I should spend the money quickly, Commander Bond.

I do. Casino Royale is my favorite Fleming book.

Bond novels are great for air travel. Non-Fleming, Colonel Sun is a good one. I also like circuiting through the Gardner books, the first four especially I've read many times over. Recently I took to giving Raymond Benson another chance--I can say he has good plot ideas linking to events of the day.

The last Bond novel Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz is very good, recommended.

I'm motivated by my Duty.

I like CASINO ROYALE, but it isn't my favourite Ian Fleming novel. I think that honour goes to either FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or OHMSS.

I also enjoyed COLONEL SUN by Kingsley Amis. I thought it was a good follow up to Ian Fleming's work. I really enjoyed the John Gardner novels when they first came out. I think he did a very good job with a slightly old Bond.

I absolutely detest Raymond Benson's work after reading ZERO MINUS TEN. I doubt I'll ever read another one of his novels - on any subject. His work is only suitable for use as toilet paper. Just thinking of that bloody book makes me both angry and nauseous at the same time...

I'm a big fan of Anthony Horowitz's TV work and I look forward to reading TRIGGER MORTIS. I particularly like the fact that it's set in the original Ian Fleming timeline. He did great work on a TV series called FOYLE'S WAR. It was set during and just after WWII. In fact, near the end of the TV show, Foyle begins working for MI5 and actually encounters SMERSH operatives.

I've often thought that if they ever want to make a period accurate version of James Bond TV series, FOYLE'S WAR would be a good template to base it on. I also thought that Anthony Horowitz would be a good choice to bring the original novels to the small screen.

ant-mac

I have read ALL of Flemmings novels. I loved them! CR, MR, FRWL, and Goldfinger were my favorites. He knew how to keep readers captivated. he tended to end a chapter with a cliffhanger. the flemming sweep.

I don't have the books anymore but I am looking around for a used collection I can get on the cheap.

I love the closing part of CR: This is an open line. "can you hear me? pass this along at once. 3030 was a double, working for Redland."

"Yes dammit, I said 'was'. The bitch is dead now

something like that.

Enjoy LALD, I did

Cheers.

I have read all of the Ian Fleming, John Gardner, Christopher Wood and Kingsley Amis Bond novels before and for the most part, I enjoyed them all. I have also read one of the Raymond Benson novels and utterly hated it.

I hope you manage to find a cheap IF collection in good condition.

ant-mac

Verily I say unto thee..perhaps you have read all the novels but they must have been fake editions because on all the copies I have seen in every book shop I've visited show his name clearly on the covers as "Fleming" and not "Flemming".

I'm sure it's just an honest mistake or "typo".

They occur frequently and ubiquitously. They even occur in 007 novels written by Ian Fleming.

ant-mac

Does anyone else on this message board actually read any of the 007 novels?
Yes... many times over since the '70s.

COLONEL SUN is, to my mind, overrated.

Not a fan of the Gardner or Benson novels.

TRIGGER MORTIS is surprisingly good! Probably the best non-Fleming Bond novel to date.



Send her to the snakes!

"Yes... many times over since the '70s."

I got started on them in the late 1970s.

"COLONEL SUN is, to my mind, overrated."

I still maintain that it's better than anything by Raymond Benson.

"Not a fan of the Gardner or Benson novels."

I did enjoy the John Gardner novels when I first read them. However, I haven't read one in nearly twenty years, so it should be interesting to see if I still feel the same way about them when I finally get around to re-reading them.

I think I've already made my opinion of Raymond Benson's work clear.

"TRIGGER MORTIS is surprisingly good! Probably the best non-Fleming Bond novel to date."

I'm not surprised by that assessment. I've always enjoyed Anthony Horowitz's work. I look forward to reading it.

ant-mac