Ah , those Christmas stories, Buon Natale Mr Bond, The Naughty List, etc, etc, some real gems I agree. Those were some days.
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Iād agree 100% on the first 3 Gardner books,
theyāre well written and have plenty of classic Bond moments in them
I have a real love for Licence Renewed as it came out just as I was beginning my Bond fandom,
but of the 3 Iād say Icrebreaker is probably the best
I actually havenāt read any of the Gardner or Benson novels in years
was thinking about actually re-reading those in order this year
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Though I grew up a Bond fan, the late 80s/early 90s was when I clicked from a casual fan into a fanatic. I also began reading the Gardner books at that time and found them a great way to fill the gap between movies.
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Zero Minus Ten, because I want Bond in Australia.
Union Trilogy, although it would have to be modded a bit
The Man With The Red Tattoo
There are definitely set pieces and moments in several of the books that lend themselves to cinematic embellishment. That said, I would imagine EON isnāt interested in optioning the rights to any of these books and they seem to be hesitant to embrace them as source material. That said, perhaps things are changing; we saw a concept from Colonel Sun find its way into SPECTRE, so perhaps that chasm between the film series and the continuation novels as source material is closing.
Yeah, that gap between LTK and Goldeneye was brutal; I remember buying multiple versions of the VHS releases and devouring the books during that period just to keep the Bond-love alive.
I also agree that EON wonāt ever film a continuation novel wholesale; I think they like the idea of there being
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Iād have to say that Carte Blanche would adapt well to the modern Bond films. Dubai and South Africa are ripe for cinematic Bond. I am not at all a fan of the Benson Bond books. They are too well tied to the Brosnan films and really the worst parts of them. I enjoyed For special Sevices, but for whatever reason, itās the only Gardner entry Iāve ever read. Parts of Trigger Mortis and Devil may Care could work too.
Put me down as another for a proper Moonraker. I really donāt know why the original was lost in the '79 film version: a nuclear missile aimed at and landing on London is chilling. Also the final moments with the submarine would be epic.
I might be alone on this but Iād also love to see a book-version of Live and Let Die too. There is much in this weāve never seen ever: the brutal Bond opting to be merciful to Solitaire, the shark attack etc.
And Iād fully support the first three Gardnersā¦
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All of themā¦
ā¦Ok, they did CR and OHMSS justice, but the rest? Pfftā¦
I know, i know FRWL is a pretty near perfect movie and no i donāt want to see it remade. But how much greater it wouldāve been if it had the nerve to stick to Flemingās masterpiece with the first 3rd set in Russia and featuring Bond only via a dossier as the target. And of course having Rosa Klebb actually spike Bond with her Brotherās Grimm poison shoe and ending with Bond collapsingā¦ Dead? To Be Continued.
Oh well! Top of my list has long been YOLT, followed by introducing Bond 7 with Flemingās prologue for TMWTGG (Brainwashed Bond returns from being MIA the past year to MI6 and tries to assassinate Bond.
Perhaps they borrowed from this for SF, but only marginally - not enough to make the proper adaptation of this prologue moot.
Bondās convalescence after failing to kill M is a perfect way to give the new actor a contextual device to enact the Bond tropes as he slowly recalls who he is. The audience would get a kick out of seeing this unfold - itās too good an opportunity for a soft reboot to miss out on.
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007 in new york
Hereās my selections:
IAN FLEMING ā You Only Live Twice to feature heavily in Bond 25 (with Bond 26 following up with the opening of The Man With The Golden Gun)
JOHN GARDNER ā Nobody Lives Forever (Bond becomes the hunted)
RAYMOND BENSON ā High Time To Kill (a suspenseful thrillerāalthough Doubleshot would probably be more cinematic)
ANTHONY HOROWITZ ā Trigger Mortis (more cinematic than his follow up)
Of the other continuation authors, Iād take KINGSLEY AMISā turn ā Colonel Sun (good, solid plot)
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Iād love to see the Gardner SPECTRE novels make it to the cinema for the new Bond and give some continuity but difference to the Craig era. Big scale plots, OTT villains and plenty of scope to add big action set pieces. Nobody Lives Forever would be a fantastic culmination of the 2 eras. Itāll never happen in a million years, but I can dream!
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I think Carte Blanche is very cinematic and would make a good modern Bond film. Other than that, Trigger Mortis, Devil May Care, High Time to Kill (without the dumb skin 17 thing), also Icebreaker could all be worthy of cinematic offerings.
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Definitely some of the Benson and Gardner, The Spy Who Loved Me as part of another film and Obviously the more unique elements of YOLT and TMWTGG
Iād agree.
Forever and A Day was much more enjoyable, but the reason why, was itās exploration of Bondās inner thought process, which, in a film, would just be a bloke silently brooding at people. Trigger Mortis, however, had set piece aplenty (one of which was Flemingās) lending itself to the more visceral quality of the films.
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I agree with that. Thereās a difference between a good book and a good film, and Flemingās YOLT is a prime example. The themes are good, but I donāt think it could ever be translated in a pure way that replicated the literary experience (the travelogue, inner dialogue, and general atmosphere).
Forever and a Day works for me not just because itās a good Bond book, but because of the focus on Sixtine. Itās more of a personal experience for Bond and the reader, whereas Trigger Mortis has several set pieces - especially the car race, that naturally lend themselves to the big screen.
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Nobody Lives Forever has good potential.
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Great suggestions, everyone. I have seen Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day get mentioned most, as Bond books to be adapted for the cinema. Maybe film them back to back for Bond 7, first FAAD and then TM. Come on EON, please take note!
James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 by John Pearson.
As Bond 26 it could be a one-off in the canon that neatly falls between Craig and casting Bond 7.
Perhaps it could be updated to star Craig and the flashbacks be used to introduce his replacement. This would be pretty interesting, but theyād have to fudge it to a modern setting when said newbie replaces Craig in Bond 27.
Iād love to see Daniel Day-Lewis play Pearsonās retired Bond with either Tarantino, of PT Anderson directing.
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The canonical status is up for debate, which is why I didnāt mention it during my Fleming timeline ranking. But I hold it in the same esteem as Colonel Sun and the Horowitz novels. The concept may not be for everyone, but I find it makes for an engaging read.
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