JAMES BOND 007 under the Christmas tree

As I contemplate the holidays and another year without a new OO7 book or film, I'm feeling nostalgic for John Gardner's License Renewed. While the book was released in April of 1981, I received it as one of my Christmas presents that year. 

While I had found my dad's stash of Ian Fleming novels and had sampled some of them, this was the gateway book that made me a fan of the literary OO7. This was a Bond who walked in a world I was familiar with. And when For Special Services appeared the following year, I was a goner!

So here's a toast to License Renewed and the return of James Bond in 1981. We had a book every year and a movie every two years. It was all about entertainment, and James Bond never died. It was a great time to be a Bond fan.

Below are a few John Gardner-related posts you might enjoy. Happy Holidays.

THE RENAISSANCE OF '81

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED

BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB

JOHN GARDNER U.S. (true) first edition hardcovers