With No Deals, Mr. Bond, John Gardner had finally achieved enough clout, or had at least been around long enough, that he was given a little more leeway to “do his own thing.” The result is one of the series’ first full-on Cold War thrillers since From Russia with Love.
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Nobody Lives Forever
Released in 1986, Nobody Lives Forever has a similar feel to the movie For Your Eyes Only, in that both are essentially one chase scene after another.
Role of Honour
Whatever good will was built up with the brisk action of For Special Services and the intriguing locations of Icebreaker is undone with Role of Honor, a dreadful entry in the series.
Icebreaker
In Icebreaker, Bond does almost nothing—which is for the best, because when Bond does do something, it’s usually some of the worst espionage work he’s ever done.
For Special Services
For Special Services, maintains all the ties to Ian Fleming’s original novels, but gets more breathing room since it isn’t saddled with re-introducing Bond.
License Renewed
License Renewed is not the sort of book I would go to war for — if you were bored by it or actively hated it, I would understand.
The Moneypenny Diaries: Guardian Angel
The Moneypenny Diaries offers a complex look at Bond, and 1960s politics, casting Moneypenny herself as a spy more in line with Le Carre than Fleming.
Colonel Sun
Kingsley Amis picks up where Ian Fleming left off and sends James Bond to Greece to rescue a pathetic M and battle a sadistic enemy.
Assignment: Beijing to Brazil
Writer and adventurer Peter Fleming makes a name for himself beyond the one he shares with his little brother.
Forever and a Death
If you don’t know the backstory, you wouldn’t guess that Donald Westlake’s Forever and a Death has anything to do with James Bond.
