Customer Reviews

High Time to Kill (James Bond 007)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Although I must confess to having really enjoyed reading HTTK, it struck me that it was one of the worst written books ever. It reads like a teenager's english essay! Having said this it was probably the slickest, fastest moving, and most action packed Bond book of all time. This is proved by the fact that I finished it in just two sittings. All the essential bond elements were there but were overdone- the Jaguar's special 'extras' were ridiculous and the girls and fights were so frequent its a wonder Bond had any energy left for his mission! The story concerns itself mainly with introducing the Union(SPECTRE II!)in a way reminiscent of Flemings introduction to SMERSH in Casino Royale. The Union(with the help of an old rival of Bond's) have stolen an important British Military secret and Bond is sent to recover it. Overall Bensons latest effort pretty good but their is still much to be improved on!

As a long time 007 fan, I have just re-read all of Raymond Benson's Bond novels in the proper order and have some reflections on his entire series through "Never Dream of Dying." First of all, Benson is not Ian Fleming and readers should get past that expectation before beginning. He's not John Gardner, either (thank goodness!). That said, I believe Benson has come the closest to Ian Fleming of all the post-Fleming writers in that he has truly captured the essence of Bond's character and the universe in which 007 operates. It is a fantasy spy world, not based in reality, just as Fleming's was, but like Bond's creator, Benson keeps the main character very human. Benson's Bond makes mistakes, shows fear, feels pain, and is melancholy much of the time. At the same time, Benson has brought in many elements of the Bond film series (I have read an interview with him that states that he and the Ian Fleming Estate agreed that this would be the approach to take). Therefore, Benson's Bond is a mixture of the cinematic and literary Bonds, and for me, this works splendidly. I have seen some fans object to this or that but it seems to me that these fans are not getting past personal expectations. Bond is many things to many people. Benson, a long time Bond scholar and author of the excellent "James Bond Bedside Companion" knows his stuff. He has nailed the Bond character. Some have complained about his writing style. Benson is no Fleming, as stated earlier, but his style is succinct and easy to read. His books flow quickly and are highly entertaining. "ZERO MINUS TEN": Benson's first book has one of his best plots, but it suffers slightly from being a "first novel." His writing is at its weakest here, but that said, ZMT is a wonderful Bond story. It is very Fleming-esque with its Hong Kong location, characters like Guy Thackeray and T. Y. Woo and Li Xu Nan, and its descriptions of food, mahjong, and Triads. When reading ZMT, one is immediately aware that this is a harder-edged and darker Bond than perhaps what we are used to. For a first effort, it is very, very good. "THE FACTS OF DEATH": Benson's second book is more film-like, it feels like an EON Productions movie story. The plot is more "fantastic" in that it deals with a secret criminal organization called the Decada that is run by a crazy mastermind. The writing is improved, though, and in many ways this is a more entertaining book than ZMT. What is especially interesting is Benson's development of the "M" character and her relationship with Bond. "HIGH TIME TO KILL": My personal favorite of the bunch. This is a classic Bond novel in every sense of the word. The first half is fairly predictable cinematic-Bond stuff, except for a very Fleming-esque opening and 2nd chapter golf match. The second half, however, shows Benson hitting his stride and finding his own voice with a truly original departure from what is expected. As Bond and companions climb one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, the action becomes more like an "Into Thin Air"-type story. It's authentic spy-stuff amidst an environment that is cruel and harsh. This is a thrilling, un-put-downable book. "DOUBLESHOT": Another departure from the norm, as Benson appears to be experimenting with the structure of a Bond novel with this one. The first chapter is the ending of the book told from the different perspectives of several characters. The rest of the story begins in the past and catches up to the ending, and by then we are hooked. In this story, Bond is not well, he is injured, he is not working at full capacity, and this is what is interesting. "Doubleshot" is the middle book of a loose trilogy (beginning with "High Time to Kill") and it is darker and more introspective than the others. Some fans apparently didn't get it, but in many ways, this is Benson's most courageous book. "NEVER DREAM OF DYING": Another great one, right up there with "High Time to Kill," in terms of glueing a reader to the page. It's an excellent plot, tying up the trilogy that Benson began in HTTK. In this book, one can see the blending of the cinematic and literary Bonds more than in any other entry-- a lot of the action is very movie-like, while the storyline and characterizations are more like the Fleming novels. The moods and settings are the best that Benson has done, and the love interest is perhaps his strongest. The real stroke of brilliance in the book is what the author has done with the character of Bond's father in law. A very engaging book. My five-star review is based on Benson's series as a whole. Each book may not be a 5-star book on its own, but I don't think any of them are less than 4. Benson has put his mark on the Bond literary series. Fans who don't like him tend to focus on one or two aspects of what he does-- his writing style, his dependence on the cinematic elements, whatever... I feel that they're not seeing the forest for the trees. In my humble opinion, Raymond Benson has brought new life to the series and I hope he continues the books a long, long time.

Benson's third Bond book takes a slightly different twist on the standard Bond adventure. Gone is the old formula and what remains is an author finding a comfortable writing style that reminds one of Fleming, while still being new and enjoyable.

Just like all the earlier Bond books, HTTK is a quick read, never really slowing pace too much. The first half of the book is a typically good Bondian adventure, but once the locale changes to Nepal, the book changes to a slower pace. Benson takes you inside Bond in a way that Gardner was never able to do. Bond's general dislike for parts of his job are felt, and his cold ruthlessnes shows why he survives.

In my opinion the only flaw to Benson's newest book is the uncomfortable discriptions from many of Bond's companions. Some seem to be little more than a recorded playing of a tourist book. Fleming could always get inside what makes a location tick, while Benson is just not there yet. Yet along side this criticism, I must say that I enjoyed the Doctor's talk about the hazzards of mountain climbing.

Although many will criticize Benson as being an amateur, his Bond books are well plotted and believeable. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy and wish Benson luck with his growth as a writer. While HTTK is an experiment in the 'Bond' style, it is much more succesful than anything Gardner tried, or Fleming's The Spy Who Loved Me.

CHris

After slogging through a mind-numbing 13-page golf game complete with brand names of every item Bond and his colleagues used in their round, I tried to forge ahead but gave up at page 47, in the midst of a meeting that promised to be as boring as most real meetings. Have trouble identifying with the book the other reviewers apparently read. This is not the dapper, dashing James Bond created by Ian Fleming.

I'm sorry, but one would have a difficult time convincing me that John Gardner was a worse Bond novelist than Raymond Benson. Gardner's best books--Death is Forever, Icebreaker, No Deals, Mr. Bond (in my humble opinion)--stand out from Benson's effort in a number of ways. Gardner admitted that he was more distant when he wrote Bond because it was not his character, and sometimes that wasn't bad. Some of the books were refreshing in that they were a kind of admission that Bond didn't have to save the world in every single book, but that he had missions where he was not central and where he questioned what he doing. Gardner's Bond seems weary in Death is Forever or in The Man from Barbarossa, and this is actually a good thing because it is believable. Benson clearly tries too hard to make us believe that he knows Fleming's Bond so well. He knows the books and the stories, but he cannot write Bond well at all. His prose is strictly amateur night, and he seems afraid to stray from anything Fleming did. Gardner was British, highly educated, he was an experienced and successful spy novelist and writer, he was even in the armed forces and knew some things about spies from the second world war. All of this is evident when you read him. He is way out of his league in terms of Bond and in terms of writing novels period. Gardner was far from perfect, most of his books were flawed, but he delivered smooth tales and he was a decent writer, which counts for something.

I've always thought that Trevanian's "Eiger Sanction" would have made a halfway-decent Bond book. As in "Eiger", there are people getting whacked left-and-right despite the fact that a mountain climb in the Himalayas is enough risk as it is. While Bond is looking for valuable defense files stolen from Her Majesty's govenment and then lost when the thieves' plane crashes on the mountain, the thieves have an inside man in Bond's team. Not content with that, there are competing teams as well. One interesting character is a Ghurka soldier working with Bond who turns out to be one of the best right-hand-men 007 has had since Dr. No's Quarrel. This man is a very personable, philosophical sort of guy. Apparently Benson has done some research here on Nepalese and Ghurka folkways. Unfortunately, the bad guys (known as "The Union") are a SPECTRE ripoff--they don't have much new to offer as an adversary. Except for the features on Bond's car (only featured in the opening chapters and already here from a previous book anyway), the gadgetry here is more subtle--personal devices aimed more towards convenience for the user than gee-whiz flash--I wouldn't be surprised if some of that stuff actually exists. The films have always been a bit too gear-happy, and Benson successfully resists overdoing that in his books.

Benson succeeds in creating a deft, fast-paced story worthy of 007. With an intriguing setup (the Skin 17 scenario and Bond's latest love interest being caught up with the Union--a very interesting group), strong character relationships (Bond vs. Roland being the anchor for this tale), and a tense mountaineering expedition gone wrong, Benson presents us with a James Bond who's somewhat more fleshed-out than his screen counterpart (he's less stolid and more emotionally developed), but is still the suave, tough superspy we know and love. Sean Connery would be proud. (And as an added bonus, this Bond doesn't make lame puns at every turn, which is much appreciated.)

One minor quibble: As strong as the story is, sometimes Benson tends to go overboard a little bit in terms of the violence in the story. The gruesome throat-slittings, the beheading scene...they certainly make for chilling visuals, but for a James Bond adventure, where it's better to suggest things rather than show them, they're a little much. (If this was made into a film, they'd have to tone it down quite a bit.) Still it's a fun read, and I eagerly await Bond's next encounter with the Union.

This book does one thing, entertain, but it fails to really entertain. This is not to say that there is no reader interest generated, for there is, just not as much as was possible. The Union make worthy bad guys, but we are left with the feeling of 'been there done that', as a great many novels and movies in the post cold-war era have latched onto the 'evil criminal syndicate' school of bad guy creation. The one thing that really drew my attention was the setting, the vastness of the top of the world. While the locals were really quite cool, the people leave a lot to be desired. The bad guys are very much paint by numbers, without a bone of origiality. It is really quite easy to predict from page 3 who is good, and who is bad, and why. Bond is fairly true to character, but I have to ask, why does he sleep with literally every woman he meets. I mean honestly, I know he likes the ladies, but this is rediculous, lions don't mate as often as Bond does here. Overall, the book is good for a quick read on a rainy day, even though you will be better off reading original Bond novels, or watching Sean Connery strut his stuff. 3/5

3rd JB novel by Benson, and by far his best to date. Where the 2nd had a much too grotesque villain and a dumb plot, this one has all the required works. Even if the "Union" is a copy of Spectre, the plot is adequate. The villains are definitely menacing and Bond is in real danger most of the time. The ennemy is invisible, present in unexpected guises. There is a lot of testosterone flowing (Bond's conflict with his fellow student of old is well done), enough sex (both sophisticated and animal) and enough disciplinary coercion from M to make us identify well with Bond. Also, the Himalaya mountain climbing (which has half the novel) is compellingly and convincingly written. A lot of so-called Fleming effect in that! Much attention to "impressive" detail. Well drawn secondary roles. It's all there: the father (mother!)-like M, the more compassionate Bill Tanner, the deceptive female with whom Bond has a frantic relationship, the true friend (a Gurkha), the other reliable female who saves Bond life, the alter ego in the ennemy camp whom bond must defeat and ultimately kill. It also has Bond's world on stage in our own world, and this is as it should be! True, Benson's Bond is not the suave Fleming hero, although he is much closer to him than Gardner's (who had evolved Bond into a very procedural rule-abiding and therefore dull civil servant). In fact, Benson's Bond is close to the film version, without the slapstick dimension. I feel him to be very close to the thunderball (film) Bond. Should we3rd JB novel by Benson, and by far his best to date. Where the 2nd had a much too grotesque villain and a dumb plot, this one has all the required works. Even if the "Union" is a copy of Spectre, the plot is adequate. The villains are definitely menacing and Bond is in real danger most of the time. The ennemy is invisible, present in unexpected guises. There is a lot of testosterone flowing (Bond's conflict with his fellow student of old is well done), enough sex both sophisticated and animal and enough disciplinary coercion from M to make us identify well with Bond. Also, the Himalaya mountain climbing (which has half the novel) is compellingly and convincingly written. A lot of so-called Fleming effect in that! Much attention to "impressive" detail. Well drawn secondary roles. It's all there: the father (mother!)-like M, the more compassionate Bill Tanner, the deceptive female with whom Bond has a frantic relationship, the true friend (a Gurkha), the other reliable female who saves Bond life, the alter ego in the ennemy camp whom bond must defeat and ultimately kill. It also has Bond's world on stage in our own world, and this is as it should be! True, Benson's Bond is not the suave Fleming hero, although he is much closer to him than Gardner's (who had evolved Bond into a very procedural rule-abiding and therefore dull civil servant). In fact, Benson's Bond is close to the film version, without the slapstick dimension. I feel him to be very close to the thunderball (film) Bond. Should we deplore the demise of the Fleming Bond, and hail the coming of the Broccoli Bond? I think yes.

I've been a Bond fan since my teens and have bought everyone as it came out in hardcover since Col. Sun. I loved Zero minus Ten and the Tomorrow Never Dies novelization. Facts of Death was great if you take away Felix's killer wheelchair, but this one? Taking pieces of Fleming's classics does not a Bond novel make. A golf match with the villain (see Goldfinger), a criminal organization with a secret mastermind (see anything with SPECTRE), and a major plot point out of Casino Royale. The spy on a mountain climb was done better by Trevanian and Desmond Cory back in the glory days of Bond. I realize this is the first of a projected trilogy(I understand if Benson wants to save Le Gerant for the climax of the trilogy), but it is no excuse for a lackluster villain whose main characteristic is obnoxious. We know he's the bad guy because he says "Chinaman", considered a racial slur, instead of "Chinese man" as Bond does. He also makes sexist remarks about betting a night with the female member of the expedition. As far as PC goes, Bond fails too--An affair with his secretary? Even Fleming's Bond kept it to playful flirtation with Ponsonby, Goodnight, and Moneypenny. But, of course, we need it to hang plot on. Like I said before, I've bought every Bond as it came out in harcover until now-this I rented from the library and will now wait for the paperback and buy it used. The rest of the trilogy will determine if I ever buy Bond again.