Never Dream of Dying 2001

[Goldeneye]

"James Bond, 007, finally comes face-to-face with his most cunninjg nemesis - the enigmatic, blind criminal mastermind behind the sinister organization known only as the Union. It begins when a police raid goes horribly wrong, killing innocent men, women, and even children. Bond knows the Union is behind the carnage, and vows to take them down once and for all. His hunt takes him to Paris, into a deadly game of predator and prey, and a fateful meeting with the seductive Tylyn Mignonne, a movie star with a sordid past, who may lead bond to his final target - or his own violent end..."

[John P. Drake]

One of my favourite.

[Blowfeld]

One of my favourite.

Really? I own all his books but have yet to read them, most fans tend to diss his work.

[John P. Drake]

One of my favourite.

Really? I own all his books but have yet to read them, most fans tend to diss his work.

Shoot me to death, but I prefer Raymond Benson over Ian Fleming. I also own all of his books and love them all. All of them.

[Blowfeld]

One of my favourite.

Really? I own all his books but have yet to read them, most fans tend to diss his work.

Shoot me to death, but I prefer Raymond Benson over Ian Fleming. I also own all of his books and love them all. All of them.

I've reread his first book Zero Minus Ten in the last year. Was not a bad first effort however didn't blow me away either.
I remember thinking his novelization of one of the movies made more sense than the movie, I want to say DAD, it could have been TWINE. It was so long ago my memory of the details are hazy.

Fans have been particularly cruel in their assessment of him I would welcome a fresh take on his work.

In an interview he said there was one or maybe it was a few fanboy(s) who actively lobbied against him, calling (I believe Raymond's home and his publishers) and writing threatening all kinds of vile things, so much so he (Raymond) was asked what was going on.

I recall one of the rumours after DAD was The Man with the Red Tattoo was going to be adapted for the next Bond thriller, I didn't believe it because EON are notorious snobs about the book series. Of course nobody could guess what they would do next, spend a year working on a Jinx spin off, then tragically Dana Broccoli dies, the head of EON after Cubby died, Barbara inherited control and takes the wrecking ball to her fathers legacy.

[John P. Drake]

One of my favourite.

Really? I own all his books but have yet to read them, most fans tend to diss his work.

Shoot me to death, but I prefer Raymond Benson over Ian Fleming. I also own all of his books and love them all. All of them.

I've reread his first book Zero Minus Ten in the last year. Was not a bad first effort however didn't blow me away either.
I remember thinking his novelization of one of the movies made more sense than the movie, I want to say DAD, it could have been TWINE. It was so long ago my memory of the details are hazy.

Fans have been particularly cruel in their assessment of him I would welcome a fresh take on his work.

In an interview he said there was one or maybe it was a few fanboy(s) who actively lobbied against him, calling (I believe Raymond's home and his publishers) and writing threatening all kinds of vile things, so much so he (Raymond) was asked what was going on.

I recall one of the rumours after DAD was The Man with the Red Tattoo was going to be adapted for the next Bond thriller, I didn't believe it because EON are notorious snobs about the book series. Of course nobody could guess what they would do next, spend a year working on a Jinx spin off, then tragically Dana Broccoli dies, the head of EON after Cubby died, Barbara inherited control and takes the wrecking ball to her fathers legacy.

We're on the same page, Blowfeld. I agree with every word you've said up there. It's right, I've heard about them all, but come on, Benson did one hell of a job, he delivered us the best literary Bond (inspired from Connery's charismatic portrayal of 007) and gave us comic book/video game styled adventures, fantasy/action like Bond is supposed to be into. And about Babs... I could list her as the worst feminist in the world ever been.

[Problem Eliminator]

Im about 2/3 of the way through this one and its so far hands down my favorite continuation novel. Ive never read colonel sun, but both Gardner and Faulks efforts left me cold.

Ive just gotten to the k10 hydrospeeder and had to look it up on YouTube. What a Bondian craft!

My only complaints so far: its really really long for a Bond book.
Starting the fight at the tv studio didnt make sense to me. Other than that its been fantastic.

[Kiwichris]

Benson was a great continuation author. I prefer him to Gardner or any of the rubbish thats come after him. I think most of the flak he got was simply because he was American and diehard fans didn't want the literary Bond Americanized, not that he did imo. His short story "Blast From the Past" was great too.

Ive never read colonel sun...

You don't know what you're missing!

[Problem Eliminator]

Ive read most of zero minus ten and didnt find it nearly as gripping. Which is odd since im very interested in China. I dont think the characters are very believable. Bond walks into a strip club and this girl immediately starts spilling secrets that she'll be killed for?

[Problem Eliminator]

I plan to read Col Sun soon. Its about Leftist infighting I believe, which is fascinating to me.

[Kiwichris]

Ive read most of zero minus ten and didnt find it nearly as gripping.

It's probably Benson's weakest book. I found the setting annoyingly similair to Tomorrow Never Dies (released in the same year). His books only got better from here though.

[Daltonite Toothpaste]

On the whole, I liked both the Gardner and Benson books, some of them I even liked better than a few of the Fleming books. I did't like Amis' Colonel Sun, and the last 3 are my least favourite.

[Kiwichris]

I would read a Benson book before Goldfinger or Diamonds Are Forever. The last 3 are my least favourite as well, Carte Blanche taking out the title. Why would you ever redesign a classic character and modernize to such an extent is quite beyond me.

[Problem Eliminator]

I actually wasn't aware of the myth about what happens when you die in a dream. Makes me like the title that much more.

[Problem Eliminator]

Btw, it really seems like Bensen visited all the places in the book. Which is one of the great thing about Fleming's books.

[Daltonite Toothpaste]

I would read a Benson book before Goldfinger or Diamonds Are Forever. The last 3 are my least favourite as well, Carte Blanche taking out the title. Why would you ever redesign a classic character and modernize to such an extent is quite beyond me.

[Kiwichris]

Point taken!