RAYMOND BENSON eBook omnibus released today

James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years is released today from Ian Fleming Publications. This eBook-only omnibus collects all six original Raymond Benson James Bond novels for the first time: Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, High Time to Kill, Doubleshot, Never Dream of Dying, and The Man with the Red Tattoo.

You can purchase James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, or directly from Ian Fleming Publications.

Anniversary BONDS for 2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. This year will see a NEW Bond adventure, With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz. 2022 also marks a few anniversaries. How time flies when you're having fun!

60th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's most experimental Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me, is told entirely from the point of view of the heroine, Vivienne Michel. Published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 16, 1962. Released the same year of the first James Bond film, Dr. No.

40th Anniversary

John Gardner's second James Bond novel, For Special Services, finds 007 teaming up with the CIA and the daughter of Felix Leiter.  The first U.S. edition was published by McCann and Geoghegan on May 3, 1982. The UK edition by Jonathan Cape (pictured) came in September.

30th Anniversary

John Gardner's 11th original James Bond novel, Death Is Forever, finds 007 is a race to stop a terrorist attack on the newly opened English Chunnel. The U.S. edition from Putnam was published in June. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on July 2, 1992.

25th Anniversary

Raymond Benson debuts as the new continuation author with Zero Minus Ten, a timely 007 adventure dealing with a threat to Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on April 3, 1997. The U.S. edition from Putnam was released on May 5, 1997.

20th Anniversary

Raymond Benson's final Bond adventure, The Man With The Red Tattoo, sees James Bond returning to Japan. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on May 2, 2002. The U.S. edition from Putnam was released on June 10, 2002.

Other anniversaries include: From Russia With Love (65th), Colonel Sun (55th), Serpents Tooth (30th) Tomorrow Never Dies (25th), Die Another Day (20th), Double or Die and Hurricane Gold (15th), and Red Nemesis(5th).

The Benson PROOFS

Here are the U.S. uncorrected proofs for Raymond Benson's six James Bond novels, which have just listed for sale on eBay. (I'm thinning out my Bond collection.) But I realized I never did a post to document them, so here they are!

Benson's BOND - UK hardcovers

Over the weekend I shared the Raymond Benson James Bond U.S. hardcover first editions. Here now are the UK hardcover firsts from Hodder & Stoughton.

The Hodder books featured striking cover art with series art established on the 1995 Coronet paperbacks and first used on a hardcover with John Gardner's COLD. However, the publisher changed it up with the last two books, producing covers that were a bit disappointing in comparison (IMO). Hodder also published Benson's three film novelizations in hardcover. Tomorrow Never Dies remains the rarest of all the Benson UK firsts.

Publication dates:

Zero Minus Ten – Hodder & Stoughton, April 3, 1997.
Tomorrow Never Dies – Hodder & Stoughton, November 6, 1997.

The Facts of Death - Hodder & Stoughton, May 7, 1998.

High Time To Kill - Hodder & Stoughton, May 6, 1999.
The World Is Not Enough – Hodder & Stoughton, November 18, 1999.

Doubleshot - Hodder & Stoughton, May 4, 2000.

Never Dream of Dying - Hodder & Stoughton May 3, 2001.

The Man With The Red Tattoo – Hodder & Stoughton, May 2, 2002.
Die Another Day - Hodder & Stoughton, November 7, 2002.

Benson's BOND - U.S. hardcovers

In 1997 Raymond Benson succeeded John Gardner as the official James Bond continuation author. Benson returned many of the classic elements to the series (such as Bond's Walther PPK) and chose not to continue some of the changes of the later Gardner years, such as MircoGlobe One. Per the request of IFP (then still Glidrose), Benson made M a woman as a concession to the film series.

Benson delivered six terrific original James Bond adventures with each book powered by a clear thematic "hook." They were books written by a hardcore James Bond fan and certainly appealed to this hardcore fan. I'll still argue that Benson's third book, High Time To Kill, is one of the very best of all the James Bond continuation novels.

In the U.S., all six Raymond Benson Bond books were published in hardcover by Putnam with nice uniform cover art. This new series art was an improvement (IMO) over Putnam's Gardner series cover art which had also remained uniform during his reign. Benson's three novelizations, Tomorrow Never Die, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, where not published in hardcover in the U.S.

Publication dates:

Zero Minus Ten – Putnam, May 5, 1997.

The Facts of Death - Putnam, June 15, 1998.

High Time To Kill - Putnam, June 7, 1999.

Doubleshot - Putnam, June 5, 2000.

Never Dream of Dying - June 4, 2001.

The Man With The Red Tattoo – Putnam, June 10, 2002.

The Benson paperbacks were published by Jove in the U.S. You can check out those covers HERE.

LINK: From a View to a Museum

Did you know there is a museum in Japan devoted to Raymond Benson's sixth original James Bond novel, The Man With The Red Tattoo? Well, there is, and Raymond Benson himself has written a piece about the museum and his original research trip to Japan his on his blog, Blog Benson. Click the headline to have a read.

The man himself in the 007 The Man With The Red Tattoo Museum

RAYMOND BENSON U.S. paperbacks

I've been looking back at the John Gardner Bond books a lot lately, so I thought it was time to throw a little Raymond Benson into the mix. I'll kick off with his U.S. paperbacks because this one of my favorite sets. I love the uniformity of the design and the location specific backgrounds. These paperbacks were released by Jove, who after a one book break with Cold Fall, returned to their "James Bond in" series design (with the lightning bolt underline) with Benson.

Of course, Raymond Benson also produced three novelizations during his run as continuation novelist. Those paperbacks, released by Triangle, can be see below.

And as long on we're on the subject of Benson U.S. paperbacks, here's a bonus. Below are three prototype covers for Tomorrow Never Dies (using the Cold Fall series art), Zero Minus Ten, and Die Another Day. One thing I like about the DAD cover is that it uses a tagline that was never used for the film: "He's never been cooler." (Taglines pretty much vanished from Bond film marketing after GoldenEye.) And while books with these covers were never actually produced, you'll still see this artwork on listings at Amazon.com, etc.

Publication:

Tomorrow Never Dies – Triangle, November 1997.

Zero Minus Ten – Jove, July 1998.

The Facts of Death - Jove, August 1999.

The World Is Not Enough - Triangle, October 6, 1999.

High Time To Kill - Jove, June 5, 2000.

Doubleshot - Jove, June 5, 2001.

Never Dream of Dying - Jove, April 30, 2002.

Die Another Day - Triangle, November 5, 2002.

The Man With The Red Tattoo – Jove, April 28, 2003.

Benson's Choice of Weapons now 60% off

If you haven't yet picked up Raymond Benson's second anthology of 007 work, Choice of Weapons, now is a great time to do so. It is currently a whopping 60% off at Amazon.com. However, know these are remaindered books, so condition might not be the best.

The collection includes the novels Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, The Man With The Red Tattoo, and the hard-to-find short stories "Live At Five" and "Midsummer Night's Doom."

For news about Raymond's current and upcoming original work visit his official website.

Raymond Benson's Choice of Weapons released

Raymond Benson's second anthology of 007 work, Choice of Weapons, has been released by Pegasus.

The collection includes the novels Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, The Man With The Red Tattoo, and the short stories "Live At Five" and "Midsummer Night's Doom." Until now, "Live At Five" had only been available in a 1999 issue of TV Guide.

Choice of Weapons can be purchased at Amazon.com. For news about Raymond's current and upcoming original work visit his official website.

Pre-order 'Choice of Weapons'

K1Bond007 reports that Raymond Benson's second anthology of 007 work, Choice of Weapons, is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

The collection will include the novels Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, The Man With The Red Tattoo, and the short stories Live At Five and Midsummer Night's Doom. Publication date, according to Amazon, is August 17, 2010.

For more news about Raymond Benson's current and upcoming original work, visit his official website.

Raymond Benson's 'Choice of Weapons'

Great news. Pegasus Books will publish a second anthology of Raymond Benson's 007 work, tentatively titled Choice of Weapons (excellent Bond title, IMO).

The collection will include the novels Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, The Man With The Red Tattoo, and the short stories Live At Five and Midsummer Night's Doom. Tentative publication date is late spring or early summer 2010.

For more news about Raymond Benson's current and upcoming original work, visit his official website.

RED TATTOO museum launches two websites

The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum in Naoshima Japan has launched two new websites featuring art and images from this unique museum devoted to Raymond Benson’s last original James Bond novel.

The first is the museum’s official website, which is currently only in Japanese. In conjunction with the official site is the 007 Location Promotion Committee, featuring general information about the museum and ongoing efforts to petition Eon into making a James Bond movie in Naoshima. A link in English takes you to a plot synopsis, drawings exhibited in the museum, and other goodies.

Designed by Hidemi Inoue of Inoue Commercial Space Planning, The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum is located at 2310 Miyanoura, Naoshima (one minute from Myanoura Bay). For more information, contact the International Affairs Division, Kagawa Prefectural Government, Tel: 087-832-3026, Fax 087-837-4289.

Raymond Benson recently provided CBn with a exclusive report on the museum’s opening day ceremonies with his own personal pictures from the event. CLICK HERE to read Raymond’s report.

THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO museum to open in Japan

Raymond Benson

The government of Kagawa Prefecture in Japan will honour author Raymond Benson with a museum dedicated to his sixth original James Bond novel, The Man With the Red Tattoo.

Between 1996 and 2002, Benson, a resident of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, was the third writer officially commissioned by the Estate of Ian Fleming to pen 007 continuation novels. During his tenure, Benson wrote and published six original James Bond novels, three film tie-in “novelizations,” and three short stories. His sixth and final original 007 novel, The Man With the Red Tattoo (published in 2002 in the U.S. by Putnam and in the U.K. by Hodder & Stoughton), was set in Japan. A major part of the story takes place on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture.

Since the novel’s publication, Kagawa Prefecture, Naoshima Town, and a number of other organizations have been working together to promote the cinematic adaptation and filming of the novel in a move to revitalize Naoshima and the wider Seto Inland Sea region. Their efforts have been receiving a great deal of attention in the Japanese media, leading to the construction of a facility which could be used to introduce the locations on the island.

The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum aims to present Naoshima as a Bond location on a national scale, introduce visitors to the story of The Man With the Red Tattoo and other James Bond 007 novels, feature information on Benson and the other successive authors who have contributed to the legacy of 007, and exhibit material and memorabilia related to the novels and films.

Designed by Hidemi Inoue of Inoue Commercial Space Planning, The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum will open on July 24, 2005. It is located at 2310 Miyanoura, Naoshima (one minute from Myanoura Bay). For more information, contact the International Affairs Division, Kagawa Prefectural Government, Tel: 087-832-3026, Fax 087-837-4289.

To keep up with Raymond Benson’s latest work, appearances, and to purchase his books, visit www.raymondbenson.com.

BOOK BOND REVIEW: Welcome back to Japan, Mr. Bond

Having shown he can work outside the rules of convention in his brilliant Union Trilogy, Raymond Benson returns to the formula in his sixth book, The Man With The Red Tattoo, and delivers his most traditional Bond adventure since The Facts of Death. But this is a Benson with a much surer grasp on his skills than he had in his sophomore outing, and like the rocket ride it is, The Man With The Red Tattoo instantly achieves a pitch perfect mix of classic plot, action, and depth of character that recalls Fleming at his best. (In pace and tone, I’m reminded of Dr. No, coincidentally, Fleming’s sixth book as well). While I would still classify Never Dream of Dying as Benson’s best “novel,” The Man With The Red Tattoo is Benson’s most perfectly realized Bond “thriller” to date with a strong sense of location and the best caper of them all.

Some may fault Benson for following convention a little too closely this time out, but I don’t. In an era of contrived attempts to “personalize” Bond’s missions or “peel back the layers” of Bond’s psyche, it’s refreshing to have a straightforward Bond-on-a-dangerous-assignment-in-an-exotic-locale adventure. This time, Mr. Bond, it isn’t personal. Halleluiah! Even the return of the Walther PPK seems to be Benson’s way of saying, “Let’s just use what has always worked and enough with the self-conscious ‘updating’ of the character.” In this way, I think Red Tattoo is well ahead of the curve. (Of course, this has been true of the Benson books and is one of the reasons I look forward to the books as much as I do the films.)

But this doesn’t mean Red Tattoo is lacking in character depth. Just the opposite is true. Japan holds dark memories for Bond, and that aspect is not ignored. Whereas John Gardner might have given a passing reference to Bond’s legendary ordeal in You Only Live Twice (if even that), Benson uses the “ghosts” of Bond’s past as a full-fledged complication. Fans will not be disappointed in how Benson weaves elements of the Fleming masterpiece into this current book. The end of chapter 17 will certainly move Bond fans.

Benson always referred to this book as “The Japan Book,” and now I see why. Japan is very much a character in this novel–in many ways, the main character–both ally and nemesis to 007. After so long, it’s thrilling to have a Bond story take place in one locale instead of globetrotting from one scenic set piece to the next. Anchoring Bond in one locale gives Benson a chance to flesh out the country with wonderful cultural details. It’s Benson’s attention to these details and his ability to weave them into the plot in highly entertaining ways that make his books the best of all the post-Fleming adventures. It’s where Red Tattoo excels.

As far as flesh and blood characters go, Bond girl Reiko Tamura is highly appealing in her role as Bond’s agent partner (definitely a traditional role here). Her performance in the spectacular Seikan Tunnel sequence is particularly memorable. Wayward wild child Mayumi is less appealing, especially in contrast to the more mature Reiko. Goro Yoshida (the man with the red tattoo) is a Blofeld-type villain who remains mostly off screen until the end. Yoshida’s henchman, “Kappa,” is Benson’s most delightfully bizarre killer since Margarita Piel in Doubleshot. Bond’s ally, Tiger Tanaka, makes a wonderful addition from the past although one does note the absence of the hyper-masculinity and sexism that so codified their friendship in the Fleming book. And–and this is as close to a *SPOILER* as I will come–fans who worry about another Never Dream of Dying type “twist” to the character… need not worry.

Fans of action will not be disappointed as gunfights and fistfights abound in Red Tattoo. It’s probably Benson’s most violent book to date–the body count is quite high–but this seems to be in keeping with the Asian action movie milieu the book frequently evokes. Surprisingly, Benson has retreated to an almost Gardneresque modesty in his sex scenes, possibly due to the unfair drubbing he’s taken by the more puritanical factions of fandom for trying to return a measure of kinky sexuality to the books. The methodology of the villain’s master plan is ingenious and is the best conceived caper we’ve had, book or film, in quite some time. The use of Yoshida’s deadly “assassins” throughout the book is pure Bond. And speaking of films, have I mentioned that Red Tattoo would make an amazing Bond movie? Well, it would.

My one complaint would be that the Major Boothroyd scene seems a bit labored. But “Q,” a creation of the films, has never been a comfortable fit in the world of the literary Bond, and one gets the feeling that Benson is forced to include him. In the same vein but on a more positive note, having thoroughly explored Bond’s relationship with “M” and her cohorts in the past few books, Benson wisely blasts past these obligatory scenes and gets Bond right into action. Again, Benson is bang on target with his choices here. I for one don’t need another dramatic conflict between Bond and “M” for quite a while.

Publisher Hodder & Stoughton did not exactly burden themselves in coming up with an overly creative dust jacket design this time, but it will do. As always, the U.S. edition published by Putnam is better bound and printed on better paper with superior typeset.

For the seasoned Bond fan, The Man With The Red Tattoo is the perfect book at the perfect time. For those who have yet to read a Bond book and are looking for a classic cocktail of Bondian action, suspense, and exotic locales, you would be well advised to start right here.