A tale of three silhouettes

Here's another international James Bond paperback with cover features worth taking a closer look at. What I like about this 1990 Portuguese edition of John Gardner's Win Lose or Die is that two of three 007 silhouettes that grace the cover were never used on the Berkley paperbacks of the 1980s (and later on the Benson paperbacks).

The silhouette on the right you'll recognize as first appearing on the U.S. paperback edition of License Renewed and later on the John Gardner hardcovers. But those other two never found their way onto any book as far as I know. I especially like the one on the left that shows Bond reaching into his jacket. You'll also notice that the "James Bond" title treatment is from the Berkley editions, and the background is similar to that used on the UK hardcover of Scorpius, so this is an interesting combination of elements.

And if you think I'm silly for obsessing on silhouettes, check out: SILHOUETTE-GATE.

Happy Holidays to all.

More JOHN GARDNER covers by Michael Gillette

Here are two more Michael Gillette covers for new German editions of John Gardner's Win Lose or Die and Brokenclaw. These will be released in March 2016. You can get more info at publisher Cross Cult.

Win, Lose or Die

Brokenclaw

Gillette did the cover art for the 2008 Centenary editions of the Fleming Bond novels, and well as a German reprint of Colonel Sun.

Thanks to Simon Gardner.

Gardner's BOND in the era of Brosnan

Here's a 1995 Italian combo edition of John Gardner's Scorpius and Win, Lose or Die. The cover image of Bond is clearly modeled on Connery, but there's also something about it that feels very much like John Gardner's Bond -- older, more conservative, formal. An interesting take on 007 at the dawn of the Brosnan film era.

John Gardner's Scorpius was first published in 1988 (click to see a vintage ad). Win, Lose or Die appeared in 1989.

Read about the collision between Brosnan and Gardner's Bond: SILHOUETTE-GATE.

Win, Lose or Daylights

What's this? An international edition of The Living Daylights perhaps? After all, there's Timothy Dalton and Jeroen Krabbé, who played Georgi Koskov in the 1987 film, right there on the cover. So what else could this be?

Well, this of course is not The Living Daylights. There was never a Daylights novelization. This is actually a 1991 German paperback edition of John Gardner's Win Lose or Die. The "Bond of record" at that time was Timothy Dalton, so it's not unusual to see him depicted as 007. But how did Jeroen get there?

Extra points if you can identify the woman and where this image of her comes from. She is a Bond Girl.

WIN LOSE OR DIE and BROKENCLAW coming to U.S. in 2013

Good news. My fears that Pegasus wouldn't finish reprinting the John Gardner James Bond novels in the U.S. appear to have been unfounded.

The next two original books in the series, Win, Lose or Die and Brokenclaw are now available for pre-order on Amazon with a May 1, 2013 release date. (Curious why they skipped over Licence To Kill.)

Visit our special Gardner Renewed page for links and release dates for all the Gardner-Bond reprints in the U.S. and UK.

Orion releases five more JOHN GARDNER reprints

Orion Books has released five more John Gardner James Bond paperback reprints in the UK. Scorpius, Win Lose or Die, Licence To Kill, The Man From Barbarossa and Death is Forever are all now shipping from Amazon.co.uk.

The final wave of four Gardner releases will be on November 8. Visit our special Gardner Renewed page for links and release date updates for all the Gardner-James Bond reprints in the U.S. and UK.

Was the release of WIN, LOSE OR DIE delayed in the UK?

This morning I was trying to nail down the release dates of the John Gardner James Bond novels in the UK (to update this article) when I stumbled on this item from an issue of OO7 Extra (No. 6). Win, Lose or Die was originally announced for release in July 1989, but this reports a postponement until January 1990. Maybe to avoid competing with Gardner's Licence To Kill novelization?

So did this delay happen? While the publication page says 1989, it's still possible they held back the actual release until January 1990. I do recall having trouble getting a UK Win, Lose or Die from my usual source here in the U.S., The Mysterious Bookshop, who didn't have copies in the summer of 1989.

In fact, I wasn't able to track down a UK Win, Lose or Die until summer of 1990 when I found a copy in Canada. I remember being surprised that I could still find a brand new hardcover on a display table a year after its release. Of course, if it was delayed, this explains that. A delay might also explain why this book is especially hard to find signed.

So I'm throwing out the question to my friends in the UK... Anyone recall exactly when Win, Lose or Die hit bookstore shelves? It would be nice to solve this mystery.

UPDATE: Glidrose over at the CBn forums has found a citation for a review of Win, Lose or Die in the Canadian Globe and Mail on July 22, 1989. So it appears it came out in July '89 as planned.