A Critical Cold Front - Your thoughts on John Gardner's Cold (1996)?

Silhouette Man

Continuing the theme of the controversial James Bond novels by John Gardner, let's have a look at his last novel published in 1996, Cold (UK), Cold Fall (US). There are significant differences between the two versions of the novel, with Cold Fall probably being more coherent and better organised than the UK version, although it is edited in places. There used to be a very interesting article on the interweb about the differences between the UK and US versions of Gardner's Bond novels, written by the staff writer Nick Kincaid on the now defunct site 007 Forever. Luckily, though, I still have print copies from the site taken in 2001-02.

I wonder are there also elements of foretelling the 2001-2009 Bush Jnr. administration here also - far right foreign and social policy/torture like waterboarding/US and UK led 'War on Terror' etc.?

What are our thoughts on Gardner's controversial swan song from the literary James Bond?

Listen to this interesting yet bizarre and overtly critical review on You Tube from "Blue Pencil":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNIY2vhB2dw

Fairly strange guy reviewing this, but interesting nonetheless!

Was Gardner's plot with General Brutus Clay inspired by the American Nazi Party/American Christian Fascists or Christ-fascists at all? Clay appears nowadays as a sort of mix of Len Deighton's General Midwinter (from Billion Dollar Brain) and President George W. Bush (in office 2001-2009).

Cold/Cold Fall certainly had a lot of relevance nowadays - I think that its prescient qualities need to be reappraised now in 2013!

I've also been doing a little bit of Google and book researching on John Gardner's final James Bond continuation novel Cold/Cold Fall (1996) and I've found the following information online on the possible inspiration for General Brutus Brute Clay as the American Christian Fascist in the novel version: one US Congressman Brutus Junius Clay whose father was a certain General Brutus Clay. See the website posted below here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutus_J._Clay

http://claye.tripod.com/descendants_of_green_clay.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg … d=15490047

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/bourbo … 400003.txt

Was John Gardner inspired by the Clay family to create the villain General Brutus Clay who wants to take over the United States in a Fascist coup.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on this revelation - do you think that this was what inspired Gardner to create General Brutus Brute Clay in Cold/Cold Fall or is this merely coincidence? Gardner did have vast tomes of military and political history in his West Virginian home in the United States so my theory about his getting the name from United States political history might just fit. Having a villain with the name "Clay" also works from the "Clay Pigeon" perspective - a reference Gardner also made in his final James Bond continuation novel in 1996.

I can't help but think that Gardner was also inspired by the fundamentalist Christian far right Americans of the time - see the 'hawks' such as Vice President Dick Cheney etc. in the later George W. Bush Administration. What are our thoughts on this element of potential inspiration for the novel? I'm currently reading a book called American Fascists (Jonathan Cape, London, 2007) on the subject of the Christian Far Right in the United States and General Brutus Clay would certainly not look out of place amongst its pages.

I'm writing a review of John Gardner's Cold/Cold Fall for my The Bondologist Blog, hence my rather niche questions/observations inn this thread.

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on these (admittedly esoteric) points on the background of Cold/Cold Fall by John Gardner.

Thanks for reading. -{

Sir Miles

I'm afraid Cold is just awful

It took me over five years to pick it up to re-read it...and it was STILL as bad as I remembered...it's just a lazy piece of writing, IMO...and Gardner knew it was his last Bond book, so he tries to tie up a few loose ends from his previous books...I particularly didn't like all the MicroGlobe 1 crap - that's even if I remember the name correctly, I've tried to blot it out )

I didn't have a problem with 'Bond the ageing operative' angle...but Gardner was very ill during these last few books....and that's alll too apparent when you read them...this book takes bits and pieces from his other bond books - cult's for instance....but it just doesn't deliver at all...a poor way for Gardner to leave the series...

Silhouette Man

Listen to this interesting review on You Tube from Blue Pencil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNIY2vhB2dw

Fairly strange guy reviewing this, but interesting nonetheless!

Was Gardner's plot with General Brutus Clay inspired by the American Nazi Party/American Christian Fascists or Christ-fascists at all? Clay appears nowadays as a sort of mix of Len Deighton's General Midwinter (from Billion Dollar Brain) and President George W. Bush (in office 2001-2009).

Cold/Cold Fall certainly had a lot of relevance nowadays - I think that its prescient qualities need to be reappraised now in 2013!

As always, I'd really love to hear your views and reviews on Cold/Cold Fall...

Silhouette Man

I've been doing a little bit of Google and book researching on John Gardner's final James Bond continuation novel Cold/Cold Fall (1996) and I've found trhe following information online on the possible inspiration for General Brutus Brute Clay as the American Christian Fascist in the novel version: one US Congressman Brutus Junius Clay whose father was a certain General Brutus Clay. See the website posted below here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutus_J._Clay

http://claye.tripod.com/descendants_of_green_clay.htm

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15490047

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/bourbon/bios/c400003.txt

Was John Gardner inspired by the Clay family to create the villain General Brutus Clay who wants to take over the United States in a Fascist coup.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on this revelation - do you think that this was what inspired Gardner to create General Brutus Brute Clay in Cold/Cold Fall or is this merely concidence? Gardner did have vast tomes of military and political history in his West Virginian home in the United States so my theory about his getting the name from United States political history might just fit. Having a villain with the name "Clay" also works from the "Clay Pigeon" perspective - a reference Gardner also made in his final James Bond continuation novel in 1996.

I can't help but think that Gardner was also inspired by the funamentalist Christian far right Americans of the time - see the 'hawks' such as Vice President Dick Cheney etc. in the later George W. Bush Administration. What are our thoughts on this element of potential inspiration for the novel? I'm currently reading a book called American Fascists (Jonathan Cape, London, 2007) on the subject of the Christian Far Right in the United States and General Brutus Clay would certainly not look out of place amongst its pages.

I'm writing a review of John Gardner's Cold/Cold Fall for my The Bondologist Blog, hence my rather niche questions/observations inn this thread.

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on these (admittedly esoteric) points on the background of Cold/Cold Fall by John Gardner.

Thanks for reading.

Silhouette Man

I'd like to bump this thread as I'm trying to write something on it and the Right in US politics both before and after the publication of John Gardner's Cold/Cold Fall in 1996. There may also be something about the false flag operation conspiracy theories on 9/11 in there too.

I've just added more to the OP of this thread as well.

As such, I'd really love to hear your thoughts on John Gardner's last James Bond continuation novel released 20 years ago this year. -{