Customer Reviews

Seafire

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

 

 

I thought this was one of the best Bond books I have read in a while! It is a little boring at the beginning for about two chapters, but it gets a lot better after that. I could not stop reading it at the end, because it is so EXCITING! Other people say John Gardner doesn't write very good books, but a disagree. This book is very good, and I recommend it to people that like action packed James Bond novels!

It's difficult to know where to begin, but let's just say that if the object is to follow in Ian Fleming's footsteps, this fails, miserably. The main problem is that the character of James Bond has lost all his old certainty, strength and invulnerability; his character now better befits that of the policeman I see wandering up and down my road from time to time, and while I'm sure he's a great bloke, he's not the sort of escapist character I want to seek refuge in. The other big problem is that the emotions expressed are all incredibly naive, and, well, teen-like, particularly with regard to the relationship between Bond and Flicka; these are supposed to be mature secret agents who have lived a little, not high school students on a first date! Some of the writing is also way too obvious; Gardner will say something like 'Bond drank his vodka Martini. He liked vodka Martinis you see.' He doesn't actually write that, but you get my drift. I hope against all hope that John Gardner reads this; if he does, I would ask him to re-read any of the Ian Fleming Bond books, carefully; all the cues he needs, those that made the books such incredibly good reads, are there on the pages before him.

This was the 7th Gardner/Bond novel I read, being second best only to Icebreaker. Seafire deals with a wealthy business man named Max Tarn and his plot to create a massive oil slick around Puerto Rico, which could cause massive environmental damage. James Bond and Flicka von Grusse, who was introduced in Never Send Flowers, must find a way to stop Tarn. Felix Leiter also appears in this book for a couple chapters. Also notable is the fact that M is put to bedrest about halfway through the book, after he gets some kind of illness. The book ends with a BANG that leaves the reader wanting more.

This was the first John Gardner 007 book that I read. I really enjoy James Bond stories and movies as well. However, in the books and movies that I have seen, James Bond was more of a ladies man and was free from commitment. In this book, James is pretty much tied down and very much in love with one woman. This was something that I did not particuarly agree with, coming to know James Bond as a bachelor is how I would much rather keep it. Neverheless, I did enjoy reading this book and getting into the story.

What is up with this book? Did John Gardner just get tired of writing it and decide to slap together that last two thirds of it. Here we have the 'rise' of the 4th Reich (again) and a zillionaire whacko (again) who wants to take over the world (again.) I am still trying to figure out how oil spills are connected with world domination, but that's just me. John Gardner was clearly getting sick of Bond with this book, and he would only have one more to go. Thank goodness, though it only gets worse with new Bond author Raymond Benson, whose books are so cartoonish and amateurish they make the James Bond Jr. cartoon seem like vintage Fleming.

I shall start by saying that I am an avid James Bond fan, not just the movies, but to a far greater extent...the original novels. I have all of Ian Flemmings books, I have read them again and again, and they are still as good today as they were 50 odd years ago. I bought the John Gardner novels in order to finish my collection, I would never buy them in order to get enjoyment out of them! Mr Gardner cannot even begin to fill the shoes of Ian Flemming. His stories are too far fetched, his twists and plots are so over the top they are confusing and the pace of all the books I have read, is as slow as hell! I would only recommend buying this book, Seafire, or any other Gardner Bond Novel if you are a dedicated collector - because no enjoyment can be got out of these.

John Gardner comes through with another great title and another poorly written novel. He is very consistent however! His novel still reads like a movie script and his ability to enthrall the reader still remains lacking. One highlight: this paperback has a great cover! I think it is time that these entries get put to Sea.

wow! this book just did not let up. it was a bit different than some of Mr. Gardner's others, in that Bond had to deal with a poltical committee that is held accountable for special operations. this book explores the question of public accountability for matters of national security and intelligence and counter-intelligence. naturally, this committee will compramise Bond's job and mission... i enjoy the twist and back-n-forth element that this ads to the story.

When I started reading the 1st chapter, I could not bring myself to stop. It was until I read until the part about Bond returning to his room to ask Fredericka whether she had made a phone call to London and found her being held by 2 villins, I found it familar about the way the 2 villins speaks to each other, it was almost the same as Mr Kidd and Mr Wint in the movie "Diamonds are forever"!

I don't get it. For a while, the only books by John Gardner I had ever read were his James Bond novels. I knew he was a spy novelist for years so I finally picked up a different book of his (Confessor) and I loved it. I also realized how DIFFERENTLY he wrote when he wrote non-Bond novels. I don't think he put one half of the effort into some Bond novels that he did into other, non-Bond books. His style and writing is exactly the same in all of the Bond novels with the exception of COLD FALL, which reads like Gardner loosening up and writing more freely (probably since he knew it was his last Bond.) SEAFIRE could have been great, but once again Gardner does a shoddy job of bringing together potentially interesting story elements. The villain is the next Hitler (um, didn't Bond fight the next Hitler in ICEBREAKER?) who has something to do with destroying the Caribbean with an oil spill while inventing a new way to control oil spills (I still don't know what the Fourth Reich and oil spills have to do with each other.) Bond proposes to Flicka von Grusse (and we all KNOW she will die for that.) However, I give Gardner credit for changing the Bond world with his OWN series, and not keeping everything static like all of the movies. He has M on the verge of replacement, Bond being promoted, a new committee watching the other committees. John Gardner wrote some good Bond books (Death is Forever, No Deals, Mr. Bond, Icebreaker) but there are times when he seems to rush them or just not care about Bond or the books themselves. Seafire, quite often, feels like one of those times.