel Sun is incredibly overrated. I believe most Bond fans just name it second best to Fleming because they think they're supposed to. They can't have read it.

They can't have read it? What do you mean, they can't have read it?

It's not true in my case, zenmeister. A few years ago, I chanced upon a copy of COLONEL SUN in a hospital waiting room, picked it up without any agenda (this was before I started my serious explorations of the literary Bond), read it (yep, cover to cover) and was blown away by how good it was. I honestly found it an edge-of-seat ride and coming to the torture scene and wondering how Bond was going to get out of it was incredibly intense.

I loved Amis' depiction of a heroic, stiff-upper-lip 007, his travelogue descriptions of Greece, his way with a suspenseful and brutal action sequence (the kidnapping of M), his snobbery and his portrayal of the repulsive villain Sun. His women are quite alluring, as well.

Nowadays, having read all the Flemings, the Pearson, the Faulks and a good selection of Benson, Gardner, Higson and Kate Weinberg or whatever she's called, I'd still rate COLONEL SUN as the best of the continuation novels. I'd even cite it as superior to a few of the Flemings. I've found COLONEL SUN a sufficiently worthwhile book to re-read twice.

In any case, dropping Amis "all the way down to the bottom" is bizarre in the light of some of the stuff Gardner came up with. I suspect that your dissing of Amis is really a way of pumping up Benson and Higson.

Today, the book fans are "supposed to" name second best to Fleming is actually DEVIL MAY CARE - in IFP's view, anyway.

[[dark]]

Sure, read on.

However, I'd recommend skipping straight to Higson and Weinberg while the taste of Fleming is still fresh in your mind. Both authors capture Fleming's spirit better than any of the other continuation novelists, and the books are set in Fleming's timeline to boot!

Must-reads for all literary Bond fans.

[zencat]

I would move Benson above Gardner (not a bad book in Benson's run) and drop Amis all the way down to the bottom. Colonel Sun is incredibly overrated. I believe most Bond fans just name it second best to Fleming because they think they're supposed to. They can't have read it.

They can't have read it? What do you mean, they can't have read it?

It's not true in my case, zenmeister. A few years ago, I chanced upon a copy of COLONEL SUN in a hospital waiting room, picked it up without any agenda (this was before I started my serious explorations of the literary Bond), read it (yep, cover to cover) and was blown away by how good it was. I honestly found it an edge-of-seat ride and coming to the torture scene and wondering how Bond was going to get out of it was incredibly intense.

I loved Amis' depiction of a heroic, stiff-upper-lip 007, his travelogue descriptions of Greece, his way with a suspenseful and brutal action sequence (the kidnapping of M), his snobbery and his portrayal of the repulsive villain Sun. His women are quite alluring, as well.

Nowadays, having read all the Flemings, the Pearson, the Faulks and a good selection of Benson, Gardner, Higson and Kate Weinberg or whatever she's called, I'd still rate COLONEL SUN as the best of the continuation novels. I'd even cite it as superior to a few of the Flemings. I've found COLONEL SUN a sufficiently worthwhile book to re-read twice.

In any case, dropping Amis "all the way down to the bottom" is bizarre in the light of some of the stuff Gardner came up with. I suspect that your dissing of Amis is really a way of pumping up Benson and Higson.

Today, the book fans are "supposed to" name second best to Fleming is actually DEVIL MAY CARE - in IFP's view, anyway.

Like you, I used to rate Colonel Sun as one of the best, but I recently re-read it (just a few months ago) and it just fell flat. I enjoyed the first half, but once he gets on that boat, it just gets downright dull. Even the torture scene, which I used to praise, was nothing like I remembered. I thought, "Is that it?" I do put this down to Higson. The YB torture scenes are truly grisly and intense (and inventive) and have raised the bar.

But this happens to me with the books. I change my opinions with every fresh read, sometimes radically. I remember hating Never Send Flowers when it came out. A handful of years later I read it and loved it. Maybe CS is just in a down cycle for me.

[OmarB]

To me it's all about Fleming and Gardner. Many people think his books took a dip in quality later on, but I think he's easily the best prose writer of the bunch (could have been Faulks, but he screwed up IMO). He also took risks with Bond that Fleming would have never done like Man From Barabarosa or Brokenclaw. He was also keenly aware of what Bond needed to do to stay the ultimate spy and what he needed to know. He's one of the few who has Bond back in training with elite teams between stories or at the start of stories, constantly sharpening the knife as it were. He kept Bond sharp mentally and physically.