Customer Reviews

Cold Fall

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The plot is a little to Americanized because it has bond fighting COLD, a militia type group in the United States. Also you will have to read Nobody Lives Forever and Seafire to understand this one. Bond also gets over Fredricka Von Gruse a little to easily, but the sex and violence that make James Bond James Bond were plentiful.

Gardner's final Bond novel is most likely his best. I admit I may not be the best voice on the subject since this only the second Bond by Gardner I've read. The other one was Seafire. It is all plausible. A terrorist group, COLD, destroys an airliner to silence a blackmailer. Bond is sent to investigate and uncover COLD: Children of the Last Days. It's suspected that an Italian mafia, the Tempesta, is also in this conspiracy. The Bond tradition at its best.

The story plot is excellence but if the reader did not read "Seafire" he/she will have a understanding the second part of the story.

Even though others say that John Gardner's James Bond novels do not stand up to Flemmings or even Bensens, I think that he did a spectacular job of continuing the Bond tradition in his own way. His last book, Cold Fall was no exception. John Gardner takes you on a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. He starts you off in the past and then relates it to the present. I think Cold Fall is excellent, way better than any Benson book. Of course nobody does it better than Flemming but Gardner comes close. I suggest to any real Bond fan that they read all of Garnders books.

How far the mighty have fallen! Some of Gardner's previous novels were outstanding; License Renewed and Nobody Lives Forever were worthy heirs to Fleming's enterprise. But Cold Fall was so awful one hopes it was merely a dream sequence and not part of the official Bond continuity. Gardner resurrected some nice characters from previous novels only to destroy them. This was a waste of time.

Cold Fall's plot isn't terrible, but John Gardner did a shoddy job of writing. There were a bunch of discrepancies that a diehard Bond fanatic would notice. Bond's character did a few things he has never done before, like ordering beer instead of a martini. Like loving two women he had sex with. Like not being the hero because he called in "the cavalry" at the end of the book. Gardner is past his prime. Many of his Bond books have been enjoyable, but Cold Fall signals the demise of John Gardner. I can only hope it doesn't signal the demise of James Bond.

Ian Fleming must be rolling over in his grave. John Gardner's early efforts to resurrect the Bond character were respectable, but he peaked with the outstanding *Icebreaker* and has been doing nothing more than going through the motions ever since. This book was thoughtlessly thrown together for no reason other than to fulfill a contract obligation. It's an embarrasment to the series, the publisher, and to Gardner's literary career.

After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I was in for a big letdown. It just goes to show you that you can't believe everything you read! READ THE BOOK! Cold Fall is an espionage masterpiece and I totally enjoyed it! I have been reading John Gardner's James Bond series for over ten years now and I never grow tired of them, although the last two installments (SeaFire & Never Send Flowers) were not up to par with some other the earlier ones. Cold Fall features not one, but FOUR Bond women, a really nasty megalomaniacal villian, plus all of the usual cloak & dagger action that makes James Bond a favorite literary character!

The only problem I have with Cold Fall is that it ended too soon! What will happen to James Bond and the newly reorganized British Secret Service? Will Gardner write another installment? One can only hope so.

I bought this as a gift for my son. He is a collector and enjoyed the book very much.

A story about a terrible cult code name COLD,or the Children of the Last Days. James attepts to stop this cult that wants to form a new government that rules with a iron fist.