The John Gardner Novels- which rock the hardest?

chrisisall

Back in the mid-to-late 80's when I was ploughing through Fleming (& Amis' one), I picked up Gardner's first three, but I never actually got around to reading them. Just finishing Wood's TSWLM now, and I'm liking it (mainly), then I'm going to move on to Gardner.
I've read in some reviews of Gardner's work that his earlier Bond novels were better than later ones, but I'd be interested in lists from people here at AJB of his best works.
Thanks in advance. :007)

Polar Bear 0007

"Nobody Lives Forever" is my personal fav.

I also enjoyed "License renewed", "Scorpius" and "For special services".

It is worth reading them in order, I reread them all last summer and enjoyed them. Be forewarned, it will get tedious and it is generally agreed they get worse as Gardner ran out of fresh ideas.......

chrisisall

Polar Bear 0007 wrote:

"Nobody Lives Forever" is my personal fav.

Do you have to read Role Of Honour to enjoy it better?

Also, is Gardner's Bond a sort of 'healed' 007 in the wake of Tracy's death do you imagine?

Silhouette Man

Of his 1990s books, be sure to check out Brokenclaw, The Man From Barbarossa and Never Send Flowers - all experimental John Gardner at his finest! By the way, I'm the literary James Bond backwoodsman of CBn/AJB!

Golrush007

Opinion is very divided on Gardner's Bond novels. It is difficult to find a consensus on which Gardner books are worth reading. I haven't read all of them, but of the books that I have read, I would recommend: Icebreaker, No Deals Mr Bond and Scorpius.

Silhouette Man

Golrush007 wrote:

Opinion is very divided on Gardner's Bond novels. It is difficult to find a consensus on which Gardner books are worth reading. I haven't read all of them, but of the books that I have read, I would recommend: Icebreaker, No Deals Mr Bond and Scorpius.

Yes, I'd also very much recommend Scorpius - one of his best!

chrisisall

Hmmmm, so basically his first five - seven are golden, and maybe a couple more... I'll start the first one pretty soon.
Thanks everyone! -{

Sir Miles

chrisisall wrote:

....but I'd be interested in lists from people here at AJB of his best works.

Licence Renewed = good
For Special Services = okay
Icebreaker = very good
Role of Honour = generally gets a poor deal - but it's one I really like
Nobody Lives For Ever = very good
No Deals, Mr. Bond = good
Scorpius = okay
Win, Lose or Die = good
Licence to Kill = good
Brokenclaw = good villian - poor story
The Man from Barbarossa = departure from the usual...enjoyed it though
Death is Forever = dire
Never Send Flowers = truly awful
SeaFire = poor - pretty much a re-hash of a couple of his other Bond books...
GoldenEye = very good
COLD = pitiful

It's all subjective though -{

chrisisall

Sir Miles wrote:

It's all subjective though -{

Thanks! I know I'll enjoy the Gardner novels immensely- I sampled bits of the three I have already!
And I find that somewhere along the line I also bought Seafire-! I haven't opened this box in a while...

Polar Bear 0007

You've certainly got a great lot to get started. Go for his first, I think you'll enjoy "License renewed".......

Generally, I agree with SIR MILES with one major exception (I strongly disliked "the man from Barbarossa")! Oddly enough, it was John Gardner's fav!

chrisisall

Polar Bear 0007 wrote:

Generally, I agree with SIR MILES with one major exception (I strongly disliked "the man from Barbarossa")! Oddly enough, it was John Gardner's fav!

I've read that it was his *real* Bond more or less in the *real* world... interesting idea, might try it later, but Bond & the real world don't really mix in my interpretation... I'll see. Oh hell, I'll probably end up reading them all-!

Napoleon Plural

What's with that Spy Who Loved Me novelisation? Bit spesh. -{

chrisisall

Napoleon Plural wrote:

What's with that Spy Who Loved Me novelisation? -{

I just bought it recently and am finishing it now; it won't fit into that box.

Napoleon Plural

It's a rare cover, not seen it before.

chrisisall

Napoleon Plural wrote:

It's a rare cover, not seen it before.

That was the common cover over here when the movie came out.

Silhouette Man

chrisisall wrote:

Napoleon Plural wrote:

It's a rare cover, not seen it before.

That was the common cover over here when the movie came out.

Yes, I think it must be the US edition - the UK edition had a close-up shot of Roger Moore with Walther PPK pointed at the camera!

Asp9mm

Gardner's Bond are very hit and miss. Personally when I read them as they were released, I loved Nobody Lives Forever and Win, Lose or Die the most. On reading them back several times over the years, I still felt the same way. After reading all of Flemings works for the bazzilionth time again in order and then reading those two novels immediately after, I was left feeling empty. They just don't work anymore and are lacking in the fact that Bond comes across as a complete loon that is easily manipulated by events and fumbles along whilst trying to maintain control. Gardners lack of real world application certainly spring to light and stands out. His characterisation of Bond stamping his authority is almost embarrassing at some points. And the plot twist and turns that concentrate on double and triple agents becomes repetitive and very cliched within his own novels. I loved them as they were fun and continued the literary Bond tradition, but sadly become weaker upon each reading.

I still laugh at how long it takes Bond to exit his sleeping bag in WL or D. Despite Gardner thinking it was an impressive time. I could do it quicker after drinking six vodka martinis and having my hands stuck down my pants and being upside down in one. How Long!!!!

chrisisall

Asp9mm wrote:

I loved them as they were fun and continued the literary Bond tradition, but sadly become weaker upon each reading.

Thanks for the comments, I fully expect the Gardner novels to be merely fun and no more. Sort of like the lesser Brosnan movies. If they rise above that for me, a plus.

Asp9mm

chrisisall wrote:

Asp9mm wrote:

I loved them as they were fun and continued the literary Bond tradition, but sadly become weaker upon each reading.

Thanks for the comments, I fully expect the Gardner novels to be merely fun and no more. Sort of like the lesser Brosnan movies. If they rise above that for me, a plus.

Even the worst Gardner novels are still better than the Brosnan films, so no worries there

chrisisall

Asp9mm wrote:

Even the worst Gardner novels are still better than the Brosnan films, so no worries there

Then I am enthusiastic!

Thunderpussy

I have to admit I found many of the later Gardner novels very like
reworkings of earlier novels. Still they are far Better then R Benson's
efforts, which were very Poor except for the first couple.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

I have to admit I found many of the later Gardner novels very like
reworkings of earlier novels.

I intend to focus on the first five or six for now.

Asp9mm

Thunderpussy wrote:

I have to admit I found many of the later Gardner novels very like
reworkings of earlier novels. Still they are far Better then R Benson's
efforts, which were very Poor except for the first couple.

Quite!

Thunderpussy

with ebay etc, these days they can be bought cheaply and it's
always nice to be able to say you've read all the Bond Books as well
as seeing all the films.
Thats how I got the Benson novels, as I'm not a collector so, Don't
care about first editions etc. a cheap paperback does me.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

Don't
care about first editions etc. a cheap paperback does me.

I prefer the paperback editions myself!

chrisisall

With the help of a Christmas gift certificate I got Role of Honour & Nobody Lives For Ever, I now have Gardner's first five. -{ :007) B-)

James Suzuki

I just bought Nobody lives forever today from a cheap second hand bookshop, looking forward to reading it, but I have the entire Lord of the rings to read, halfway through fellowship now.

chrisisall

James Suzuki wrote:

I just bought Nobody lives forever today from a cheap second hand bookshop, looking forward to reading it, but I have the entire Lord of the rings to read, halfway through fellowship now.

I made it halfway through The Two Towers before I gave up... ;%

James Suzuki

chrisisall wrote:

James Suzuki wrote:

I just bought Nobody lives forever today from a cheap second hand bookshop, looking forward to reading it, but I have the entire Lord of the rings to read, halfway through fellowship now.

I made it halfway through The Two Towers before I gave up... ;%

That's encouraging, the key is to get so far in the book, so you can't stop.