mh4213
Commander
Saved by the bell...!
Posts: 241
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Post by mh4213 on Aug 20, 2007 12:08:29 GMT -5
What do you think of Raymond Benson, the author who took over the writing of the continuation novels from John Gardner?
I preferred Gardner. Maybe it's because he was the first author to do the continuation novels, and Benson is not up to the standards of Gardner.
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Kadov
Commander
Posts: 171
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Post by Kadov on Aug 20, 2007 22:06:38 GMT -5
What do you think of Raymond Benson, the author who took over the writing of the continuation novels from John Gardner? Frankly, Raymond Benson brought the literary franchise down to the quality of cheap, kitschy pulp paperbacks. He really went out of his way to be blatantly risque in his descriptions of love scenes, as if he was trying to emmulate the style of a Jackie Collins trashy novel. Just look at the ending of the short story "Blast From The Past." The heroine, Cheryl Haven, offers herself to Bond: "'If you're hungry darling,'" she whispered, lifting her right breast to his mouth, 'bon appetit.'" What gawd-awful writing. I preferred Gardner. Maybe it's because he was the first author to do the continuation novels, and Benson is not up to the standards of Gardner. I also prefer Gardner over Benson. Yeah, Gardner's novels weren't perfect, but on the whole he did a fine job. Gardner was an established fiction writer, and you sensed it in his prose, you get the impression that you're in the hands of a worldly storyteller who is comfortable and confident to tell you a story. With Benson, the James Bond novels were amateurish. He clearly didn't know what to do when he got the job to continue the series, so he ended up just doing pastiches of the films. This guy has no imagination, he just watched the films to get ideas. Here's a bit of dialog from his second novel, The Facts Of Death, and, geez, I wonder what film he had in mind: "'My dear Ashley ,' Bond said as he removed the gloves. 'If you shoot me at this range, the bullet will go right through me and into this tank.'"
Is Benson being funny or just being a hack? There won't be any prize for guessing which film this stuff was lifted from. All Benson did was tweak the dialog slightly and switch the scene from a private jet to a weird sperm bank.
The most ridiculously embarrassing thing he wrote is a short story called "MidSummer Night's Doom." It takes place at the Playboy mansion, with Hugh Heffner and two Playmates making an appearance in the story. The title, aside from being a pun on the Shakespearan play, is also based on the so-called "Midsummer Night's Dream" party, an actual summer party that old Hughey throws every summer for celebrities and centerfolds, and the only requirement is that the guests must come dressed in sleepwear or lingerie. In the story, a murder takes place in the mansion, and the whole notion of 007 walking around the mansion in sleepwear, attempting to investigate the crime, is ridiculous. What was this guy, Benson, thinking? Fortunately, the Ian Fleming Publications came to their senses and eventually pulled the plug on Benson's tenure. |
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Post by Greg Haugen on Aug 22, 2007 17:14:09 GMT -5
You aren't a fan then kadov?  |
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Kadov
Commander
Posts: 171
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Post by Kadov on Aug 22, 2007 23:20:02 GMT -5
You aren't a fan then kadov?  That made me really laugh. It brightened my evening. Thanks! |
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blake
New Recruit
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Post by blake on Oct 8, 2007 14:09:59 GMT -5
Benson wasn't the most inspired choice and that's the polite way to put it.
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Post by Greg Haugen on Oct 9, 2007 5:31:23 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum Blake. Our quest to find a Raymond Benson fan continues. He did do a great interview with Timothy Dalton once though.
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FormerBondFan
00 Agent
Posts: 5,455
Favourite James Bond Films: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Mission: Impossible and any upcoming action films starring Pierce Brosnan (no, it's not James Bond which is good because he'll need it to expand his reputation as an actor, especially in the action realm)
Favourite Films: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Harry Potter, Middle-Earth, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible
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Post by FormerBondFan on Jan 25, 2008 12:57:57 GMT -5
If Benson is still writing Bond novels, what would he titled them?
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Alec 006
Commander
"Finish the job, James! Blow them all to hell !!"
Posts: 422
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Post by Alec 006 on Jan 30, 2008 9:34:02 GMT -5
What do you think of Raymond Benson, the author who took over the writing of the continuation novels from John Gardner? Frankly, Raymond Benson brought the literary franchise down to the quality of cheap, kitschy pulp paperbacks. He really went out of his way to be blatantly risque in his descriptions of love scenes, as if he was trying to emulate the style of a Jackie Collins trashy novel. Just look at the ending of the short story "Blast From The Past." The heroine, Cheryl Haven, offers herself to Bond: "'If you're hungry darling,'" she whispered, lifting her right breast to his mouth, 'bon appetite.'" What gawd-awful writing. Fortunately, the Ian Fleming Publications came to their senses and eventually pulled the plug on Benson's tenure. I am forced to agree with Kadov. While I was in the hospital this summer, I whizzed though Ian Fleming's "The Man With The Golden Gun", then moved on to Raymond Benson's "High Time To Kill". While the premise of the book was quite promising...the execution of the story was average at best. Comparing Bond's intimate encounters to a trashy Jackie Collins novel is an insult to Jackie Collins. Going from reading Ian Fleming to Raymond Benson is like enjoying Fillet Mignon for dinner one day, and settling for a can of Spam the next. Take Care! |
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Post by skywalker on Jan 30, 2008 12:16:24 GMT -5
Going from reading Ian Fleming to Raymond Benson is like enjoying Fillet Mignon for dinner one day, and settling for a can of Spam the next. Take Care! Very good. |
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Post by harrypalmer on Jan 31, 2008 14:29:37 GMT -5
Poor Raymond!
Gardener was a respected spy thriller writer who wrote some interesting modern era Bonds. I'm not sure how Raymond qualified - maybe he was cheap.
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FormerBondFan
00 Agent
Posts: 5,455
Favourite James Bond Films: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Mission: Impossible and any upcoming action films starring Pierce Brosnan (no, it's not James Bond which is good because he'll need it to expand his reputation as an actor, especially in the action realm)
Favourite Films: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Harry Potter, Middle-Earth, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible
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Post by FormerBondFan on Jun 14, 2008 11:09:41 GMT -5
Raymond modernized Bond.
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alex
Commander
Posts: 344
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Post by alex on Jun 17, 2008 12:11:03 GMT -5
Poor Raymond! Gardener was a respected spy thriller writer who wrote some interesting modern era Bonds. I'm not sure how Raymond qualified - maybe he was cheap. I think Raymond was chosen because he was known to be a big Bond fan. He wasn't the best choice in hindsight. |
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Post by JackBurton on Sept 5, 2008 17:42:55 GMT -5
Benson used to write for 007 magazine. He did a great interview with Timothy Dalton once. He called LTK the best Bond film since Thunderball which I don't quite agree with.
He went completely insane eventually and declared that Casino Royale was the best James Bond film ever made.
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FormerBondFan
00 Agent
Posts: 5,455
Favourite James Bond Films: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Mission: Impossible and any upcoming action films starring Pierce Brosnan (no, it's not James Bond which is good because he'll need it to expand his reputation as an actor, especially in the action realm)
Favourite Films: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Harry Potter, Middle-Earth, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible
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Post by FormerBondFan on Sept 5, 2008 18:35:42 GMT -5
He went completely insane eventually and declared that Casino Royale was the best James Bond film ever made. So is Charlie Higson. |
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FormerBondFan
00 Agent
Posts: 5,455
Favourite James Bond Films: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Mission: Impossible and any upcoming action films starring Pierce Brosnan (no, it's not James Bond which is good because he'll need it to expand his reputation as an actor, especially in the action realm)
Favourite Films: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Harry Potter, Middle-Earth, The Matrix, Mission: Impossible
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Post by FormerBondFan on Sept 24, 2008 20:44:29 GMT -5
How realistic are Benson's novelizations of TND, TWINE, and DAD?
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That made me really laugh. It brightened my evening. Thanks!
