But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :007)
Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :007)
Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.
Probably not you know. I'm happy to be considered "The boy stood on the burning deck" when it comes to 90s Gardner! )
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :007)
Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.
I love the early Gardners but I agree that his writing tailed off towards the end. And the introduction of Flicka was painful.. Was anyone else glad when she died?
As for what I'm reading now... I've just started The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
The introduction of Flicka was an interesting development...something different anyway - exploring Bond in a relationship across several books...but we all knew it wasn't going to last...
It was cringe-inducing. I couldn't imagine someone like Bond living with someone his equal. And M sanctioning the two of them working together??? It went against everything that had gone before.
That said, her death was pretty much glossed over in COLD.
A bit over halfway through Colonel Sun. Really enjoying it. The characters, location and action is great. Solo arrived in the mail today so I will probably be on to that after CS.
"Mango, banana and tangerine. Sugar and ackee and cocoa bean!"
It is. As I recall the 'officer' has an agenda of his own. Apart from staying out of the war he takes revenge on the MPs who abused & beat him & his friends. They beat up several of these MPs without any repercussion. However a unit of hardened defaulters spell trouble & the glasshouse gang are forced to flee westwards to somewhere they think they will be safe however as soon as they arrive at the oasis in question, the Germans begin an all out attack,leaving them stranded behind enemy lines! They end up fighting it out with the enemy before attempting to make it back to British controlled territory.
I finished Colonel Sun and very much enjoyed it. Now deciding on Solo or The Spy Who Loved Me novelization to read next!
I would go with TSWLM novelization by Christopher Wood, which IMO you would find very similar in grit to CS, e.g., "classic Fleming Bond" through the pen of another writer. IMO, Solo will seem as a weak follow-up. As for the recent "classic Fleming Bond" books by newer authors (Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Trigger Mortis), I think TM is the strongest.
Back to the TSWLM novelization, though it had a contemporary setting to when it was published (1977), it was as if Fleming's Bond came back, bridged over from Colonel Sun, very different in flavor from the TSWLM movie.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
I finished Colonel Sun and very much enjoyed it. Now deciding on Solo or The Spy Who Loved Me novelization to read next!
I would go with TSWLM novelization by Christopher Wood, which IMO you would find very similar in grit to CS, e.g., "classic Fleming Bond" through the pen of another writer. IMO, Solo will seem as a weak follow-up. As for the recent "classic Fleming Bond" books by newer authors (Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Trigger Mortis), I think TM is the strongest.
Back to the TSWLM novelization, though it had a contemporary setting to when it was published (1977), it was as if Fleming's Bond came back, bridged over from Colonel Sun, very different in flavor from the TSWLM movie.
I'd certainly second that choice! -{
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Thanks, SM! I made a mistake, Carte Blanche has a contemporary setting and it was Solo that was set in the 60's. However, I maintain my opinion that it was underwhelming. Though it had a good start, very atmospheric in its late 60s setting, when the story shifted abroad where you couldn't really discern the retro time-period...so, the attempt at a period-piece became immaterial. It felt like it borrowed a lot from Forsythe's Dogs of War, yes, a book written and discernibly set in the 70s; but that plot and theme can better serve a contemporary setting.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Oh dear
YNWA 97
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Oh dear
Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good! -{
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Oh dear
Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good! -{
But we both know it really, REALLY isn't {[]
YNWA 97
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
75 pages into Never Send Flowers...so far not bad, except for one line which struck me as a bit off for a Bond novel.
This is when Bond meets Flicka, and she says:
"Oh, I think we will probably become very close friends, Mr Bond, or may I call you James?"
"Call me anything you like." A couple of seconds later, he realised what he actually meant what he had said. She could have called him Dickbrain and he still would have smiled at her happily.
Somehow, I can't imagine a word like 'Dickbrain' entering Bond's thoughts. )
Comments
On the contrary those are two of Gardner's best in my view!
But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner.
Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.
Probably not you know. I'm happy to be considered "The boy stood on the burning deck" when it comes to 90s Gardner!
Like off a steep cliff !
Gardner was ill - and his writing suffers
As for what I'm reading now... I've just started The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
That said, her death was pretty much glossed over in COLD.
Oh she's died, ho hum, back to work.
I'm sure you will enjoy it -{
I have to hold my hand up here and say I've yet to read Trigger Mortis...even though I have both UK & US editions ;%
Far the best of the continuing books. -{
Very much agreed on that front, TP.
It does sound like a good read, Stag. I'm not sure I'm ready to read all four books in the series, though.
I would go with TSWLM novelization by Christopher Wood, which IMO you would find very similar in grit to CS, e.g., "classic Fleming Bond" through the pen of another writer. IMO, Solo will seem as a weak follow-up. As for the recent "classic Fleming Bond" books by newer authors (Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Trigger Mortis), I think TM is the strongest.
Back to the TSWLM novelization, though it had a contemporary setting to when it was published (1977), it was as if Fleming's Bond came back, bridged over from Colonel Sun, very different in flavor from the TSWLM movie.
I'd certainly second that choice!
Oh dear
Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good!
But we both know it really, REALLY isn't
Another satisfied customer
This is when Bond meets Flicka, and she says:
"Oh, I think we will probably become very close friends, Mr Bond, or may I call you James?"
"Call me anything you like." A couple of seconds later, he realised what he actually meant what he had said. She could have called him Dickbrain and he still would have smiled at her happily.
Somehow, I can't imagine a word like 'Dickbrain' entering Bond's thoughts.