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Title: Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in High Time to Kill (Thorndike Large Print Basic Series) by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0-7862-2338-3 Publisher: Thorndike Pr (Largeprint) Pub. Date: February, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.84 (77 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A thrilling Bond adventure in the true spirit of Ian Fleming
Comment: Raymond Benson has done it again. His third original James Bond novel truly proves that he was a superb choice to succeed Ian Fleming and John Gardner. He has given both James Bond fans and the casual reader an exciting adventure story with all of the elements that one associates with James Bond.
The book has everything, as 007 is now up against a new adversary--the Union, a new terrorist organization as ruthless as the SPECTRE and SMERSH of old, but this time, they appear to be only interested in one thing--money. Thus, they can sell their services to the highest bidder and have apparently infiltrated the British Secret Service itself!
This time Bond is called upon to retrieve an item stolen by the Union which is critical to national security. Along the way, readers encounter the familiar characters who compose the British Secret Service family and are introduced to new ones, especially Dr. Hope Kendall, whose stunning good looks and other attributes are straight in the Flenming tradition. She is a fresh entry into the Bond harem!
Bond's main antagonist within the Union is cunning and ruthless. For the first time in many a Bond book, he engenders real feelings of hate from the reader.
The book moves quickly across the world, as readers are once again given the exotic locales expected in Bond's world. Benson does not disappoint, as the reader is taken on a lengthy mountain climbing expedition with Bond, a mission which leads up to an explosive climax.
Through it all , Raymond Benson has proven that he really has what it takes to fill Ian Fleming;s shoes. Benson has developed a style similiar to the way Fleming was able to sweep readers along with the narrative, enjoying the intricate details of the story itself without ever losing focus on James Bond. Benson here accomplishes nearly the same thing, but instead writes for a very modern audience. He appears very comfortable in Bond's world.
This book is highly recommended for anyone who has glimpsed into that world, and would like to visit it again. James Bond is back, and, with Raymond Benson, nobody does it better!
Rating: 2
Summary: ¿High Time to Kill¿ seems to suffer from altitude sickness
Comment: For me this was a very disappointing book. I thought it started well with lots of action and detail but soon petered out to a wordy tome with action in fits a starts and a poor finale. Marquis as the villain was cardboard and Bond made some big mistakes. He would never compromise SIS rules by forming a relationship with his PA, no matter how desirable, and they have all been that. Raymond Benson has produced vintage James Bond prior to this, almost to Ian Fleming standard - no one get be quite as good as the master - this lets him down. I don't suppose my lack of interest in mountain climbing helped but I found the passages on the climb, a big chunk of the book, very slow and what action that did take place lacked the usual Bond detail. "The Facts of Death" had pace, action, detail and Bondness as did Benson's other Bond books. "High Time to Kill" seems to have suffered from altitude sickness. I look forward to "The World Is Not Enough" and hope both Messrs. Bond and Benson are back on track.
Rating: 5
Summary: Perfect fusion makes this one of the BEST Bond novels.
Comment: HIGH TIME TO KILL is a unique James Bond adventure. It's very experimental in its use of a single setting in the second half of the book, while still deftly adhering to the classic James Bond formula. No "continuation novel" demonstrates a better understanding of what makes a classic Bond story (and HIGH TIME TO KILL surpasses even some of Fleming books in this regard). Most of my feelings come from the second half of the book when Bond is on the mountain. This is unlike anything we've ever seen Bond participate in before - yet all the Bondian ingredients are in firmly in place: Villain, sidekick, Bond girl, contest, breathtaking (literally this time) locales, exotic culture, set-piece showdown and coda. But every one of these "classic" elements (which in the movies have drifted toward clichés) feels 100% fresh because it's all set within the context of a reality-based high concept idea: Mountain climbing. The overlaying believaility of the concept elevates the characters and makes the book truly suspenseful in a FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE sort of way. Even the almost always fumbled "this time it's personal" element works perfectly here. We understand that the villain is driven by his competitive masculine/sexual ego (a subtext of almost all Bond villains), but the possibility of altitude sickness motivates his classic Bond Villain megalomania in a completely believable way. The ice axe throwing competition between Bond and the villain is as gripping as any casino face off. Bond catching a glimpse of Bond Girl Hope Kendell undressing in her small tent is much sexier, IMO, than a Halle Berry bursting from the sea like a Bond Girl Jack in the Box. Bond's sidekick, a Sherpa, is indispensable in a way most of the Bondman sidekicks are not. The "gadgets" this time are all real, but still exotic (cutting-edge climbing equipment, the oxygen tent), and what better test of 007's stamina than a savage mountain climbing expedition? There is a return to the idea of 007 as a master of the extreme sport in this book that is very much a part to the world of Ian Fleming's James Bond. In fact, I think Fleming would have eventually written a book just like HIGH TIME TO KILL.
There's more, but suffice to say HIGH TIME TO KILL is the perfect fusion of the high-concept Bond formula and the completely believable and fascinating world of high-altitude mountain climbing. If you're looking to sample a non-Fleming James Bond novel, THIS is the one to get.
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Title: Zero Minus Ten by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0515123366 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Never Dream of Dying by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0515133078 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Man With the Red Tattoo by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0515135631 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Doubleshot by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0515130613 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 05 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Facts of Death (James Bond Spy Series) by Raymond Benson ISBN: 0515125504 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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