182 replies to this topic

[Xenobia]

Johnson Galore...you are right about the Bedside Companion and in particular its reissue.

I too would like to see him once more update the Companion and include himself, especially since he had the candor to admit the first time around he might have been too hard on Gardner.

Now for the ego moment...

No one wants to see me try writing an official Bond novel? I promise, I'd play by the IFP's rules. Mostly. ;-)

-- Xenobia

[rafterman]

the reason no one bought the books is because they never promoted them....Glidrose didn't seem to care, so it's not a surprise that they'd rather stop and promote Fleming, but even still they didn't print Fleming for ten years, so they just don't seem to care about anything at all.....if they really wanted to support Bond and make money, then they'd republish all of the books, Gardner included and promote their work....maybe they went after an unknown like Benson, to save some bucks and to have it fail without a lot of attention....this sucks for Bond and the fans, I loved Benson's work and so maybe the bashers are happy, but you know what? now we're not going to get ANY Bond books except the reprints of Fleming....I have Fleming already, I want new stuff......Glidrose, MGM, what the hell is their problem with Bond? They have such a great deal and they can't handle it well enough at all, Mr. Benson, if you're here, thanks for the hard work, some of us very much appreciated it and looked forward to it...

[General Koskov]

Hopefully only the continuation novels have ended, and the novelisations will still come out with every film. That was what I was hoping for, but I didn't mean for it to happen this way... *sob* *sob*

Hopefully, if a new author is chosen, he'll not have to conform to IFP's silly rules--maybe the future books will be made into films later...? Here's hoping.

[Xenobia]

Has anyone heard *any* rumours about who might be succeeding Benson?

-- Xenobia

[philbowski]

Originally posted by General Koskov
Hopefully, if a new author is chosen, he'll not have to conform to IFP's silly rules--maybe the future books will be made into films later...?  Here's hoping.

What rules does IFP use to govern the writer?

[niggle]

I have spent too long collecting all the novels but not enough time reading them so I have a backlog - however based on the fact that I have read of few by each author I can say that in my opinion benson is vastly superior to Gardner, I thoroughly enjoed ZMT and TFOD. My problem with Fleming is that having been brought up on the films and only recently turned to books I am always comparing the Fleming novels with the films and wondering why things were changed. Stand alone novels are easier to enjoy.

[Jim]

what writer would each of you like to see write bond? i know we all have a name we would like to see take a crack at it, if you had to pick a name who would it be? (per BONDFINESSE)

Jim (per Loomis, apparently an immediate response)

Blimey

Mixed feelings on this news. Not a great surprise; can we really say that the writing wasn't on the wall for the "update" novels as soon as those reiussued Flemings with the "pulp context" covers turned up? A rebranding, a remarketing of FlemingBond as 50s/60s pulp fiction surely meant an end to the modern-day novels, didn't it?

Not a bad thing to concentrate on the Flemings for the 50th anniversary.

If Mr Benson's contract has expired, it has expired. He had a good run, and achieved as a Bond fan one of the two dreams - writing Bond or being in a Bond film.

Don't we need to separate the two things? Mr Benson moving on is one result - and that appears to be permanent. The end of the written Bond? That I doubt, frankly - but I wouldn't be too surprised that as a result of this reformation of a literary character that has been largely directionless in the last 20 odd years, any new prose will be 1950s/1960s set. Personally, I think this marks only the end of the experiment to update Bond. James Bond will return.

[marktmurphy]

I've got to disagree with this: I think Benson's mistake was in not updating Bond. He set it in the present day, yes, but wrote it like Bobby Davro 'doing' Ian Fleming. What's the point of reading a pretend Fleming- would you prefer to watch a film starring Cary Grant or one starring someone doing a Cary Grant impression (Some Like It Hot not included)? The impressionist will always be focusing more on doing an accurate impression than creating an equal product. Thus they keep failing to update the concept of the series- just keeping it turning over the same tired material. This is why I feel the series needs a true update.
Any return to the fifties would also draw unfavourable comparisons with Fleming- how can you descibe period detail without living in that time?

Not sure where my thoughts lie- I feel that any attempt to copy Fleming is meaningless (both in style and setting) but equally, without this what's the point of new Bond novels?
I'm sure if the films managed to find direction and popularity without Fleming the books can (indeed it should be easier as they can ride on the films' continuing success). I would put my vote toward a new publishing house and a pool of writers keeping the series fresh.

[kevrichardson]

Originally posted by Xenobia
Has anyone heard *any* rumours about who might be succeeding Benson?
-- Xenobia

Perhaps literary Bond will just fade away . Does any one know the real reason behind this. What was the number regarding book sales.

[kevrichardson]

Has anyone thought that producing a new Bond novel every year , plus writing the novelization of DAD was just a little to much. Hopeful , since Benson is a talented man . He may be involved in the Bond 21 process . The website said he was just taking a break , not quiting.

[rafterman]

hey you can nitpick Benson's work or how one thinks the books should be written, or set all you want, but the fact seems to be that Glidrose just isn't interested in continuing the novels, we can discuss ways to do the series, but the only one who has any say in this just doesn't appear to care....I don't think this decision to stop or take a break or whatever has anything to do with Benson's ability, possibly sales factored in, but any perceived failure in that regard needs to be blamed on Glidrose...

[Loomis]

Yes, I would have thought that that was too much (quick edit - I'm replying to kevrichardson's post, not rafterman's). Somehow made the Benson novels seem merely ultra-niche products for fans, rather than, er, proper fare for a wider readership. And I think we can read the "taking a break" as a nice, polite and euphemistic but very firm and final way of saying that there is no way on God's green earth that Raymond Benson will ever write another Bond novel. After all, if Benson was really just taking a break, why announce it?

At this point, I thought I'd direct members to a Benson thread that makes very interesting reading. Some extremely well-argued and well-written posts from a number of CBn veterans: http://forums.comman...30&pagenumber=1

And, Jim, I wasn't kidding. Have been reading and greatly enjoying "Just Another Kill". You are an enormously talented writer, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a novel of yours in print one day (although some of your past, uh, frankness on the subject of the continuation novels may have already put you out of the running to succeed Benson;)).

[zencat]

I wonder why MrKissAssBangBang has yet to report this news? "Bond Producers Win Award" has been their feature story for over a month. Oh, yeah...

[Simon]

Can anyone remember how John Gardner announced his retirement? Did he just come out with it and say, "That's it from me folks" or was there also an ambiguous half farewell?

Regarding the marketing of the novels, certainly there wasn't much but was there any more or less than for Gardner?

Certainly my taste for his work has been well documented but I hope, nonetheless, that this departure was his doing and not Glidrose's.

As for the future, it might be interesting to have a different author for each book, afterall there is a different director for each film and its exposure certainly has more to lose by that arrangement than that of a novel. I am sure there will be future literary announcements before long.

[Xenobia]

Jim...honestly...I think you should send Gildrose your novel. You might just be what they are looking for.

And who knows, you might just put a certain Irishman out of a job.

-- Xenobia

[marktmurphy]

?


Anyway, another possibilty for the future of Bond in print lies in novellas. If only fans seem to be reading these would it not be a good idea to start a range of very low production, highly priced novellas available through mail order. I mention this because recently a company called Telos (www.telos.co.uk) started publishing Doctor Who (yes, again) novellas quarterly. These are

[marktmurphy]

And this format would even mean Benson could write the occasional novella now and again.

[Truman-Lodge]

:eek:

No...I'd prefer to see Bond written by a single author with a single vision. I'd rather not read a book collection in which one novella is hardcore thriller and the next is Moonrakerish.

I also don't think that Bond books are just for fans.

[marktmurphy]

Well, who else is reading 'em?

And what if what you get is a single (rubbish) author with a single (rubbish) vision? Politness forbids me from saying if this has happened before. Bond doesn't exactly require a continuing universe- why not some completly experimental stuff- Bond as bad guy; set in the 50's; set in the future...?

Incidentally, the Doctor Who novellas are published by a different publishers to the full length Who novels- two series running at the same time: a market of choice.

And if one is hardcore thriller and the next is moonrakerish- what matter? Wait until the next one in the tone you like comes along.

Face it: the Bond series as it has been running is dead. It needs some new thinking. Desperately.

[Loomis]

I wouldn't be interested myself. If the only way to continue the literary series is an idea along the lines of "very low production, highly priced novellas available through mail order", then forget it. It would mean that the series was already dead and I for one don't want to see it kept alive artificially as nothing more than glorified fan fiction written for a hard core of devotees. I don't want James Bond fiction purely for the sake of it.

Ian Fleming once said (or possibly wrote) something to the effect that Bond novels were for red-blooded heterosexuals in boats, trains and planes. For me, this memorable phrase (so memorable that I find myself misquoting it:o) denotes mass appeal and a series of bestsellers available in all good bookshops the world over. The ideal place to buy a Bond novel is at an airport bookstall, and if future works will no longer be found at such places, I say: "Forget it!"

Fleming did not say: Bond novels are for small numbers of red-blooded heterosexuals ordering online at grossly inflated prices.

I imagine that a major reason for the literary series grinding to a halt, as it seems to have done, is that it became far too niche for its own good and ended up alienating everyone outside the hardcore fanbase, which was not big enough to keep it afloat. I certainly wouldn't care to see the series relaunched at some point in the future as something that's even more underground.

marktmurphy, I'm not saying that your idea is necessarily bad in itself. After all, even the likes of Stephen King occasionally publish material exclusively online, and release certain works only as limited editions for fans. But if that's the ONLY way forward for the literary Bond, then the game is up. It's dead as a doornail. If there's a parallel market of novels sold in shops in the normal way, as with Dr. Who, then fair enough. But otherwise....

[zencat]

Originally posted by Simon
Can anyone remember how John Gardner announced his retirement?  Did he just come out with it and say, "That's it from me folks" or was there also an ambiguous half farewell?

I don't remember a Gardner retirement statement per se. It came packaged in the announcement that Raymond was taking over. There was no gap. COLD was '96 and ZMT was '97.

[Blue Eyes]

I have to say that I wouldn't like ot see the production that Mark is referring to.

What I'd like to see is a proper book. What I'd like to see more is a little advertising. It wouldn't really be hard to advertise to the Bond community through the net, and then, especially if we're looking at a quality writing, do the right things to get the book mentioned in a few papers.

[zencat]

Originally posted by Blue Eyes
What I'd like to see is a proper book. What I'd like to see more is a little advertising. It wouldn't really be hard to advertise to the Bond community through the net, and then, especially if we're looking at a quality writing, do the right things to get the book mentioned in a few papers.

Yes, but that would mean the trust fund babies over at IFP would have to get their precious hands dirty and work for a living.

[Loomis]

Can't we aim a little higher than flogging a few books over the internet to diehard fans? Dammit, we're talking about what used to be just about the most popular fiction series of all time! I want:

- Quality writing.
- Novels marketed internationally to a mass readership.
- Novels appearing in bookshops.

Is that too much to ask? If it is, I say let the series die, and at least "The Man With the Red Tattoo" will have been a decent swansong. If MGM started mismanaging the Bond films to the extent that they started losing money and were no longer viable, I for one certainly wouldn't be calling for the series to be prolonged as straight-to-video outings made on a shoestring.

Unless the literary Bond is POPULAR, fuggedaboutit!

[zencat]

Originally posted by Loomis
...Is that too much to ask?...

Yes. See my above post.

[Blue Eyes]

Can't we aim a little higher than flogging a few books over the internet to diehard fans?

Don't underestimate the internet here. I went and saw Donnie Darko simply because someone mentioned it in these forums, I hadn't seen any advertising for it and didn't even know it was released in Australia.

The internet is an infectuos piece of marketing.

And I'm not for a minute suggest that we should be "flogging a few books over the internet to diehard fans". That's why I mentioned newspapers.

[Loomis]

Yes, I've re-read your post and realized that I misconstrued what you were getting at. It's a shame that the people in charge of the literary Bond aren't doing what you suggest already.

[kevrichardson]

Originally posted by philbowski

What rules does IFP use to govern the writer?

I thought that both EON and the Ian Fleming foundation restricted what could be used in the continuation novels. Guys come on , Benson had a 12 month deadline plus the novelizations of the films. work with what the screenwriters gave him plus his own ideas . I am sure he did great amounts of research alone . Living up to the expectations of millions of Bond fans worldwide was hard for even Ian Fleming.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by zencat
I wonder why MrKissAssBangBang has yet to report this news? "Bond Producers Win Award" has been their feature story for over a month. Oh, yeah...

The slight hint of delicious sarcasm.

[marktmurphy]

But what I'm suggesting is one of the few ways of getting actually decent well-known writers to participate in the series. And if big names can be tempted to pen a short novella, more interest from other groups of people will be raised (i.e fans of the writers) and this may kick start Bond into a new full length series. And since when could you buy Benson at an airport bookstall?
I'm not saying this should be the permanent future for Bond, just a way of getting it going again.