"Blast from the Past" 1997

Discussion & Review Forum For James Bond Books Written By Raymond Benson (born September 6, 1955)
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Goldeneye
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"Blast from the Past" 1997

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"Published in Playboy, January 1997 issue. In publication order, this follows COLD and precedes Zero Minus Ten. Benson has stated that Playboy cut 1/3 of the story for space reasons.

The first Bond story published by Benson, "Blast from the Past" is a direct sequel to Fleming's You Only Live Twice and appears to exist outside the timeline of either Benson's or John Gardner's other Bond stories.

Bond receives a message, apparently from [James Suzuki], his son (Suzuki's mother is Kissy Suzuki from You Only Live Twice) asking him to come to New York City on a matter of urgency. When Bond arrives, he finds his son murdered. With the aid of an SIS agent, he learns that James was killed in revenge by Irma Bunt, the one-time companion of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and a woman who Bond assumed had died alongside Blofeld (again in You Only Live Twice)."

DEAR DAD--TERRIBLY URGENT
THAT YOU COME TO NEW YORK!
I NEED YOUR HELP! FAIL NOT!
WITH LOVE--JAMES

With that letter, Raymond Benson's first Bond short story began. The plot is actually quite simple. James Bond had a son with Kissy Suzuki while he was recovering from a mental breakdown in Japan after the events of the You Only Live Twice novel. M had sent him to Japan in hopes that it would help Bond get out of the depression he suffered as a result of his wife, Tracy di Vicenzo, murder at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Irma Bunt. After he regained his memory and returned to the Secret Service, he supported his son, James Suzuki and his mother. The story begins as Bond receives the letter from his son. Kissy had died some years back as a result of cancer and James Jr. was working in a bank in Manhattan.


When Bond arrived in New York City he finds his son dead. He also finds a bomb waiting for him. After a pursuit he discovers his son's killer and takes revenge. The story itself is not all too complex or deep. But for a short story it is quite good. Most of it is action with a few moments for romance and reflection. It is interesting to read that almost 30 years after the murder of his wife, 007 still has nightmares about the incident. This helps to give Bond the human aura that has been missing in most of the movies.

The story also brings back many of the original elements that helped make the Bond franchise so successful: anger, action, romance, the Walther PPK, the CIA, death, revenge, car chases, gun fights, and best of all, Irma Bunt. It is Bunt that has killed Bond's son and summoned him to New York for revenge. It was a great idea to bring her back because not in the movies or books was there any finality on her life. She has been at large for 30 years. To bring her back now works well because she is, as the title says, a blast from the past.

The fact that Irma Bunt is the villain is probably what makes the story so good. To introduce a villain, develop the character, have introductory scenes between her and Bond and have Bond kill her would be too much for a short story. By using Bunt, a villain that all Bond fans can remember and despise, Benson inspired a sense of nostalgia and "go get her Bond" feeling in the reader. And for the reader who doesn't know Irma Bunt from Ernst Stavro Blofeld, there is, of course, a few refresher paragraphs telling who she is, what she did, and what has become of her.


Published in Playboy Magazine, January 1997, pp. 60-64, 160, 172-176.
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