Rating: Summary: One of the world's most criminally overlooked novels Review: "Colonel Sun" is far and away the best Bond novel written by a Fleming successor (a distant second would be Christopher Wood's surprisingly tense novelization of his "Spy Who Loved Me" script).Kingsley Amis, who proved his knowledge of Fleming's writing in "The James Bond Dossier," creates a novel that's actually better than a few Flemings titles. The plot is engrossing, the villain is superb and after you read the torture sequence you'll never look at a screwdriver the same way again. Pure Bond greatness that deserves a wider readership. I hope Penguin adds it to its marvelous trade paperbacks, but I doubt it will happen.
Rating: Summary: One of the world's most criminally overlooked novels Review: "Colonel Sun" is far and away the best Bond novel written by a Fleming successor (a distant second would be Christopher Wood's surprisingly tense novelization of his "Spy Who Loved Me" script). Kingsley Amis, who proved his knowledge of Fleming's writing in "The James Bond Dossier," creates a novel that's actually better than a few Flemings titles. The plot is engrossing, the villain is superb and after you read the torture sequence you'll never look at a screwdriver the same way again. Pure Bond greatness that deserves a wider readership. I hope Penguin adds it to its marvelous trade paperbacks, but I doubt it will happen.
Rating: Summary: Top Notch Review: A brilliant and hugely entertaining Bond adventure by Kingsley Amis (using pseudonymn of R. Markham). Read it to see how in 1968, Amis predicted the collusion between Russia and the West and the advent of China as a new global threat. Unforgettable.
Rating: Summary: A meaner and colder tone, but excellent Bond Review: Colonel Sun is a sadist. So was Kingsley Amis, as the miniscule details of pain and torture are given as much relish as Fleming did about the class trappings that we enjoy. It's also clear that the style was more "modern" than Fleming, but it still remains true to the character that he built, more so than what's been coming about lately. Even without the minor details, it's still a great Bond book; compelling throughout.
Rating: Summary: Best Fleming imitation ever! Review: Forget Raymond Benson. Don't even waste your time with John Gardner. They're hack writers who learned all about Bond from the movies. Markham (aka Kingsley Amis) knew enough about Fleming's vision of Bond to write "The James Bond Dossier", one of the first critiques of Fleming's series. "Colonel Sun" picks up right where Ian's final novel, "The Man With The Golden Gun" left off, and brings 007's career to a fitting close. The writing style is eerily like Fleming's, even containing dashes of the famed "Fleming Effect". Read this one, put in on the shelf next to your original 007 books, and forget about wasting your time with any other authors who attempt to write Bond.
Rating: Summary: THIS IS THE BEST NON-FLEMING BOND STORY Review: I have just finished this book and I experienced the same thing as when I read Fleming himself. Amis has been able to do what none of the other Bond writers (Gardner, Benson) can even come close to doing. Very Fleming-esque and very true to the original formula of a Bond story. I really enjoyed it and highly agree with the other reviewers. Kingsley Amis was the true successor to Fleming. If only he'd written more like this...
Rating: Summary: THIS IS THE BEST NON-FLEMING BOND STORY Review: I have just finished this book and I experienced the same thing as when I read Fleming himself. Amis has been able to do what none of the other Bond writers (Gardner, Benson) can even come close to doing. Very Fleming-esque and very true to the original formula of a Bond story. I really enjoyed it and highly agree with the other reviewers. Kingsley Amis was the true successor to Fleming. If only he'd written more like this...
Rating: Summary: Bondworthy. Review: I heartily agree with other reviewers about the other writers. Gardner's attempts at Bond stories are uninspired at best, boring at worst. Benson's are downright pathetic -- unbelievably bad. But Amis' effort was, if not perfect, worthy of the standard Fleming set.
Rating: Summary: BEST BOND SINCE FLEMING Review: I OWNED THIS BOOK FOR YEARS BEFORE I ACTUALLY READ IT. INSTEAD I CONCENTRATED ON ALL OF THE ORIGINAL FLEMING WORKS, AND THEN THE GARDNER BOOKS. IT WAS AFTER READING A GARNER BOND BOOK THAT I FINALLY STARTED IT, AND I WAS STUNNED. THIS IS INCREDIBLY CLOSE THE THE COLD HEARTED BOND OF IAN FLEMING, AND MADE ALL OF THE GARDNER BOND BOOKS LOOK PALE BY COMPARISON. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANY FAN OF JAMES BOND.
Rating: Summary: The best Review: It's even better than all of Ian Fleming's 007 novels.
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