Critical Reflections on Doubleshot (2000) by Raymond Benson?

Silhouette Man

This thread is designed to collate AJB Bond fan opinion on Raymond Benson's fourth Bond novel Doubleshot (2000): did it go too far in its experimentation and in its presentation of the literary James Bond character created by Ian Fleming? Is it the The Spy Who Loved Me and The Man From Barbarossa of the Benson books? Your thoughts on this novel are much appreciated by this writer of articles.

Also, are there any elements of the 'locked room mystery' (made famous by John Dickson Carr) in Doubleshot?

Also, your thoughts on Doubleshot as a title - I remember saying to some friends in 1999 on learning of the new title through correspondence with Raymond Benson himself that that was the title - they said that it was not very impressive for the title of a James Bond novel. Benson originally favoured Reflections in a Broken Mirror as an alternative title - very much influenced by the first chapter of Goldfinger and the original title for '007 in New York', although sadly his own original title was denied him. I want to try to defend Benson from some of the critical charges made against Doubleshot, though. A quote from Kirkus Reviews on Doubleshot on 1 May 2000:

"The creakiest exercise yet in American Bond fan Benson's postmodern resurrection of Ian Fleming's peerless killer spy, has an embarrassingly witless 007 going rogue to fight a dastardly multinational crime cartel.

Nifty bullfighting scenes do not redeem an otherwise cliché-cluttered narrative. For die-hard fans only."

I'm writing on NSF, TMFB and DS as the most controversial experimental novels of the James Bond Continuation -anyone want to add others to this list?

DMC?

Carte Blanche?

Colonel Sun?

Never Dream of Dying?

Another?

Sir Miles

I actually think that Doubleshot is Benson's best Bond novel...again, it's several years since I have read it - perhaps I need to revist the Benson Bond novels again ? Although I doubt I could stomach another read of NDOD X-(

From what I can remember...it has a decent plot and a decent enough narrative...but I do feel some sympathy for Benson as he was clearly 'writing to orders' with his novels...and there was too much of a cross-over from the filmic Bond...some of his novels read more like a screenplay than a Bond novel.

Silhouette Man

Sir Miles wrote:

I actually think that Doubleshot is Benson's best Bond novel...again, it's several years since I have read it - perhaps I need to revist the Benson Bond novels again ? Although I doubt I could stomach another read of NDOD X-(

From what I can remember...it has a decent plot and a decent enough narrative...but I do feel some sympathy for Benson as he was clearly 'writing to orders' with his novels...and there was too much of a cross-over from the filmic Bond...some of his novels read more like a screenplay than a Bond novel.

Thanks for your views, Sir Miles. I agree that Raymond Benson's a great guy - the first author I ever corresponded with between 1999 and 2002 and since then by email. Those letters are treasured. Also corresponded by email with Gardner between 2002 and 2005. So I've got a lot of original Bondian raw material I hope to use in some articles on my The Bondologist Blog. Perhaps this explains why I regard John Gardner so highly and get so excessive about TMFB and Euro Disney in NSF etc.!

Sir Miles

I do like TMFB...certainly more than several of his other Bond novels...and, for me, it was an experiment that worked.

Benson's Bond books are more miss than hit though...but I firmly put that down to the brief he was given...perhaps he was given a tighter rein because he wasn't a recognised author in his own right...didn't he 'write' stories for computer games and a stage play..?...

Silhouette Man

Any other AJB'ers want to give their considered views on Raymond Benson's expereimental James Bond novel Doubleshot (2000)?

I'm particularly interested in any comments on its similarity to John Gardner's Understrike (1965), where a double and twins also featured in this Boysie Oakes spy novel and on its elements of the 'locked room' mystery that was a hallmark of the detective novels of John Dickson Carr.

I think that the novel, featuring an under-par James Bond not at his professional best fits in well with the similarly disposed James Bond of the new James Bond film Skyfall (2012). I'd love to hear your thoughts regarding this also.

Any other views on Doubleshot are very welcome, of course. -{

Cheers,

SILHOUETTE MAN. -{

davidelliott101

I had and read the Benson novels years ago... for some reason I sold them or got rid of them for some reason and am trying to find copies again... I DO recall enjoying all of his Bond novels a lot... more than Gardner's novels (which I think are great for what they are and am re-reading HIS Bonds right now)

That's about all I can muster up...

Muston

Can Doubleshot be read without reading the 1st book in Benson's Union trilogy Bond's?

Silhouette Man

Muston wrote:

Can Doubleshot be read without reading the 1st book in Benson's Union trilogy Bond's?

I'd guess that it'd be better to read HTTK first before tackling DS.

British Vulture

I thought it was a good book!

superado

It's been a long time since I read this, but what stood out that I really liked (unless I'm confusing this with another book) was in the beginning when Bond was struggling with malaise and boredom, very classic literary Bond. Also, was this again another Benson book in which there were American Bond girls? I vaguely remember them being like some of the unappealing "American" Bond girls in the movies who IMO really lacked class (Tiffany Case, Stacey Sutton, Pam Bouvier, Jinx), whereas Holly Goodhead was a good example of the opposite.

Silhouette Man

superado wrote:

It's been a long time since I read this, but what stood out that I really liked (unless I'm confusing this with another book) was in the beginning when Bond was struggling with malaise and boredom, very classic literary Bond. Also, was this again another Benson book in which there were American Bond girls? I vaguely remember them being like some of the unappealing "American" Bond girls in the movies who IMO really lacked class (Tiffany Case, Stacey Sutton, Pam Bouvier, Jinx), whereas Holly Goodhead was a good example of the opposite.

No, you've got the right book here. Yes, Doubleshot is like Goldfinger in its presenation of a Bond with malaise and introspection. There were two twins in this one as well as a doppelganger for James Bond - a plot device seemingly borrowed from John Gardner's Understrike Boysie Oakes novel from 1965. I also think that the bullfighting element was quite Flemingesque. It's probably Benson's best James Bond novel. The doppelganger plot is, I sppose rather old hat nowadays - it's a staple of spy, detective and comic book fiction, but somehow it doesn't feel reheated in Doubleshot. There were bullfights in OHMSS the film, and I think bullfighting is mentioned in TMWTGG film, comparing Scaramanga's sex before an asassination to that of a bullfighter, so I think this is rather Flemingesque. Using the geopolitcs between Spain, the UK and its colony Gibraltar was rather neat of Mr Benson too - he often had more relevant plots that affected Britain's interests than those of the later Gardner years, where Gardner struggled to update the perils his hero faced, with him being accused of having Bond appeared anachronistic.

Silhouette Man

It's sad to note that Iwan Morelius (1931-2012) died last year - he helped Raymond Benson out in his research for Doubleshot (2000) in Spain in 1999. As thanks, Benson included him as the plastic surgeon Dr Iwan Morelius who creates the double of 007. Read this very interesting piece from SpyWise here, by Iwan Morelius:

http://www.spywise.net/pdf/iwan_on_benson.pdf

See also the Jeremy Duns blog entry here on Morelius:

http://jeremyduns.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/from-sweden-with-love.html

And see also here:

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/iwan-morelius-14-nov-1931-21-june-2012.html

http://commanderbond.net/9573/behind-the-scenes-of-raymond-bensons-doubleshot.html